Investors will take any data set and test it for significance in producing returns. It’s a data arms race.
Further to go
Despite these advances, CFA Institute, which represents investment professionals around the world, believes that today’s financial reporting system has a long way to go in adopting technologies that will make data more helpful to users.
It says current reporting requirements still presume that humans consume the information, and much of the annual report is not in a machine-readable format, which would be more useful. One major improvement, it suggests, would be for preparers to structure data at an early stage in the reporting process, rather than adding tags later.
Mohini Singh, CFA Institute’s Director of Financial Reporting Policy, says she welcomes regulators’ emerging support of inline XBRL (iXBRL), a process that supports early structuring by allowing preparers to incorporate XBRL tags into an HTML-formatted financial statement, rather than filing a separate XBRL document. But she adds that there is still an urgent need for education.
“We surveyed our members in September 2016 and 90% said they were not familiar or not up to date with XBRL,” she says.
“Often, that is because of the many problems with the quality of data being filed [in some countries]. Where the data isn’t clean, data providers are having to clean it, which makes it costlier.”
Toomse-Smith adds that the introduction of the European Single Electronic Format will also have a major effect. From 2020, this will require all European Union listed companies to produce their annual reports in Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) with tagged primary statements.
“This will mean that data is more accessible and usable and could lead to innovation in this space,” he says.
Maximizing efficiency
Use of electronic platforms where data sources can be married together effectively is also increasingly important, according to Castagno.
“I use a program called AlphaSense, which locates filings and transcripts extremely quickly,” he says. “And we are increasingly using technologies such as Tableau, Spotfire or QlikView that can handle extremely large data sets much more efficiently than an Excel spreadsheet can.”
Jeff Casson, Investment Director, Global Emerging Markets, at Martin Currie Investment Management, agrees with Singh that regulators should require more standardization of data.
“Without standardization, individual companies will report different information to the extent that it becomes too much to process, materiality is lost and transparency is reduced, not enhanced,” he says. “Standardization also allows companies to engage more proactively with management on nonfinancial aspects of their business, such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and strategic planning.”
Interactive reporting
Professional body Accountancy Europe has also carried out research with users. Deputy CEO Hilde Blomme says it agrees with the need for more structuring of financial and nonfinancial data, and that the current paper/PDF-based system that many companies use is “underwhelming.”
Accountancy Europe wants to encourage a more interactive approach to reporting through a so-called “core and more” concept. Blomme recommends that companies produce “a core executive summary, with key information that all users need, as quickly as possible. This would then connect to more detailed information for those who are interested.”
Better nonfinancials
Singh says that technology can also enable better reporting of nonfinancial information through the use of machine readable data. Many investors are calling for this as the amount of external information about companies that is available grows. Investors and providers are also finding their own solutions to improve the usefulness of nonfinancial data. Jens Peers, CIO and Portfolio Manager at Paris-based asset management company Mirova, says: “As asset managers increasingly seek data on ESG performance, the number of providers of this data are swelling, and the sophistication of delivery and depth of analysis is developing.
Alternative data
The amount of alternative data available to support investment decisions has grown rapidly over the last few years. According to a blog by US-based consultant Opimas, the explosion of available information is leading to a fundamental change in asset managers’ models. To stay competitive, managers increasingly need to incorporate new, alternative data that stretches well beyond traditional market intelligence.
Justin Zhen, co-founder of Thinknum, one of the growing number of alternative/big data providers that index information about companies from a large number of websites, says: “The amount of information online is impossible for a human to track and grade. There are now huge amounts of data on social media, such as how many people are booking restaurants, talking about a brand on Facebook or following a company’s Twitter handle. This can tell you how well a company is doing before everyone else knows.”
Zhen emphasizes that big data is not making traditional corporate reports obsolete. But it should lead to fewer earnings surprises and force companies to be more transparent, since it is easier to verify their claims. It should also enable investors to ask companies more informed questions about performance.
But alternative data analysis has its limitations. Blomme says that, in her research with users, “there is some doubt about the integrity and reliability of this data. It was only meaningful with interpretation.
“Financial statements have a clear and structured framework. Big data is much looser, with thousands of ways to present the information,” she explains. “What benchmark or framework is used for each piece of information? How does it link to the financial reports? What assurance do we have in that information?”
Casson suggests that the increase in alternative data is a positive development, but that it also challenges users. “It goes back to the need for standardization and understanding what is material to the business,” he says. “Not all information is material, and it can create noise.”
More timely reports?
As users of financial information can now get so much real-time data, some also are demanding more timely reports from companies. Blomme says that most want material information released as soon as possible, not just in quarterly reports.
But there are drawbacks to this approach. Casson says: “Increasing reporting frequency is not a benefit of the adoption of technology, as it would further exacerbate a short-term focus.”
Toomse-Smith says: “Long-term investors and analysts have not been keen on getting information more quickly, as constant reporting would create the need for constant monitoring, trading and market rebalancing,”
Investors today have the technology to sift through the large amounts of information they receive to improve analysis, and their uses for such technology are likely to keep growing.
The views of third parties set out in this article are not necessarily the views of the global EY organization or its member firms. Moreover, they should be seen in the context of the time they were made.
Summary
As investors receive real-time data, some are demanding more timely reports from companies. But there are drawbacks to this approach.
