Black Sun and Arkk Solutions to provide a comprehensive reporting and iXBRL tagging offering that seamlessly fits into your company’s annual reporting cycle. 

From 1 January 2020, ESMA (the European Securities and Markets Authority) will require all entities listed under its EU-regulated markets to compile and publish their annual reports in xHTML format. The primary statements of these companies will also need to be tagged. iXBRL (in-line eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a machine readable technology which simplifies and accelerates processes for comparing financial data. It offers immense opportunities for investors and other bodies to collect, assess and use tagged financial data, however there are some challenges.

The challenge

Many organisations are gearing up for this new requirement with insufficient information or knowledge on the subject. This, coupled with Brexit/EU uncertainty, is feeding into a sense of confusion about the requirements and just how ‘ready’ organisations need to be when the time comes to start their year-end reporting process. Black Sun’s research and industry engagement indicates that regardless of the scenario, it is certain that elements of iXBRL alignment are simply inevitable come 2020, and being ready to address the challenge head-on will provide companies with more time to turn this challenge into an opportunity.

Our solution

Black Sun is a stakeholder communications agency. Our roots are in corporate reporting, and although we offer integrated communications solutions across various platforms, we continue to offer competitive, complete annual report services to a range of clients, including FTSE listed entities and independent organisations. 

Much like our industry-leading research, technology has always been a differentiating tool of our client offering, allowing us to provide added-value when addressing their unique needs. Our latest offering is no different; with the support of industry-leading tagging and XBRL specialists, Arkk Solutions, listed companies can continue their annual report process almost as normal, yet produce documents that comply with legislation while catering for the different information needs of investors and wider stakeholders. 

This is achieved through a project-manged process that runs parallel to your existing reporting process; Flexible technology and content creation solutions that allow you to keep your preferred content development approach (such as Microsoft Word); and finally preparation of  fit-for-purpose machine-readable data with tagging provided by Arkk Solutions.

According to Mirko Savarese, Chief Technology Officer at Black Sun, “Providing such a timely, cost-effective and holistic solution before companies start their annual reporting process will be a quantum leap for organisations. The ability to produce excellent documents without driving up costs or compromising quality makes this solution a game-changer. The fact that it also integrates into existing reporting process is another example of how customer-centric our solutions can be. We are proud to be supported by Arkk Solutions in delivering this offering and look forward to changing this incoming regulatory challenge, into corporate opportunities for our clients.”

Russell Gammon , Chief Product Officer of Arkk Solutions, said: “Black Sun’s no-nonsense approach to ESEF fits with our own making the partnership a strong one for customers. Our experience of implementing other XBRL-related mandates meant we could effectively meet the real-world complexities and challenges faced by Balck Sun’s customers. We worked with Black Sun to define the ideal process to ensure that their clients can comply with the new requirements. Customers can now benefit from two market-leaders working together”.

If you would like more information, Black Sun and Arkk Solution’s ‘Demystifying ESEF’ brochure provides more detail on the regulations mentioned and gives step-by-step guides of how our reporting/tagging solution could be applied by your company. To request this brochure, a no-obligation meeting, contact: Naomi Hawkins from Black Sun Plc at [email protected]