The Digital Future: Data project will be run by the Lab, which is part of the accounting regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

The project will look at the future evolution and development of the use of technology to communicate corporate reporting to the investment community. It is looking for representatives from listed companies, investors and analysts, and technology experts to get involved in the research.

The rapid development of IT is changing the face of reporting with increasing use of structured data, big data analysis, distributed databases using blockchain and open source technology.

 The project will investigate:

• how technology trends might drive future change in corporate reporting and provide opportunities for improvements in the access to, and analysis of, corporate reporting data; and
• how transformation of reporting formats, potentially driven by regulatory change (such as the expected implementation of a European Single Electronic Format for Corporate Reporting by 2020), might be optimised for investors and companies.

Once the research gets underway, the Lab will conduct one-hour individual interviews with stakeholders, and organise a round table to explore key topics.

To help launch the project, the Lab is running a short survey to help shape the direction of the research.

The survey will be open until 20 July 2016. To take part, follow the link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DigiFutData

Find out more about the Financial Reporting Lab’s Digital Future: Data project here https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Publications/Financial-Reporting-Lab/Lab-call-for-participants-Digital-Future-Data.pdf