The regulator has now published guidance to help companies improve their reporting under new reporting rules.

Under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, certain companies are required to start producing their 2021 annual financial reports in a structured electronic format. The FRC’s Lab found that the majority of the 50 early structured reports it analysed fell short of the quality that is expected for company’s official filing.

More than 70% of the files contained tagging errors, more than half had issues limiting their usability and more than 25% had design issues. The FRC stated that almost all issues could be solved with appropriate ‘care and attention’.

In response, the FRC’s Lab has released a report that sets out key considerations that companies need to take into account when reporting digitally and offers tips on how to set up the structured reporting process, enhance the usability of structured reports, and common tagging issues to avoid.