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Finland digital reporting update: PRH mandate, what you need to know
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ESEF: European Single Electronic Format
ESEF is a standard format for electronic reporting of financial statements that was introduced by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), as part of the European Transparency Directive
What is ESEF and how Vicosight helps you to stay compliant
ESEF applies to all companies listed on EU regulated markets. Companies that publish their annual reports under consolidated IFRS need to report in iXBRL format, while companies that report with non-IFRS consolidated financial statements report in XHTML format.
The ESEF Taxonomy is produced by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and is based on the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Taxonomy.
With the Vicosight integrated XBRL tagger, you can tag, review, and validate your report using all current taxonomies. Comply with regulations demanding electronic reporting formats without limiting the design of your annual report or sustainability report.
The purpose of ESEF
ESEF aims to enhance transparency, accessibility, and comparability of financial information in the EU by requiring companies to submit their financial statements in a structured format that can be easily read and analysed by both humans and machines.
Key Objectives of ESEF:
- Digital standardisation: replaces static PDF reports with web-friendly XHTML, ensuring uniform presentation across all European markets
- Enhanced comparability: employs Inline XBRL (iXBRL) taxonomy to tag primary financial statements, enabling instant automated cross-company and cross-border comparisons
- Accessibility & transparency: improves data extraction efficiency for investors, market analysts, and regulators worldwide
ESEF and block tagging
For financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2022, issuers must “block tag” the notes to their financial statement, which was a major addition to ESEF requirements.
In a block tag, the content of an entire section of a report is tagged as a single fact. The tag may include text, numerical values, tables, and other data. The phrase “block tag” refers to the fact that the whole disclosure is tagged as a single block — no numbers or tables within the note are individually tagged.
Read more about ESEF & sustainability reporting
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Sustainability report design: beyond hard data & compelling stories
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ESEF 2025 walkthrough - video guide
CtrlPrint Webinars: Nov 13, 2025
Get up to speed on everything you need to know for this year’s ESEF tagging. In two short sessions, we cover key...
Designed ESEF reporting with CtrlPrint Preflight + InDesign Tips
CtrlPrint Webinars: Oct 16, 2025
In this webinar recording, learn how to streamline the production of designed ESEF reports with CtrlPrint Preflight....
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