Spotlight on new technology

Sept. 15, 2008
Oil & Gas Journal is a technology-based magazine emphasizing upstream and downstream issues and news for executives, engineers, and other participants in the oil and gas industry.

Oil & Gas Journal is a technology-based magazine emphasizing upstream and downstream issues and news for executives, engineers, and other participants in the oil and gas industry. OGJ editors carefully research, write, and edit informative articles showcasing new technology in their fields of expertise.

In addition, throughout the year OGJ publishes special reports or articles that involve other aspects of the industry, such as the financial side.

In this week’s publication, the informative and popular OGJ200 special report captures financial data that is critical for investors, analysts, and company executives (see p. 22).

Data are compiled by collecting figures from companies’10-K reports, which are required by law to be filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) is the government’s current system for allowing public access to companies’ financial and operating data disclosures. It enables the public to view time-sensitive corporate information in text or html format. Although this tool is useful, it also has many limits. One is that gathering specific vital data from EDGAR is a time-intensive chore requiring the user to spend countless hours scouring page after page of data. Then the user must pull past years’ filings to compare historical trends in order to provide significance to the figures for the specific reports.

An exciting overhaul

There are new and exciting changes on the horizon, however, that should make the data retrieval task more useful and simpler for the industry analyst, investor, and yes, the media. The SEC said it is updating EDGAR to serve a more advanced technical era. More and more people are relying on the internet and e-mail to process information more efficiently. Companies are using electronic systems daily to assimilate reports and other financial indicators. Therefore SEC is replacing the old document-based system with a more advanced medium of relaying government-required interactive data faster and in a more useful and efficient manner.

IDEA (Interactive Data Electronic Applications) will slowly replace the EDGAR system, enabling users to access and assemble data in a format that better fits their specific requirements. The interactive data technology relies on a “tagging” component that works like bar codes. Each “tag” will identify items related to the financial and operating disclosures of each company. This labeling will enable users to gather certain data items off the income statements of a multitude of companies. Once identified, users can download this information into their spreadsheets or use the charts and graphs for a more comparative analysis.

“This new SEC resource powered by interactive data will give investors far faster, more accurate, and more meaningful information about the companies and mutual funds they own,” said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. EDGAR will enhance IDEA by providing an archive of past filings.

Company filers’ benefits

This is a win-win situation for the companies required to file with the SEC. Many hours currently are spent compiling, reviewing, and editing information; this interactive data method will allow companies to submit data more quickly and accurately. “Using interactive technology, XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) could enable public companies to shift resources away from cumbersome manual reporting to an automated approach that saves time and money and produces more standardized, accurate results,” SEC reported.

SEC has proposed that companies be required to submit financial disclosures utilizing IDEA as soon as early 2009.

The new technology is very exciting for the financial world. It will offer additional insights to analyzing confusing government legalese and unnecessary information that isn’t pertinent to your applications.

Most 10-K reports state that accompanying notes are integral parts of the operations and should be considered along with the financials. This is where OGJ will be able to facilitate you, our readers. Our OGJ200 report will eventually utilize this new technology but will “read between the lines” to get to the heart of the information that our readers need to make informative decisions. We will provide this data by doing all of the research, all of the compiling and editing, all of the work for you in a one-stop special report. This technology will make it easier and faster for us to produce accurate data specific to your needs. In addition, OGJ could eventually provide supplemental data to enhance our current reports.