A study conducted by CFA Institute looks at how technology can be harnessed to reform the reporting process end-to-end—in other words, to identify ways to effectively capture, manage, analyze, present, and deliver financial data.

The report shows how companies structuring data early in the financial reporting process would enjoy greater benefits and reduced costs, make the auditing process more efficient and allow for more effective regulation. But it’s not just issuers who reap the benefits. Such a transformation would also ensure that investors receive more transparent information on a timely basis, leading to more effective investment decision making.

Ultimately, investors seek structured, quantitative data not bound by the format of the document in which the information is contained. With the availability of technology to sift through data and crunch the numbers, investors would be in a position to perform faster and better analysis.

Analysts would be able not only to research more companies but also take a closer look at the companies they already follow, which would support better-informed investment decisions. Greater efficiency and higher-quality investment decisions are wins for the capital markets. Structured data can also bring bigger and better opportunities in small and mid-cap companies by making it easier and less costly for analysts to cover these companies.

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