Question: A filer's annual report on Form 10-K includes the consolidated parent company's financial statements as well as financial statements of one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The parent company has registered equity, and the subsidiary has registered debt. The single filing on Form 10-K is intended to satisfy the reporting obligation of both issuers. While the face financial statements are presented for each issuer separately, there is one set of combined financial statement footnotes. Should all of these financial statements be included in a single Interactive Data File?

Answer: Yes, if interactive data are being submitted for more than one filer whose financial statements are required to be filed and those financial statements appear in a single filing, such as Form 10-K or 10-Q, they must be included in a single Interactive Data File. See Chapter 6 of Volume II of the EDGAR Filer Manual for detailed instructions on how to prepare the interactive data in this circumstance, including how to format the combined footnotes. Note, however, that the Interactive Data File need only include the financial statements for entities mandated under the phase-in provisions. For example, if only the parent company is required to submit its interactive data in year one of the phase in, then the Interactive Data File in year one need only contain the parent company's complete financial statements. [May 29, 2009]

Question: An annual report on Form 10-K is intended to satisfy the reporting obligation of two "dual listed" companies by including a single set of financial statements. Each of these companies is a separate legal entity with its own file number and Central Index Key ("CIK"). Which company's CIK should be tagged with the Central Index Key element for this submission?

Answer: The Central Index Key element must tag the CIK of just one of the "dual listed" companies, and the filer may choose which of those CIKs to use. As long as the registrants continue to be dual listed and file joint reports, the same CIK should be used in every filing. [May 29, 2009]

Question: If a company is not yet required to submit Interactive Data Files with its Exchange Act reports, should it check the box on the cover pages of the reports relating to compliance with Interactive Data File submission requirements?

Answer: No. A company should not start checking the cover page box relating to Interactive Data File compliance until it is required to submit those files. For example, if a company is first required to include an Interactive Data File with its second quarter Form 10-Q and, as permitted by the grace period rules, includes such file in a Form 10-Q amendment 30 days after the date the report is due and filed, the company should not check the Interactive Data File box on the cover page of its initial Form 10-Q. Rather, it should check the box once the first Interactive Data File is submitted — in this case, with the Form 10-Q amendment. Companies that have been voluntarily submitting Interactive Data Files should not check the box until they are required to submit the files. [Apr. 30, 2009]

[Withdrawn, Sept. 17, 2010]

[Withdrawn, Sept. 17, 2010]

Question: What is the first interactive data submission required of a calendar-year, domestic filer whose initial registration statement on Form S-1 is declared effective on July 2, 2009 and whose first periodic report is a Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2009?

Answer: The filer must assess whether it is a large accelerated filer in order to determine how to apply the phase-in schedule for submitting interactive data. Large accelerated filer status is determined based on the criteria set forth in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2 at the end of a fiscal year. On these facts, the earliest date the filer could qualify as a large accelerated filer is December 31, 2010. If at that date the filer qualifies as a large accelerated filer, interactive data would be required beginning with its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2011. However, if at that date the filer does not qualify as a large accelerated filer, the interactive data would be required to be submitted beginning with the filer's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. [May 29, 2009]

Question: The Document and Company Information Taxonomy includes an "Amendment Flag" element. When should the filer set the Amendment Flag to "True" in preparing its Interactive Data File for submission?

Answer: The Amendment Flag signifies that the Interactive Data File is an amendment to a prior Interactive Data File. It is not intended to signify that a new Interactive Data File is being filed as part of an amendment to a periodic report or registration statement. As a result, a filer should set the Amendment Flag to "True" only when the filer is amending the Interactive Data File itself. For example, if a company is first required to include an Interactive Data File with its second quarter Form 10-Q and, as permitted by the grace period rules, includes such file in a Form 10-Q amendment 30 days after the date the report is due and filed, the company should not set the Amendment Flag to "True" when it prepares its Interactive Data File for submission in the Form 10-Q amendment. [May 29, 2009]