Accounting Standard Citations in SEC Filings, 2000-2026: Data and Code

abstract

Researchers often infer which accounting standards apply to a company from the length of the standards or the company's XBRL tags. This paper provides a direct measure based on the standards that companies name in their filings. The dataset covers accounting-standard references in 10-K, 10-Q, 20-F, and 40-F filings on EDGAR for fiscal years 2000-2026. It links each resolved reference, including references to standards superseded in 2009, to a FASB Accounting Standards Codification topic. Five topics account for half of all citations. An update's number is cited most in the year before it takes effect, when advance disclosure is required; the topic it amends peaks in the year it applies. Topics with more guidance also appear in filings from more companies. The release includes documented CSV tables by topic, year, industry, and form; a filer-year table that joins to Compustat by CIK; complete extraction code; and validation results.

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citation

Bommarito, J., & Bommarito, M. J., II (2026). Accounting Standard Citations in SEC Filings, 2000-2026: Data and Code. Working paper. Working draft, 22 pages. A filing-level dataset of the accounting standards named in every 10-K, 10-Q, 20-F and 40-F on EDGAR for fiscal 2000-2026, resolved to Codification topics, with data, code and validation. Comments welcome..