Via e-mail: 

Catherine Stewart (CStewart@omb.eop.gov) 

Vivek Kundra 

Federal Chief Information Officer 

Office of Management and Budget 

Washington, DC 20503 

Mr. Kundra: 

As required in OMB memorandum dated November 25, 2009, subject “FY 2009 E-Government Act 

Reporting Instructions,” attached is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s FY 2009 Annual EGovernment Act Report. 

Should you have any questions, or require additional information, please contact Mark Degner at 

DegnerM@sec.gov , or at (202) 551-7778. 

Sincerely, 

/original signed by/ 

Charles Boucher 

Chief Information Officer 

Office of Information Technology 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission FY 2009 E-Government Act Report 
Attachment 

Executive Summary 

The SEC supports the goals of the E-Government Act of 2002 by using technology to enhance the access 

to and delivery of Government information and services to citizens, businesses and other Federal 

agencies. The SEC developed a new strategic plan for fiscal years 2010 to 2015. 

One initiative under the plan is to modernize technology and service offerings targeted at assisting the 

investing public. The SEC plans to use automated complaint tracking tools to identify emerging 

investor concerns and complaint trends to inform rulemaking efforts and the development of targeted 

educational material. 

The SEC launched its first-ever Web site devoted exclusively to investor education, providing investors 

with in-depth information and "top tips" on how to invest wisely, plan for the future, and avoid being 

scammed. By visiting Investor.gov, investors can access information in a user-friendly format that is 

specifically tailored to their needs. The site includes sections specifically for those just getting started 

investing, for those saving for a child's education, and for those planning for retirement. It also has a 

detailed "Seniors Care Package" section for senior citizens and caretakers. 

The Investor.gov site is the latest in a series of social media initiatives undertaken by the SEC. On the 

home page of www.sec.gov, visitors can sign up to receive information and instant e-mail alerts on 

more than 80 topics of interest to investors as well as other market participants. The agency also 

reaches investors online through other social media channels such as Twitter and YouTube. 

The SEC’s cornerstone E-Government initiative is its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval 

(EDGAR) system, which has been active since the late 1980s. Each year, the EDGAR system accepts, 

processes and disseminates to the public more than 700,000 documents from companies and individuals 

that are filed through the system. These filings have been available to the public free of charge on the 

SEC’s public Web site (www.sec.gov) since 1995. These filings include the annual reports of more than 

10,000 reporting companies and over 15,000 Investment management companies. 

Another initiative that underscores the SEC’s commitment to the fundamental goals of the EGovernment Act is the Interactive Data Search initiative, also known as the “Next-Generation EDGAR 

System” (http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm). This system highlights data that 

was sent to the SEC as part of the XBRL interactive data initiative and voluntary filer program that 

started in 2005 (XBRL is a version of XML used for financial reporting.) 

Page 1 of 16 
Section I: Transparency, Engagement, and Innovation

I-A. Major transparency initiatives undertaken in the past year and major transparency initiatives 

planned for the coming year

An initiative that underscores the SEC’s commitment to the fundamental goals of the EGovernment Act is the Interactive Data Search initiative, also known as the “Next-Generation 

EDGAR System” (http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm). This initiative is 

discussed in detail in Section III. 

One initiative in progress is to modernize technology and service offerings targeted at assisting 

the investing public. The SEC plans to use automated complaint tracking tools to identify 

emerging investor concerns and complaint trends to inform rulemaking efforts and the 

development of targeted educational material. 

I-B. Planned use of the Innovations Gallery 

The SEC does not have any innovations to share on the Innovations Gallery at this time. 

I-C. SEC data sets available on data.gov 

The SEC has zero data sets and eight tools on data.gov. The tools can be found on the following 

link – 

http://www.data.gov/catalog/tools/category/0/agency/115/filter//sort//page/1/count/25. 

The tools link to data stored at the SEC site. Descriptions of the tools are provided below: 

• US GAAP RSS Feed of XBRL Financials – This is an hourly update of the most recent 

Interactive Data documents submitted under the "Interactive Data to Improve Financial 

Reporting" rule (Release No. 33-9002) using US GAAP as the base taxonomy. 

• Search the SEC Web site for the latest EDGAR filings – This listing contains the most recent 

filings for the current official filing date (including filings made after the 5:30pm deadline on 

the previous filing day). Filings may be made Monday through Friday (except US Federal 

holidays). 

• Full-Text Search of EDGAR Filing Data on www.sec.gov – This page allows users to search 

EDGAR filings using a full text search tool for all filings made on EDGAR in the last 4 years. 

Page 2 of 16 
• Boolean and Advanced Searching for EDGAR Data on www.sec.gov – This search allows users 

to enter complex Boolean queries to access all but the most recent day's EDGAR filings on 

www.sec.gov. Filings are from 1994 to present. 

• Key Mutual Fund Disclosures – This search retrieves mutual fund prospectuses (also known as 

“485 filings”). 

• Mutual Fund Proxy Voting Records – This search retrieves annual reports of proxy voting 

records (also known as N-PX filings) for mutual funds and other registered investment 

management companies. 

• Search for Mutual Fund Filings – This search retrieves filings made with the SEC from mutual 

funds. 

• Variable Insurance Products – This search retrieves information on Variable Insurance 

products that have been filed with the SEC and reside on www.sec.gov. 

I-D. Posting of spending data on usaspending.gov 

At this time, the SEC does not participate in usaspending.gov. 

I-E. Tools used to advance citizen participation and engagement 

In September 2009, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) hosted 

joint meetings to discuss harmonization of rules and oversight. The meetings solicited views 

from members of the investor community, academics, industry experts and market participants 

on the current regulatory scheme, harmonization of the agencies’ rules, and recommendations 

for changes to statutes and regulations. In October 2009, the agencies issued a joint report 

that includes 20 recommendations to enhance enforcement powers, strengthen market and 

intermediary oversight, and improve operational coordination. 

SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) has developed an extensive collection 

of free information and investment education publications. These resources help investors to 

understand the basics of investing, the risks and rewards of various products and strategies, the 

importance of diversification, and ways to find information about brokers, advisers, and 

companies. Much of this information is posted on the SEC’s “Investor Information” Web page 

(http://www.sec.gov/investor.shtml), a key tool for informing and educating the investing 

public. In addition, OIEA publishes hard-copy educational brochures. The General Services 

Administration’s Federal Citizen Information Center serves as one of the most important 

distribution channels for the SEC’s most popular English and Spanish publications. OIEA staff 

members also attend investor fairs and participate in other outreach activities, as feasible. In 

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order to help educate the largest number of investors, OIEA carefully considers the costs and 

potential reach of its investor education programs. 

The SEC launched its first-ever Web site devoted exclusively to investor education, providing 

investors with in-depth information and "top tips" on how to invest wisely, plan for the future, 

and avoid being scammed. By visiting Investor.gov, investors can access information in a userfriendly format that is specifically tailored to their needs. The site includes sections 

specifically for those just getting started investing, for those saving for a child's education, and 

for those planning for retirement. It also has a detailed "Seniors Care Package" section for 

senior citizens and caretakers. 

Investor.gov also offers a section exclusively in Spanish, targeting the millions of Spanishspeaking investors in the United States. The "En Español" portion presents information about 

what to do if an investor feels that he or she has been a fraud victim, as well as a Spanishlanguage podcast explaining the history and functions of the SEC. 

Investor.gov provides an extensive collection of investor education materials, tools, 

calculators, checklists, as well as valuable investor alerts. 

Investor.gov is the latest in a series of social media initiatives undertaken by the SEC. On the 

home page of the SEC’s public Web site, www.sec.gov, visitors can sign up to receive 

information and instant e-mail alerts on more than 80 topics of interest to investors as well as 

other market participants. The agency also reaches investors online through other social media 

channels such as Twitter and YouTube: 

• Investor Information – www.twitter.com/SEC_Investor_Ed

• News Releases and Alerts – www.twitter.com/SEC_News

• Enforcement Actions – www.twitter.com/SEC_Actions

• Careers at the SEC – www.twitter.com/SEC_Jobs

• You Tube channel – www.YouTube.com/SECViews

I-F. Compliance with OMB Memorandum M-09-19 reporting requirements 

At this time, the SEC does not participate in usaspending.gov. 

Section II: Information & Information Technology Management

II-A. IT Dashboard impact on the SEC’s investment management process 

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At this time, the SEC does not participate in usaspending.gov. 

II-B. Compliance with reporting requirements for the IT Dashboard 

At this time, the SEC does not participate in usaspending.gov. 

II-C. Process for applying CIO Evaluations for major IT investments 

The SEC has an established Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) process, which 

requires that all IT investments follow a defined select, control and evaluate model as 

prescribed by the Clinger-Cohen Act and OMB Circular A-130. All SEC IT investments are subject 

to the policies and procedures required by the SEC’s IT investment select, control, and evaluate 

CPIC model. 

II-D. Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan and EA Transition Plan 

Pursuant to OMB Memorandum M-06-02, “Improving Public Access to and Dissemination of 

Government Information and Using the Federal Enterprise Architecture Data Reference Model,” 

the SEC’s IT Strategic Plan is accessible from the SEC’s Web site – 

http://www.sec.gov/about/secstratplan1015.htm. 

II-E. Integration of Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Capital Planning and Investment Control 

processes and policies 

The SEC’s Information Technology Capital Planning Committee (ITCPC) reviews the alignment of 

IT projects with the SEC's enterprise architecture on an annual basis to ensure they align with 

agency goals. The ability to reduce out-year cost is achieved through the standardization of 

applications with enterprise capabilities. Of the 54 projects that were closed in FY 2009, 47 

further developed current enterprise capabilities with focus on developing five strategic areas: 

• Workflow & Document Management – 13 Projects 

• Information Management and Analysis – 9 Projects 

• Disclosure – 4 Projects 

• IT Infrastructure – 22 Projects 

• Financial System – 1 Project 

II-F. Status and maturity of the SEC’s modernization roadmap (segment architecture) 

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EA services have been mapped to closed projects within the IT project portfolio. This measures 

the alignment of projects to the EA services and how investments have helped support the 

implementation of these services. The EA team constantly updates and refines the SEC EA 

models to ensure their alignment with the Federal model. All projects approved by the Project 

Review Board (PRB) have been reviewed by the Office of Enterprise Architecture. In FY 2009, all 

projects were recommended for approval by the PRB, approved by the Information Officers’ 

Council (IOC) and aligned with the SEC architecture. To ensure further FEA compliance, many 

projects were recommended by the PRB to have a more in-depth technical architecture 

discussion by the Technical Review Board prior to IOC approval. The initial set of metrics will be 

presented to the ITCPC during the Office of Enterprise Architecture’s regular annual report. 

II-G. Investor.gov initiative and management tools used to improve the dissemination of and 

access to SEC information by the public 

To accomplish the SEC’s mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair, honest, and efficient 

markets, and facilitating capital formation, the SEC provides a wide variety of electronic 

information to members of the public. Beginning in the 1980s, the SEC’s EDGAR system made 

corporate and financial information available to investors, the financial community, and other 

interested parties in a matter of seconds after the information was filed. In the mid 1990s, the 

agency decided to proactively disseminate useful and timely information to the public through 

its public Web site by providing a robust search capability. The SEC continues to improve its 

Web site (e.g., full text searching of EDGAR data was introduced in 2007), and is working to 

make this information even more useful to investors through the use of technologies such as 

interactive data. 

The SEC has launched Investor.gov, an investor-focused Web site to help the public invest wisely 

and avoid fraud. In addition, the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy provides a 

variety of services and tools to address the problems and questions for investors via its “Investor 

Information” page on the SEC’s public Web site (http://www.sec.gov/investor.shtml). This 

section of the Web site was upgraded to include document search capability, an enhanced 

section for senior citizens and information for Spanish-speaking investors. 

Investors also have the ability to check the backgrounds of investment advisory firms through the 

SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) system 

(http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/IapdMain/iapd_SiteMap.aspx). The public may 

search for an investment adviser firm on this Web site and view that firm’s Form ADV. 

Page 6 of 16 
Investment advisers file Form ADV to register with the SEC and/or the states. Form ADV contains 

information about an investment adviser and its business operations. Form ADV also contains 

disclosure about certain disciplinary events involving the adviser and its key personnel. 

In addition, the SEC is taking other steps to ensure that information is widely disseminated to 

investors and the public. For example: 

• Interactive Financial Report Viewer – The SEC is providing a new generation of “interactive” 

investor tools available through the SEC’s public Web site – 

http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/xbrl/viewers.shtml. By using the Interactive Financial Report 

Viewer, investors can view and analyze companies’ financials filed in EDGAR using structure 

data, and beginning in early 2011, will be able to view fund companies’ risk/return summary 

disclosures. The software tools are available to the public free of charge. The SEC is also 

encouraging the development of user (investor) analytics tools by requiring that all credit 

ratings agencies report certain credit ratings in structured data format (XBRL), and by 

publishing market research materials such as RFIs and RFPs seeking XBRL analytics 

applications. 

• Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds – The SEC’s public Web site contains several RSS feeds 

that allow the public to obtain information about the SEC, such as administrative 

proceedings, press and litigation releases, speeches and public statements, proposed rules, 

etc. as soon as they are posted. The RSS feeds, made available to the public through 

aggregators, allow individuals to subscribe to the specific RSS feeds of interest to them. 

• “Your Money” Podcast – The SEC has developed an audio podcast 

(http://www.sec.gov/investor/oiea_podcasts.htm) to help individual investors achieve their 

savings and retirement goals using iTunes; Yahoo! Podcasts; and other Web sites and 

software. 

II-H. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

In response to the requirements of Executive Order 13392, “Improving Agency Disclosure of 

Information,” the SEC appointed a Chief FOIA Officer, established a FOIA Public Service Center, 

and designated FOIA Public Liaisons. 

• The SEC’s primary FOIA Web site is located at http://www.sec.gov/foia.shtml. Links to all 

of our FOIA information can be found there. A link to this important information is also 

conveniently located on the home page of the www.sec.gov site. 

• The public can quickly find information regarding how to make a FOIA request at 

http://www.sec.gov/foia/howfo2.htm. 

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• Frequently requested FOIA documents can be found at 

http://www.sec.gov/foia/foiadocs.htm. 

II-I. Section 508 compliance 

The SEC increased Section 508 compliance by implementing the following initiatives: 

• Added a new link titled “Accessibility” to the home page of www.sec.gov that links to the 

SEC’s Disability Program Office (http://www.sec.gov/eeoinfo/sec_access.htm). 

• Posted a greater percentage of accessible PDF documents to www.sec.gov. 

• Provided training information, accessibility tools, checklists and information on the best 

practices of other Federal agencies to SEC staff via our internal intranet. 

• Implemented an enhanced quality control test process for all desktop applications that 

includes accessibility and usability testing conducted using a combination of assistive 

technology and manual testing procedures. 

II-J. Federally funded R&D activities 

The SEC does not fund Federal research and development activities. 

II-K. Formal agency agreements with external entities to improve access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public 

In addition to the SEC’s public Web site (www.sec.gov), the SEC continues to substantially 

enhance the public and private sector’s access to and use of EDGAR data using multiple external 

sources, entities and commercial search engines. The SEC’s privatization of the EDGAR Public 

Dissemination Service (PDS) data feed continues to facilitate the worldwide availability of EDGAR 

data to the public from numerous subscribers. These subscribers, who pay for a real-time feed 

from the SEC, provide value-added data and services to their clients. Many of these subscribers 

also have subscribers of their own, resulting in a worldwide chain reaction in which data is 

disseminated to both large and small data warehouses and value-added facilities. The following 

link provides additional information on the SEC’s privatized PDS feed – 

http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/ednews/dissemin.htm. 

II-L. NARA-approved records schedules and NARA Bulletin 2006-02 implementation status 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 207(e) of the E-Government Act of 2002, “Public Access 

to Electronic Information,” the SEC continues to manage records consistent with the 

Page 8 of 16 
requirements of OMB Circular A-130 and guidance from the National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). 

During FY 2009, the SEC archivist continued to lead the agency’s effort to comply with the 

detailed requirements of NARA Bulletin 2006-02, “NARA Guidance for Implementing Section 

207(e) of the E-Government Act of 2002.” The SEC’s records management plan and approach 

focus on electronic records management. 

Specifically, the SEC’s records management program staff are systematically revising the 

agency’s records schedule and conducting a comprehensive inventory of all records, regardless 

of media, to ensure that the SEC continues to effectively identify and transfer all electronic 

records requiring permanent retention to NARA, as required by, and appropriate for the SEC. 

The SEC has scheduled or submitted for scheduling 12 electronic systems and is initiating 

requirements gathering and conducting system and basic work structure assessments pertaining 

to potential acquisition of an agency-wide electronic records management solution. 

Section III: Implementation of E-Government Initiatives

III-A. E-Government initiative description and affect on agency operations 

The SEC initiative that underscores the SEC’s commitment to the fundamental goals of the EGovernment Act is the Interactive Data Search initiative, also known as the “Next-Generation 

EDGAR System” (http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm). 

 

This online application is an extension of the SEC’s XBRL interactive data initiative and voluntary 

filer program that started in 2005. Each year, the SEC accepts, processes, and disseminates to 

the public more than 700,000 documents from companies and individuals that are filed through 

the agency’s EDGAR system. These filings include the annual reports of more than 10,000 

reporting companies and over 15,000 Investment management companies. The EDGAR system 

processes the company’s electronic submissions to the SEC and permits the SEC staff to analyze 

the submissions. 

 

The SEC has undertaken a voluntary filer program and an XBRL initiative. Starting with fiscal 

periods ending on or after June 15, 2009, the Commission's rules require the largest US and nonUS large accelerated filers that use US GAAP and have $5 billion worldwide public float to file 

their quarterly or annual financial statements in XBRL, which will accompany the traditional 

Page 9 of 16 
HTML/ASCII filing. The requirement will be phased in for all public companies that file certain 

periodic reports with the SEC over a 3-year phase in period. Under the new rules, the SEC has 

received roughly 1,000 XBRL exhibits from 485 registrants. 

The Commission has also issued rules that will require interactive data reporting by nationally 

recognized statistical ratings organizations and mutual fund companies starting in 2011 for their 

risk return information. In addition to the risk/return rule requirements of the mutual fund 

companies, we have also initiated a voluntary filing program for the statement of investments 

for mutual fund companies. 

The SEC is contemplating improvements to its electronic filing program on several fronts: 

• By acquiring data in structured format, it becomes easy to import the data into databases 

that can be monitored and analyzed. The structured data also provides advanced search 

capabilities and the ability to use the information from EDGAR within spreadsheets and 

analytical software. The data can be monitored and analyzed in real-time. Additionally, 

reports can be generated in real time to set up alerts and to further facilitate analytical 

reviews of financial information. As of this report, the SEC has issued an RFP that will result 

in its procurement of workstation tools to assist us in determining solutions that will help the 

agency make better use of structured data. 

• Structured data also increases access to information in the financial marketplace by 

transforming the manner in which individual investors, financial intermediaries, analysts, the 

financial media, and others can access, use, and understand the wealth of financial 

disclosure information filed with the SEC. Structured data will provide more efficient 

answers to the investment community of detail that is important to them. In addition, the 

public can now see essentially the same information that used to be available only to major 

market participants at a great cost. 

• Companies preparing SEC filings in structured data benefit from being able to communicate 

financial information at a reduced cost over time. Structured data should put small and 

large companies on the same playing field by making data easier for all investors to find and 

analyze. 

• In addition, regulators and the SEC benefit from the ability to process information far more 

comprehensively, quickly, and accurately. It will automate much of what had been a manual 

process of review by regulatory staff. Outliers and exceptions will quickly become apparent 

as will trends and repetitive problems. We expect that our internal disclosure reviews for 

regulatory and enforcement purposes also will become more efficient and effective over 

time. 

Page 10 of 16 
Additional information on how the SEC is transforming internal operations and enhancing the 

access to and delivery of financial reporting and disclosure information and services to the public 

are at the following links: 

• XBRL.sec.gov

• 21st Century Disclosure Initiative 

(http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/disclosureinitiative/faq.shtml) 

• www.sec.gov

III-B. Cost savings and cost avoidance achieved through by reducing or eliminating IT investments 

A longstanding goal of the SEC, manifested in its EDGAR program, is the support for third-party 

software tools to package and ship filings to the SEC through EDGAR. The SEC provides technical 

specifications for software vendors to build tools that assist filers in complying with SEC 

regulations. Many third-party tools are in use today by registrants to facilitate filing with the 

SEC. 

The interactive data initiative is intended, in part, to stimulate software development for the 

viewing, dissemination and analysis of tagged data. The SEC has released on its public Web site 

several free software prototypes and the related source code to encourage the marketplace to 

create additional software with more extensive features. The SEC has also issued an RFI 

designed to identify market development of interactive data user analytics tools, and has 

conducted additional market research in conjunction with this RFI. The SEC has also issued an 

RFP to procure one or more of these tools. Finally, the SEC has released the XBRL validation 

errors generated by EDGAR to promote software development that will improve the 

comprehensiveness and accuracy of the data submitted to the SEC, and that will ensure that 

data software developers have consistent rules. 

 

The SEC recognizes that by not competing with the private market and private software 

developers, it will transfer the costs for developing the technology to the commercial sector, 

thereby reducing the need for the SEC to unnecessarily invest in developing software for the 

initiative over the long term. 

 

III-C. Maintaining a dialogue with interested parties to find innovative ways to use information 

technology for the E-Government initiative 

The SEC maintains continuous dialogue with the national and international community in many of 

its endeavors. Our rule writing process includes an open comment period where substantial legal 

Page 11 of 16 
and technology information is exchanged. Many offices within the agency periodically reach out 

to their customers, stakeholders and the public to ensure their voices are heard, which helps the 

SEC make informed decisions. 

At the same time, the SEC has implemented many mechanisms that allow the public to better 

communicate with us. Besides the usual communication paths, the SEC makes many of its e-mail 

addresses and contact information available to the public. The SEC also provides a number of 

different links that the public can use to provide comments on specific topics. These can be 

found on our Web site at www.sec.gov. 

The SEC reaches out to interested parties via other forums as well, such as: 

• Speeches given by its Chairman, its Commissioners and other senior agency staff, 

• Conferences sponsored by SEC, 

• Conferences sponsored by industry groups, 

• Periodic meetings with industry groups, 

• Meetings with standards organizations, 

• Procurement research, 

• Attendance at technology conferences, and 

• Training hosted by the agency. 

The SEC also solicits assistance from the outside through the use of technology roundtables or 

industry specific roundtables, where investors, issuers, auditors, analysts, regulators, technology 

professionals and others convene to discuss pertinent topics. 

III-D. Performance measures supporting agency objectives and strategic goals 

One of the SEC’s strategic goals is to “facilitate access to the information investors need to make 

informed investment decisions.” Two outcomes of this goal are anticipated: 

1. Investors have access to high-quality disclosure materials that are useful to investment 

decision making. Specific initiatives planned to support this outcome include: 

• Revise disclosure and reporting requirements to reflect the informational needs of 

today’s investors; 

• Evaluate filing review programs for the most effective disclosures to investors; and 

• Design and implement new disclosure regimes for specialized categories of issuers. 

Page 12 of 16 
2. Agency rulemaking and investor education programs are informed by an understanding of 

the wide range of investor needs. Specific initiatives planned to support this outcome 

include: 

• Inform rulemaking with research on investor behavior; 

• Reshape how agency information is made available to investors; 

• Address Investor Advisory Committee input; 

• Modernize technology and service offerings targeted at assisting the investing public; 

and 

• Expand collaborative partnerships. 

Additional information is available in the SEC Strategic Plan 

(http://www.sec.gov/about/secstratplan1015.pdf). 

III-E. Availability of government information and services for those without access to the Internet 

and for those with disabilities 

The SEC is committed to providing agency information and services to all citizens, including 

those without access to the Internet. Members of the public can obtain copies of filings by 

visiting the SEC Public Reference Room (located in the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters) 

in person, or by submitting a request in writing via postal mail, fax, or e-mail to the Office of 

Investor Education and Advocacy. The SEC is also equipped with a TTY machine to receive 

inquiries from the hearing impaired. In addition, the SEC provides information to the disabled by 

interactive Web podcasts and RSS Feeds available via the following hyperlinks so that 

information about these important SEC initiatives is available in many different formats: 

• Interactive Data Podcasts – http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/xbrl/idatapodcasts.shtml

• SEC Webcasts (Other Than Open Meetings) – http://www.sec.gov/news/otherwebcasts.shtml

III-F. External partners who collaborate on the initiative 

The SEC maintains continuous dialogue with the national and international community in many of 

its endeavors. Our rule writing process includes an open comment period where substantial legal 

and technology information is exchanged. Many offices within the agency periodically reach out 

to their customers, stakeholders and the public to ensure their voices are heard, which helps the 

SEC make informed decisions. At the same time, the SEC has implemented many mechanisms for 

the public to communicate with the SEC. 

Page 13 of 16 
The interactive data initiative is intended, in part, to stimulate collaborative software 

development for the viewing, dissemination and analysis of tagged data. To this end, the SEC 

has released on its public Web site several free software prototypes, the related source code to 

encourage the marketplace to create additional software with more extensive features, and the 

XBRL validation errors generated by EDGAR. The SEC has also issued: 

• An RFI designed to identify market development of interactive data user analytics tools, and 

has conducted additional market research in conjunction with this RFI; and 

• An RFP to procure one or more of these tools. 

The SEC’s privatization of the EDGAR Public Dissemination Service (PDS) data feed continues to 

facilitate worldwide availability of EDGAR data to the public from numerous subscribers. 

 

III-G. Application of effective capital planning and investment control procedures 

The SEC has an established Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) process, which 

requires that all IT investments follow a defined select, control and evaluate model as 

prescribed by the Clinger-Cohen Act and OMB Circular A-130. As with all SEC IT investments, the 

Interactive Data Search Application Initiative is subject to the policies and procedures required 

by the SEC’s IT investment select, control, and evaluate CPIC model. 

III-H. Process for identification of initiatives 

The SEC leverages information and the insights gained via the vast number of forums and internal 

business processes discussed throughout this report, to further identify opportunities for SECspecific E-Government initiatives.

III-I. Cost savings and cost avoidance achieved through implementation of new IT programs 

The SEC has an established Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) process, which 

requires that all IT investments follow a defined select, control and evaluate model as 

prescribed by the Clinger-Cohen Act and OMB Circular A-130. The business focus of new IT 

projects has been to improve business processes, analytical capabilities and disclosure of public 

information in support of the agency’s mission. 

III-J. Efforts to reduce the number of Federal data centers 

The SEC is not currently taking actions to consolidate data centers. 

Page 14 of 16 
Page 15 of 16 

III-K. SEC’s telework program and use of Web 2.0 tools 

Expanding telework is a priority at the SEC and, as a result, a steadily increasing number of 

employees are utilizing this workplace flexibility on a regular and recurring basis. It is critical 

that SEC employees are informed of telework options and that supervisors have the tools to 

effectively manage remote workers. A teleworker regularly performs officially assigned duties at 

home or at other work sites geographically convenient to the residence of the worker. 

All SEC employees are eligible to request the following types of telework: 

• Ad Hoc – Telework on an occasional or situational basis, to work on a specific assignment or 

project on a short-term basis. Ad hoc telework arrangements may be for 1-3 days. 

• Recurring – Telework on a regular, scheduled basis from home or another approved 

alternative work site. Recurring telework may be tied to particular phases in the work 

process that lend themselves to telework on regular intervals. A recurring telework 

arrangement may be approved for up to a maximum of two days a week. 

• Work-at-Home as a Temporary Medical Accommodation – A temporary accommodation helps 

to maintain a productive work arrangement in situations where employees would otherwise 

be on approved medical leave for an extended period of time. This option may also be used 

to care for a family member in a medical situation such as those that qualify under the 

Family and Medical Leave Act. The maximum length of time per authorization is 160 hours. 

The SEC’s Office of Information Technology has a remote access program that provides a secure 

environment for employees to access IT network resources remotely. This program also supports 

the agency’s telework program by providing employees with multiple remote access methods 

that allow them to work from their homes or from other locations, such as hotels, and to use 

public computers with Internet access. In addition to normal teleworking, remote access allows 

SEC staff to conduct business in the event of an emergency or when travel to the office may be 

unsafe due to inclement weather. Remote access methods include Virtual Private Network 

(VPN), Citrix software, Outlook Web Access (OWA), the G/on remote desktop solution and 

BlackBerry devices. As of December 2009, out of 3,697 SEC employees: 

• 2,694 have been issued RSA SecurID® tokens to access Citrix and/or Outlook Web Access, 

• 1,660 have VPN capability, 

• 1,229 employees have G/On remote desktop capability, and 

• 1,343 have BlackBerry devices. 

At this time, the SEC has not deployed Web 2.0 tools.