Via e-mail: 

Sarah Siddiqui 

SSiddiqui@omb.eop.gov 

Karen Evans 

Administrator, Office of E-Government and Information Technology 

Office of Management and Budget 

Washington, DC 20503 

Ms. Evans: 

As required in OMB memorandum dated September 2, 2008, subject “FY 2008 EGovernment Act Reporting Instructions,” attached is the U.S. Securities and Exchange 

Commission’s FY 2008 Annual E-Government Act Report. 

Should you have any questions, or require additional information, please contact Daniel 

F. Lisewski at Lisewskid@sec.gov , or at (202) 551-8138. 

Sincerely, 

/original signed by/ 

Lewis W. Walker 

Chief Information Officer (Acting) 

Office of Information Technology 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 

Attachment: 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission FY 2008 E-Government Act Report 
Attachment 

FY 2008 E-Government Act Report for the 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 

Section 1 – Implementation of Electronic Government Initiatives 

Interactive Data Electronic Application (IDEA) 

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. One SEC initiative that underscores the SEC’s 

commitment to the fundamental goals of the E-Government Act is the Interactive Data 

Electronic Application (IDEA) initiative. IDEA is an extension of the SEC’s XBRL 

Interactive Data Initiative and voluntary filer program, started in 2005. 

A.	 How the Initiative is Transforming Agency Operations. 

The SEC’s Interactive Data Electronic Application (IDEA) initiative is transforming 

the SEC’s operations on several fronts. For example, the initiative will increase 

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. By providing a fast and easy way to extract, analyze, and 

compare financial information, the initiative has the potential to create a much better 

informed investor base. In addition, analysts and the financial media will benefit 

through more efficient search and more enhanced comparison capabilities. 

Also, companies preparing financial reports in XBRL will benefit from being able to 

communicate their financial results more effectively, and at a reduced cost. 

Regulators and the SEC will benefit from the ability to process information far more 

comprehensively, quickly, and accurately. We expect that our internal disclosure 

reviews for regulatory and enforcement purposes also will become more efficient and 

effective over time. 

Additional information on how IDEA 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: 

Interactive Data Electronic Applications (IDEA) 

21st Century Disclosure Initiative 

B.	 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 on IDEA (previously the XBRL Interactive Data Initiative). The links 

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Attachment 

below exemplify how the SEC maintains a dialogue with interested parties and fosters 

innovative ways to use technology, as part of the IDEA E-Government Initiative: 

Interactive Data and XBRL Meetings 

XBRL and Interactive Data Podcasts 

21st Century Disclosure Roundtable 

C. Collaborating with External Partners on the Initiative. 

The SEC uses a variety of forums and other methods as illustrated above, to 

collaborate and communicate with its public partners who are involved in the IDEA 

Initiative. For example, the SEC conducts interactive data roundtables comprised of 

investors, issuers, auditors, analysts, technology professionals, regulators, and others. 

The roundtables serve as a forum to discuss interactive data initiatives that can benefit 

investors. The roundtables also provide the SEC the opportunity to learn from 

companies, investors, and other users of financial information how the SEC can 

improve its disclosure program. In addition, the SEC: 

•	 Makes routine public statements and speeches regarding the initiative and its 

significance to the financial community. 

•	 Issues routine press releases regarding the initiative. 

•	 Sponsors a voluntary interactive data test group. 

Additional information and more details on how the SEC collaborates with external 

partners on the initiative are at Spotlight on XBRL and Interactive Data. 

D. Improving Program Performance in Achieving Agency Objectives and Strategic 

Goals. 

An essential IT strategic objective of the SEC is to improve the effectiveness of 

agency programs and processes. IDEA supports Initiative 1C - Electronic Disclosure. 

Specific goals of the strategic objective are to: 

•	 Improve the way the SEC collects information from registrants, internally 

processes and reviews the information, and enables the public to use the 

information for investment and educational purposes. 

•	 Improve the usability of the information filed with the SEC (for example, by 

converting more of it to interactive data formats). 

•	 Improve the ability for internal and external users to access and analyze the 

data. 

2
 
Attachment 

IDEA will make disclosures more useful to investors, and will enable the public to 

quickly find and sort through vast amounts of SEC-mandated disclosure information 

and data, which is not possible with today’s technology. In addition, companies 

participating in our XBRL pilot program have told us that the substantial benefits of 

implementing XBRL will exceed the minimal costs to implement it. In addition to 

providing information that is far more useful to investors, the SEC believes that the 

use of interactive data will make companies’ internal processes more efficient, saving 

investors’ dollars for the costs of registration and compliance reporting to the SEC. 

In turn, the use of interactive data will make the SEC’s internal disclosure reviews 

more effective and productive over time. 

E. Achieving Cost Savings and Avoidances by Reducing or Eliminating IT 

Investments 

IDEA is intended, in part, to stimulate software development for the viewing and 

analysis of tagged data. The SEC has released on its public website several free 

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

create additional software with more extensive features. 

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. 

In addition, it is widely recognized that the XBRL Interactive Data Initiative, the 

predecessor to IDEA, has served as a driver to help modernize the government’s 

processes for compliance reporting, which in turn will make the process for 

registration and compliance reporting to the SEC more efficient, less costly to 

investors’ and taxpayers. The SEC also expects that the initiative will generate 

internal efficiencies and make the SEC’s disclosure and compliance reviews more 

effective and productive. 

F. Availability of SEC Information and Services for all Citizens. 

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 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 pod casts and RSS Feeds, at the following links, 

Interactive Data Pod Casts, and Live and Archived Captioned Webcasts so that 

information about these important SEC initiatives is available in many different 

formats. 

G. Capital Planning and Investment Control Procedures. 

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Attachment 

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 IDEA Initiative is subject to the policies and procedures 

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

H. Established Business Processes for Identifying Initiatives 

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

and internal business processes discussed in Section 1 A thru Section 1 G above, to 

further identify opportunities for SEC-specific E-Government initiatives. 

Section 2 – Agency Information Management Activities 

A. Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic 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 website: http://www.sec.gov/about/secitstratplan2007-12.pdf 

B. Public Access to Electronic Information 

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 Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system 

(EDGAR) made corporate and financial information available to investors, the 

financial community, and other interested parties in a matter of minutes after the 

information was filed. Since that time, the Commission has proactively disseminated 

useful and timely information to the public through the SEC website and through 

other mechanisms. As mentioned above, the SEC is working to make this 

information even more useful to investors through the use of interactive data 

technology. 

Since the September 2004 requirement for identifying, prioritizing, and scheduling 

the publication of information to the public via the Internet, the SEC has continued to 

publish an inventory of Commission information on the SEC’s website, including the 

priorities and schedules for making the information available and accessible. 

Determining the availability of SEC information 

The SEC prioritizes information and makes it available based upon how timesensitive it is. The SEC uses the following criteria to determine how quickly to post 

information to the SEC website: 

4
 
Type of Document 

News & Public Statements 

Priority Level 

News Digest 

Press Releases 

1
 

1
 

Speeches and Public Statements 

Congressional Testimony 

Webcasts 

3
 

3
 

1
 

Special Studies 

SEC Strategic Plan 

SEC Conference Materials 

4
 

1
 

4
 

Regulatory and Rulemaking Matters 

Proposed Rules 

Final Rules 

2 

2 

Concept Releases 

Interpretive Releases 

Policy Statements 

PCAOB Rulemaking 

Commission Orders, Notices, and Information 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2
 

Self-Regulatory Organization Rulemaking 

Public Comment Letters 

3 

3
 

Investment Advisers Act Notices and Orders 3
 

Investment Company Act Notices and Orders 3
 

Attachment 

 Urgent and time-sensitive information is Priority 1 and is typically posted within 

minutes of receipt; 

 Time-sensitive information is Priority 2 and is typically posted within an hour of 

receipt; 

 Information frequently requested by the public is Priority 3 and typically is 

posted the same day it is received; 

 Other information that may be useful is Priority 4 and typically is posted within 

24 hours of receipt. 

To ensure that users of the site do not overlook newly posted material, a “What’s 

New” page on the SEC website highlights new information. The SEC updates the 

page daily. Additionally, the SEC has developed RSS (Really Simple Syndication) 

feeds on the public website (http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/ednews/xbrlrss.htm) 

for several of the most popular and frequent information types, including EDGAR 

Filings, Press Releases, Administrative Proceedings, Litigation Releases, and News 

Digests. RSS is a simple system based on XML (eXtensible Markup Language) that 

notifies and delivers desired information to users. With RSS, users can immediately 

get updates to information that the SEC makes public. 

Priorities and schedules for information availability 

The table below includes categories of information representative of the SEC’s 

website content, and the publication priorities assigned to the categories. This 

information is available to the public on the SEC’s website: 

http://www.sec.gov/about/inventory.shtml. 

5
 
Type of Document 

Investment Company Act Deregistration Notices and Orders 

Exchange Act Exemptive Applications 

Exemptive Orders 

Public Petitions for Rulemaking 

SEC Rules of Practice 

Priority Level 

3 

4 

4 

4 

4 

Staff Interpretations 

Staff Accounting Bulletins 

Staff Legal Bulletins 

Staff No Action, Interpretive and Exemptive Letters 

Frequently Asked Questions and Staff Guidance 

3 

3 

3 

4 

Litigation 

Litigation Releases - Federal Court Actions 

Administrative Proceedings - Notices & Settlements 

Administrative Law Judge Initial Decisions & Orders 

Reports of Investigations 

Commission Opinions & Orders 

Trading Suspensions 

Appellate Briefs 

Amicus Briefs 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

1 

3 

3 

Disgorgement Plans 3 

EDGAR 

Filings 

EDGAR News 

1 

2 

EDGAR Filer Manual 2 

EDGAR Filer Guidance 2 

Investor Information 

Questions: Get Fast Answers 2 

Online Publications 2 

SEC en Español 

Mutual Fund Fee Calculators 

2 

2 

Check Out Brokers and Advisors 2 

File a Tip or Complaint 

Investors Claims Funds 

2 

2 

Investor Education Links 2 

Additional Matters 

Job Listings 

Government Performance and Results Act Reports 

Annual FAIR Act Inventories 

4 

4 

4 

FOIA Program 

Privacy Policy 

No FEAR Act 

4 

4 

4 

No FEAR Act EEO Data 4 

Whistleblower Protection Act Information 4 

Antidiscrimination Law Information 4 

Complaints of Employment Discrimination 

Data Quality Guidelines 

4 

4 

Attachment 

6
 
Type of Document Priority Level 

Organizational Structure 4 

SEC Mission and Statutory Authority 4 

SEC Annual Reports 4 

FAIR Act Inventory 4 

Buy American Act Report 4 

Budget Report 4 

E-Government Act Implementation Updates 4 

Small Business Information 4 

Site Map 4 

Attachment 

C. 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 Commission’s primary FOIA website 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. 

	 Frequently requested FOIA documents can be found at 

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

D.	 Federally Funded Research and Development (R&D) Activities. 

The SEC does not fund Federal research and development (R&D) activities. 

E.	 Formal agency agreements with external entities to improve access to and 

dissemination of information to the public. 

In addition to the SEC’s public website www.sec.gov, the SEC continues to 

substantially enhance the public and private sector’s access to and use of Electronic 

Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (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 wide 

availability of EDGAR data to the public from numerous non-governmental entities 

and subscribers, which include EDGAR Online; Yahoo!; and Thomson Financial, to 

name a few. Presently, hundreds of thousands of citizens obtain data derived from 

filings to the EDGAR system on a regular and timely basis from private sector 

information providers who receive primary or secondary access to the SEC’s EDGAR 

data feed. The following link http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/ednews/dissemin.htm 

provides additional information on the SEC’s privatized PDS feed, and the various 

subscribers who access the feed. 

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Attachment 

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 website, 

http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/xbrl/xbrlwebapp.htm. By using the Interactive 

Financial Report Viewer, investors can view and analyze companies’ financials 

filed in EDGAR using XBRL. The software tools are available to the public free 

of charge. 

	 Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds: www.sec.gov contains several RSS 

feeds that allow the public to obtain information about SEC releases 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 to help 

individual investors achieve their savings and retirement goals using iTunes; 

Yahoo! Podcasts; and other websites and software. 

F.	 Priorities and schedules for information availability 

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 requirements of OMB Circular A-130 and guidance from the 

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). 

During FY 2008, the SEC archivist continues to lead the Commission’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 Commission’s records management program staff are systematically 

revising the Commission’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. 

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