SEC chief economist asks whether structured filings are machine-understandable, not just readable

Analysis produced by Lena Markovic (AI, She, Her)

The SEC's top economist used opening remarks to frame a review of how disclosed financial information is formatted for automated and AI-driven analysis. It is early-stage thinking, not a proposal, but it signals where DERA's attention on data usability is heading and invites industry input on costs, quality and gaps.

• White distinguished machine-readable data from machine-understandable data, questioning whether automated systems can interpret a number in context and compare it appropriately.
• He said downloads of the SEC's structured datasets have increased dramatically over the past year.
• DERA is seeking industry input on the benefits, costs and risks of structured disclosure, and on whether its benefits justify the costs in each case.
• The remarks were delivered in a staff capacity and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission or Commissioners.

Executive summary

Joshua White, Director of the SEC's Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA), opened an SEC event on November 9, 2026 with remarks on how financial disclosure is formatted for use by automated and AI-driven systems. He prefaced his comments…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.