ESEF tools: how to choose the right one
⏲ Read time: 4 minutes
Companies and institutions with securities listed on a regulated market must submit their annual report in ESEF format, and most use a dedicated tool or a service provider to do so. Here we explain what is required, the different ways to handle it, and the errors to look out for, whichever approach you choose.
What is ESEF?
ESEF is the EU requirement for annual reports to be machine-readable. The report is submitted as a web file in which the figures are marked with codes, known as tags. A tag states what a figure represents, for example that a certain amount is the group’s net sales for 2026. This is called tagging the report.
The requirement applies to companies and institutions with securities on a regulated market, such as Nasdaq Stockholm’s main market. Those that prepare consolidated financial statements under IFRS must tag their figures. Listed companies that are not groups only need to submit their annual report in XHTML format, without tags. Companies on First North are not covered by ESEF. The requirement applies only to the annual report, not to interim reports.
Every figure in the group’s income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and statement of changes in equity must be tagged individually. The notes are tagged as complete blocks of text. The tagged file is reviewed and approved by the auditor and then uploaded to Finansinspektionen, the Swedish financial supervisory authority. That file counts as the official annual report.
What is new for the 2026 annual report?
Starting with the 2026 annual report, which will be published in spring 2027, companies must use a new version of the ESEF list of tags. It also includes tags for the new accounting standard IFRS 18.
The requirement to also tag the sustainability report has been put on hold. The EU is working on new rules, but no date has been set.
Three ways to handle the tagging
The most common approach is to tag afterwards. The finished report, often a PDF, is uploaded to an ESEF tool where the figures are tagged. This suits companies that want to keep producing the report the way they do today, and tagging from previous years can be carried over and adapted to the latest rules. The drawback is that late changes require the changed content to be retagged and reviewed again by the auditor.
Another approach is to tag while the report is being written, in the same program. Tags from previous years can then be imported and changed or added to when the accounting or the regulations change. However, this requires knowledge of both accounting and the ESEF regulations among those working on the report.
The third approach is to have a service provider tag the report for you. This suits companies that lack the time or expertise in-house, but the responsibility for getting it right remains yours.
Many companies have an expert tag the first year’s ESEF version and then take over responsibility themselves, with expert support if needed.
The errors supervisors find
The Swedish Financial Reporting Supervision Council (Nämnden för svensk redovisningstillsyn) reviews companies’ ESEF reports. In 2024–2026 it identified deficiencies in how the notes were tagged in seven cases, and the errors follow a clear pattern.
Notes without tags
The most common error is that a note has not been tagged at all, even though the content is in the annual report. This often concerns the note on financial risks and the note on events after the balance sheet date. In a 2026 decision, a company had tagged its risk note but left out the tables with sensitivity analyses. The Council considered the missing information material and urged the company to tag all mandatory disclosures the following year.
Wrong tag or partly tagged
Another common error is that a note has been given a tag that does not match its content. It also happens that the right tag is used, but only on part of the text it applies to. Untagged headings and note numbers have also been raised in the reviews.
Plus and minus errors
Among incorrectly tagged figures, wrong plus or minus signs dominate. If a cost is tagged as positive instead of negative, a calculated key figure can end up completely wrong. FAR describes an example where such an error made free cash flow appear 1.8 billion euros higher than it actually was.
Other errors include totals that are not linked to their components, which is most common in the statement of changes in equity, zeros and footnotes that have not been tagged, tags that are too general when a more precise one exists, and companies creating their own tags when a standard tag would have worked just as well.
A technically approved file is not enough
All the reports that received remarks from the Council had technically approved files but errors in how the content was tagged. For this reason, it is important that the tagging is reviewed by an accounting and ESEF expert before the auditor’s review.
Timeline
Choose your tool or service provider in the autumn, ideally after the half-year report. In November or December, you can do a trial tagging of last year’s figures and agree with the auditor on how the review will be carried out.
In January and February, the report is tagged as it is being finalised. Try to lock the notes early. Allow time for at least one extra check after the final change, before the auditor’s review and submission.
Frequently asked questions
Do companies on First North have to report in ESEF?
No. The requirement applies to companies on a regulated market, and First North does not count as one.
Do interim reports need to be tagged?
No. The requirement only applies to the annual report.
Does the sustainability report have to be tagged for 2026?
No. That requirement has been put on hold.
Is it enough that the file is technically approved?
No. The supervisors also check that the right things have been tagged in the right way.
Can we switch tools from one year to the next?
Yes. Start in good time and ask how last year’s tags can be transferred.
