Simplify Your SEC Form 20-F Filings with IRIS CARBON®.

SEC Form 20‑F is an annual disclosure report that foreign private issuers must file to meet U.S. regulatory requirements for companies listed on American exchanges. It includes audited financial statements, governance disclosures, and risk factors. Filing accurately and on time ensures continued market access.

Foreign private issuers must file their Form 20‑F within four months of the end of their fiscal year. If you miss this deadline, you risk losing access to U.S. capital markets, as highlighted in the filing landscape section. First‑time filers often have even tighter deadlines — sometimes just 90 days after their registration becomes effective.

20‑F filings are complex because they require:

• Reconciliation from IFRS or local GAAP to U.S. GAAP
• Collaboration across multiple international teams and time zones
• Fast turnaround (90–120 days)
• Strict compliance with SEC disclosure expectations
• High risk of audit findings due to inconsistent or disconnected data sources

These pain points are documented throughout the filing landscape and pitfalls sections.

Late, incomplete, or inaccurate filings may result in:

• SEC penalties and comment letters
• Increased regulatory scrutiny
• Loss of investor confidence
• Suspension from U.S. exchanges

In 2024 alone, the SEC imposed $8.2B in penalties related to failures in disclosure.

IRIS CARBON® brings authoring, collaboration, version control, tagging, validation, and approvals into one controlled platform. This eliminates manual work, reduces risk, and allows teams to work simultaneously without version conflicts—all described in the collaboration, single‑source‑of‑truth, and workflow sections.

Yes. IRIS CARBON® supports IFRS and U.S. GAAP taxonomies, with inline iXBRL tagging that updates automatically as values change. This ensures filings remain compliant and accurate—even during late‑stage updates.

IRIS CARBON® provides:

• AI‑powered iXBRL tagging
• Automatic tag updates when numbers or tables change
• Year‑over‑year roll‑forward tagging
• SEC validation checks
• True pre‑submission previews

These capabilities are highlighted in the iXBRL and validation sections.

Yes. This is one of the platform’s biggest strengths. All numeric data is linked across the document, so changes made anywhere automatically reflect everywhere. Tags update too, minimizing rework and reducing submission risk.

Absolutely. IRIS CARBON® includes:

• Full audit trails
• Timestamped actions
• Change logs
• Review and approval history
• Role‑based access controls

These features allow teams and auditors to verify exactly who changed what and when.

Implementation is fast—often in weeks, not months—with minimal IT involvement. The platform is purpose‑built for regulatory reporting teams, allowing first‑time filers and repeat filers to get onboarded quickly.

First‑time filers face the shortest timelines and highest scrutiny. IRIS CARBON® helps by:

• Providing guided workflows
• Structuring sections for compliance
• Automating tagging
• Offering expert support during critical weeks

This is reinforced in the “90‑day nightmare” and onboarding sections.

Yes. By ensuring structured data, consistent numbers, clean tagging, and accurate disclosures—combined with automated validations—IRIS CARBON® greatly reduces the types of errors that trigger SEC comments or investigations.

Key differentiators include:

• True single‑source‑of‑truth architecture
• Real‑time validations and tagging updates
• Controlled global collaboration
• Strong governance and audit trails
• Proven experience with thousands of regulatory filings across countries

Supported by the capabilities outlined across the platform features section

Foreign private issuers often prepare their financials under IFRS, but the SEC still expects clarity on how these numbers compare with U.S. GAAP concepts, especially in areas like revenue recognition, measurement, and footnote disclosures. These differences can affect MD&A, narrative alignment, and iXBRL tagging — and overlooking them increases the risk of SEC queries. Read the detailed blog here: IFRS vs US GAAP: How FPIs Can Overcome Accounting Differences to Streamline SEC 20-F Reporting

Yes. Different industries face unique disclosure challenges when preparing Form 20‑F. For example, pharmaceutical companies must present highly regulated information such as clinical trial progress, R&D pipelines, manufacturing risks, safety profiles, and global regulatory interactions — all with enhanced transparency. These nuances make industry‑specific compliance crucial to reducing SEC scrutiny. Read the detailed blog here: Pharma Industry 20-F Disclosures: Navigating Clinical Trial Data and Risk Factors

Foreign private issuers must ensure accurate financial disclosures, timely narrative updates, consistent data across sections, properly applied iXBRL tagging, and complete governance and risk reporting. Managing global teams, multiple accounting standards, and tight timelines makes a controlled process essential for maintaining SEC compliance. Read the detailed blog here: Why October-November is the Crucial Time to Start Your 20-F Filing Preparation