About 500 of the biggest US companies would be required to file their financial statements using a new interactive technology starting early next year under proposed plans by US regulators to deliver information to investors faster.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday voted in favour of a proposed three-year plan that would make it mandatory for companies to disclose publicly their financial information using electronic “tags” that identify individual items on financial statements – as bar codes identify groceries – so they can be easily searched on the internet, downloaded into spreadsheets and reorganised in databases.