Many hedge fund managers made their first AIFMD Annex IV filing in January 2015.  The process involved, among other things, construing and applying authority, collecting and organizing relevant data, drafting and revising the form, interacting with regulators, filing in multiple jurisdictions and correcting errors.  The process generated questions – many of them – ranging from the arcane to the mundane.  At a high level, managers wondered (and still wonder) how regulators will use Annex IV data.  Will they, for example, use the data to target manager examinations or as ammunition in enforcement actions?  At a more practical level, managers contended with missing national codes, non-working log-ins and validation errors.  Somewhere in the middle of the policy-to-particulars spectrum were a series of unique data calculation questions, for example, on how to calculate leverage and link cash borrowings to investments.  In short, in the world of AIFMD, January 2015 was a “teachable moment.”  Recognizing as much, the Hedge Fund Law Report and Advise Technologies, LLC sponsored a panel discussion yesterday that memorialized the more important lessons from January 2015 Annex IV filings.  The program featured representatives of three disciplines: Simon Whiteside, a partner at Simmons & Simmons LLP, on regulators and reporting obligations; Stefanie Kirchheimer, a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, on data, calculations and interpretations; and Jeanette Turner, Managing Director and General Counsel at Advise Technologies, LLC, on filing logistics and technical issues.  HFLR Publisher Mike Pereira moderated.  This article – the first in a two-part series – summarizes the key insights from the panel with respect to reporting obligations, data, calculations and interpretations.  The second article in this series will address filing logistics, technical issues and clarifications from regulators.  See also “HFLR-Advise Technologies Panel Explores AIFMD Marketing and Annex IV Reporting Requirements,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Jan. 15, 2015); “Key Pain Points in AIFMD Annex IV Reporting and Proven Strategies for Surmounting Them,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 7, No. 44 (Nov. 20, 2014).