the questionnaire asks for a short explanation next to the answer can that also be automatic

Generating an explanation is possible, provided the file covers the answer

Yes, that can be done automatically, with a caveat: the system compiles the explanation from the source text already in the chain file, not from a newly written narrative. For a yes/no answer about ISO 27001, for example, the system extracts the scope and validity date of the certificate from the file and puts those in a running sentence. For a question about the ten measures of Article 21(2) of the NIS2 Directive, the explanation can refer per measure to the policy document attached as evidence. This works well as long as the underlying fact has a source: a certificate number, a policy clause, a policy document.

The problem arises as soon as the explanation asks for something that is not stored as separate data in the file, such as an assessment of "why" something is arranged that way, or a comparison with the previous year. The system does not generate text in that case, because that would be an interpretation not based on a source. The client then receives an empty explanation field with a request to add it themselves, or the system shows which underlying data is known — for example the establishment address of the company or the countries in which the company operates — so that the entrepreneur can add the remaining sentence themselves. The confirmation also remains per answer here: the entrepreneur sees which text has been proposed and which fact underlies it, and marks yes or no before it goes to the client's portal.

Difference between a fact and a required explanation

This distinction between a source-based fact and a free explanation follows from how both EFRAG VSME and the ten measures of Article 21(2) of the NIS2 Directive are structured: both ask per indicator or measure for a status, and treat the explanation as supplementary, not as a required basic data point. Supplia's chain file therefore registers the underlying fact — with source and date — and the explanation is a derived text from it. A list asking about liability insurance can illustrate this: whether the enterprise holds a general liability insurance policy is a yes/no fact with a policy number as source, and the explanation is nothing more than those details in a sentence.