Consortium also releases second draft of the US GAAP Taxonomies
Washington, DC – XBRL US, the nonprofit consortium for XML business reporting standards in the US marketplace announced today that Alfred R. Berkeley, Chairman, Pipeline Financial Systems LLC, will lead its Board of Directors in 2008. Prior to joining Pipeline Financial Trading, Mr. Berkeley was President and then Vice Chair of The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. and brings 30 years of experience in the financial services industry doing securities analysis and investment banking. Mr. Berkeley also served on the XBRL US interim board in 2007.
“Al’s expertise in the financial markets will be a significant factor in helping to move XBRL adoption forward”, said Barry Melancon, President and CEO, AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), “The consortium is poised to complete the XBRL US GAAP Taxonomies now in public review and will continue to focus on the capital markets and building support for public company use of XBRL.” Mr. Melancon served as Chairman of the XBRL US Board in 2007 and will serve as Vice Chair of the XBRL US Board this year.
Philip Moyer, President and CEO, EDGAR Online, stated, “EDGAR Online has been an XBRL US member since its inception in 1999, and has seen the organization evolve and mature significantly over these past 8 years. Al brings deep acumen, great vision, and a stellar reputation to this role. Al’s background and his leadership in this new role underscores the importance that XBRL US is now placing on helping XBRL in moving out of the lab and into desktops and trading models of the investment community”.
XBRL US also announced that it has issued a second draft release of the XBRL US taxonomies for US GAAP and common reporting practices, which were developed under a contract with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The XBRL US GAAP Taxonomies were first published for public review on December 5, 2007 and this second release incorporates comments received through January 18, 2008. A second draft of the Preparers Guide incorporating comments received through January 21, 2008, has also been posted and one more working draft of the Guide will be posted during the last month of the public review. The taxonomies and Preparers Guide are currently available for ongoing public comment at http://usgaap.xbrl.us.
“During the past year, XBRL US focused on development of the US GAAP Taxonomies to ensure the best possible product”, said Al Berkeley, “In 2008, we’ll continue working to improve the taxonomies by bringing in more technical expertise and we’ll engage a broader spectrum of market participants to set the stage for faster adoption of the standard. I am pleased to be named Chair at such a critical time in the development of XBRL in the public company marketplace.”
About XBRL
XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) is a royalty-free, open specification for software that uses XML data tags to describe financial information for public and private companies and other organizations. XBRL benefits all members of the financial information supply chain by utilizing a standards-based method with which users can prepare, publish in a variety of formats, exchange and analyze financial statements and the information they contain. XBRL International is a non-profit consortium of approximately 500 organizations worldwide working together to build the XBRL language and promote and support its adoption. XBRL International is responsible for the technical XBRL specification and each country-specific jurisdiction works to facilitate the development and adoption of local XBRL taxonomies, or dictionaries, consistent with accounting, regulatory, and market standards and practices.
About XBRL US
XBRL US is the non-profit consortium for XML business reporting standards in the United States and is a jurisdiction of XBRL International. It represents the business information supply chain, including accounting firms, software companies, financial databases, financial printers and government agencies. Its mission is to support the implementation of XML business reporting standards through the development of taxonomies relevant for use by US public and private sectors, working with a goal of interoperability between sectors, and by promoting adoption of these taxonomies through the collaboration of all business reporting supply chain participants. XBRL US has developed taxonomies to support U.S. GAAP and common reporting practices under a contract with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The XBRL US GAAP Taxonomies are available for public comment at http://usgaap.xbrl.us.
