Stage is set for widespread use of XBRL for public company reporting
XBRL US, Inc., the nonprofit consortium for XML business reporting standards, has completed the collections of financial and business terms (taxonomies) for US GAAP requirements and common reporting practices in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) format and the accompanying Preparers Guide. XBRL US developed the taxonomies and Preparers Guide along with supporting documentation under a contract with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and delivered all materials to the SEC this week.
The first draft of the taxonomies was completed on September 24, 2007, followed by a period of internal testing and review. On December 5, 2007, XBRL US made the taxonomies available for public review and comment. Over 900 comments were received during the public review; all comments have been evaluated and incorporated into the taxonomies and Preparers Guide, as appropriate.
The SEC announced that they will hold an open meeting on May 14, 2008 to discuss a rule proposal requiring the use of XBRL for public company reporting. Public company preparers would use the XBRL US GAAP Taxonomies and Preparers Guide to create their XBRL-formatted financials.
“This delivery ensures that the tools are in place for public companies to create interactive data-formatted financials with ease and efficiency,” said David Blaszkowsky, Director, Office of Interactive Disclosure, Securities and Exchange Commission, “and the May 14 open meeting will be the start of a process to enable widespread use of interactive data tags resulting in greater transparency, accuracy and granularity of information in the marketplace.”
Final deliverables to the SEC include the taxonomies, an in-depth Preparers Guide that provides the basics on how to create XBRL-enabled financial statements, case studies about creating and using XBRL, example financial statements and disclosures in XBRL format, and technical information about the taxonomies. Contributors to the case study include users of XBRL data such as Morgan Stanley and Microsoft as well as members of the SEC Voluntary Filing Program, including 3M Company and Comcast Corporation.
“XBRL may prove to be a major step forward for the spread of interactive data and Pfizer has been a proud participant in the pilot program since its inception. While there are limited financial statement filers using XBRL today, I believe the evolution of XBRL and SEC support for universal acceptance holds tremendous promise for the financial community. As a professional, I appreciate the chance to be a part of this transformation,” said Clare O’Leary, Director Special Projects, Pfizer Inc. Pfizer has been a member of the SEC’s Voluntary Filing Program since March 2006.
The XBRL US GAAP Taxonomies, Preparers Guide, case studies and other supporting documentation can be viewed at http://usgaap.xbrl.us.
Listen to a podcast interview featuring Clare O’Leary of Pfizer Inc.
About XBRL
XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) is a royalty-free, open specification for software that uses XML data tags to describe financial and business information for public and private companies and other organizations. XBRL benefits all members of the 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 and supporting documentation are available at http://usgaap.xbrl.us.
Contact: Michelle Savage, Vice President, Communication, 917 747-1714, michelle.savage@xbrl.us
