The XBRL Committee, charged with developing a global standard for financial reporting on the Web, has released its first specification and recorded a significant expansion in corporate membership. The Committee is to form an international arm to push for global adoption of the nascent standard.
New recruits to the XBRL initiative include: ACCPAC International, ACL Services, Bridge Information Systems, Dow Jones, e-Numerate Solutions, eLedger.com, Fidelity Investments, Financial Software Group, First Light Communications, MIP, Multex.com, Oinke, PeopleSoft, US Advisor, Virtual Growth, and XBRL Solutions. Committee membership now exceeds 50 companies and organisations from around the world and is expanding globally as industry sectors and foreign jurisdictions begin development of XBRL specifications.
In addition, the XBRL Committee released its first specification for US companies, XBRL for Financial Statements.
The XBRL Committee also announced its intent to form XBRL.org, an international arm charged with the development of XBRL specifications on a global scale according to the accounting principles of individual geographies and jurisdictions.
"The AICPA has been working with major companies and international organisations for more than a year to develop the current XBRL specification and to determine the future development cycle of XBRL for other countries, " says Barry Melancon, president of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. "With the launch of XBRL for Financial Statements for US companies, we see the need to create an international organisation with jurisdiction beyond the United States. Its purpose would be to develop and launch specifications for other countries based on strong global demand from members of the financial information supply chain."
More than 80% of major US public companies provide some type of financial disclosure on the Internet.
"XBRL helps companies, analysts, investors and other audiences to make better informed financial and management decisions and to leverage the power of the Internet to exchange financial information," says Tom Vos, president of Edgar Online. "XBRL provides an efficient and reliable means of communicating financial information without changing existing accounting standards or requiring a company to disclose any additional information beyond that in its current financial statements."