WASHINGTON, July 15 /PRNewswire/ --
XBRL International and XBRL US today jointly announced "The Ultimate Client: Business Reporting for Investors, Government and Citizens", a global conference that will explore how improved business and financial reporting through interactive data will affect investor communications, governance, risk and compliance as well as government reporting.
The event will capitalize on the momentum building through recent worldwide initiatives related to XBRL including the requirement in Japan and China for public company reporting in XBRL format; the European Parliament's recent agreement that the EC would support XBRL for EU regulatory filings and business reporting; and recent rule proposals from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would mandate XBRL for public companies, mutual funds, and credit rating agencies. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox will keynote the event.
"Interactive data is being introduced in nearly every major market around the world. As the use of interactive data in SEC filings becomes the norm, we can look forward to a streamlined financial reporting process that provides more timely access to information for investors, financial analysts, and regulators," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. "XBRL tagging promises easier identification and comparison of financial data, and will vastly simplify cross-border analysis because tags are being built to accommodate at least 30 different spoken languages. At the SEC, we are on the threshold of replacing the EDGAR model with a new 21st-century reporting system that runs on interactive data."
Individuals who should attend the conference include investment professionals, IT professionals and data managers, senior financial executives, data intermediaries, investor relations professionals, software providers, legal professionals, corporate and firm-based plus corporate secretaries and regulators/government agency professionals.
"We anticipate a record audience for this conference," said Ralf Frank, Managing Director at DVFA (the German Society of Investment Professionals, a division of EFFAS, the European umbrella of investment professional societies). "With the support from global regulators and markets, the dialogue about interactive data is moving towards how information can be used for better decision-making by investors, analysts, regulators and internal accounting professionals, and that's happening in Europe, Asia and North America." Mr. Frank was recently named to the XBRL International Conference Advisory Committee which oversees all activities related to the upcoming conference.
The conference will be held in the United States capitol, Washington, DC at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on October 15-16, 2008. Conference attendees will be able to attend topical symposia that highlight the importance of information reporting in specific areas:
-- Governance, Risk and Compliance, to provide insights into how interactive data will impact proxies, ESG and corporate social responsibility -- Investor Communication, to cover corporate web sites, prospectuses, annual reports and press release distributions -- Public Sector/Government, to educate on interactive data in government grants, tax, statistics, municipals, budgeting and other agency activities
All attendees will be able to join user-focused sessions covering public company preparers, technologists, regulators and consumers.
"Washington, DC is one of the most multicultural cities in the world and serves as an appropriate setting for a global technology standard that easily and effectively crosses borders," said Jeff Diermeier, CFA, President and CEO of CFA Institute and Chair of the XBRL Conference Advisory Committee. "Better, more transparent information means better decision making for regulators, government agencies, investors, analysts, finance executives, and others. The conference program is designed to illustrate how improving the information standard with XBRL can help make that happen."
To find out more about the conference and to register, http://conference.xbrl.org/
About XBRL
XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) is a royalty-free, open specification for software that uses XML data tags to describe business and financial 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 business and financial statements and the information they contain.
About XBRL International
XBRL International is a non-profit consortium of approximately 550 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 review at http://xbrl.us/pages/us-gaap.aspx.
Web site: http://www.xbrl.org/us http://conference.xbrl.org http://xbrl.us/pages/us-gaap.aspx
Michelle Savage, Vice President, Communication, XBRL US, Inc., +1-917-747-1714, michelle.savage@xbrl.us
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