XBRL US Finalizes US GAAP Taxonomies and Preparers Guide with Delivery to SEC

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. 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. The XBRL US GAAP taxonomies, Preparers Guide, case studies and other supporting documentation can be viewed at http://xbrl.us/