NEWS RELEASE 08/31/10
2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy Now Available for Public Review
and Comment
Norwalk, CT, August 31, 2010—The Financial
Accounting Foundation (FAF) today announced the availability of the proposed
2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy for public review and comment. The
FAF is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the taxonomy applicable to
public issuers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). The deadline to submit written comments is October 30, 2010.
The
proposed 2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy contains updates for
accounting standards and other recommended improvements to the official taxonomy
currently in use by SEC issuers. The 60-day comment period is intended to
solicit feedback on these updates from users of the taxonomy and to provide SEC
filers, service providers, software vendors, and other interested parties the
opportunity to become familiar with and incorporate new element names for
current filings.
The final version of the 2011 U.S. GAAP Financial
Reporting Taxonomy is expected to be finalized and published in early
2011.
The complete proposed U.S. GAAP 2011 taxonomy and instructions on
how to submit comments are available here.
Questions about using this taxonomy for creating and submitting
eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) tagged interactive data files in
compliance with SEC rules should be directed to the SEC. SEC contact details and
guidance are available at the SEC’s
portal on XBRL.
The U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy
is a list of computer-readable tags in XBRL that allows companies to tag
precisely the thousands of pieces of financial data that are included in typical
long-form financial statements and related footnote disclosures. The tags allow
computers to automatically search for, assemble, and process data so it can be
readily accessed and analyzed by investors, analysts, journalists, and
regulators.
The 2009 taxonomy currently in use by SEC issuers was
developed by XBRL US, Inc., an independent non-profit organization with
research, development, and education programs facilitating the widespread
adoption of XBRL in the United States for tagging business reports across all
business domains to aid investors and other users. The Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB) staff provided technical accounting standards support to
XBRL US, Inc. during the development of the 2009 taxonomy. In early 2010, the
FAF assumed maintenance responsibilities for the taxonomy, and, along with the
FASB, assembled a team of technical staff dedicated to updating the taxonomy for
changes in U.S. GAAP, identifying best practices in taxonomy extensions, and
technical enhancements.
About the Financial Accounting
Foundation
The FAF is responsible for the oversight,
administration, and finances of both the Financial Accounting Standards Board
and its counterpart for state and local government, the Governmental Accounting
Standards Board. The FAF also is responsible for selecting the members of both
Boards and their respective Advisory Councils.
About the
Financial Accounting Standards Board
Since 1973, the US
Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the
private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting.
Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially
recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential
to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors,
auditors and others rely on credible, transparent and comparable financial
information. For more information about the FASB, visit its Website at www.fasb.org.