At the first global meeting of XBRL.org in London, the XBRL member organization International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) announced a "draft taxonomy of XBRL for Financial Statements to members of XBRL.org for review. The IASC taxonomy is an XML-based specification for the 'Commercial and Industrial' sector that allows users and suppliers of financial information to exchange financial statements across all software and technologies, including the Internet." The draft/beta taxonomy is available as an XML schema and in Microsoft Access database format. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has also formed a broad-based steering group in London that is in the process of developing the UK taxonomy for financial statements. With over 85 member organizations, XBRL.org is now "expanding as industry sectors and foreign jurisdictions begin development of XBRL specifications for financial and other business reporting. Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is an open specification which uses XML-based data tags to describe financial statements for both public and private companies.

Some details are documented in a Meeting Presentation: "IAS-XBRL PowerPoint presentation from the February 20, 2001 International XBRL meeting in London." By Kurt Ramin (IASC, London), Ian Wright (PricewaterhouseCoopers, London). David Prather (IASC, London), Bruce Mackenzie (Deloitte & Touche, London. The IAS XBRL Taxonomy Draft was presented by David Prather (IAS XBRL Project Manager, IASC). "IAS XBRL Approach: October [yielded] a way forwards: produce 'trees' to identify the elements; work shared by all of Big 5. In November [PIs] agreed to key principles: elements for items in IAS standards; structure should based on the minimum formats in IAS 1 (B/S +I/S), IAS 7; general ledger closing balances [B/S items in balance sheet section etc]; all cash movements in cash flow section; all other items in the notes; detail as required or recommended by IAS cross references to IAS paragraphs; used trees to confirm complete. Expected key benefits: IAS users are familiar with IAS standards; IAS standards define or explain many of the elements; IAS is translated into 13 languages; elements are directly linked to paragraphs in standard so assist users to use the correct item..."

From the announcement of 2001-02-21:

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XBRL.org Hosts First Global Meeting in London

International Accounting Standards Committee Unveils International Specification for Financial Statements Using XML-Based Solution

LONDON, UK. February 21, 2001.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales Forms XBRL Steering Group to Develop UK Version of XBRL taxonomy. Effort Brings World's Largest Financial, Accounting and Technology Organizations Together to Promote Widespread Corporate Adoption of XBRL As 'Faster, Better, Cheaper' Financial Reporting Tool

During its first global meeting this week in London, the XBRL.org Committee announced that one of its member organizations, the London-based International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), has released a draft taxonomy of XBRL for Financial Statements to members of XBRL.org for review. The IASC plans to release its taxonomy for public comment shortly. The IASC taxonomy is an XML-based specification for the `Commercial and Industrial' sector that allows users and suppliers of financial information to exchange financial statements across all software and technologies, including the Internet. Expected to be final in the next few months, the IASC taxonomy, which is based on International Accounting Standards, will help many countries, including those in Europe and Asia, to develop and implement XBRL for financial statements.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW), also a member of the XBRL.org Committee, has formed a broad-based steering group in London that is in the process of developing the UK taxonomy for financial statements.

"Many countries in Europe and Asia are using International Accounting Standards today," said Sir Brian Carsberg, Secretary General, IASC. "XBRL will enhance the transition to full alignment for those countries currently using their local standards to transition to International Accounting Standards. XBRL incorporates standardized data tags, thereby giving a consistent approach and application of the specification to a particular country's accounting principles."

"Companies tagging their financial statements in XBRL can immediately realize some of its major benefits: a streamlined financial reporting process, technology independence, full interoperability, and reliable extraction of financial information," said Mike Willis, XBRL.org Committee Chair. "And XBRL does not require a company to disclose any additional information beyond that which it normally discloses in its current financial statements. Costs for a user to implement XBRL will be minimal since its functionality is being built into software technology and operating procedures, allowing increased flexibility to prepare and extract financial statements according to the accounting principles of different geographies and national jurisdictions."

XBRL offers several key benefits: technology independence, full interoperability, efficient preparation of financial statements and reliable extraction of financial information. Information is entered only once, allowing that same information to be rendered in any form, such as a printed financial statement, an HTML document for the company's Web site, filing documents with government entities, a raw XML file or other specialized reporting formats such as credit reports or loan documents.

Adds Willis, "XBRL will allow us to electronically import or output globally standardized statements, eliminating the need for redundant data entry while simplifying usability of the information."

Interest in the XBRL specification has expanded internationally with the advent of other XML-based tools and solutions being used by various industry sector groups to exchange information across disparate systems and software formats.

Members of the XBRL.org Committee represent the largest financial, accounting and technology organizations from around the world. XBRL.org membership exceeds 85 organizations and is expanding as industry sectors and foreign jurisdictions begin development of XBRL specifications for financial and other business reporting.

For more information about XBRL, please visit http://www.xbrl.org.

Members of the XBRL.org Committee include: ACCPAC International, Inc.; ACL Services Ltd; Advisor Technology Services, LLC; American Institute of CPAs; Arthur Andersen LLP; BDO Seidman, LLP; Best Software; Bridge Information Systems; Business Wire; California State University Northridge Department of Accounting and MIS; Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants; CaseWare International Inc.; Certified General Accountants of Canada Association of Canada; CPA Australia; Crowe, Chizek and Company, LLP; Cogniant, Inc.; Count-net.com; CGA Canada; CPA2Biz.com; Deloitte & Touche, LLP; Deutsche Bundesbank; Dow Jones & Company, Inc.; Dresdner Kleinwort Benson; EDGAR Online, Inc.; eKeeper.com; eLedger.com, Inc.; Elemental Interactive; e-Numerate Solutions Incorporated; ePace! Software; ePartners, Inc.; Epicor Software Corporation; Ernst & Young, LLP; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Fidelity Investments; Financial Software Group; FinArch; First Call; First Light Communications, Inc.; FRS; FRx Software Corporation; Gcom2 Solutions; General Electric Company; Global Filings, Inc.; Grant Thornton LLP; Great Plains Software, Inc.; HOLT Value Associates; Hong Kong Society of Accountants; Hyperion Solutions Corp.; IBM; Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia; Infoteria Corporation; Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales; Institute of Management Accountants; International Accounting Standards Committee; International Federation of Accountants; I-Lumen, Inc.; Innovision Corporation; J.P. Morgan & Co. Inc.; Japan Digital Disclosure Inc.; KPMG Consulting; KPMG, LLP; Lawson Software; Microsoft Corporation; MIP, Inc.; Moody's Risk Management Services, Inc.; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; Multex.com, Inc.; Nanyang Technical University- Singapore; National Center of Charitable Statistics (NCCS); National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion Association (Taiwan); NavisionDamgaard; NEC Planning Research, Inc. (Japan); NetLedger, Inc.; New River, Inc.; Newtec; Oinke, Inc.; OMG Corbafinance; Oracle Corporation; PeopleSoft, Inc.; PPA GmbH; Practitioners Publishing Company; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; Reuters Group LP; Sage Software; SAP AG; Seattle Pacific University Center for Professional Development; Standard and Poor's; Syspro; The Woodburn Group; US Advisor, Inc.; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department of Defense (Defense and Accounting Services); and Virtual Growth, Inc.; and XBRL Solutions, Inc.

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