The version 1.0 specification for Vendor Reporting Extensible Markup Language (VRXML) has been published on the VRXML website. The release includes an XML Schema, sample document, and UML diagrams for the VRML conceptual model. VRXML 'XML for Market Data Billing' is "an XML-based interchange format and common data dictionary on the fields needed for market data billing, reporting and inventory management. The initial draft was developed by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to improve the quality, timeliness, and efficiency of reporting information from vendors. The objective of VRXML is to define and normalize all of the data elements required throughout the billing and reporting information chain with the objective of enabling all segments to produce, transmit, receive, and process invoices and reports in a common XML format. FISD (Financial Information Services Division of the Software and Information Industry Association - SIIA) has now assumed ownership and maintenance of the specification and is actively exploring its extension to support the full range of industry requirements associated with billing and reporting. FISD members support the migration to an industry-wide XML reporting format and have confirmed their interest in using VRXML as a component of the overall billing and reporting initiative."

VRXML Benefits

• opportunity for reducing the number of reporting formats in use by exchanges and vendors on a global basis
• opportunity to standardize and normalize the terms and meanings of billing and reporting data elements; the creation of the global billing and reporting glossary is an essential element in ensuring data set consistency, producing electronic invoices and reports, and a core component of billing process improvement
• extensibility -- VRXML should make it easier for the industry to incorporate existing and new business requirements into systems and reduce programming expenses
• a leverage point for managing a host of additional business issues associated with industry-wide administrative improvements (adapted from the VRXML home page)

In October 2002, "NYSE invited FISD to take over ownership, maintenance of the specification and encouraged us to explore its extension to support the full range of industry requirements associated with billing and reporting. FISD members support the migration to an industry-wide XML reporting format and have confirmed their interest in using VRXML as a component of the overall billing and reporting initiative. There are two core priorities associated with the initial action plan within FISD. The first focuses on the adoption and implementation of VRXML as an industry standard reporting format including normalization of the data elements throughout the billing and reporting information chain with the objective of enabling all segments to produce, transmit, receive and process invoices and reports in VRXML. FISD and NYSE are working on a series of implementation pilots to define the operational implications associated with migration to VRXML. The second focuses on the importance of data set consistency among all segments. Data consistency is a critical component of reconciliation and includes such areas as reporting requirements and standardization (best practice recommendations) for billing/reporting cycles." (from the Strategy Report)