Financial Data on the Web: A Collaborative Workshop with W3C and XBRL International, Inc.

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Technical experts in government, business and academia to discuss reporting, transparency and access to financial data.
FDIC to host event 5-6 October 2009 in Washington, DC.

 

http://www.w3.org/ -- 5 October 2009 -- The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and XBRL International, Inc. (XII) will bring together technical and financial experts at the Workshop on Improving Access to Financial Data on the Web, 5-6 October in Washington, DC to address key challenges and collaborative possibilities in reporting, transparency and access to government and corporate financial data on the Web. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will host the event. Diane Mueller, vice president of XBRL Development, JustSystems and XBRL International Board Member and Dave Raggett, W3C Fellow, are co-chairs of the Workshop.

"The topic of transparent financial reporting for government and business has never been more timely," said Tony Fragnito, CEO of XBRL International, Inc. "XBRL is already widely adopted globally for financial reporting in both the corporate and banking sectors. (See the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission press release "Market Cap of 'Interactive Data' Filers Tops $2 Trillion".) We are also experiencing increasing usage of XBRL for government reporting."

In May 2008 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a ruling requiring companies to provide financial information using the standard data format XBRL, beginning in June 2009 for the largest public companies and within three years for all public companies. David M. Blaszkowky, director of the SEC's Office of Interactive Data Disclosure, commented, "Information — meaningful, accurate, timely, easy-to-use financial reporting — always has been the driver of commerce and markets. This proposal provides the critical regulatory framework by which interactive data will make financial reporting more easily and quickly available, and help transform the relationship between filer and investor."

Workshop Goals

The main goal of the Workshop is to identify opportunities and challenges for improving access to financial data on the Web. Participants will discuss how Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) and related XML data standards can best be utilized, and how using XBRL to provide financial data via the Web relates to broader opportunities for Semantic Web technologies. More than 15 speakers and 100 participants will discuss topics such as interoperability and harmonization of standard data formats and the impact of the increased transparency on the economy and society as a whole.

 

High-Profile Speakers to Address Key Themes

  • The SEC's David M. Blaszkowsky and Walter Hamscher will provide an update on financial reporting with XBRL, now that a number of files for EDGAR XBRL and Interactive Data submissions are available on the SEC Web site.
  • Mike Bartell, chief information officer of the FDIC, will provide opening remarks and highlight key themes and challenges of using the data format now that banks submit call reports to the FDIC using XBRL.
  • Anthony Hoang, on behalf of Donna Roy, director, Enterprise Data Management Office, and executive director, National Information Exchange Model, will address some of the opportunities for the integration and harmonization of NIEM for its transactional information exchange framework, and XBRL for its advanced technology for financial reporting.
  • Dave Raggett, W3C and leading experts from the Semantic Web community, including Lee Feigenbaum, Cambridge Semantics, Edward Curray and Sean O'Riain , DERI, Brand Niemann, EPA, and Benjamin Grosof, Vulcan, Inc., will discuss ways of combining XBRL with Semantic Web technologies.

Media Briefings Available

Representatives from the W3C and XBRL International, Inc. are available for comment after the Workshop. Attendance is limited to those who have pre-registered and submitted position papers or statements of interest.

About XBRL International, Inc. [XII]

XBRL International, Inc. (XII) is a not-for-profit corporation of over 500 companies and agencies worldwide working together to build the XBRL language and promote and support its adoption. XII members work collaboratively in promoting the adoption of XBRL and the reporting process improvements it enables. Interested companies and agencies are encouraged to join XBRL International, Inc. and participate in building the future of electronic business reporting. Additional information about XBRL International, Inc. may be found at http://www.xbrl.org/AboutTheOrganisation/

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission through the creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to ensure long-term growth for the Web. Nearly 350 organizations are Members of the Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France, Keio University in Japan, and has additional Offices worldwide. For more information see http://www.w3.org/

 

W3C Contact Americas, Australia --
Karen Myers <karen@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5509 or +1.978.502.6218
W3C Contact Europe, Africa and the Middle East --
Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33 6 76 86 33 41
XBRL International, Inc. Contact --
Cheryl Neal, <cherylneal@xbrl.org> +1.618.263.4383

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