First XML Specification Released for Financial Statements.

The first eXtensible Markup Language specification for Business Reporting for U.S. commercial and industrial companies was released on July 31. With the release of XBRL for Financial Statements, both public and private companies can begin to incorporate XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) into their financial reporting processes and immediately realize some of its major benefits. Among those benefits are a streamlined financial reporting process, technology independence, full interoperability, and reliable extraction of financial information.

More than 80% of major public companies provide some type of financial disclosure on the Internet. As a result, investors need accurate and reliable financial information that can be delivered promptly over the Internet to help them make informed financial decisions. By allowing for the creation of financial statements using XBRL and providing for browser-based style sheets to render the financial statement XML document as a Web page, XBRL for Financial Statements meets these needs and leverages efficiencies of the Internet as today's primary source of financial information.

A steering committee consisting of more than 50 companies and organizations from around the world, including the AICPA, developed the specification. Steering committee membership is an ongoing process, with new organizations and companies continually joining the initiative as other industry sectors begin development of XBRL specifications. For more on XBRL, visit www.xbrl.org.