FASB and XBRL US
Align XBRL US GAAP Tags
to New Accounting
Codification
4 August 2009
The Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB) and XBRL US, the nonprofit consortium for XML business
reporting standards, announced today that they have completed the work to
revise the XBRL US GAAP Taxonomy to reflect the FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM that was released on July 1, 2009. The
Codification is the single source of authoritative nongovernmental U.S.
generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and is effective for interim
and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.
In 2008, the FASB created an XBRL project team that worked closely
with the XBRL US team to release the new Codification extension taxonomy. The
FASB's XBRL project team reviewed the authoritative references in the current
taxonomy and added the related Codification references. Public companies using
the US GAAP taxonomy to create XBRL-formatted financial statements can now link
directly from the taxonomy extension to the specific Codification reference as
posted on FASB’s Codification Web site. The Codification references, in
conjunction with the element labels and definitions, provide companies the
information they need to select the right element in the taxonomy to accurately
reflect their financial statements.
"FASB's Accounting Standards CodificationTM
simplifies the process of researching accounting issues by providing a single
authoritative source of US GAAP. The work that FASB and XBRL US have done to
bring these references into the US GAAP taxonomy further streamlines the
process of financial statement preparation for public companies," stated
Robert H. Herz, Chairman of the FASB.
"Incorporating the Codification into the US GAAP taxonomy will give
preparers an easy tool that will help them select the appropriate elements for
filing their XBRL financial statements."
The Codification reorganizes the thousands of U.S. GAAP
pronouncements into roughly 90 accounting topics and displays all topics using
a consistent structure. It also includes relevant Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) guidance that follows the same topical structure in separate
sections in the Codification.
The US GAAP Taxonomy was developed by XBRL US under contract with
the SEC as a comprehensive set of reporting elements that include GAAP
requirements and common reporting practices. Public companies use this digital
dictionary when creating XBRL-formatted financials. The SEC mandated the use of
XBRL for all public companies over a three year period; the largest public
companies, with a worldwide public float greater than $5 billion, began filing
for interim financial statements with periods ending on our after June 15,
2009.
"We will continue to work closely with the FASB to align the
US GAAP reporting elements with all new accounting standards. Public company
reporting must change to reflect investor and marketplace need. The appropriate
level of support and maintenance will ensure that the XBRL reporting elements
used by public companies reflect the most current industry and accounting
standards," said Mark Bolgiano, President and
CEO, XBRL US. "Proper maintenance of the taxonomy is key
to giving preparers the tool to create consistent, high-quality financial data
that gives investors greater transparency and ultimately better accuracy in
their own analysis."
Preparers who wish
to use the US GAAP Taxonomy with the new FASB codification incorporated, should
view it here.
About the Financial Accounting Standards
Board
Since 1973, the 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 our website at www.fasb.org.
About XBRL
XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) is a royalty-free,
open specification for software that uses XML data
tags to describe business and financial information for public and private
companies and other organizations. XBRL benefits all members of the information
supply chain by utilizing a standards-based method with which users can prepare, publish in a variety of formats, exchange and
analyze business and financial statements and the information they contain.
About XBRL US
XBRL US is the non-profit consortium for XML business reporting
standards in the United States and is a jurisdiction of XBRL International. It
represents the business information supply chain, including accounting firms,
software companies, financial databases, financial printers and government agencies.
Its mission is to support the implementation of XML business reporting
standards through the development of taxonomies relevant for use by US public
and private sectors, working with a goal of interoperability between sectors,
and by promoting adoption of these taxonomies through the collaboration of all
business reporting supply chain participants. XBRL US has developed taxonomies
to support U.S. GAAP and common reporting practices, the Risk Return Summary in
mutual fund prospectuses and the Schedule of Investments under contract with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. The XBRL US GAAP Taxonomies are
available for review at http://xbrl.us/taxonomies/Pages/US-GAAP2009.aspx
Announced by:
Michelle Savage
XBRL US