MADRID XBRL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
The 13th XBRL International Conference in Madrid from 15 – 19 May 2006 highlighted the rapidly growing range of implementations and projects around the world which are based on eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). A stream of presentations reported on its successful use in the financial and public sectors, details of new projects and ideas for broader use of the standard.
Links with other organisations were also reinforced, with the Tax XML group arranging a two-day meeting to coincide with the XBRL conference, the European bank supervisors (CEBS) who are building the COREP and-FINREP taxonomies holding a workshop and the credit risk analysis group ICISA also meeting.
With more than 470 delegates from twenty-one different nations, the conference was one of the largest XBRL International conferences to date. Strong participation from countries in Latin America underlined growing interest in that region.
Main announcements included:
· The Bank of Japan said about 500 financial services companies had been reporting to it in XBRL since February. It was already seeing a significant reduction in the burden of data validation. Having begun with monthly balance sheet information, it was looking to expand the scope of reporting and develop new systems for storing and accessing its XBRL data. The Japanese FSA also attended the conference to learn more about XBRL activities in other parts of the world.
· The Shanghai Stock Exchange announced that following the successful launch of its XBRL system for company reporting, covering data from more than 800 companies, it was extending its use of XBRL to cover fund information. It will also provide analysis tools to give investors efficient access to XBRL information in a new data warehouse. It expects its valued-added XBRL information to benefit regulators, analysts, investors and information service providers.
· The UK Revenue, National Bank of Belgium, Belgian Banking Supervisor, Spanish Stock Exchange and Dutch government all reviewed their plans for introduction of XBRL reporting over the coming months, confirming timescales and the achievement of milestones on their projects. The Spanish Securities Regulator has already received more than 12,000 company financial reports in XBRL, while more than 400 banks, some 90% of the banking sector, are now reporting in XBRL to the Bank of Spain.
· Individual companies also reported on new uses of XBRL. ShinGinko Tokyo announced the launch of an online loan application service for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Tokyo area in which XBRL is used for loan and financial information. This opens up an important area for the use of XBRL. In Europe, Coface Central Europe and Atradius announced a credit analysis project using XBRL which will go live in August 2006. Italy’s MPS Bank and the Borsa Italiana have introduced XBRL into their system for evaluating the credit status of SMEs. MPS is considering the use of semantic techniques to enhance its processes and sees XBRL as a pillar of next-generation business intelligence.
· A series of presentations explained the European banking supervisors’ COREP and FINREP taxonomies for reporting by credit institutions and discussed steps towards their use. Adoption of the taxonomies and XBRL reporting will help reduce the reporting burden and align supervisory practices. COREP is already well advanced while a final release of FINREP is targeted for September 2006.
· The International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF) XBRL team contributed a range of presentations on its taxonomy plans and developments, notably for companies filing to Central Balance Sheet Office (ECCBSO). The team also announced an IFRS–XBRL Network which will advance research and encourage exchange of ideas and knowledge between business and academics.
Among speeches at the conference:
· José M. Roldán, Chair of XBRL Spain, and Manuel Conthe, President of the Spanish Securities Regulator, CNMV, both made welcoming speeches at the opening of the event. They underlined Spain’s effective steps to adopt XBRL and the opportunities which XBRL offers for the future.
· Jaime Caruana, Governor of the Bank of Spain and Chair of the Basel II Committee, spoke about the role of XBRL in Spain and international finance, highlighting the trends and requirements which XBRL can support.
· The US SEC Chief Information Officer Corey Booth called for simple implementations of XBRL which can create real value in the shorter term. Mr Booth suggested that using XBRL to encode earnings release information in the US would be a very powerful initial niche for XBRL. Another might be to use XBRL for US company primary financial statements, leaving reporting of notes in XBRL to a later stage. The full text of Mr Booth’s speech is available at http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2006/spch051606rcb.htm.
Technical Announcements:
· A range of software vendors announced improvements and new releases of their XBRL products. More information on their announcements is available at http://www.xbrl.org/PressReleases/.
XBRL Organisation and Working Groups:
· The permanent members of the new XBRL Standards Board (XSB) were chosen during the conference, following an interview process run by the XBRL International Steering Committee. The new members will now take over from the interim board set up in April. The establishment of the permanent XSB will ensure the continued improvement of the consortium's technical work, with a particular emphasis on interoperability and careful consultation.
· The Specification, Domain, GL and Assurance Working Groups met at the conference, advancing discussions on the Dimensions and Formula specifications, as well as plans for XBRL rendering and versioning.
Announced by:
Peter Calvert
XBRL International
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