XBRL-US Announces Top Findings from Conference, 'XBRL in Government and Industry'

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4  -- XBRL-US, the U.S. based arm of XBRL International, hosted a conference on July 19 to discuss "XBRL in Government and Industry." The event, held at the FDIC facility in Arlington, VA, was attended by more than 200 people, confirming a high level of support and interest in XBRL as a new standard in business reporting, the organization announced today. Key findings from the conference include:

FFIEC project launches October 1, 2005 with over 8300 banks filing in XBRL.

Mike Bartell, CIO, FDIC, provided an update on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) call report modernization project in which the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) have joined forces to create a central data repository of bank information. "XBRL is an imperative, not an option. At the FDIC we've long recognized its potential - XBRL isn't just a good idea on paper; it is real and it works", said Bartell. "Too much critical information today is buried or obscured by the massive volume of data that we all create and process. The longer it takes us to manage that data, the less responsive we are to the needs of industry and the public. While XBRL may not be the only answer, it is a key part of the solution needed to help address these issues. The FFIEC's new central data repository will help prove the real value of XBRL, and lay the groundwork for broader and more rapid adoption in the US."

XBRL named as part of the solution in top challenges for financial executives in 2005.

Colleen Cunningham, President and CEO of Financial Executives International noted that XBRL can play a role in helping to resolve challenges facing their members, including internal controls, international convergence, and reporting of stock option valuation. "XBRL can be a critical tool for enabling compliance with Sarbanes Oxley Section 404; not only could it enable the integration of disparate systems to optimize internal control processes and enable documentation of internal controls with less manual intervention, but a common language could also facilitate real time management monitoring," said Cunningham.

XBRL GL prepares for prime time.

Increasing interest in XBRL GL, the Journal Taxonomy, was evident throughout the conference. Dan Roberts, chair of the XBRL US Steering Committee, explained "GL offers a standardized format for the detailed records needed for integration of reporting systems, improved monitoring, controls and auditing in both government and private sector organizations."   Representatives from the SEC and business executives outlined their experiences in the SEC Voluntary Filing Program to date.

Key presentations:

Brigitte Lippmann, Attorney, Division of Corporation Finance and Jeffrey Naumann, Enabling Technologies Specialist, Office of the Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, presented the benefits of XBRL: internal screening/risk assessment while providing better communication of company results, which leads to improved analysis and better investor access. XBRL US recently released a new set of XBRL tags specifically for use by investment management companies, thus further expanding the potential participants in the voluntary filing program.

XBRL benefits the analyst community by facilitating the comparability and granularity of financial data, making analysis more timely and transparent and simplifying some aspects of financial reporting.

Elmer Huh, Executive Director, Equity Research, Morgan Stanley (MWD), and Mark LaMonte, Vice President and Senior Accounting Analyst, Moody's Investors Service (MCO) both provided case studies on how XBRL can increase efficiency for analysts when updating financial models, comparing financial information and sorting through disclosure, citing improved accuracy and timeliness. Elmer noted "XBRL will give analysts more time to analyze results with confidence, and thus improve the relevance and quality of financial analysis. Companies should look to XBRL as a way to improve communication with their stakeholders." Louis M. Thompson, President and CEO, National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), added that "the potential is there for tagging of non-financial factors using XBRL, to add to the goal of achieving more user- friendly, transparent information on which to make investment decisions."

XBRL is gathering more traction within the US Government. "While today the US Government is behind some other countries in adopting XBRL, it is time for that to change," commented Sam Mok, CFO of the Department of Labor. "We see the benefit of implementing XBRL within the US Government."

More information about the event, including speaker biographies and slides are available at www.xbrl.org/us/events.

About XBRL

XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) is a royalty-free, open specification for software that uses XML data tags to describe financial information for public and private companies and other organizations. XBRL benefits all members of the financial information supply chain by utilizing a standards-based method with which users can prepare, publish in a variety of formats, exchange and analyze financial statements and the information they contain. Approximately 50 of the world's leading accounting, financial, government and software organizations are involved in the adoption and use of XBRL in the U.S. More than 300 companies and organizations are members of XBRL International. XBRL-US is hosted and supported by the American Institute of CPAs, one of the founding members of XBRL International. For more information on XBRL, please go to the XBRL US Web site (http://www.xbrl.org/US).

CONTACT: Karl Best, +1-201-938-3920, or kbest@xbrl-us.org

Web site: http://www.xbrl.org/us