Bob Schneider is a Partner in 
Wilson So is the Director of Hitachi America, Ltd. This Thing of Ours Called XBRL
Written by Michael Ohata Posted on September 19, 2007
Michael Ohata is Chair of the International Steering Committee of XBRL International and Senior Director of Reporting Standards for Microsoft Finance.
In the U.S., it sure feels like the tipping point of widespread XBRL filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission hovers just around a corner or two or three. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox recently announced mutual funds joining the Voluntary Filing Program — Allegiant Advantage Fund, American Funds Europacific Growth Fund, Muhlenkamp Fund, and Vanguard 500 Index Fund. And the NYSE Euronext piles on as the first stock exchange to furnish its 10-Q.
Also really interesting is the SEC Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting chaired by Robert Pozen. It includes a subcommittee on delivering financial information that will focus on tagging information. Folks in XBRL International, the organization that has developed the standard, seem to hold communal breath: we want that approved format, we want some mandate. Projects around the world wait for the watershed event.
It all seems so easy to push for the ruling. Meanwhile, Financial Executives International, specifically its Committee on Finance and Information Technology, shared a discussion with the SEC and XBRL US, Inc., even as they sweat over the XBRL US GAAP taxonomy (many thanks and recognition for all the organizations behind this effort). The dialogue raises a broad question: How do we thoughtfully and effectively manage the requirement for XBRL filing in the US over time?
This thing of ours XBRL has moved beyond hype and evangelism it has got to. The market collaboration and dialogue that includes the SEC reflects the growing focus on how this thing of ours gets implemented. XBRL adoption goes beyond XBRL International’s efforts it is for us to collectively collaborate and solve.