Techiebytes

Only fifteen minutes until the session begins. We’ll be updating as things progress soon.

2:27: People are still coming in and we’re going to begin pretty soon.

2:34: Stands for extensible business language and is based on XML. Used to communicate business and financial info. Why use it? SEC and AICPA suggestion and also better than a spreadsheet or other clumsier and slower methods. More accurate… If the taxonomy etc is used properly. And it is faster and enables more frequent updates.

2:40: the taxonomy is code, can bee pulled from SEC website which enables standardization. Instance documents breaks down individual data. This technology is being used internationally already and is required in some places, e.g. China.

2:43: Software is in it’d infancy right now but will probably get better over time. Variety of in house uses probably also, such as live data analysis, that will push development. One thing to note, auditors aren’t required to have any involvement so companies are on their own. Another consideration, what are long term plans for it’s use? Chairman Cox said, long term point is to bring investors faster, easier, more accurate information.

2:48: SEC had been helping development since 2005 and taxonomy etc continues to evolve over time, even recently.

2:50: SEC will require tables, notes, schedules to be individually tagged. Software is immature right now but again will improve.

2:53: Quality of initial submissions varies right now. About 410 issuers submitted XBRL exhibits in July or August and 14% of issuers are using grace period now. From an outside perspective, how do companies post viewer so anyone can grab file? Something to think about. Common mistakes: applying wrong tag or applying it to blocks of data inappropriately, or not tagging parts of documents that need to be as per specs. So still room for growth out there.

3:02: XBRL has been extended more as well. Banking, real estate, utilities, manufacturing, media, and so on.

3:05: Why do issuers need to “get it right?” SEC will require it for one thing. Need to help investor end users get it properly as well. And getting things wrong does pose liabilities.

Filed under: Technology