On Feb. 5, 2010, the Financial Accounting Foundation - which oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board - announced its new responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of the U.S. GAAP [Generally Accepted Accounting Principles] Financial Reporting Taxonomy.

Under a final rule published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 30, 2009, public companies are required to report certain financial data using computer readable tags in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). XBRL is also referred to as "interactive data" since the computer readable tags facilitate electronic retrieval and analysis of the data. The SEC's requirements for interactive data reporting allow for a phase-in by public companies, based on company size.

As explained in the FAF's recent announcement, "The U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy is a list of computer-readable tags in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) that allows companies to label the thousands of pieces of financial data that are included in typical long-form financial statements and related footnote disclosures. The tags allow computers to automatically search for and assemble data so it can be readily accessed and analyzed by investors, analysts, journalists and the SEC staff."

Read more in FAF's Feb. 5, 2010 press release, and see additional information about interactive reporting requirements on the SEC Web site at www.xbrl.sec.gov. See also the report published by FEI's research affiliate, Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF), in November 2009: Year Two of the SEC's XBRL Mandate.

UPDATE: SEC Approves FASB Budget
In related news, the SEC issued an Order on Feb. 2, 2010 approving FASB's 2010 budget, and reauthorizing FASB as the designated standard-setter for U.S. GAAP, in accordance with standards specified in Section 109 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. See SEC's Feb. 2 Order.

Updated Feb. 17, 2010 by Edith Orenstein, director, Accounting Policy Analysis and Communications, Financial Executives International (FEI). This summary does not represent FEI opinion unless specifically noted above.