SEC To Meet April 21 To Consider XBRL Proposal
April 16, 2008
FEI Summary

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) posted a Sunshine Act Notice yesterday (April 15) announcing it will hold an open commission meeting on Monday, April 21, at which: "The commission will consider whether to propose amendments to provide for corporate financial statement information to be filed with the commission in interactive data format, and a near- and long-term schedule therefor."

The SEC Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting (CIFiR, chaired by Robert Pozen) recommended in its Progress Report (which covered a wide range of issues) that the initial XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) requirements be "furnished," not "filed." Observation: the SEC's Sunshine Act notice uses the word "filed" although that may be a generic reference. 

See also FEI’s related summary: SEC General Counsel Says XBRL Proposal Will Be Considered ‘In The Near Future.’

Three FEI committees commented on CIFiR's XBRL related proposals, and the other CIFiR recommendations, in comment letters filed on CIFiR's Progress Report. See the letters filed by FEI's Committee on Finance and Information Technology (CFIT), the letter filed by FEI's Committee on Small and Mid-Sized Public Companies (the two separate letters are attached  here), and the letter filed by FEI's Committee on Corporate Reporting here. 

Prepared April 16, 2008 by Edith Orenstein, Director, Technical Policy Analysis, Financial Executives International (FEI). This summary does not represent FEI opinion unless specifically noted above.