2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy Now Available for Public Review and Comment

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) announced on august 31, 2010 the availability of the proposed 2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy for public review and comment. The FAF is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the taxonomy applicable to public issuers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The deadline to submit written comments is October 30, 2010.

The proposed 2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy contains updates for accounting

Standards and other recommended improvements to the official taxonomy currently in use by SEC issuers. The 60-day comment period is intended to solicit feedback on these updates from users of the taxonomy and to provide SEC filers, service providers, software vendors, and other interested parties the opportunity to become familiar with and incorporate new element names for current filings. The final version of the 2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy is expected to be finalized and published in early 2011.

The U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy is a list of computer-readable tags in XBRL that allows companies to tag precisely 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, assemble, and process data so it can be readily accessed and analyzed by investors, analysts, journalists, and regulators.

The 2009 taxonomy currently in use by SEC issuers was developed by XBRL US, Inc., an independent non-profit organization with research, development, and education programs facilitating the widespread adoption of XBRL in the United States for tagging business reports across all business domains to aid investors and other users. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) provided technical accounting standards support to XBRL US, Inc. during the development of the 2009 taxonomy. In early 2010, the FAF assumed maintenance responsibilities for the taxonomy, and, along with the FASB, assembled a team of technical staff dedicated to updating the taxonomy for changes in U.S. GAAP, identifying best practices in taxonomy extensions, and technical enhancements.