Media Advisory: Financial Data on the Web -- A Collaborative Workshop with W3C and XBRL International, Inc.

Financial Data on the Web: A Collaborative Workshop with W3C and XBRL 
International, Inc.

Technical experts in government, business and academia to discuss 
reporting, transparency and access to financial data.
FDIC to host event 5-6 October 2009 in Washington, DC.

http://www.w3.org/ -- 5 October 2009 -- The World Wide Web Consortium 
(W3C) and XBRL International, Inc. (XII) will bring together technical 
and financial experts at the Workshop on Improving Access to Financial 
Data on the Web, 5-6 October in Washington, DC to address key challenges 
and collaborative possibilities in reporting, transparency and access to 
government and corporate financial data on the Web. The Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will host the event. Diane Mueller, vice 
president of XBRL Development, JustSystems and XBRL International Board 
Member and Dave Raggett, W3C Fellow, are co-chairs of the Workshop.

"The topic of transparent financial reporting for government and 
business has never been more timely," said Tony Fragnito, CEO of XBRL 
International, Inc. "XBRL is already widely adopted globally for 
financial reporting in both the corporate and banking sectors. (See the 
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission press release "Market Cap of 
'Interactive Data' Filers Tops $2 Trillion".) We are also experiencing 
increasing usage of XBRL for government reporting."

In May 2008 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a 
ruling requiring companies to provide financial information using the 
standard data format XBRL, beginning in June 2009 for the largest public 
companies and within three years for all public companies. David M. 
Blaszkowky, director of the SEC's Office of Interactive Data Disclosure, 
commented, "Information — meaningful, accurate, timely, easy-to-use 
financial reporting — always has been the driver of commerce and 
markets. This proposal provides the critical regulatory framework by 
which interactive data will make financial reporting more easily and 
quickly available, and help transform the relationship between filer and 
investor."

Workshop Goals

The main goal of the Workshop is to identify opportunities and 
challenges for improving access to financial data on the Web. 
Participants will discuss how Extensible Business Reporting Language 
(XBRL) and related XML data standards can best be utilized, and how 
using XBRL to provide financial data via the Web relates to broader 
opportunities for Semantic Web technologies. More than 15 speakers and 
100 participants will discuss topics such as interoperability and 
harmonization of standard data formats and the impact of the increased 
transparency on the economy and society as a whole.

High-Profile Speakers to Address Key Themes

     * The SEC's David M. Blaszkowsky and Walter Hamscher will provide 
an update on financial reporting with XBRL, now that a number of files 
for EDGAR XBRL and Interactive Data submissions are available on the SEC 
Web site.

     * Mike Bartell, chief information officer of the FDIC, will provide 
opening remarks and highlight key themes and challenges of using the 
data format now that banks submit call reports to the FDIC using XBRL.

     * Anthony Hoang, on behalf of Donna Roy, director, Enterprise Data 
Management Office, and executive director, National Infromation Exchange 
Model, will address some of the opportunities for the integration and 
harmonization of NIEM for its transactional informatoin exchange 
framework, and XBRL for its advanced technology for financial reporting.

     * Dave Raggett, W3C and leading experts from the Semantic Web 
community, including Lee Feigenbaum, Cambridge Semantics, Edward Curray 
and Sean O'Riain , DERI, Brand Niemann, EPA, and Benjamin Grosof, 
Vulcan, Inc., will discuss ways of combining XBRL with Semantic Web 
technologies.

Media Briefings Available

Representatives from the W3C and XBRL International, Inc. are available 
for comment after the Workshop. Attendance is limited to those who have 
pre-registered and submitted position papers or statements of interest.

EDITOR's NOTES:
===============

Web Resources:
--------------
This press release:
   - in English: http://www.w3.org/2009/09/xbrl-pressrelease.html.en
   - in French: http://www.w3.org/2009/09/xbrl-pressrelease.html.fr

Workshop on Improving Access to Financial Data on the Web, 5-6 October, 
Washington, DC, USA:
     http://www.w3.org/2009/03/xbrl/cfp.html

W3C Semantic Web Activity:
     http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/

Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL):
     http://www.xbrl.org/faq.aspx#15


Press Contacts:
--------------
W3C Contact Americas, Australia --
     Karen Myers <karen@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5509 or +1.978.502.6218
W3C Contact Europe, Africa and the Middle East --
     Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33 6 76 86 33 41
XBRL International, Inc. Contact --
     Cheryl Neal, <cherylneal@xbrl.org> +1.618.263.4383


About XBRL International, Inc. [XII]
------------------------------------
XBRL International, Inc. (XII) is a not-for-profit corporation of over 
500 companies and agencies worldwide working together to build the XBRL 
language and promote and support its adoption. XII members work 
collaboratively in promoting the adoption of XBRL and the reporting 
process improvements it enables. Interested companies and agencies are 
encouraged to join XBRL International, Inc. and participate in building 
the future of electronic business reporting. Additional information 
about XBRL International, Inc. may be found at 
http://www.xbrl.org/AboutTheOrganisation/

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]
-----------------------------------------
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where 
Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to 
develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission through the 
creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to ensure long-term 
growth for the Web. Nearly 350 organizations are Members of the 
Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer Science and 
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the European 
Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) 
headquartered in France, Keio University in Japan, and has additional 
Offices worldwide. For more information see http://www.w3.org/

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Received on Monday, 5 October 2009 14:13:59 UTC