XBRL's GAAP tags aligned with Codification

NORWALK, Conn., Aug. 4, 2009 -- The Financial Accounting Standards Board and XBRL US, the non-profit consortium for XML business reporting standards, have announced that they have completed the work to revise the XBRL U.S. GAAP taxonomy to reflect the FASB Accounting Standards Codification that was released on July 1, 2009.

The Codification is the single source of authoritative non-governmental U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and is effective for interim and annual periods ending after Sept. 15, 2009.

In 2008, the FASB created an XBRL project team that worked closely with the XBRL US team to release the new Codification extension taxonomy. The FASB's XBRL project team reviewed the authoritative references in the current taxonomy and added the related Codification references. Public companies using the U.S. GAAP taxonomy to create XBRL-formatted financial statements can now link directly from the taxonomy extension to the specific Codification reference as posted on FASB’s Codification Web site. The Codification references, in conjunction with the element labels and definitions, provide companies the information they need to select the right element in the taxonomy to accurately reflect their financial statements.

"FASB's Accounting Standards Codification simplifies the process of researching accounting issues by providing a single authoritative source of US GAAP. The work that FASB and XBRL US have done to bring these references into the US GAAP taxonomy further streamlines the process of financial statement preparation for public companies," said FASB Chair Robert Herz. "Incorporating the Codification into the US GAAP taxonomy will give preparers an easy tool that will help them select the appropriate elements for filing their XBRL financial statements."

The Codification reorganizes the thousands of U.S. GAAP pronouncements into roughly 90 accounting topics and displays all topics using a consistent structure. It also includes relevant Securities and Exchange Commission guidance that follows the same topical structure in separate sections in the Codification.

The U.S. GAAP Taxonomy was developed by XBRL US under contract with the SEC as a comprehensive set of reporting elements that include GAAP requirements and common reporting practices. Public companies use this digital dictionary when creating XBRL-formatted financials. The SEC mandated the use of XBRL for all public companies over a three year period; the largest public companies, with a worldwide public float greater than $5 billion, began filing for interim financial statements with periods ending on our after June 15, 2009.

"We will continue to work closely with the FASB to align the US GAAP reporting elements with all new accounting standards. Public company reporting must change to reflect investor and marketplace need. The appropriate level of support and maintenance will ensure that the XBRL reporting elements used by public companies reflect the most current industry and accounting standards," said Mark Bolgiano, president and CEO of XBRL US. "Proper maintenance of the taxonomy is key to giving preparers the tool to create consistent, high-quality financial data that gives investors greater transparency and ultimately better accuracy in their own analysis."

Preparers who wish to use the U.S. GAAP taxonomy with the new FASB codification incorporated, should view it here.