AICPA Welcomes SEC Adoption of Rule Requiring Use of Inline XBRL

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has issued the following statement by AICPA President and CEO Barry C. Melancon, CPA, CGMA, in response to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) vote to require the use of the Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) format for the submission of operating company financial statement information and fund risk/return summary information:

“As a longstanding advocate for the application of data standards for the reporting of business information, the AICPA applauds the SEC for adopting this rule. It is further proof of the Commission’s intent to advance its technology capabilities to keep up with the evolution of these standards.

The iXBRL specification is used by millions of companies around the world to report their financial information. Based on discussions with companies implementing and using iXBRL, we believe that the use of iXBRL by filers will both enable enhanced capabilities for users of financial information and provide efficiencies for preparers.

We wholeheartedly support the continuing effort to improve the quality of information disclosed and allow for the information to be collected in the most timely and cost effective manner possible, while increasing the utility of XBRL data. As the SEC has observed, ‘by facilitating the preparation and review of XBRL data, iXBRL can decrease the overall time and cost required by filers to comply with the existing XBRL requirements.’

The SEC’s action also furthers U.S. alignment with global efforts, which include the European Securities and Markets Authority’s issuance of a final draft standard requiring the use of iXBRL by issuers in the European Union by 2020.”