The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance prepared issuers for the possibility of new proposed rules regarding the use of XBRL as early as this spring.
"As I have said before, we are ready to undertake further
rulemaking whenever the technology is ready," said John W. White,
SEC director of corporation finance, in a recent speech at the
Securities Regulation Institute in San Diego." That time is fast
approaching. In September, the chairman asked for a staff
recommendation this spring (which could be a rulemaking proposal),
with possible final action coming this fall."
White said the aggressive schedule would allow for a field test of the taxonomies released for comment in December by voluntary filers in their 2008 quarterly filings. “If successful, you can guess where this is all likely to lead,” he added. For the full text of White’s speech, visit www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch012308jww.htm.