FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

XBRL INTERNATIONAL LAUNCHES ABSTRACT MODELING GROUP TO CREATE BLUEPRINT FOR XBRL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

MODEL LAYS SOLID FOUNDATION FOR SOFTWARE ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND DEVELOPERS

Will Use UML Standard of Object Management Group (OMG)

BEIJING, CHINA, OCTOBER 20, 2010 – XBRL International, Inc. (XII) announced today at its XBRL21 global conference in Beijing that it has launched an abstract modeling group as a strategic initiative to catalyze development of more XBRL-enabled software solutions. 
“The XBRL community recognizes that in order to encourage greater development of software tools that will meet the needs of XBRL data users, we must begin with an abstract model to lay the foundation for software architects and their development teams to create XBRL applications,” said Anthony Fragnito, CPA, CEO of XBRL International, Inc.  “In so doing, we remove some of the obstacles to development of XBRL software tools, provide a blueprint for creating XBRL applications, and attract more independent software vendors to the community. More tools also mean more choice for the marketplace – something for which users of XBRL tagged data have been asking.”
Participants in the abstract modeling group span a wide cross-section of the software vendor community, including the largest global ERP vendors, as well as specialty solution providers, accounting firms and regulatory bodies. The group will use the Object Management Group’s (OMG) Unified Modeling Language™ (UML®) standard to create the XBRL abstract model.  UML is a standard language for the analysis and design of software applications, specifying the structure and behavior of systems.
“OMG modeling technologies are pervasive around the world, and using them to support abstract XBRL specifications will help to expand the uptake of XBRL,” said Richard Solely, Chairman and CEO of Object Management Group, Inc. 
Without a standard XBRL abstract model, software architects, engineers and developers must create their own proprietary models – a costly process that is prone to interoperability issues because other vendors may not formulate models that are in complete agreement.  A standard abstract model leads to a more unified understanding of the XBRL technical specification, and can potentially lower development costs and remove barriers to entry.
“An abstract model provides the proper foundation for some of our other strategic initiatives designed to simplify the development process for software vendors, including the standardization of Application Programming Interface signatures,” added Fragnito.  “As newer technologies emerge and are evaluated for their ability to add value to the XBRL standard, the abstract model can also play a key role to help developers both understand the impact of new technologies on XBRL as well as the impact of XBRL on the design and evolution of that new technology.”
Participants in the XII abstract modeling group will be announced shortly.  Companies and individuals who are interested in participating can register their interest by completing the XII survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2010Initiatives.
The abstract modeling group is one of six strategic initiatives identified in the recently published XBRL International Standards Board (XSB) document, “Preserve. Promote. Participate. Moving XBRL Forward.”  For more about these initiatives, please visit http://www.xbrl.org/2010Initiatives/XBRL2010Initiatives.pdf.

About XBRL International, Inc.

XBRL International is the global not-for-profit electronic business reporting consortium. It is comprised of more than 650 public and private sector organizations from more than 30 countries that collaborate to improve decision making across business and government by enhancing the way that performance information is defined, prepared, exchanged and analyzed. Specifically, XII is responsible for the ongoing development and maintenance of the Extensible Business Reporting Language and the promotion and support of its adoption.
Interested companies and agencies are encouraged to join the XBRL International consortium and participate in building the future of electronic business reporting. To learn more about these opportunities visit http://www.xbrl.org/abouttheorganisation.