Daniel Díaz is a ntracted regional ordinator for XBRL International (XII) for South America.  He is Professor of Information Technology at the National University of Rosario (Argentina) and was a prize winner of the International XBRL Academic petition sponsored by Bryant llege and  XII.

The enomic crisis in Argentina that began in 1999 — culminating in a default on its international obligations in 2002 — had a dramatic, negative impact on most untries of the region. Since then, however, South American nations have begun to restructure their enomies, as high mmodity helped stabilize business nditions. At the same time, the region’s stock markets, regulatory agencies, and financial regimes have pursued better ntrol and predictive systems that reflect the models and advances seen all over the world, and they have adopted more efficient tools to sueed in these goals.

Against this backdrop of improved enomies and enhanced ntrol, South America’s untries have been moving ahead in the XBRL field. Brazil, Argentina, and Chile – the  region’s three leading enomies which together represent some 75% of its GDP – are involved in projects for adopting XBRL. The nvergence toward IFRS is playing an important role in spurring these efforts, and the support offered by the IASB and IAS is notable in this area. The mandate by the U.S. SEC that all listed mpanies file financial statements using interactive data will also help foster adoption in South America, because it will require about 100 leading mpanies of the region to begin reporting in XBRL.

Brazil, Argentina, and Chile will likely begin the process of developing their own XBRL jurisdictions this year. This will be a great step forward in increasing an active presence and diffusion of XBRL in the region. The balance of this post provides a brief description of the main projects and initiatives going on in the region, with the ultimate aim of implementing the XBRL standard throughout South America.

Argentina

On October 1, 2008,  the Central Bank of Argentina  (BCRA) decided to begin the process of establishing an XBRL Argentina Provisional Jurisdiction. The BCRA will be facilitator of the Provisional Jurisdiction; the -founders and participant members will be FACPCE, Argentina’s professional acunting association; AFIP, the untry’s tax office; and V, her stock exchange mmission. In the meantime, BCRA  will apply  to be a Direct Participant of XII. 

Under the so-called Balance Sheet Registry Project, XBRL would be introduced for financial reporting in stages, acrding to the mpany’s size, market prominence, etc.. When the entire system is in place, XBRLized financial information will be received for about one million Argentine mpanies. The BCRA – again with the active participation of the FACPE, AFIP, and V – is leading the Project. Its main goal through this initiative is to obtain clear credit rankings for different clusters of mpanies in Argentina’s enomy.

The FACPCE will help in obtaining legal approval of the system. It will llaborate with BCRA in the development of the financial data sets necessary to develop credit ranking models. The AFIP will provide the electronic infrastructure and digital signatures required for implementation. The V will take care of the regulatory issues for the listed mpanies that will join the system in its first stage.

The FACPCE and V are leading the nvergence initiative between Argentina GAAP and IFRS for 2010.

Brazil

Members of an initiative to establish an XBRL jurisdiction in Brazil have been in ntact with the Jurisdiction Development mittee of XBRL International. In addition, the University of Sao Paulo has presented an XBRL taxonomy to the Taxonomy Regnition Task Force of XII.

Still in its initial stage, the implementation of XBRL is being studied as part of the Balance Sheet Registry Project  for Brazil, an effort being led by the Tax Office of Brazil (Receita Federal) and the Central Bank of Brazil (BACEN).

Over the past few years, BACEN and the Stock Exchange mission of Brazil (CVM) have both decided to move to IFRS. In 2006, BACEN issued a resolution that would mandate IFRS for the banking sector in Brazil from December 31, 2010. On July 13, 2007, CVM published instructions that would mandate IFRS for all of Brazil’s listed mpanies for periods ending in 2010.

Chile

In October 2008, the president of Acuntant llege of Chile (NTACH) offered that institution as the facilitator for the development of the XBRL Chile Jurisdiction. NTACH’s Board of Directors includes representation of each state of Chile. This month the Board will likely ratify the President’s decision and begin the process of developing the XBRL Jurisdiction.

The Stock Exchange mission of Chile (SVS) has developed electronic reporting with XBRL for listed mpanies of Chile. panies will begin to report for periods ending June 2009. For this project the SVS developed an XBRL taxonomy based on IFRS version 2006.  While NTACH will be anizing the Chile jurisdiction, the SVS has decided to apply to be a Direct Participant in XII.

Over the past three years, NTACH has been working to nverge to IFRS. This project has been funded by Inter-American Developing Bank (IADB).  Beginning this year, Chilean mpanies will have to report in IFRS.

Uruguay

Uruguay’s National Internal Audit Office (AIN) and the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) have been leading projects — funded by the World Bank — to improve  transparency in local financial markets. One goal of the project, which began in 2007, is the modernization of the untry’s Balance Sheet Registry system, which is still based on paper submissions of mpany financial statements.  The AIN has decided to implement XBRL for electronic reporting this year.

The AIN will probably apply for direct membership in XII to support regnition of the taxonomies used and to enjoy the benefits of being part of the XBRL international mmunity.

As member of the transparency project, the BCU is interested in modernizing the reporting system of mmercial and industrial mpanies and the banking sector as well. In view of this objective, it is analyzing and studying the benefits of implementing XBRL. If the BCU this year decides to implement XBRL, it will apply for direct membership of XII.