XBRL US, the non-profit body that oversees the XBRL reporting standard in the U.S., is broadening its partnership with private and public sector partners by building a lab to make XBRL more interoperable with existing information systems.

XBRL is an XML-based standard to define and exchange business and financial performance information. It is governed by XBRL International, a not-for-profit consortium. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission mandated its use in December 2008 for 500 public companies.

The European Union Central Bank, Japan's Financial Services Agency, and the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have adopted XBRL as a standard for bank reporting.

The technology makes internal and external financial information available in real time. Additionally, XBRL automates data transfer: information does not have to be re-entered, there is an absence of human errors introduced by intermediaries, and any error is preserved.

XBRL taxonomies provide a set of tags that represent accounting standards, such as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for financial reporting. XBRL US has now established labs to harmonize XBRL taxonomies with other XML messaging standards, including ISO 20022  and the U.S. government's National Information Exchange Model.

Six researchers who have participated in the XBRL US development for the last three years will staff the lab. Work will be commissioned by research partners with funding, as well as experts on loan who will work at the labs as research fellows and interns. Research will be made available to XBRL US consortium members.

The lab work comes on top of existing efforts by XBRL International, which has offered training workshops for XBRL filers, free educational Webinars, a GAAP taxonomy preparers guide, and other supportive tools and documentation.

"We expect a healthy mix of public- and private-sector research partners," said Mark Bolgiano, president and CEO of XBRL US. "Our team has proven itself in developing the largest taxonomies of its kind, using a cross-industry, 'crowd-sourced' and transparent approach, with sound planning and management. Our aim is to make XBRL US Labs a fulcrum to move industry and government toward a future that has significantly higher levels of information quality, consistency and transparency in the United States."