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SEC chairman Christopher Cox, head cheerleader for XBRL, is apparently not rah-rahing enough about the Internet programming language that could make financial statements more interactive and comparable.
More than three-fourths of public-company CFOs have no plans to use XBRL, according to a joint survey of 653 finance executives by Computer Sciences Corp. and Financial Executives International's research arm. Many of them don't even know what it is; at least 30 percent of the survey's respondents said they are unfamiliar with the program, which so far is voluntary.
Still, as XBRL proponents would argue, at least 35 companies — including such heavyweights as Microsoft and PepsiCo — have joined Cox's cheerleading squad. The technology has the potential to transform the EDGAR filing system and give investors quick, easier access to companies' financial data, they say. (Although, won't that happen only if all corporations agree to use it?)
CSC has concluded the SEC is not having much of an influence on encouraging more companies to begin using XBRL. That could force Cox's hand in requiring companies to use it, said CSC senior partner Gerald Boltin during the FEI Summit on Tuesday before giving a Donald Rumsfeld-style explanation for why finance execs are holding back: "A CFO has so much on his plate that he has to do. Why should he add something he doesn't have to do to the things he has to do until it's required?"
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