The Canadian Securities Administrators has launched an voluntary filing program for companies using the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL).

CSA Notice 51-323 XBRL Filing Program and Request for Volunteers outlines how issuers can voluntarily file financial statements in XBRL format.

XBRL is a business reporting language that is emerging as an international standard for communicating business and financial data. The basic concept of XBRL is that it attaches standardized electronic “tags” to elements of information that provide information about what the item represents.

In 2006, the CSA conducted a survey to assess the awareness of XBRL in the marketplace and the interest in an XBRL filing program. “The feedback we received from the marketplace indicated that about half of the respondents have some understanding of XBRL and a significant number are in favour of an XBRL filing program,” said Jean St-Gelais, chairman of the CSA and president & CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “With this voluntary filing program, we hope to increase the level of practical knowledge in the Canadian marketplace of this new technology and gain a greater understanding of the potential of XBRL.”

The XBRL filing will not replace the official PDF filing that is required by securities regulators, but will augment the information made available to the public through the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval website.

“We invite issuers to join the voluntary filing program. We are committed to learning more about technologies that can help improve efficiency in our marketplace,” said St-Gelais.

The CSA notice and request for volunteers is available on the websites of several CSA members. Issuers interested in joining the voluntary filing program should contact one of the CSA staff members listed in the notice.