It appears that Canada remains well behind a number of countries in the adoption of interactive data for financial reporting.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that, while in Tokyo for meetings of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, its chairman, Christopher Cox, also concluded a week of bilateral discussions with securities regulators from Japan, China, Korea, Canada and Australia that focused, among other things, on timetables for implementation of interactive data initiatives.

The SEC reported that Ontario Securities Commission chairman, David Wilson, gave an update on the launch earlier this year by the Canadian Securities Administrators of an XBRL voluntary filing program, under which issuers can voluntarily file financial statements in XBRL format.

Canada is lagging a number of Asian countries however. The SEC reported that Japan has mandated public company reporting using XBRL for the full financial statements of all listed companies beginning with quarterly reporting in the second quarter of 2008.

China Securities Regulatory Commission chairman, Shang Fulin, described how China, the first country in the world to mandate XBRL reporting, is requiring interactive data filing for the full financial statements of all listed companies in quarterly, half-year and annual reports.

Korean Financial Supervisory Commission chairman and Financial Supervisory Service governor, Kim Yong-Duk, described Korea’s steps toward adopting XBRL for regulatory reporting. Beginning in October, all publicly held companies were required to file financial statements using XBRL on the electronic filing system of the FSS.

Also, Australian Securities and Investment Commission chairman, Tony D’Aloisio, described Australia’s progress with XBRL financial reporting. Australia will host the 2007 SBR/XBRL International Conference. Its implementation of interactive data for financial reporting is scheduled for mid-2010, with pilots and proof-of-concepts beginning in 2008.

Finally, chairman of the Israel Securities Authority, Moshe Tery, noted that all public company financial reporting will be tagged using XBRL beginning in 2008.

“The global movement to interactive data for financial reporting is truly underway,” said Cox. “The IOSCO conference provided an excellent opportunity to share information with other jurisdictions, and to measure the progress of implementation plans. Without question, 2008 will be a watershed year for interactive data.”