MONTVALE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IMA®, the world’s leading and largest association focused exclusively on advancing the global management accounting profession, announced today its support of “The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act” (the DATA Act) (H.R. 2146) and urges the full U.S. House of Representatives to proceed on the bill’s passage. IMA supports the use of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) to achieve the bill’s goal of providing accountability and transparency of federal government spending.
Congressman Darryl Issa, R-Calif., introduced the DATA Act, H.R. 2146, on June 13, 2011. It includes a provision to require a newly created Financial Accountability and Spending Transparency Board (FAST Board) to collect information from federal agencies, as well as from recipients of federal grants, contracts and loans. The bill further requires the FAST Board to designate common data elements and reporting requirements for the information provided by grant recipients and agencies.
The DATA Act specifies XBRL, the global business reporting standard, as a data reporting language that should be considered to meet the requirement. XBRL – or interactive data – is a global, freely available, standardized data format for exchanging financial and business information in a “machine-readable” format.
“As an original co-founder of the XBRL standard, IMA believes XBRL will benefit businesses, the government, investors, analysts, and the public by creating a common data format for the transparent, streamlined exchange and analysis of data critical to government oversight and capital markets functions,” said Brad J. Monterio, IMA board member, chair of IMA’s XBRL committee and managing director at Colcomgroup, Inc. “We urge the U.S. House to pass this legislation and realize the benefits much like we have seen in Australia, the Netherlands, the U.K., and other countries in which XBRL has been mandated across government agencies.”
Subsequent to the DATA Act’s introduction, on June 14, IMA’s past Chair and Nevada State Controller Hon. Kim Wallin, CMA®, CFM, CPA, testified before the U.S. Government Oversight and Reform Committee on the benefits to state governments and the business community using XBRL.
“XBRL is non-proprietary and is already widely used around the world by governments and the corporate community. XBRL complies with accounting principles and can be easily updated as new requirements come along,” said Ms. Wallin. “XBRL goes beyond reporting and provides the mechanism to sort through mountains of information and to help governments make better informed decisions. XBRL will improve transparency, accountability, and give citizens and government officials alike better access to how taxpayer dollars are spent.”
In tandem with Congressman Issa’s efforts, U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner, D-Va., announced his support and co-sponsored legislation in the U.S. Senate on June 16. The legislation will go before the U.S. House of Representatives for a voice vote, while the U.S. Senate is in the process of scheduling hearings.
About IMA®
IMA®, the association for accountants and financial professionals in business, provides a forum for research, practice development, continuing education, knowledge sharing, and advocacy of the highest ethical and best business practices. IMA provides best-in-class certification, the Certified Management Accountant (CMA®), for critical internal financial management responsibilities, including planning, budgeting, business reporting, decision analysis, and risk management. With a network of more than 60,000 members in 120 countries, IMA provides localized services through its offices in Montvale, N.J., USA; Zurich, Switzerland; Dubai, UAE; and Beijing, China. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.