On 30 January 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a final rule that will make the use of extensible business reporting language (XBRL) mandatory for all US public companies over a three-year period. XBRL is a system that tags each segment of digitized financial information with an identification code or marker. According to the SEC, "[t]hrough interactive data, what is currently static, text-based information can be dynamically searched and analyzed, facilitating the comparison of financial and business performance across companies, reporting periods, and industries."

Public companies with a worldwide public float greater than US$5 billion are required to begin using XBRL for filings with a fiscal period ending on or after 15 June 2009, followed by all other accelerated filers for their first fiscal period ending on or after 15 June 2010, then all other filers (including all filers that use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)), for their first fiscal period ending on or after 15 June 2011.

XBRL is required for financial statements from the earliest date of adoption. Financial statement footnotes and financial statement schedules will at first be tagged individually as a block of text. After a year, a filer also will be required to tag the detailed quantitative disclosures within these footnotes and schedules. They will also be permitted, but not required, to the extent they choose, to tag each narrative disclosure.

The interactive data will be provided as an exhibit to periodic reports and on issuer websites. Filers that do not provide or post required interactive data on the date required will be deemed not current with their Exchange Act reports and, as a result, will not be eligible to use the short Form S-3, F-3, or S-8.

The new rules do not require XBRL exhibits to be covered by CEO and CFO certifications. Audit reports are not required to cover XBRL data. During an initial 24-month phase-in period, XBRL data will be deemed not to be "filed" for purposes of liability under the US securities laws, lessening potential liability for misstatements or omissions in such data. Although practice is still evolving, we expect underwriters of securities to request auditor "comfort" on the XBRL exhibits, either via expanded tick-and-tie procedures or other means.