Since becoming chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Christopher Cox has been advancing the idea of a new, electronically based system of disclosure that will both improve the information available to investors and reduce the disclosure and reporting costs of companies. This new system, which the chairman calls “interactive data,” uses the capabilities of a new computer language (known as XBRL) to make corporate data—including the text disclosures in Management’s Discussion and Analysis in the 10-K report—far more accessible to investors and analysts and less expensive for reporting companies to produce.

At this conference, featuring a keynote address by Chairman Cox, panelists will discuss how both these objectives can be achieved by using a computer language specially adapted for financial reporting and disclosure.