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Now that XBRL is the mandated data standard for business reporting, the race is on for software development that leverages financial information. We compare it to the changes in the music world that have taken place since the MP3 standard was set. So to help encourage the market, XBRL US Labs has initiated a research and development effort to bring XBRL apps to Apple’s popular iPhones and new iPads.

According to Mark Bolgiano, XBRL US President and CEO, the purpose of the initiative is to demonstrate the power of XBRL in a simple and accessible way.  This has often been a challenge for XBRL, a movement that is working to bring consistency, transparency, and accessibility to large and complex financial and business reports through a global agreement on a single data standard. Read the full release.

“The vision is not just about building public awareness – which we look forward to as thousands of people see XBRL on the iPhone and iPad – these apps will be a powerful innovation driver,” said Bolgiano. “We expect to see the apps start appearing on the iTunes app store in early summer.”

“Our goal is to facilitate the use of XBRL through multiple channels,” said Campbell Pryde, Chief Standards Officer, XBRL US, “and to make it possible for people to see the benefits of XBRL first hand – and by easy, convenient, and familiar means.”

XBRL US Labs will recruit Labs partners, research fellows, and interns over the next six weeks to prepare for a June meeting that will seek to crowd-source the design and features of the applications using the same workbench and collaboration platform it has employed for previous projects to build the US GAAP, Mutual Fund Risk-Return, and Credit Ratings taxonomies now in use by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Software engineer Evrhet Milam has been named the first XBRL US Labs Research Fellow on the project. He is currently finishing his Masters in Information Systems Management at Brigham Young University, where he has focused on integrating data, mobile, and web applications.