AICPA gives special recognition award to XBRL founder.

• Position: News update

Charles Hoffman is the recipient of the 2006 Special Recognition Award from the AICPA for his remarkable contributions to the development of eXtensible Business Reporting Language. The award recognizes a person who has made a significant mark on the accounting profession.

"Many call Charlie the 'Father' of XBRL because he was the individual who initially came up with the idea of using XML to structure financial statements," said Randy Fletchall, AICPA vice chair. "Charlie developed the initial prototype for what is now the XBRL technical specification and he was a leading catalyst in driving this international open-standard for business information."

Fletchall said Hoffman conceived the idea in 1998 while working...