Maintenance Support Services for eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL)

This is not a solicitation. This sources sought notice is for informational and planning purposes only. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this notice or otherwise pay for the information solicited. Respondents shall be responsible for all costs associated with the information submitted in response to this notice. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is in the process of determining its acquisition strategy to obtain maintenance services for the series of data dictionaries, or taxonomies, based on the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) which is used in various SEC programs. A listing of the currently supported XBRL data dictionaries can be found at http://sec.gov/info/edgar/edgartaxonomies.shtml. The SEC wants these data dictionaries to remain current and accurate as their use is required under Commission releases 33-9002 Interactive Data to Improve Financial Reporting and 33-9006 Interactive Data for Mutual Fund Risk/Return Summary. The data dictionaries will need to be updated to reflect changes in accounting standards, SEC rules, the core XBRL technologies and best practices, and to reflect improvements based on feedback from their initial implementation. In order to successfully meet the SEC's needs, respondents will need to demonstrate expertise in XBRL technology. In particular, a detailed understanding of and experience with the XBRL specification, recommendations and candidate recommendations, taxonomy development architectures and best practices, and taxonomy development and maintenance software are critical. Respondents will also need to demonstrate a comprehensive, detailed understanding of the subject matter being represented in the data dictionaries. The SEC requires that the data dictionaries be developed and maintained in a manner that facilitates widespread market involvement and feedback that includes, but is not limited to: investors, analysts, public companies, mutual funds, technology and software providers, accounting firms, industry trade groups and academia. The SEC also requires that the taxonomies developed and maintained meet the following criteria: - The taxonomies shall qualify to use the registered trademarks and service marks of XBRL International - The taxonomies shall qualify to be recognized by XBRL International as "Acknowledged" and "Approved" taxonomies - The taxonomies shall be made available for free use - The taxonomies shall follow the established taxonomy architecture in place for the taxonomies available at http://sec.gov/info/edgar/edgartaxonomies.shtml. The SEC anticipates that any acquisition for the maintenance services discussed in this notice will be issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP) after review of the responses to this announcement. The SEC is requesting that all interested parties respond to this notice with the following information: 1. Name and address 2. Phone number and email address 3. Description of the respondent's client base, including all Federal customers 4. Capability Statement including how the respondent is able to meet the SEC needs. The capability statement must include: a) A description of the respondent's solution in terms of processes, change management and governance, public review procedures, testing and quality assurance, and high level development plans; b) A description of the software products and platforms necessary for taxonomy development, testing and quality assurance, public comment and review, and hosting, and whether those products and platforms are commercial items currently available or could be modified from commercial items currently available; c) A description of the resources, technical expertise and subject matter expertise necessary to successfully complete this type of project including the respondent's ability to provide these resources; d) Past experiences on projects of similar nature; and e) To the extent possible, any information on pricing or rough-order-of-magnitude estimates that would assist the SEC in their planning for this acquisition 5. Respondents are also encouraged to provide feedback on the following questions: a) As the number of taxonomies increases, both for SEC reporting uses and also for other purposes in the US and internationally, describe your experience coordinating data in this manner and the capabilities and processes necessary to ensure consistency between taxonomies and to the extent possible preventing overlapping content. b) The SEC has already implemented a taxonomy for US GAAP, and under Release 33-9002 also has a requirement for a taxonomy for IFRS. Describe how the taxonomies could be developed to provide an integrated taxonomy that could represent two standards independently but also represent the ongoing state of convergence between the standards. Describe how your capabilities and experience are suitable for this type of project. All questions regarding this notice shall be submitted in writing and addressed to Wanda J. Armwood, Contracting Officer at ArmwoodW@sec.gov on or before May 18, 2009. Interested parties shall submit a capability package electronically to ArmwoodW@sec.gov. Capability packages are limited to 15 pages. The email shall be clearly marked - SECHQ1-09-0001 in the subject line and must be received no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on or before June 5, 2009. Please confirm receipt of the capability package.