http://www.itp.net/business/news/details.php?id=21007 By David Ingham 13 June 2006 Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM) has recently taken further steps to boost market transparency and improve its information technology systems. ADSM has declared its aim to become ISO 17799 compliant and has thrown its weight behind the XBRL information reporting standard. EXtensible business reporting language (XBRL) enables computer-readable tags to be applied to individual items of financial data in business reports. This helps to turn them from blocks of text into information that can be understood and processed by computer software. "XBRL complements ADSM's programme to adopt international best practise standards of regulation and governance throughout the UAE markets," said Rashed Al Baloushi, acting director general of ADSM. "It will give investors better access to a company's financial information, allowing them to make more informed decisions. "Furthermore, analysts will be able to compare detailed data more efficiently and with increased accuracy. Under the current system, it can be difficult to benchmark data efficiently." ADSM said it will encourage all listed companies to adopt the technology, which it says can reduce data processing costs in addition to improving transparency. It has already held one educational seminar, which was attended by listed UAE companies and representatives from other markets in the region. Separately, ADSM has said that it plans to become the first UAE bourse to achieve ISO 17799 certification. ISO 17799 is a set of procedures designed to help companies improve their level of information security. It covers ten aspects of e-security, including policies & procedures, access control and business continuity. Company and Cybertrust have been appointed to help ADSM benchmark its systems against the ISO 17799 requirements. "Since ADSM was established, we have been constantly reviewing and updating our security systems in line with our growth," said Khalfan Al Mazrouei, IT manager of ADSM. "But, in order to bring our systems up to an international standards we need ISO 17799 certification." _________________________________ Attend the Black Hat Briefings and Training, Las Vegas July 29 - August 3 2,500+ international security experts from 40 nations, 10 tracks, no vendor pitches. www.blackhat.com
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