UBmatrix lets financial data be easily shared

What: UBmatrix

Who: George Blackstone, president and chief executive

What it does: Offers software and services that allow companies to easily share financial data. Corporations typically record such information in different software platforms and must rekey shared data.

The standard: UBmatrix software is based on XBRL (extensible business reporting language), a standard software language that enables users to more efficiently prepare, publish and share business data.

The genesis: The idea for the worldwide standard was conceived by Charles Hoffman, who now serves as director of innovative solutions at UBmatrix. Companies including Fujitsu and Hitachi base products on XBRL, and Microsoft has developed a prototype XBRL tool that allows users to create, publish and share financial reports.

Savings: UBmatrix says customers can save costs and time by eliminating the manual labor that would otherwise be required to retype information. Another advantage is accuracy. "You have the huge benefit of eliminating errors that occur when you manually input a document," said Blackstone.

Example: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the agency that insures banks, is a customer. Every quarter, FDIC member banks send financial statements to the FDIC. The agency spends 60 to 75 days every quarter manually inputting data and performing audit checks. With the UBmatrix approach, the process now can take 10 days. Blackstone said that when the program goes fully live next year, it will take just one day.

Smaller scale: Companies can also buy software from UBmatrix that makes it easier to gather data that complies with GAAP, or generally accepted accounting principles, which public companies use to report financial performance.

Accounting rules: UBmatrix tools can make it easier for companies to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires companies to use methods that ensure data can be audited at a certain level.

Customers: Approaching 100. The final version of the XBRL standard was completed in January.

Employees: 30, with 26 at its Kirkland headquarters.

Funding: Angel investors have contributed an undisclosed amount. Trying to raise $10 million in institutional funding.

Profit: Hopes to reach profitability in 2005.

— Nancy Gohring