XBRL questions dog internal auditors

Jim Kim — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:36:16 -0400

Are you still confused about XBRL? Welcome to the club. According to a survey of more than 200 chief audit executives, conducted by the Institute of Internal Auditors, more than half are not yet familiar with XBRL. But many are resigned to the reporting technology as a looming reality. Specifically, while only 8 percent of respondents said they are now filing reports in the new format, nearly 40 percent agree that this will happen within three years.

This begs the question: do internal financial staff, auditors included, have a role to play? Is XBRL merely a reporting technology? My sense is that it will evolve into much more than a tool to report out the aggregates that are already produce. Savvy financial execs will soon want to use the tool to capture new data at more detailed levels, if only for internal purposes. So it's a tool that internal auditors can develop along strategic lines. Which would suggest getting involved now.

For more:
- here's a SmartPros article

These are busy times, don't forget XBRL

Jim Kim — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:31:32 -0400

For the moment, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is at the top of everyone's worry list. But a Compliance Week survey reminds us that the SEC has published a proposal to mandate XBRL for all companies by 2011. Fortune 500 companies would be required to adopt as early as next spring. This major reporting technology and IFRS would be quite a one-two blow: new numbers and a new way of reporting them. You would be wise to get your head out of the sand on XBRL. Unfortunately, the Compliance Week survey found 80 percent of company respondents said "nobody on their staff is well-versed" in XBRL. And 59 percent said "they either have just begun reading up on the technology, or have done no research at all." This could easily bite you. Time for a reality check. Here are the survey results.

Reporting Technology

XBRL questions dog internal auditors

These are busy times, don't forget XBRL