Corporate filers are filing their returns in XBRL with no apparent benefit to them, or worse yet, the SEC or the investment community. So what’s the point?
The point is you have to start somewhere, and that’s where we are. One of the benefits that will be driven by the data is an SEC that is enabled to more efficiently target both analysis and enforcement efforts.
At some point, we will all benefit from the data that is being submitted to the SEC via the wisdom of crowds in evaluating corporate performance. And, XBRL will be the underlying technology that enables the army of analysts to act fast.
Using this data should be easy for everyone who speaks the language, and this goes beyond the technical nuances of XBRL and extends into the universal language of business and financial data.
Until XBRL becomes more pervasive as an enabler in multiple business processes, corporate filers should rightly focus on how their data is filed with the SEC and how their financials will be viewed and perceived by a wider audience than ever before. The long range benefits of XBRL to the company, regulators, and investors will be realized in time as the volume of filings reaches critical mass.
It is incumbent on the filer to know about the XBRL presentation decisions they make (or have others make for them). The best way to do this is to easily review the filing for the how, what, and why. Rivet Software’s Dragon View and similar applications will help organizations review exactly what will be filed with the SEC (no matter how or by whom that filing was prepared). When the data will be analyzed by others (and it will), filers will want to ensure they:
- Review the XBRL properties associated with the financials.
- Know exactly what investors and others see when they look at the financials on the SEC site (and other organizations who use the data filed at the SEC site).
- Benchmark XBRL definitions, descriptions and extensions against those used by other filers.
- Make XBRL financials available on their corporate web site, as required by the SEC. They can go a step farther and include a viewable set of the XBRL financials on their site to ensure the presentation is consistent with the filer standards.
I’ll have to admit I have learned more about XBRL by viewing and reviewing some of the filings than I did by exploring how to tag financials – it is much easier to understand how to get there when looking at a map. XBRL is so promising because you can see the same elements being used in multiple filings, and see where a filer decided they needed to extend.
Rivet can help – apply to become part of the Dragon View beta program. Check out the online demonstration of Dragon View. Also, you can sign up for a 30 minute webinar on Dragon View.
Tags: Analytics, Customer, Dragon View
