As we prepare for the first matches in the annual Six Nations Rugby tournament here in Europe, I am reminded of the fact that the 20th XBRL Conference is in Rome, home of Italy’s Stadio Flaminio, famously used for burning Christians in Nero’s time. This being the case, it will surprise no readers of my Rivet blog posts that I have discovered some interesting synergies between the state of XBRL and Rugby.
Rugby 101 for US readers: Rugby is a sport. The 15 person team is essentially divided into an 8 man ‘Scrum’ (brutes) and the 7-man ‘Backs’ (bruchettas). Backs are supposed to score ‘tries’ – a literal touchdown at the opposing team’s end. Stoppages in the game are settled by either a ‘scrumdown’ (16 guys kicking the …. out of each other) or a ‘lineout’ when the ball is thrown in so guys can jump for it, pass it to the backs and then kick the …. out of each other.
Now for the synergies. XBRL is the ball. Note that a rugby ball is a curious oval shape that behaves unpredictably when bounced. And the XBRL committee are like the scrum: The bruisers (and a few ‘bruisettes’) who are having to steamroller their way to the touchline. It’s not very elegant but they’ll get there in the end.
The businesses who stand to benefit from XBRL are like the backs waiting to be passed the ball so they can take advantage of the quick ‘feed’ provided by XBRL-tagged data and make their own dash for the tryline. Trouble is that XBRL is stuck in the scrum and so far all the backs have seen of it are tantalizing glances. They wait patiently, dreaming of what they could do with that ball if only XBRL was embedded in their general ledgers.
Meanwhile, every now and then, one of the exhausted/injured scrum players is carried off on a stretcher to be replaced by a fresh brawler (known as a ‘Regulator’). The new guy injects more life into the scrum but basically the ball is still stuck inside the steaming melee. Being an international game we have seen many sizes and colours of regulator join the scrum but so far none have made that crucial difference. XBRL needs an All Black like Richie McCaw or a Springbok like Shalk Burger to break the deadlock. Perhaps every XBRL conference needs to start with a Haka?
Which reminds me. Whoever cast Matt Damon for ex-Springbok Captain Francois Pienaar in ‘Invictus’ needs help. It’s a bit like casting Clint Eastwood for the title role in ‘Get Shorty’.
Despite what you might think from the above – Rugby is not a slugging mudfest. At some point soon the XBRL scrum is going to release the ball and then things are really going to motor. Like a great game of Rugby when the winning team complies with the rules, controls the game and communication flows smoothly between the players (see how I worked in Rivet’s tagline there?).
Tags: Rugby
