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Every now and then I like to revisit Rivet’s XBRL journey mantra - Comply. Control. Communicate. – to remind ourselves that we are really only at stage 1 of the XBRL journey and there is a long way to go.
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BP and Impact ReportingJune 17th, 2010 by Stewart McKie - Executive Advisor
Being a Brit in Louisiana right now probably feels like being a Brit in a Mel Gibson movie. The environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has made a villain of British Petroleum, hammering their stock price, damaging their reputation and surely lowering the morale of their employees, many of them hard-working Americans. There are undoubtedly many lessons to be learned from this tragedy and one of them is the importance of impact reporting. Read the rest of this entry » Forward Planning (2)May 7th, 2010 by Stewart McKie - Executive Advisor
Only six months ago, in a previous post Forward Planning, I reported that a Grant Thornton survey had found that 52% of public companies had no plans to file in XBRL despite the S.E.C.’s mandate. Now, just six months later, Grant Thornton are reporting on this topic again. This time around, 49% of public companies have no such plans. That’s a decrease of 3% in six months or around 6% per year. So by my reckoning this measure indicates that all public companies may be filing in XBRL by 2082 – somewhat later than the 2011 mandated date. If any of these 49 percenter companies are reading this – and they probably aren’t – then they should know that Rivet offer an excellent ‘Planning to File in XBRL‘ service. My obviously impartial advice: Get it now – before the stampede in 2011. One Stop Shop Myth – XBRL Compliance Can’t Be OutsourcedMay 4th, 2010 by Charlie Hymer, CPA - Senior Account Executive
Accountants are always looking for ways to automate, streamline, gain efficiency, and do more with less. Adding XBRL to the game doesn’t change this tendency-the trend so far has been to outsource the XBRL function. Compliance, though, can’t be outsourced. Read the rest of this entry » What is the XBRL Cloud Report?March 3rd, 2010 by Charlie Hymer, CPA - Senior Account Executive
The Cloud Report is a validation tool created by a third party to assist with the XBRL filing process. In fact, some printers use this tool as their validation tool for their XBRL clients. Rivet currently uses its own proprietary tool to perform this function and does not rely on a third party for its validation. In addition, Rivet’s validation rules are based on official SEC guidelines, as are documented in the EDGAR manual. We work very closely with the SEC to ensure our interpretation of the SEC guidelines adhere to the EDGAR manual appropriately. Read the rest of this entry » Fear Factor: Detail Tagging EditionFebruary 18th, 2010 by Charlie Hymer, CPA - Senior Account Executive
The cloud of fear surrounding the next phase of the XBRL Mandate, Detail Tagging, has been growing darker as vendors release the numbers on just how many tags are going to be required to be compliant. The truth is, some companies’ notes have a whole lot of numbers (sometimes in the thousands) that are going to need tags when the time comes. Because of the breadth and intricacy of such an undertaking, it’s important to make sure that your provider has a grasp on what they’re doing. At the end of the day, the printer doesn’t sign off on your financials, you do. Read the rest of this entry » Complexity & Chaos vs. Clarity & CommunicationFebruary 12th, 2010 by Stewart McKie - Executive Advisor
The C words – complexity and chaos or clarity and communication are at the root of the Global Accounting Alliance’s (GAA) latest report – Making Financial Reporting Simpler and More Useful (The Way Forward). People seem to think that financial reporting is too complex, there is not enough clarity and that existing standards, as they evolve guided by committees of blind watchmakers, are contributing to the chaos. The GAA ends the report with this statement: It is a question of human behaviour. The continual urge to add more and more refinements and additions to the financial reporting process has to be curtailed. There has to be an active effort to remove elements which are now either unneccesary or have been found wanting. Financial reports have become Maslovian examples of ’self-actualization’ carried to extremes (are you lost yet?) The GAA aims to ‘nudge’ all the players in the financial reporting debate to make the necessary changes. Now I don’t know about you, but when people nudge me I tend to elbow them back and the next thing you know, the whole bar is on its way to A&E. Read the rest of this entry » Best Practice S.E.C. Filing AdviceFebruary 9th, 2010 by Stewart McKie - Executive Advisor
An excellent article in the Journal of Accountancy – Avoiding Common Errors of XBRL Implementation – has some useful best practice advice in the sections entitled ‘Mapping Tips’ and ‘A Strong Process for Preparing XBRL Documents’. Two of the article tips in particular are worth highlighting here: Educate management that ownership of XBRL submissions belongs to the company, not the outsourcer. Educate management that this is an accounting and reporting process, not an IT process. Audit ThreatsFebruary 2nd, 2010 by Stewart McKie - Executive Advisor
The Auditing Practices Board (APB) of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a useful set of guidelines for auditors, XBRL Tagging of Information in Audited Financial Statements – Guidance for Auditors, which also functions as a good introduction to certain aspects of the use of iXBRL in the UK. Read the rest of this entry » Treadware: The Future of Financial Reporting Software?January 22nd, 2010 by Stewart McKie - Executive Advisor
A couple of years ago, the chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, Sir David Tweedie, is reported to have said “the future of financials is non-financials”. But I would like to suggest that in fact, the future of financials is feet. Or at least that’s the way it seems here in the U.K. as we prepare for corporate footprint reporting in July 2011. Read the rest of this entry » |
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