This presentation gives a brief overview of the current state of XBRL, its benefits and challenges for public corporations, investors, and university researchers working in finance. See more at findynamics.com and try our Excel platform XBRLAnalyst

1. XBRL
New approach to financial
reporting and analysis
Ilya Vadeiko, MBA Candidate in Finance, McGill University
Vitaly Gritsenko, M.Sc. in Computer Science, Owner of F-Key Solutions

2. Agenda
• Brief introduction to XBRL
1. What it is
2. Why and how to use it
• Various perspectives on XBRL
1. Corporations: advantages and challenges
2. Investors: benefits and risks
3. Universities: education and research
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3. Introduction to XBRL
(high level overview)
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4. XBRL is:
• eXtensible Business Reporting Language based on XML for
tagging financial statements
• International standard agreed upon by
regulators, CFOs, CFAs, CPAs
• New computer format enabling automated processing and
validation of business information
• Search-facilitating technology that improves the transparency of
financial reporting and analysis
During his 2007 testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox stated, “XBRL would in fact give investors
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better access to the information because they could find it more easily.”
Source: “Cox Defends XBRL to Senators,” 31 July 2007 www.cfo.com/article.cfm/9571612?f=msdynamics

5. Why bother learning XBRL?
1. Regulators enforce it across 2. Like Web 2.0 to static HTML –
the globe – compliance Interactive Data
Where XBRL saves you time
Source: Charles Hoffman, Liv Watson. XBRL for Dummies.
Wiley Publishing, 2009, page 51
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Source: http://xbrl.org/knowledge_centre/projects
HOW?

6. Basics of XBRL
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Source: “Cheat Sheet from XBRL for Dummies” www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/xbrl

7. Taxonomy is like a dictionary
Examples of US Taxonomies:
• XBRL US GAAP Taxonomy
• XBRL US Management's Discussion and Analysis Taxonomy
• XBRL US Standardized Industrial Classification (SIC) Taxonomy
Examples of UK Taxonomies: 7
• UK GAAP (for Accounts)
• UK IFRS (for Accounts)
• HMRC Taxonomy (for Corporation Tax Computation)

8. SEC filing: Interactive Data
Interactive data
(XBRL)
1. XBRL instance (.xml)
2. Taxonomy (.xsd)
3. Calculations (_cal.xml)
4. Definitions (_def.xml) 8
5. Labels (_lab.xml)
6. Presentation (_pre.xml)

9. Viewing XBRL in stand-alone app
2. Selected statement: Balance Sheet
3. Export to Excel
1. Statements and notes 9

10. Viewing online: XBRL cloud
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11. Corporates’ perspective on XBRL
(creators of financial information)
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12. Corporate’s perspective on XBRL
Trading Management
Companies Auditors Regulators
Partners Accountants
Disclose to: Financial Publishers &
Investors
Central Other
Data Aggregators Banks Stakeholders
XBRL
Business
Management
Systems:
Sources: Legacy ERP CRM SCM… 12
Source: “IFRS, XBRL and Business Performance Management (BPM)” by Trevor Walker, for XBRL.org

13. Enforcing XBRL by SEC in US
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
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Source: “SEC XBRL Mandate for Dummies” by Ed Tittel, IBM Limited Edition, Wiley Publishing Inc. 2011
Today

14. Tagging levels explained
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Source: “SEC XBRL Mandate for Dummies” by Ed Tittel, IBM Limited Edition, Wiley Publishing Inc. 2011

15. Most Challenging Aspects of XBRL
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Source: “SEC Reporting and the impact of XBRL: 2012 Survey” by William Sinnett, Financial Executives Research Foundation

16. Key providers of XBRL solutions
• Large EDGAR filers/Financial printers (e.g. RR Donnelley, Bowne)
• Independent Software Vendors (Rivet, WebFilings)
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Source: “SEC Reporting and the impact of XBRL: 2012 Survey” by William Sinnett,
Financial Executives Research Foundation

17. Market evolution
• Most XBRL exhibits are created by registrants’ EDGAR filers
• However, significantly more non-EDGAR filer XBRL service providers and
software vendors appear on the market
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Source: “XBRL Summit Presentation” by Natalie Zimmer, Ernst & Yong, May 2012

18. Auditing and Consulting in XBRL
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19. Investors’ perspective on XBRL
(users of financial information)
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20. What could XBRL be used for?
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21. Footnotes are very important
How often do you use numerical data ONLY found in a company’s footnotes?
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Source: “An Evaluation of the Current State and Future of XBRL and Interactive Data for Investors and Analysts”
Columbia Business School, Centre for Excellence in Accounting and Security Analysis, December 2012

22. Timeliness of the financial data
How quickly after its issuance do you require SEC-mandated financial info?
Sum = At
least 50%
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Source: “An Evaluation of the Current State and Future of XBRL and Interactive Data for Investors and Analysts”
Columbia Business School, Centre for Excellence in Accounting and Security Analysis, December 2012

23. Broader analyst coverage
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Source: “Transforming business reporting”, Presentation by XBRL International Inc.

24. Awareness about XBRL (US)
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Source: “An Evaluation of the Current State and Future of XBRL and Interactive Data for Investors and Analysts”
Columbia Business School, Centre for Excellence in Accounting and Security Analysis, December 2012

25. Awareness to XBRL (Global)
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Source: “CFA Institute Member Survey: XBRL”, CFA Institute Market Intelligence, December 2011

26. Use of XBRL (Global)
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Source: “CFA Institute Member Survey: XBRL”, CFA Institute Market Intelligence, December 2011

27. Reasons for not using XBRL yet
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Source: “An Evaluation of the Current State and Future of XBRL and Interactive Data for Investors and Analysts”
Columbia Business School, Centre for Excellence in Accounting and Security Analysis, December 2012

28. Universities’ perspective on XBRL
(Research and Education)
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29. Academic projects (globally)
XBRL in classroom:
Kennesaw State University
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Last updated in 2010

30. XBRL at Waterloo
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31. Conclusion: this is the time!
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Source: “Review of 2013 US GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy (UGT)” by J. Louis Matherne,
Financial Accounting Standards Board, January 16, 2013

32. Useful Resources
• http://xbrl.squarespace.com/ – website of the father of XBRL
(Charles Hoffman) that contains learning materials
• http://xbrl.org/ – XBRL International (key resource for
information, news, events, etc.)
• http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm – new
website of SEC for Interactive Data
• http://xbrlwiki.info – Wiki type of resource about XBRL
• http://www.eurofiling.info/ – XBRL in Europe
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