Question

16.1. XBRL stands for extensible Business Reporting Language; it is a programming lan- guage designed specifically to facilitate the communication of business information. The SEC requires U.S. public companies to use XBRL when submitting their filings. Explain how accountants can, and should, play a major role in all phases of producing XBRL reports.

Answer 1

Role of an accountant as a preparer of XBRL reports

• Identifying and modeling Taxonomy revisions through review of US GAAP Accounting Standards Updates, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Taxonomy extensions as created by SEC Registrants, and constituent feedback; includes assisting with activities designed to proactively address broader constituents’ concerns about the Taxonomy
  • Identifying and implementing required changes from Accounting Standards Updates
  • Researching and resolving common reporting issues assigned for review
  • Analyzing public company filings to understand and document how specific US GAAP disclosure requirements are met
  • Investigating how public companies are using the Taxonomy to meet US GAAP disclosure requirements
  • Researching the FASB Accounting Standards Codification to support recommendations
  • Developing supporting documentation for recommendations and presenting to FASB Staff, the FASB Taxonomy Advisory Group and others as required
  • Recommending changes for inclusion in the Taxonomy
  • Implementing changes to the Taxonomy based on your findings
  • Validating Taxonomy changes for accuracy
• Assisting with activities necessary to complete the annual Taxonomy update on time and with the highest quality; including validation of annual release, updating assigned instance documents, and other supporting publications
• Assisting with the development and publication of Implementation and Reference Guides and other educational materials to facilitate constituent use of the Taxonomy
• Assisting with activities to integrate structured data considerations more deeply into the standards setting process; includes providing recommendations to FASB project teams for Accounting Standards Updates based on related Taxonomy modeling, and assisting FASB project teams with research related to agenda topics
• Assisting with XBRL working groups – FASB Taxonomy Advisory Group, FASB Industry Resource Groups, and XBRL US Best Practices Committee
• Participating in education outreach such as FASB webinars and liaising with industry groups, analysts, public accounting firms, SEC registrants, software vendors, financial publishers, IFRS XBRL team, XBRL US and the SEC
• Maintaining a broad knowledge of US GAAP (including the Conceptual Framework) and developing technical expertise in the areas encompassed by assignments
• Assisting with instructing FASB staff in the use of XBRL tools and data modeling requirements
• Participating in the testing of software used for Taxonomy development.