Abstracting and alternatives for XBRL implementation Abstracting the XBRL Formula Piotr Malczak (GPM Systemy) April 22, 2010

 A business-case for the XBRL Formula is to extend basic XBRL validation capabilities with complex validations.  The XBRL Formula provides ‘expression power’ which is capable of expressing complex relationships among data.  Is the XBRL Formula the right tool for business people?

 Extremly simple example: ◦ ‘EquityAndLiability’ = ‘Equity’ + ‘Liability’ ◦ XBRL Formula What kind of tool do business users need?

user expectations vs tech. capabilities gap xlink:arcrole=" xlink:from="fact_1" xlink:to="fact_1_filter_concept" complement="false" cover="true"/> p1:PLN xlink:arcrole=" xlink:from="fact_1" xlink:to="fact_1_filter_concept" complement="false" cover="true"/> p1:PLN Visual editor XBRL Formula Formula meta description Text editor SQL Java End-user tools - ‘Common language’ - Business level agreement - Technical resources - Common standards "F;ifrs_gp_EquityAndLiabilitiesTotal;;;E” = "F;ifrs_gp_EquityTotal;;;E” + "F;ifrs_gp_LiabilitiesTotal;;;E” … Visual editor XBRL Formula

 Formula meta-layer ◦ is needed for:  simplified description of relationships among reported data  formal syntax  as output from visual tools  as input to code generators, e.g. XBRL Formula, SQL, Java, etc. ◦ allows:  formula verification by business users  easy communication between ‘IT’ & ‘business’ – common language  appropriate tools to be built:  visual formula editors  code generators