1. The Next Technology Revolution XML XBRL
Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants
May 17, 2001
Neal Hannon and Saeed Roohani
XBRL Educational Resource Center
At Bryant College
XBRL Education Co-Chair
Phone:

2. Today’s Objectives Overview of XML & XBRL
Show you how this technology makes doing E-Business:
Faster
Cheaper
Better
Conclusion

3. Note see next couple of slides, which are hidden to get history of the problem. The point that this makes is:
Accounting is accounting and the systems that we carry have been doing that for around twenty years, we want
To take accounting to the next level and “think outside the box – using the systems to be proactive an help to
Manage business better – The CEO wants timely information that he/she can use (reports, digital dashboard, OLAP)
Modified from puzzles appearing in:
Pumping Ions, Tom Wujec, Doubleday and Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1988, Page 117
The Art of Creative Thinking, Gerard I. Nierberg, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1982, Page 72
Creative Thinking in the Decision and Management Sciences, James R. Evans, Southwestern, Cincinnati, 1991, Page 49
Find the best solution to connect the nine points together with no more than four straight lines without lifting your writing instrument.

4. What assumptions are you making?

5. If you do not assume that you cannot extend your lines beyond the imaginary square formed by the box the puzzle becomes easier to solve.

6. was born 144 years ago – 10th April 1857
Henry Dudeney
was born 144 years ago – 10th April 1857
. Find out more at:
Henry Dudeney learnt to play chess at a young age and became interested in chess problems. From the age of nine he was composing problems and puzzles which he published in a local paper. Although he only had a basic education, he had a particular interest in mathematics and studied mathematics and its history in his spare time. Dudeney worked as a clerk in the Civil Service from the age of 13 but continued to study mathematics and chess. He began to write articles for magazines and joined a group of authors which included Arthur Conan Doyle. He was doing well publishing mathematical puzzles under the pseudonym 'Sphinx'.
In 1884 Dudeney married and his wife, who wrote full length novels which proved popular helped made the family very well off financially.
Sam Loyd started sending his puzzles to England in 1893 and a correspondence started between him and Dudeney. The two were the main creators of mathematical puzzles and recreations of their day and it was natural that they should exchange ideas. Of the two Dudeney showed the more subtle mathematical skills. He sent a large number of his puzzles to Loyd and became very upset when Loyd began to publish them under his own name.
In [4] Newing describes how one of Dudeney's daughters:-
... recalled her father raging and seething with anger to such an extent that she was very frightened and, thereafter, equated Sam Loyd with the devil. Dudeney contributed to the Strand Magazine for over 30 years and his very popular collection of mathematical puzzles Modern Puzzles was published in After Dudeney's death his wife helped edit a collection of his puzzles Puzzles and Curious Problems (1931) and later on she again helped edit a second collection A Puzzle Mine.
References [1] and [2] show that Dudeney's puzzles are still of interest to many mathematicians. In [1] a generalisation of Problem 229 in H E Dudeney's 536 puzzles and curious problems is discussed. In [2] the following problem of Dudeney posed first in 1905 and appearing in Amusements in mathematics (1915) is discussed.
Is it possible to seat n people at a round table on (n - 1)(n - 2)/2 occasions so that each person has the same pair of neighbors exactly once. A proof is given in [2] for n even, but the case of n odd still appears to be open.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
Articles:
C J Bouwkamp, On Dudeney's puzzle 229 of blocks and squares, Nieuw Arch. Wisk. (4) 4 (3) (1986),
M Kobayashi, Kiyasu-Zen'iti and G Nakamura, A solution of Dudeney's round table problem for an even number of people, J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 63 (1) (1993),
A Newing, The life and work of H E Dudeney, Mathematical Spectrum 21 ( ),
A Newing, Henry Ernest Dudeney Britain's greatest puzzlist, in R K Guy and R E Woodrow (eds), The Lighter Side of Mathematics (Washington, 1994),
Dudeney is best known for his publications of mathematical problems and pastimes, some of which provoked serious mathematical research

7. “Everything “that can be invented “has been invented.”
Charles H. Duell
Commissioner of U.S. Office of Patents, urging President William McKinley to abolish his office, 1899

8. Don’t assume that the lines must pass through the center of the dots.

9. Don’t assume that the line must be thin.

10. Just to prove I can do it with two lines.

11. Don’t assume that the paper must be flat.

12. If you rip the paper into nine segments, you can stack them and poke your point through all at once.

13. Don’t assume that you cannot crease the paper.

14. Don’t assume that the lines cannot extend beyond the edge of the paper.

15. Don’t assume that you cannot rip the paper.

16. Is There A Problem?
From Evansville Courier and Press

17. Let’s move up the Value Chain
Transactions
Data
Information
Knowledge
Decisions
Transactions
Data
Information
Knowledge
Decisions
Transactions
Data
Information
Knowledge
Decisions
Transactions
Data
Information
Knowledge
Decisions

18. Hg Content—without Context
Searching for the word “Mercury” on the Web can provide search results such as-- Hg

19. 47, 000+ hits, No Help

20. Evolution to Web Services
Program the Web
Technology
Innovation
Browse the Web
Web Services
Web Pages
Text Files
Automation
FTP, , Gopher
Presentation
Connectivity
TCP/IP
HTML
XML

21. XML XML stands for: eXtensible Markup Language
Universally accepted method of exchanging information

22. eXtensible Markup Language
……is a meta markup language the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) considers a universal standard for describing both structured data and the behavior of applications that process the language.

23. What Is XML? “XML is a platform-independent, self-describing,
expandable,
standard data exchange format

24. XML is Platform Independent
Windows
Unix
Macintosh
Mainframe
Linux

25. XML is Self-Describing
Example:
<DATE>July 26, 1998</DATE>
Describes the information, not the presentation
Format neutral

26. XML is Expandable Whereas HTML has a fixed set of tags
<H1>, <B>, <PRE>
XML lets you create your own tags
<sugary-substance>
<Shakespearean-character>
<cash-equivalent>

27. How does it work?
XML gives meaning to information through the use of tags
<Customer> <Name>Saeed Roohani</Name>
<Company>Bryant College<Company> <Title>Chair, Accounting</Title> <Age>29</Age> </Customer>
Caution.. …Just because something is <tagged>.. Does not mean it is accurate?

28. Industry Specific Vocabularies Company Specific Vocabulary
The XML Puzzle
Industry Specific Vocabularies
XML
Document
Company Specific Vocabulary
Core
Schema
Transformation Tools

29. How XML Works How XML Works
Improves the way companies -- and applications -- share information
Enjoys strong industry and vendor support

30. What is ‘XML’? What XML is Not XML is a Tool Not a religion.
Not the solution to all world problems.
Not a solution for all electronic commerce problems.
Not a solution to all legal-technology problems.
XML is a Tool
XML is a Really Cool (Powerful) Tool!
Like all tools, XML can be used wisely and unwisely.

31. Why is XML so Important? Portable Vendor neutral Readable data format
More flexible and easier to use than EDI
All major software products are becoming “XML” enabled
Defacto standards for data exchange
Enabling new levels of interoperability

32. XML
Widely expected to reduce cost of publishing to the Net by as much as 50%.
And by next year …
Gartner Group prediction
70% of all B2B transactions executed on the Web will be done using XML.

33. Who defines the tags? Tags are defined by industry consortiums
Each industry’s standard tags are commonly referred to as a taxonomy

34. <RECORD-LABEL>
“Content in Context” (Industry-specific)
Auto Industry
<CAR-MODEL>
Chemical Industry
<SYMBOL>
Publishing or Mythology
<GOD>
Music Industry
<RECORD-LABEL>
Aerospace
<PROGRAM>
Astronomy
<PLANET>

35. Who’s Building Taxonomies?

36. Defines Tags

37. XBRL International is gaining strength
XBRL activities occurring in—
United States
Canada
Australia
China & Hong Kong
Japan
Malaysia
New Zealand
Singapore
Taiwan
Germany
India
Ireland
Netherlands
Nordic Federation (Denmark, Norway, Sweden)
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
United Kingdom
And on a global level through the—
International Accounting Standards Council
International Press Telecommunications Council
International Standards Organization

38. XBRL International is gaining strength
On a Global level through the—
International Accounting Standards Council
International Press Telecommunications Council
International Standards Organization
On a Country Level:
United States
Canada
Australia
China & Hong Kong
Japan
Malaysia
New Zealand
Singapore
Taiwan
Germany
India
Ireland
Netherlands
Nordic Federation (Denmark, Norway, Sweden)
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
United Kingdom

39. How we are organized – US Jurisdictional
Working Group
Chair
Communications
Christy Reichhelm (Microsoft)
Domain
Sergio de la Fe (KPMG)
Education
Neal Hannon (IMA, Bryant College) Jenia Gorfunkel (S&P)
Liaison
Zach Coffin (KPMG)
Liv Watson (Edgar Online Inc)
Specification
David Vun Kannon (KPMG)
Luther Hampton (e-Numerate)
Strategy
Louis Matherne (AICPA)
Mike Willis (PwC)
Tools
Eric E. Cohen (PwC)
Web site
Geni Whitehouse (Navision)
Process
Mike Willis (PWC)
Object
Gary Gannon

40. XBRL Impact
"The explosive growth of the Internet is not only changing the way companies conduct their business,
it also promises to forever alter the way they communicate business performance.”
- CFO Magazine, February 2000

41. XBRL Documents XBRL for Financial Statements XBRL for General Ledger
XBRL for Journal Entry Reporting
XBRL for Credit Reporting
XBRL for Performance Press Releases
XBRL for Risk Reporting
XBRL for Regulatory Filings
XBRL for Tax Filings
XBRL for Assurance Schedules
XBRL for Authoritative Literature
XBRL for “Business” Reporting

42. Who’s Embracing XML now?
Software developers Using XML as the core technology for new products
Database developers Building XML support into their products.
Industry groups Deciding how information should be shared.
Organizations Investigating how to tie their inter and intra company processes together.
XML is so simple, non-programmers can put their arms around it and embrace it, much to the disdain of the programming community

43. XBRL Support
“I would like to see you develop valuation models that result in consistent, comparable and fair values of assets and liabilities. I would like to see you hone specific, but plain English definitions for the types of information you believe should be included in public disclosure. I would like to see you take your XBRL project a step further, providing account classifications for companies in common industries. In short, I challenge you to turn all of this data into meaningful information for investors.”
- Arthur Levitt, Chairman, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
October 24, 2000, at the Fall Council of the AICPA (Las Vegas, Nevada)

44. XML for Financial Reporting
Enables a dramatic improvement in the processing of financial reports
XBRL documents can be—
Prepared efficiently
Exchanged reliably
Published more easily
Analyzed quickly
Retrieved by investors simply to enable smarter investments
Standard-based electronic language for financial information, reporting & analysis.
XBRL

45. Benefits
XBRL is:
NOT a new accounting standards but enhances the distribution and usability of existing financial statement information
Enabler and an extension for relational database functionality for all financial statement information

46. Problems XBRL Addresses
Ineffective communication to investors
Inefficient aggregation and analysis
Inefficient creation of financial statements
1. When financial reports are hard to interpret, to analyze and to compare, investors perceive greater investment risk and become more reliant on secondary (perhaps unreliable) sources.
2. Investors, auditors, tax preparers, regulators, and all users of financial information re-enter data. Why?
3. Using formats like Word, HTML, Acrobat, etc. means using tools generalized for any document.

47. Why XBRL ? Enable business reporting that leverages the Internet & XML
Effective access and analysis of business reports
Improve corporate communications with stakeholders

48. Process Benefits: Lowering Financial Reporting Cost
Who benefits
Process Benefits: Lowering Financial Reporting Cost
Today’s external reporting processes
Rework and delay
Ad hoc and non repeatable
No path forward
Printed
Financials
Regulatory
Filings
Web Site
Accounting
System
Explanatory
Text
Tax
Return
Third Party
Information
Trade
Filings

49. Process Benefits: Lowering Financial Reporting Cost
Who benefits
Process Benefits: Lowering Financial Reporting Cost
Common interchange format and storage is good information management practice
Reduces redundancies & discrepancies
Repeatable processes using tools
A platform for continuous reporting
Printed
Financials
XBRL
Documents
Regulatory
Filings
Web Site
Accounting
System
Explanatory
Text
Tax
Return
Third Party
Information
Trade
Filings

50. XBRL: Interoperability & Multiple Uses
G/L Package
ERP
US GAAP
Financial
Statement
In English
XBRL
US GAAP
Financial
Statement
In Dutch
XBRL
Custom
Developed
Systems
US GAAP
Financial
Statement
to the Web
US GAAP
Financial
Statement
to Print
US GAAP
Financial
Statement
to Cell Phone
Other Sources of Information
XBRL
Other Sources of Information
Other Sources of Information

51. XBRL: Interoperability & Multiple Uses
G/L Package
ERP
US GAAP
Financial
Statement
XBRL
XBRL
Investors
&
Creditors
News
Agencies
And
Others
Government
EDGAR
Filing
XBRL
Custom
Developed
Systems
Tax
Filing
Bank
Filing
Press
Release
Other Sources of Information
XBRL
Other Sources of Information
Other Sources of Information

52. Once Every Event is tagged in XBRL…
G/L Package
ERP
IAS
Financial
Statement
in German
XBRL
XBRL
Investors
&
Creditors
News
Agencies
And
Others
Government
US GAAP
Financial
Statement
In English
XBRL
Custom
Developed
Systems
French
Tax
Filing
Canadian
Banking
Filing
EDGAR 10k
line item via
Cell Phone
Other Sources of Information
XBRL
Other Sources of Information
Other Sources of Information

53. XBRL Working Model: Planned Specifications
XBRL for G/L Journal Entry Reporting
XBRL for Financial Statements
XBRL for EDGAR Filings
Business
Operations
Internal
Financial
Reporting
External
Financial
Reporting
Investment
and Lending
Analysis
Processes
XBRL for Business Event Reporting
XBRL for Tax Filings
Companies
Financial
Publishers
and Data
Aggregators
Investors
Participants
Trading
Partners
Management
Accountants
Auditors
Regulators
Software Vendors

54. XBRL: not a Transaction Protocol
What it is
XBRL: not a Transaction Protocol
XBRL is merely a format to serialize complex, structured financial data: e.g., statements, G/Ls.
Therefore, it cannot replace OFX, ebXML, ANSI X.12 Trans Set 821, OMG G/L Spec, ...
Future message sets in those protocols could include XBRL tagged data if they need to send financial statements in the message body.
XBRL provides a framework and an AICPA approved vocabulary that can be extended to many other reporting frameworks.

55. XBRL: not an accounting standard
Means of communicating
Current GAAP
Current practice
Flexible standard
Future standards
Future general practice

56. XBRL Impact
"Coming down the road are standards like XML and XBRL that take data handling a major step forward from HTML, the current web standard. With these new standards, plus those for accounting, it will be possible to scan a universe of corporate data across the web and extract, say, the chairman's report for all companies with a certain market cap, EBITDA, and gearing. …

57. XBRL: A Fragment of a Raw Data
Raw Data in Spreadsheet…
Company
Financial Statement
Line Item
Label
Year
Value
Coca Cola Co.
Balance Sheet
CurrentAssets.CashandCashEquivalents
1999
1611
1998
1648
Same Raw Data in XML (XBRL) Format
<group>
<group type="CurrentAssets.CashandCashEquivalents">
<item period="1999">$1,611 </item>
<item period="1998">$1,648 </item>
</group>

59. What software ‘sees’ is the differentiator and drives benefits
(here is an example)

60. Importance of Reporting“
…[W]hat excites the CEO is the ability to know what the business is doing at any given point in time, react quickly to market shifts and competitive threats and remain in tight control while empowering employees to make informed decisions more quickly. ”
Year End Earnings Release Call August 10, 1999
John Chambers Cisco CEO

61. Best Practice “
The Virtual Close … has, in my opinion, just as much impact on a company’s future success or lack thereof as the well-published e-commerce area. ”
John Chambers Cisco CEO
Year End Earnings Release Call August 10, 1999

62. XBRL Impact
“ … If Europe moves quickly to take up these standards, it could give them an attractive lead in the race to accessible and comparative key data that would stimulate investor interest. It would undoubtedly spawn a plethora of research tools that would be useful to both private and professional investors.”
- Investors Chronicle, August 9, 2000

63. XBRL and the Emergence of ‘e-Standards’
E-Standards are fundamental
HTML is the standard that enabled the web’s first ‘Big Step’
XML is the web’s next ‘Big Step’
Over 200 XML-Based Specifications and Protocols exist, including—
RosettaNet – computer company supply chain and trading webs
OBI - Open Buying on the Internet - retail e-commerce
FpML - Financial Products (Derivatives, Swaps, FX)
ACORD XML - Insurance industry information exchange standards derived from EDI.
UN/CEFAC = EBXML
XBRL is uniquely focused on financial reporting

64. Standard .orgs (reporting vs ‘e’)
Accounting / Auditing
Reporting
‘e-Business’
ASB
IASC
FASB
IFAC
SEC
Territory Institutes
W3C
OASIS;UN/CEFACT (ebxml)
xml.org
RosettaNet
ACORD
OASIS - Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards.
CPAs participate / lead in these
What about these?

65. The range of what is under development today………...
“Horizontals”
(Infrastructure)
there are others….. HR
XBRL is uniquely focused on business reporting
CRM
Etc.
ACORD
FpML
CHEMX
RosettaNet
ANX
“Verticals” (Industry Supply Chains)
there are others…….

66. XBRL Adds Reporting to E-Commerce
Investors
Aggregators
Regulators
Creditors
Lenders
Tax
Website
One
way
BUSINESS
ERP
G/L Packages
CRM
2-way
Transaction Creation
Suppliers
Customers
Orders
A/P
Delivery
Orders
A/R
Delivery

67. XBRL Adds Reporting to E-Commerce
BUSINESS
Investors
Aggregators
Regulators
Creditors
Lenders
Tax
Website
Transaction Creation
ERP
G/L Packages
CRM
Orders
A/P
Delivery
Customers
A/R
2-way
Suppliers
One
way
XBRL
BUSINESS REPORTING
(e-)Commerce
OTHER XML INITIATIVES

68. Key XBRL Components XBRL / XML Specification (XBRL.org)
XBRL - What
Key XBRL Components
XBRL / XML Specification (XBRL.org)
Global architecture/technology
XBRL hierarchical vocabulary (jurisdiction/industry)
Dictionary of terms by jurisdiction/industry sector
Style Sheets (preparer)
XBRL enabled tools (market)

69. Key to our Success Market driven model
Start simple, be inclusive
Broad supply chain participation
Members support XBRL
Members do not compete on the “framework”
Build structure & systems to support open community & market development

70. Steps in Technology Acceptance
Simplification/Tools
Taxonomy
Visionaries

71. Financial Institutions—and their Users
SMALL BUSINESS provides FINANCIAL INSTITUTION with their information in XBRL and receives loan approval in less than a day instead of two days—or two weeks.
Average Time for Loan Processing—1.75 days
<10%
90% + time spent on Mechanics
Value-added Analysis and Decision-making?
Mechanics
With XBRL?
More Time for Analysis => Better Analysis => Less Risk
Company uses XBRL to standardize financial info that supports the assessment of their portfolio of risk (that arises from dynamic pricing, M&A, etc.) Or
Mechanics
Analysis
Mechanics
Analysis
Mechanics
Analysis
Mechanics
Analysis
Process more loans in the same amount of time

72. XBRL Working Model: Supply Chain & Beneficiaries
Today
XBRL for Financial Statements
Internal
External
Investment
Processes
Business
Processes
Financial
Financial
and Lending
Operations
Reporting
Reporting
Analysis
Financial
Publishers
Companies
Investors
Participants
Participants
and Data
Aggregators
Trading
Management
Auditors
Regulators
Partners
Accountants
Software Vendors

73. Benefits to Today's Users
1. Reduce cost of analyzing and reporting financial information
2. Increase speed and efficiency of business decisions
Enhance the distribution and access of existing financial statement information
More readily exchanged
Increase and enhance analysis

74. Benefits
1. Reduce cost of analyzing and reporting financial information
2. Increase the speed and efficiency of business decisions
3. Enhance the distribution and usability of existing financial statement information

75. Example: Cost Reduction
International Subsidiaries:
Large multi-national corporation uses XBRL to quickly roll–up, analyze and publish the financial statements of numerous subsidiaries—
in different countries
with different languages
using different GAAP
on different computer systems

76. Benefits 2. Increase the speed and efficiency of business decisions
1. Reduce cost of analyzing and reporting financial information
2. Increase the speed and efficiency of business decisions
3. Enhance the distribution and usability of existing financial statement information

77. Example: Efficient Decisions
Major mutual fund company feeds XBRL-ized information to customers to differentiate their funds as more objective and reliable investments
An investor uses XBRL to compare the financials for a range of companies—
Belonging to different revenue levels
Located within an industry sector
Along multiple analytical criteria
Company uses XBRL to standardize financial info that supports the assessment of their portfolio of risk (that arises from dynamic pricing, M&A, etc.)

78. Benefits
1. Reduce cost of analyzing and reporting financial information
2. Increase the speed and efficiency of business decisions
3. Enhance the distribution and usability of existing financial statement information

79. Example: Credit Loan Approval: Credit Approval: Line of Credit:
Small Business provides Bank with their financial information in XBRL and receives loan approval in 1 minute instead of 2 days
Credit Approval:
Company approves customer credit request with automated assessment processes facilitated by XBRL
Line of Credit:
Company provides capital markets with financial information in XBRL and receives expedited line of credit
Company uses XBRL to standardize financial info that supports the assessment of their portfolio of risk (that arises from dynamic pricing, M&A, etc.)

80. XBRL Taxonomies Under Development
App to fin rep
XBRL Taxonomies Under Development
Commercial and Industrial Companies, US GAAP - Published
Federal Departments, US
Mutual Funds, US
Financial Institutions, US
Commercial and Industrial, IASC
Commercial and Industrial, German GAAP
Bank Call Reports - FDIC

81. Design Solution/Business Plan
How Do You Get There?
Needs Assessment
Design Solution/Business Plan
Training & Education
Implementation

82. XML Shortcomings? Not a replacement for integration
and middleware tools
Lots of Hype, not a solution
for everything
There are many different standards
among industries
Standards still evolving
But, you can’t wait while the
standards evolve….

83. XBRL Development & Adoption

84. Additional Education Sources
- Student Competition
web.bryant.edu/xbrl

85. Final Thought…….. Change is not what it used to be…..
Change has become a process; it’s become a permanent part of the external environment

86. Summary
FASTER
BETTER
CHEAPER
Our profession will have to follow technology and record business activity in an real-time mode.

87. Concluding Remarks…..
Embrace
Change or
Die!

88. To download slides……….