For
6th
ABSTRACTS
University of Kansas International Conference on XBRL
April 25-27, 2013
Session II: XBRL Adoption, Business Analytics and Integrated Reporting
(Friday, April 26, 10:15 –12:15 pm)
Does XBRL Adoption Constrain Managerial Opportunism in Financial Reporting? Evidence from Mandated
U.S. Filers.
Jeong-Bon Kim, City University of Hong Kong, jeongkim@cityu.edu.hk,
Joung W. Kim, Nova Southeastern University, joung@nova.edu,
Jee-Hae Lim, University of Waterloo, jh2lim@uwaterloo.ca
Abstract: In this study, we examine whether XBRL disclosure (i.e., interactive data submissions) reduces the
magnitude of accounting accruals for firms during SEC mandated years. Using mandated XBRL filers, we first
compare the magnitude of absolute discretionary accruals in the XBRL-adoption quarters with that in the nonXBRL-adoption quarters. This comparison shows that absolute discretionary accruals decreases significantly from
the pre-XBRL-adoption period to the post-XBRL-adoption adoption period. This finding is in line with the view that
the XBRL adoption constrains managerial opportunism in financial reporting in general and opportunistic accrual
management in particular. Our analyses further reveal that the use of standardized official XBRL elements
significantly reduces levels of discretionary accruals in the post-adoption period, while the use of customized
extension elements does not. This result is consistent with the view that the former discourages opportunistic
accruals management more effectively than the latter by improving transparency and comparability in financial
reporting.
A Case Study Examining the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs XBRL Implementation.
Stephanie Farewell, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, stephaniefarewell@gmail.com
Lizhong Hao, Florida Atlantic University
Vinod Kashyap, NextGen Knowledge Solutions Private Ltd.
Robert Pinsker, Florida Atlantic University, rpinsker@fau.edu
Abstract: EXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) represents an electronic reporting standard that has
gained global prominence within the past few years. US regulators (i.e. the Securities and Exchange Commission
[SEC], Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council [FFIEC], and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
[FDIC]) have mandated XBRL to improve business processes, increase data transparency or efficiency. Relative to
the plethora of US-based XBRL academic articles, there has been little academic research on international,
regulator-based XBRL implementations and how those implementations have directly impacted the accounting
profession. This case study describes India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) E-governance initiative and
XBRL implementation. The MCA case is unique, because it is the first known mandatory XBRL implementation
that also requires auditor certification.
We examine the motivation behind the MCA’s E-governance and XBRL implementation, summarize benefits
achieved from the E-governance and XBRL filings, and report certain errors in XBRL filings after comparing a
sample of XBRL filings with their corresponding audited financial statements in the traditional format. The issues
encountered and the insights gained from the MCA’s implementation may serve as important lessons to other XBRL
implementations.
Evolution and Future Trends for XBRL Development
Herm Fischer, Mark V Systems Limited
Abstract: XBRL grew up as a business reporting standard on top of XML, with each data submittal accompanied by
a model (its taxonomy). Some regulators have accumulated from tens of thousands to millions of such submittals,
either languishing in XML files or shredded into databases. Some stubbed their toes on large instances, slow
validations, or sparse products. Consumption of these business reports has become a critical topic, whether for
issues of data size model differences, accessibility, or even regulatory system differences.
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Defining who are the stake holders is important, here it is seen as a troika of parties pulling in somewhat different
directions, producers (who prepare, validate, and submit business reports), receiving authorities (who validate, apply
analytics and preserve/store for reference), and consumers (who need transparency, access, and also analytics). To
support them we’ll look at abstract modeling, in its effort to relieve XBRL of its stigma (yoke) of XML, and the
maturing validation technologies.
The XBRL Abstract Model represents an effort to step above the issues of syntax, specific models and taxonomies,
and software strategy. It tries to bridge the modeling semantics, financial ontology, data points modeling, and other
XBRL communities, with a view to fitting into big-iron databases and OLAP/BI systems. Development got to a
point where there are ideas worth prototyping to get initial feedback before moving ahead. Strategies for mapping to
relational database (as used by XBRL-US) and to graph-oriented databases (as used by social networking) will be
compared.
Validation likewise represents a step where alternative technologies each have their place. At the onset of XBRL, it
was felt important to have something like Excel’s formulas for the business users, and XML’s query facilities, for
the techies.
XBRL Formula developed over a decade to provide a XML-centric declarative way of specifying the semantic
constraints of a taxonomy, and has come into significant use in the European and Asian ecosystems. In the US, the
more business-rules focused approach of the Sphinx language is fervently supported. The author’s contributions to
the open source community find a third angle important, raw speed when supporting production environments,
experienced in a Python-API based set of validation implementations. Together these provide a menu of choices of
sufficient maturity and capability to support the XBRL ecosystem.
Practice Paper by Herm Fischer, Mark V Systems Limited (abstract not available at this time)
Integrated Reporting Using XBRL
Saeed Roohani, Bryant University, sroohani@bryant.edu
Abstract: The International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) primarily objective is to create a globally
accepted framework for integrated reporting: integrating financial, sustainability, environmental, and social
responsibility reporting areas. This reporting includes financial and non-financial materials for reporting to the
capital markets. Currently investors and creditors are using various sources for information and manually integrate
various information types. The problem is that most investors are not sophisticated users to integrate separate reports
to gain more relevant information.
Also, many companies are interested in providing integrated reporting, but facing lack of standards and expertise.
There are a number of non-for-profit professional organizations currently involved in developing and testing various
standards for sustainability, environment, and social responsibility reporting. There are studies suggesting
integrated reporting will be in demand in the future. In March 2012, GRI launched its XBRL Taxonomy and
Deloitte Netherlands’ Sustainability report uses GRI taxonomy for its reporting cycle. Fujitsu in Japan also is using
corporate governance and XBRL internal control taxonomies to report to the public areas beyond traditional
financial reporting. This paper also demonstrates integration of several reporting activities in Europe using XBRL
The purpose of this paper is to make a case for integrated reporting and demonstrate standards and tools available
for this type of reporting. The paper also discusses current practices, challenges and opportunities of integrated
reporting.
Session IV: XBRL – Communicating Assurance, Level of Satisfaction, and Financial Closure
(Friday 26, 2013, 3:30 – 5:30 pm)
Communicating Assurance On XBRL-Enabled Reporting: Challenges And Opportunities.
Eric Cohen, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, eric.e.cohen@us.pwc.com
Roger Debreceny, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, roger@debreceny.com
Stephanie Farewell, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, stephaniefarewell@gmail.com
Saeed Roohani, Bryant University, sroohani@bryant.edu
Abstract: Since its inception more than a decade ago, a core application of XBRL has been to facilitate the flow of
tagged financial statements and annual reports, from companies and other entities directly to the databases, web sites
and computers of regulators, stakeholders and information consumers. Increasingly, XBRL provides the
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technological foundation for the communication of financial information by entities to third parties that may be the
subject of assurance by independent providers of information assurance. By its nature assurance on XBRL is
different from assurance on the underlying financial data. XBRL tags individual data points; therefore, the concept
of assurance on the financial statement taken as a whole is arguably less relevant. Key factors in XBRL include the
consistency, completeness, and accuracy of tagging. This paper addresses the security challenges and research issues
that come when assurance is communicated on XBRL instance documents.
Determinants of Levels of Satisfaction with SEC-Mandated XBRL Filing Process and Providers
Glen L. Gray, California State University-Northridge, glen.gray@csun.edu
Sung Wook Yoon, California State University-Northridge, sungwook.yoon@csun.edu
Abstract: For three years starting June 2009, the SEC phased in the requirement that companies must include
XBRL-formatted data as exhibits to a variety of traditional EDGAR filings, such as Forms 10-Q and 10-K. Because
of the recency of this requirement, most of what is known about the preparers’ experiences regarding this
requirement is anecdotal or based on a limited number of interviews. To survey preparers in 2011, the Financial
Executives Research Foundation (FERF) developed a Web-based survey to collect data from XBRL filers regarding
their experiences and opinions. The FERF received 321 responses, representing 300 unique companies that included
companies in all three XBRL filing tiers. This paper reports an analysis of that survey data plus some pertinent
additional outside data about the respondents. As two surrogates for capturing the filers’ overall satisfaction with the
SEC XBRL requirement, we used: (1) level of satisfaction with current XBRL provider; and (2) whether the filer
plan to continue with its current XBRL process. Specifically, we wanted to identify what other variables (53 survey
questions plus six non-survey variables) were associated with the relative answers to (1) and (2). Some of the
positive determinates regarding provider satisfaction included: had non-Big 4 auditors, used Web-Filings as their
provider, used Web-based FAQs and webinars as resources, and were worried about their own resources. Some of
the negative determinates included: had Big 4 auditors, specifically used Rivet or Thomson as their provider,
outsources all of their XBRL activities and spent a lot of time monitoring those activities, and worried about tagging
footnotes, having available resources and adequate training. In terms of whether to switch processes, some positive
determinates included: had few business segments (less complex operations), used Donnelley or Merrill as their
provider, and no outsourcing. Some negative determinates included: many business segments, monitored
competitors as a resource, spent significant time monitoring outsourcing company, and were considered about
posting rendered documents to their Web site.
Past, Current and Future Auditor Involvement with SEC Registrant's XBRL Exhibits
Paul Penler, Ernst & Young LLP, paul.penler@ey.com
Abstract: This presentation will provide some insights and analysis of audit involvement with public companies
related to XBRL - both providing assurance, as well as how the profession may use the data in the future.
The Financial Close Process: Implications for Future Research
Diane J. Janvrin, Iowa State University, djanvrin@mail.iastate.edu
Maureen Mascha, University of Oshkosh, mascham@uwosh.edu
Abstract: This study advances our understanding of the current financial close process. Attention to the topic is
warranted for four reasons. First, the recent economic volatility and increase in the number of restatements has
increased pressure on companies to report performance timely to market participants. Second, regulations such as
Sarbanes-Oxley, fair value accounting standards, and the SEC’s XBRL mandate have increased the workload for
accountants at period end. Third, several recent SEC filings have contained significant control weaknesses related to
the financial close process. Finally, academic research suggests that the time needed to complete the financial close
process may serve as a proxy for a firm’s internal information environment quality. We draw upon prior research in
accounting, psychology, regulation, and information systems and a field investigation to examine the role of four
factors - need to meet expectations, collaboration between multiple participants, estimation process, and ability to
incorporate new regulations - in the current the financial close process. We are currently conducting a series of field
interviews to confirm our findings. Further, we will develop recommendations for companies and suggest several
directions for future research.
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Session VI: Audit Data Standards, Quality of Interactive Data, and A Model of XBRL for Business
Intelligence (Saturday, April 27, 9:45– 11:00)
Rethinking the Practice and Value Added of External Audits: The AICPA’s Audit Data Standards (ADS)
Initiative
Michael Alles, Rutgers Business School, Newark, alles@business.rutgers.edu
Hussein Issa, Rutgers Business School, Newark, issah@rutgers.edu
Miklos Vasarhelyi, Rutgers Business School, Newark, miklosv@andromeda.rutgers.edu
Abstract: The Assurance Services Executive Committee (ASEC) Emerging Assurance Technologies Task Force of
the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has issued an exposure draft on the Audit Data
Standard (ADS), which is a proposal describing the set of essential data that would be extracted from an audit
client’s IT system and made available to auditors in a standardized format of either flat files or in XBRL-GL, which
marks the first time that audit practice has explicitly recommended XBRL GL. The object of ADS is to reduce the
obstacles to obtain data for audit purposes. The exposure draft focuses on the technical aspects of ADS but
discusses neither the best way in which such a standard should be created, nor what its implications will be on the
broader practice of auditing. This paper first discusses how the ADS taxonomy is created and what it encompasses.
Then, using Elliot’s (1998) model of the information value chain, it analyzes both the implications of ADS for the
evolution of audit practice and the role of auditors relative to other third party analysts of business data. It concludes
that ADS has the potential to be a disruptive innovation (Christensen, 1997) in auditing.
The Quality of Interactive Data: XBRL versus Compustat, Yahoo Finance, and Google Finance
J. Efrim Boritz, University of Waterloo, jeboritz@uwaterloo.ca
Won Gyun No, Iowa State University, wgno@iastate.edu
The issue of the quality of interactive data is of interest to all stakeholders in the evolution of
XBRL since the adoption of XBRL is often premised on the value of making business data
available to users in a standardized, shareable format. Proponents of XBRL claim that XBRLtagged data obtained directly form the company or from a regulator’s website such as the SEC’s
EDGAR, in contrast with data obtained from aggregators such as Compustat, are the closest and
most accurate reflection of the company’s intended communication in their official financial
reports. However, to date, there has been no formal study of the similarities and differences
between interactive data (i.e., XBRL-tagged data filed with the SEC) and data provided by
aggregators. This study fills this gap by comparing interactive data with the data items reported
by three prominent data aggregators or redistributors: Compustat, Google Finance, and Yahoo
Finance. We find a significant rate of omission of financial statement items in the data provided
by aggregators/redistributors compared with the interactive data available on the SEC’s EDGAR
website. For items that are not omitted, we find differences in amounts in about 2% of the items,
with approximately 30% of differences being greater than conventional materiality. The rate of
mismatch differs by aggregator for the three financial statements studied: Balance Sheet, Income
Statement, and the Statement of Cash Flows. The differences are most frequent in the Income
Statement, but generally they tend to decline over the three year period studied.
A Model of XBRL for Business Intelligence
Rob Nehmer, Oakland University, nehmer@oakland.edu
Abstract: This paper addresses the problem of using XBRL instance documents for the purpose of deriving the
semantic meanings of the content. These semantics are used to derive business intelligence in the semantic context
of the instance documents. XBRL has long held the promise of increasing the usefulness of XBRL tagged data for
business analytics and business intelligence. However, due to the use of many different taxonomies and taxonomy
extensions, automatically extracting the semantic content from an arbitrary XBRL instance document remains a
daunting task. This paper uses the XBRL Abstract Model and the EDM Council / OMG Financial Domain Task
Force’s Financial Industry Business Ontology (FIBO) to construct a model of the syntactic and semantic problem
space which needs to be navigated in order to address this issue in a robust way. The design science research
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paradigm is used as the research methodology. It is shown that solutions to this problem must proceed by the
creation of a set of artifacts which will resolve classes of sub-problems in the syntactic and semantic conceptual
spaces.
Session VII: Value of XBRL-Filing Efficiency and Market Efficiency
(Saturday, April 27, 11:15– 12:30)
Do XBRL Filings Take Longer?
Hui Du, University of Houston – Clear Lake, duhui1@uhcl.edu
Kean Wu, University of Houston – Clear Lake, wukean@uhcl.edu
Abstract: When the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its mandate requiring financial statement
filings in an interactive data format using the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), the SEC stated that
“interactive data has the potential to increase the speed, accuracy and usability of financial disclosure, and
eventually reduce costs” (SEC 2009). XBRL mandate provides a unique setting to study timeliness of financial
reporting when changed requirement in financial reporting process is brought by regulation.
We examine the impact of XBRL mandate on timeliness of quarterly filings, measured by reporting lag between
filing date and fiscal period end. Using quarterly filing data from 2009 to 2012, which include detailed-tagged 10-Q
filings by all three phased-in groups, we test whether these quarterly XBRL filings take longer than the quarterly
filings without using XBRL by the same company in the pre-XBRL periods. Our sample consists of 12,106 U.S.
public companies between 2005 and 2012. We find that on average the reporting lag is reduced by 2 days when
companies first file their 10-Qs using XBRL and the reporting lag is further reduced by 10 days in the later XBRL
filings for the first three quartiles of reporting lags.
We provide first large-sample empirical evidence that financial reporting timeliness is improved after the SEC
mandate of interactive data reporting. Our findings suggest that XBRL helps enhance financial reporting efficiency
by increasing the speed of financial disclosure.
On how to move widespread XBRL usage upstream to the point of first recording
Philip Elsas, Founder and Director of ComputationalAuditing.com, philipelsas@computationalauditing.com
(Abstract not available at this time)
The Impact of The XBRL Mandate on Market Efficiency
Yu Cong, Morgan State University, yucong@gmail.com
Jia Hao, Wayne State University, jia.hao@wayne.edu
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of the XBRL mandate made by SEC on market efficiency. Based on the
disclosure theories about imperfect market, we hypothesize that the mandate facilitates the generation and infusion
of idiosyncratic information in the market and thus improves market efficiency. Our findings show a synchronous
increase of information asymmetry and trading volume, indicating stronger generation an infusion of idiosyncratic
information and improved market efficiency, as posited in the disclosure theory and predicted in our hypotheses.
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