IFRS and XBRL: How to improve Business Reporting through Technology and Object Tracking

CHAPTER FIVE

Opportunities to integrate and track data objects

5.1 GROWING INTEREST AMONG STAKEHOLDERS

That XBRL has made substantial inroads in the realm of finance and accounting is indisputable. Still, as will become apparent over time, the current install base will grow at a fast rate when influential entities, such as government authorities and financial institutions, set XBRL as a mandatory requirement for all data sourcing and business reporting needs. That of itself will be a certain source of impetus for the future. However, other considerations exist, such as the fact that double entry bookkeeping can track about ten objects, whereas XBRL can track a couple of thousand. Accordingly, new approaches to object tracking will be found and shall affect, very positively, future business management and related reporting.

Certainly, such fertile ground is evident to many people, and this has promoted the review of opportunities for numerous XBRL-related stakeholders, and will continue to do so. For instance, there are the initiatives of the Information Systems and Accounting Research Group (ISARG) of the University of Birmingham. The focus of ISARG is researching the communication, use and regulation of digital reporting. Specific areas of interest include the development of industry standards, control and electronic interchange of data, XBRL, the use of Internet technologies in business, ERP systems, and the role of technology in taxation.

ISARG runs an annual conference on ...