XBRL® For Dummies®

Chapter 5. Pinning Down How XBRL Affects You

In This Chapter

• Figuring out what XBRL user group you belong to

• Understanding aspects of XBRL important to your viewpoint

• Viewing XBRL from other perspectives

In this chapter, we examine XBRL from your perspective and how it may impact you and your organization. We can't discuss each individual person, so instead we categorize you according to patterns. This chapter helps you see specifics, such as how XBRL will impact you as a person and your organization.

Why XBRL Is Worth Your Time

XBRL is definitely not a fad, and it has a proven track record of providing significant benefits to those who have implemented it. In fact, Chapter 9 is packed with examples of all sorts of ways organizations are already putting XBRL to work for them. You may be introduced to XBRL because you're

• Pushed in by a mandate: You may be using XBRL not because you want to, but because someone else mandates that you supply them with regulatory reports in an XBRL format. Why would people force you to use XBRL? First, they want to take advantage of the benefits XBRL offers. Second, they have the power to require you to bend to their will. You guessed it — big government!

  In the United States, good examples of mandates to file information to governmental agencies is the SEC mandate for public companies and the FDIC mandate requiring all FDIC-insured banks to use XBRL to submit their regulatory filings.

• Drawn in to proactively seek its benefits: XBRL isn't some useless government ...