The last week has started to see suppliers crawl out the woodwork with XBRL demonstrations, roadmaps and products. Of course the UK, as per usual, hasn't much clue what it's doing, that despite we've had years to prepare for it.(HMRC mandated by 2011, Companies House still scratching its collective head, many software vendors clueless)
First up, SAP announced it has a product coming out from the BusinessObjects division. From the blurbs:
With the SAP BusinessObjects XBRL Publishing application by UBmatrix,
you can gain greater flexibility and control over the XBRL publishing
process and avoid the need for potentially costly outsourcing. SAP
BusinessObjects XBRL Publishing can help you pull data from any
consolidation application- or other business software – and prepare,
review, and analyze data in XBRL documents quickly and accurately.
In other words, this is an add-on component within the BOBJ suite. I've yet to see this in action so will defer any comment.
Next, Twinfield announced it is about to release integrated XBRL functionality. this is aimed at its immediate Dutch customers and will cover the taxonomies required by its four main constituents. I was impressed with the demonstration which keeps XBRL management within the application nwhile giving users the choice of presentation tool.
Everyone from the Excel aficianidos through to practice management softeware users and on to the large report engines such as Hyperion and BOBJ can consume Twinfield XBRL output. Twinfield will be able to handle international operations through its system of hierarchies and taxonomies. This should mean that local operations will simply need to tack in to suit the local requirements.
XBRL Spy reports that:
Twice in one day, XBRL makes it to the mainstream online media in a big way. First at Wired.com and now with a posting by W. David Stephenson to huffingtonpost.com and now I am truly taken aback at the tsunami that has been unleashed with the SEC mandate of XBRL and Obama's push to leverage technology.
Whether Huffington Post can be regarded as a credible source for reporting on IT is another matter but the fact the topic is entering the US mainstream consciousness should be a wake up call to us all.
The speed at which XBRL is moving and garnering interest can be measured via Twitter Search on the topic. Yes - I know accountants have a downer on Twitter but believe me, it is proving an incredibly valuable research tool for these highly specialized areas. I have one running permanently on XBRL.
Finally, Andy Greener, a software architect at HMRC gives his views on the 'meaning of information' within the XBRL context. It's a bit cerebral but provides a solid introduction into where XBRL is going.
For those who are befuddled by XBRL, I recommend getting hold of a free copy of XBRL for Dummies which I co-edited. It is a straightforward read that outlines the benefits to be obtained.