PRODUCT
-> postXBRL
-> XBRL AND BUSINESS
Benefits and Uses for Business
All types of organisations can use XBRL to
save costs and improve efficiency in handling business
and financial information. Because XBRL is extensible
and flexible, it can be adapted to a wide variety of
different requirements. All participants in the financial
information supply chain can benefit, whether they are
preparers, transmitters or users of business data.
Data Collection and
Reporting
By using XBRL, companies and other
producers of financial data and business reports can
automate the processes of data collection. For example,
data from different company divisions with different
accounting systems can be assembled quickly, cheaply
and efficiently if the sources of information have been
upgraded to using XBRL. Once data is gathered in XBRL,
different types of reports using varying subsets of
the data can be produced with minimum effort. A company
finance division, for example, could quickly and reliably
generate internal management reports, financial statements
for publication, tax and other regulatory filings, as
well as credit reports for lenders. Not only can data
handling be automated, removing time-consuming, error-prone
processes, but the data can be checked by software for
accuracy.
Small businesses can benefit alongside large ones by
standardising and simplifying their assembly and filing
of information to the authorities.
Data Consumption and
Analysis
Users of data which is received electronically
in XBRL can automate its handling, cutting out time-consuming
and costly collation and re-entry of information. Software
can also immediately validate the data, highlighting
errors and gaps which can immediately be addressed.
It can also help in analysing, selecting, and processing
the data for re-use. Human effort can switch to higher,
more value-added aspects of analysis, review, reporting
and decision-making. In this way, investment analysts
can save effort, greatly simplify the selection and
comparison of data, and deepen their company analysis.
Lenders can save costs and speed up their dealings with
borrowers. Regulators and government departments can
assemble, validate and review data much more efficiently
and usefully than they have hitherto been able to do.
Other pages in this section explain how specific types
of organisation can benefit from XBRL and how they can
take steps to adopt it.
Company Reporting and XBRL
Companies of all sizes can gain benefits from XBRL.
By using XBRL, companies will be able to:
• Save costs by preparing data in one form and
automatically generating many outputs. Companies will
avoid re-keying of data and other manual tasks.
• Consolidate results across divisions and subsidiaries
with much greater speed and reliability.
• Improve accuracy and reliability of financial
data.
• Focus effort on analysis, forecasting and decision
making, rather than on laborious tasks in gathering,
compiling and preparing data.
• Achieve quicker and more efficient decisions.
• Make more effective use of the internet in communicating
with investors. Companies will benefit from the growing
importance of web sites as a means of communication.
• Improve investor relations through provision
of more transparent and user-friendly information.
• Simplify the process and reduce the costs involved
in regulatory reporting to tax and other authorities.
• Obtain quicker responses from counterparties,
including banks and regulators.
• Free themselves from proprietary systems and
software which are difficult and costly to replace.
