Comments on: Making XBRL Tagging Mandatory http://hitachidatainteractive.com/2007/03/06/making-xbrl-tagging-mandatory/ XBRL News and Commentary from the Hitachi XBRL Business Unit Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:20:53 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Ed Hodder http://hitachidatainteractive.com/2007/03/06/making-xbrl-tagging-mandatory/comment-page-1/#comment-147 Ed Hodder Wed, 14 Mar 2007 11:53:41 +0000 http://blog.hitachixbrl.com/2007/03/06/making-xbrl-tagging-mandatory/#comment-147 You're spot on with the call for a steering committee. Best practices need to be defined and taught to help eliminate the high degree of "variability" in the current test filings. After speaking with many people, I think your estimates of the initial effort are short, but for the follow-on filings are correct. Also, keep in mind the rounds of proofing and approval that have to happen (which also includes some education for the reviewers). This will typically expand the level of effort and real time it takes to do the first filing, for companies that want to do it well, into a period of a couple weeks rather than days. And that is for a filing that has no real legal implications. As for why companies are reluctant, the simplest answer is the best. XBRL does not help a CFO, External Reporting Director, or Investor Relations professional do their job any better today. Somehow, the SEC found 250 companies to test electronic filing when EDGAR began in the mid 80s. The SEC needs to do that again to expand the XBRL program. There are a lot of issues that have to be worked out but aren't being addressed because after 2 years the number of participants is so low (around 30). You’re spot on with the call for a steering committee. Best practices need to be defined and taught to help eliminate the high degree of “variability” in the current test filings.

After speaking with many people, I think your estimates of the initial effort are short, but for the follow-on filings are correct. Also, keep in mind the rounds of proofing and approval that have to happen (which also includes some education for the reviewers). This will typically expand the level of effort and real time it takes to do the first filing, for companies that want to do it well, into a period of a couple weeks rather than days. And that is for a filing that has no real legal implications.

As for why companies are reluctant, the simplest answer is the best. XBRL does not help a CFO, External Reporting Director, or Investor Relations professional do their job any better today.

Somehow, the SEC found 250 companies to test electronic filing when EDGAR began in the mid 80s. The SEC needs to do that again to expand the XBRL program. There are a lot of issues that have to be worked out but aren’t being addressed because after 2 years the number of participants is so low (around 30).

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