Bob Schneider is a Partner in 
Wilson So is the Director of Hitachi America, Ltd. XBRL-GL Zaps Roach Motel Hell…and Other Stories
Written by Bob Schneider Posted on May 4, 2007
William Safire, the famed language maven, once said “There’s no such thing as a bad pun.” I don’t know if that’s true or not, but there’s certainly such a thing as a bad analogy. An everyday analogy that explains a difficult technical concept is rarely perfect. But it should never be forced and artificial.
That’s not a problem for Eric Cohen, however, who conducts regular outreach calls for the XBRL GL Working Group that are archived at GaLaPaGoS. His March 2007 presentation What Is the Global Ledger Good For? Uses of XBRL GL provides not only a wealth of information, but uses wonderful analogies that explain XBRL-GL concepts in imaginative and memorable ways.
Many speakers litter their PowerPoint slides with images like an alarm clock for “timely reports” that reveal nothing. With Eric, an image on a slide signals he’s about to make some great analogy. Here are five such images from his talk, with the concepts they illustrate listed below. Just for fun, first see if you can match the image to the concept. The answers are given in the discussion that follows.
(a) Why data warehousing without XBRL-GL is insufficient.
(b) The difficulty of understanding all that XBRL-GL can do
(c) XBRL-GL seamlessly connects one detailed reporting system to another
(d) XBRL-GL avoids overlap as it takes you from transactions to end reporting
(e) XBRL-GL can be used for both audit and data interchange
Why data warehousing without XBRL is insufficient- As every Eagles fan knows (the band, not the team), the guests at the Hotel California can’t leave, but at least they can check out. At the Roach Motel, however, the unfortunate guests, er, pests can’t even do that.
Although the analogy to computing may not be entirely original to Eric, he employs it expertly to illustrate the problem of a traditional data warehouse, namely, it is relatively easy to get data into it, but not out of it. The reason is that there is no standard format for data transfer. As he points out in an interview with Enterprise Systems, “XBRL [can standardize] the flow of data into data warehouses, and [standardize] the flow of data from the data warehouse.” XBRL does not replace data warehousing, but by providing a standard format, it vitally supplements it.
The difficulty of understanding everything XBRL-GL can do In an old folk tale, seven (sometimes six, sometimes a group) of blind men touch an elephant to learn what it’s like. Each touches a different part one touches the trunk, another the tusk, etc.. Thus each has a different viewpoint, and they argue bitterly over what an elephant is. The message is that reality depends upon perspective, which is often constricted.
XBRL-GL, whose “GL” initials creates the misperception that it is simply a general ledger instead of a stunningly versatile data format, is particularly susceptible to this kind of narrow-casting. At about 24 minutes into his talk, Eric offers the big picture of five comprehensive areas suitable for XBRL-GL adoption: data archival, data migration, data consolidation, data drill-down, and a seamless auto trail. In the discussion that follows, he enumerates dozens of specific uses.
XBRL-GL seamlessly connects one detailed reporting system to another The USB (Universal Serial Bus) eliminates the need for (nonstandard) serial and parallel ports. USB can connect digital cameras, mice, printers, scanners indeed, the whole gamut of peripherals — to your computer.
In a similar fashion, XBRL-GL is the universal device that can connect receivables, payables, job costing, payroll, inventory, etc. systems to one another. It makes it possible to connect any detailed reporting system to any other detailed reporting system.
XBRL-GL avoids overlap as it takes you from transactions to end reporting For many years, San Franciscans who wanted to take their cars across the Golden Gate Strait to Marin County had to load them on the ferry at Hyde Street Pier. The building of the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s allowed City residents to drive to Sausalito and points north themselves. Similarly, XBRL doesn’t overlap systems like a ferry does, but rather serves as a bridge that connects transactions and reports.
XBRL-GL can be used both for audit and data interchange Readers of a certain age will remember the Certs TV commercials, with two pretty young things arguing earnestly whether Certs was a breath mint or a candy mint. The controversy was ultimately resolved by an unseen voice of authority asserting that both were right, because Certs was two, two, two mints in one.
XBRL-GL also has dual purposes. First, it is perfectly suited to audits and for pulling actual underlying data. At the same time, its extensible, flexible, and multinational qualities make it ideal for data interchange between systems, both internal and external.
Eric’s outreach calls contain a lot more than just cool analogies, of course. It’s a good idea to check in at the GaLaPaGoS page from time to time to hear his latest presentation, or contact xbrlgl@xbrl.org to participate in real time.