Bob Schneider is a Partner in 
Wilson So is the Director of Hitachi America, Ltd. An Interview with Saeed Roohani
Saeed Roohani is Professor of Accounting at Bryant University and one of the leading authorities on XBRL education. He is Program Chair of both the 9th Global XBRL Academic Competition and the 8th Bryant XBRL Conference to be held on October 13. The first part of our two-part interview with Professor Roohani appears below; Part II contains questions eight through twelve.
(1) Along with Eric Cohen, you have been the driving force behind the Global XBRL Academic Competition since its inception eight years ago. What have been the significant trends in XBRL research over the past eight years? Or, put another way, what changes have you seen in the direction of XBRL research?
The major changes have been in the quality of research and the sophistication of research questions. Earlier, most people were mostly addressing whether the financial community is “aware” of opportunities offered by XBRL – basically, a descriptive approach. Now we see XBRL research that addresses implementation, value proposition issues, and internationalization. The XBRL research articles are now more than descriptive, and include case studies and empirical studies. We also see some articles exploring opportunities for XBRL GL.
(2) Which of the Competition’s projects do you think have contributed most to the development of XBRL?
It is hard to say any single one contributed more than any other. It seems that every year the projects submitted by students follow different challenges and opportunities for XBRL; the projects generally vary with new XBRL applications and implementations around the world. Overall, projects exhibiting new and promising applications of XBRL (e.g., continuous auditing) and the development of taxonomies for certain jurisdictions or countries have been rated highly by judges.
(3) Which subject areas do you believe are most fertile for future XBRL research?
I would answer this question by referring to the advantages that we in the XBRL community have stated over the years, namely, that XBRL makes business reporting faster, cheaper, and better. We now have access to XBRL data reported by firms, so it’s time to get academics involved in the emprirical testing of various propositions about XBRL. Will XBRL help continuous (more frequent) reporting where information becomes immediately available to the market upon release? Is there evidence that all parties in the supply-chain will benefit from standardized business reporting? These are the kinds of questions that should be explored.
(4) What is the state of XBRL education at the college level right now? Are separate courses in XBRL offered in few, many, or most college accounting programs? Or is XBRL incorporated as part of the curriculum within existing accounting courses?
I know most accounting textbooks mention XBRL and describe its goals. However, I’m not sure whether the coverage is enough to generate discussion about the usefulness of XBRL and its applications. Two of my colleagues have been offering day-long XBRL workshops at the annual American Accounting Association for the past four or five years. At my school, Bryant University, we have an annual XBRL conference that encourages participation of academics, as well as the Global XBRL Academic Competition.
So there have been a lot of opportunities for academics to get involved in research and education. However, many faculty and students automatically assume XBRL is a “technology thing,” not an accounting, reporting, or auditing subject. The fact is that XBRL is more about financial accounting and auditing than technology itself!
With worldwide adoption of XBRL now demanded by many regulators, I have noticed much more interest in XBRL research and education. Among the courses I teach at Bryant are XBRL reporting and its application, and I know a dozen more accounting faculty at other universities worldwide who cover XBRL and XBRL GL in a meaningful way in their courses. I am not aware of a course totally dedicated to XBRL, and I don’t expect it either. I anticipate XBRL to be an active component of upper level accounting courses
(5) Let’s say a sophomore walks into your office who is committed to an accounting career and asks you what he or she should know about XBRL. How would you respond? Would you advise him or her that a general familiarity with the language is sufficient for prospective accountants? Or do you think being able to understand XBRL code – or actually write it – will give new accountants a huge advantage over their peers?
Actually, I’ve already been asked those kinds of questions. One of my summer interns told me his boss asked him to investigate what XBRL is and find out how much he (i.e., his boss) should know about XBRL. I recommended some of the introductory materials available on the web, including the various resources mentioned at XBRLeducation.com.
I think most accounting students won’t get involved in the mechanics of XBRL tagging, as software tools will do this. However, verifying the appropriateness of the tags, the use of proper taxonomy, authentication of XBRL documents, and knowledge of the XBRL filings required for regulators — all of these will be important to all accounting students. My understanding is that XBRL is now part of the CPA exam, so students should at least be familiar with it.
(6) For financial professionals in the field, what advice would you give them regarding learning XBRL? How much XBRL knowledge do you believe they will need to do their jobs successfully and build their careers?
I would give the same advice to financial professionals. In addition, financial professionals, such as analysts who develop financial models for clients, now have to be more knowledgeable about XBRL if they wish to absorb new and timely information generated by XBRL and available online. XBRL allows a continuous flow of financial information on the web; this demands new and hybrid financial models to help their clients.
Depending on their specialty, financial professionals should be familiar with the applicable XBRL taxonomy for the entity, how to create an instance document with XBRL tools, and XBRL regulatory reporting requirements.
At this time, XBRL is basically focused on external reporting and so not much on management accounting. However, XBRL GL is the XBRL link to internal reporting and auditing. The prize winning student project of the Global XBRL Academic Competition in 2005/06 was about XBRL GL and continuous/internal auditing.
(7) What is the status of XBRL education in the US compared with that in other countries? Do you think the US is a leader or a laggard in XBRL education?
This question is difficult to answer. Initially, it seems there was more XBRL awareness in U.S. educational outlets such as the American Accounting Association. Also, the adoption of XBRL by the FDIC generated some interest among U.S. academics. Then XBRL adoption took off a bit faster in other countries, such as Japan and Australia.
Interestingly enough, many emerging economies — somewhat motivated by the recognition opportunities accompanying XBRL — were eager to create XBRL-interest groups or adopt XBRL for external reporting. In most of these countries, college professors in accounting or finance have direct or indirect influence on accounting and financial reporting innovations and regulation. In the past three months I have received several proposals from junior faculty or PhD students who reside in countries like China, Turkey, and Egypt and who have full scholarships to come to Bryant University for the purpose of XBRL education and research.