Does the Year 2000 XBRL Taxonomy Accommodate Current Business Financial-Reporting Practice?

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Bovee ◽  
Michael L. Ettredge ◽  
Rajendra P. Srivastava ◽  
Miklos A. Vasarhelyi

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is an application of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) intended for use in digital business reporting. Observers predict XBRL will provide benefits to firms that adopt it, such as enhancing information use, facilitating comparability and consistency, and providing technological capability for near-continuous financial reporting through the Web. However, questions arise regarding how well the proposed taxonomy for financial statements corresponds to firms' preferred reporting practices. We argue that a poor fit may lead to information loss and to subsequent resistance to use or general adoption of the taxonomy. A lack of fit could therefore negate anticipated firm or information-user benefits. To address this issue, we assess how well the year 2000 version, for financial reporting by commercial and industrial (C&I) firms under U.S. GAAP, accommodates current financial-reporting practices of public companies. We attempt to match each line item in the 1999 annual financial statements of 67 companies with an XBRL taxonomy “tag,” employing two measures of the frequency of “special attention” (difficult-to-match) items as indicators of the quality of “fit” between the taxonomy and firms' reporting practices. Analyses show a good fit on average, but also indicate significant differences in the number and proportion of exceptions across financial statements and industries. In light of these results, we suggest modifications to the taxonomy and discuss the need for industry-specific taxonomies.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hendra Tanjung

Various countries globally have widely used eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) technology for the financial reporting of public companies. However, studies on the sophistication of XBRL technology and its potential for improving the quality of disclosure have not been widely reviewed. This paper examines this matter with the literature review method, and conclusions are prepared based on qualitative analysis. The XBRL-based reporting system has many advantages compared to the previous reporting system, including faster data transfer, efficiency, and others. In addition, the tag system in XBRL allows users to know more details about the information conveyed. The tag system allows users to search for relevant information and easily compare with different companies. Therefore, the management practice of disclosing financial statements and financial statements is presented explicitly to users of financial statements. Thus, the sophistication of a reporting system based on information technology XBRL can increase transparency and better disclosure.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albertus Louw ◽  
Warren Maroun

Purpose Independent monitoring and review bodies have become a defining feature of the professional accounting and auditing space. Exactly how these institutions function to improve the quality of the corporate reporting or audit function is, however, poorly understood. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to provide empirical evidence on how the activities of an independent review process functions on individual preparers, auditors and those charged with an organisation’s governance. Design/methodology/approach The study is an interpretive one. Data are collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed by the researchers. Findings The review function performed by an independent body results in companies being more aware of the need for compliance with the applicable financial reporting standards. Independent reviews also act as a process of examination which functions at the level of the individual accountant, auditor or director. These subjects of regulation report an added sense of accountability to their respective employer and profession and a heightened awareness of the need for high-quality corporate reporting. Research limitations/implications Independent monitoring and review bodies are not just symbolic displays which reassure uninformed users that the quality of financial statements are sound. Examination of financial statements and identification of non-compliance with the applicable financial reporting standards drive actual changes in reporting practices. Originality/value This study complements the predominantly positivist financial reporting research which does not deal with precisely how the work of regulatory bodies operates on the subjects of regulation. The research makes an important practical contribution by providing empirical evidence in support of laws and regulations which promote independent review of the accounting profession.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongwei Zhu ◽  
Harris Wu

In the wake of the global financial crisis, a pressing need exists for improving investor friendliness, especially the transparency and interoperability of the financial statements of public companies. eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) and XBRL taxonomies can accomplish this objective. In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has mandated that all public companies must file their financial statements using XBRL and the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) taxonomy according to a phased-in schedule. Are the XBRL-based financial statements interoperable? This question is addressed by analyzing all of the annual XBRL financial statements filed to the SEC as of February 26, 2010. On average, 63% of data elements are not comparable between a pair of statements. The incomparability is partly caused by issues related to the GAAP taxonomy and misuse of the taxonomy by companies. The results have practical implications that will help improve the quality of financial data.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Kostić ◽  
Vule M. Mizdraković ◽  
Vladimir Mitić

The successful functioning and development of the capital market, along with the possibility of attracting new investments is largely contingent on the quality of financial reporting and the availability of the statements themselves. In view of the fact that the new Law on Accounting of the Republic of Serbia came into force, the question arises to what extent public companies respect legally prescribed deadlines for submitting their statements and by doing so do not commit an economic offense. The primary goal of this paper is to draw attention to the importance of a standardized and efficient legal framework that obliges public companies to publish financial statements in a timely manner. A survey was conducted that encompassed 416 public companies listed on the Belgrade Stock Exchange and their corresponding financialstatements for 2018, as the reporting period. We tried to establish whether the sampled companies disclosed their statements within the deadline prescribed by the Law on Accounting (Law on Accounting, Official Gazette of RS, 62/2013, 30/2018). The results show that most companies disclosed financial statements during the period when they are still considered useful to potential and existing investors. Nevertheless, practice showed that there was room for improvement, and this was achieved with the adoption of the new Law on Accounting, which took effect on January 1, 2020. It integrates the deadline for compiling and disclosing statements, which in fact shortens the time period during which information on the companies’ operations should be made available to the general public and potential investors.


Author(s):  
Mondher Fakhfakh

Timeliness of audit reports is a qualitative feature that enhances the usefulness of audited financial statements. As an emerging country, Tunisia has modernized its accounting legislation to enhance the quality of financial reporting. This legislation encourages independent auditors to optimize the transmission delays of audit reports. The authorities assume that the satisfaction of stakeholders is secured by regulating disclosure of audit reports. Our research analyses the date of issue of Tunisian audit reports and timeliness of audit information for shareholders and all users of financial statements (stakeholders). This paper provides new empirical evidence about the timeliness of audit reports in Tunisia. It holds two dates that influence the needs of users of financial statements: the date of signature of the auditors and the date of publication of the audit reports in the financial bulletin. The same article discusses the variability of the timeliness of audit reports and the factors that explain the delay information.


2020 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 06006
Author(s):  
Denisa Domaracká ◽  
Veronika Kňažková

The changing global economy environment also affected the area of statutory audit. Nowadays, statutory audit faces the significant changes not only because of the processes of digitization and automation in accounting and auditing, but because of increased and tightened legislative regulation, too. The most important aspects of financial reporting and auditing are subject to EU Regulations and EU Directives. For this reason, the issue of legislative regulation changes in field of statutory audit in Slovakia has become the subject of our article. Currently, the proposal of amending and supplementing Act. No 431/2002 Coll. on Accounting, as amended underwent an interdepartmental comment procedure. The proposal includes the changes on requirements for statutory audit. This article examines the current proposal to change (mainly increase) the conditions for performing the mandatory statutory audit of financial statements in Slovak audit environment. Our goal is to clarify the reasons and implications behind the changes of Slovak legislation as well as the impact of these changes on audit performance in Slovakia. We believe conducting statutory audits in accordance with the applicable legislation accepted and implemented at international European level can contribute to transparency and improve the quality of audit performance. In order to achieve the goal, it was necessary to choose a purposeful work methodology and research methods.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Made Pradana Adiputra ◽  
Sidharta Utama ◽  
Hilda Rossieta

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence about the influence of the size of local government, the quality of local government financial statements, the level of local government response to the disclosure of financial information and the local political environment on the transparency of local government in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach The study sample consisted of 34 regional governments (provinces) in Indonesia in 2016, using purposive sampling and multiple regression analysis. Findings The results showed that the quality of financial reporting through the audit opinion and political environment have a significant positive effect on the transparency of local government in Indonesia. On the other hand, the size of the local government and local government response rate on the regulation do not affect the transparency of local government in Indonesia. Originality/value The agency, legitimacy and institutional theory have an important role in the underlying local government transparency practices in Indonesia. The results of this study should be used as the basis of thought and study to determine the factors that affect the performance of local governments from the financial and non-financial aspects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 1323-1328
Author(s):  
Marija Milojičić ◽  
Snežana Knežević ◽  
Aleksandar Grgur

The financial statements, as the end product of the accounting information system, are a structural account of the financial position and financial success of an entity's business over a period. Earnings or net profit indicates an important position in the financial statements and is considered as a measure of a company’s success. Earnings management comes from the accounting skills that executives and business owners use when making business decisions. The Generally Accepted Accounting Principles set out in International Accounting Standards (hereinafter IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (hereinafter referred to as IFRS) generally give the owner or manager the choice between several accounting methods within the various stages of the accounting process. One of these methods is creative accounting, which is often correlated with the manipulation of financial statements. Creativity in accounting is known to be legal and to stay within the legal framework, but it is often the case that, with its creativity, it is beyond its boundaries. The way managers exercise this discretion is very important to the quality and objectivity of financial reporting.The tendency of the owners, and then the managers, to show the performance of the company better than they really are, is certainly not new. The reason that in the world from the beginning of the 2000s to the present day, both by the scientific and professional public and by the regulatory bodies in charge of financial reporting, particular attention is paid to this problem are the major political and economic scandals caused by the inaccurate presentation of financial statements. It is considered that manipulative accounting practices are applied in the preparation of financial statements when the application of accounting principles is made with the intention of achieving the desired objective, such as, for example, generating greater profit regardless of whether the procedures selected are in accordance with international and local prescribed rules.The prevalence of manipulation of financial statements depends on the situation in the environment, the quality of the normative basis of financial reporting, the quality of management and the ability of accountants to comply with professional and ethical standards. The environment implies the general economic situation, the existence or absence of appropriate legislation, including its implementation, as well as the relation to tax liabilities.The result of the original empirical research is presented in this paper. The research was conducted in the form of a case study of a domestic business entity (the Republic of Serbia), whose main activity is trade in sports and fashion products. The financial analysis was performed using the Beneish model, which was derived from the official financial statements of the companies, collected from publicly available databases (Balance Sheet and Income Statement 2016-2018) as the basic information base in order to discover the degree of possible manipulation of their own earning capacity. This model has become particularly popular since the Beneish M-scoring model revealed the manipulation of the financial results of the US company Enron, which went bankrupt in 2001.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 102-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Newman Wadesango ◽  
Edmore Tasa ◽  
Khazamula Milondzo ◽  
Ongayi Vongai Wadesango

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in its objectives and preamble, presume that IFRS adoption and perceived compliance to regulatory framework is associated with increased financial reporting quality. Based on these assumptions, this desktop study reviewed several documents to determine whether the IFRS adoption has led to increased financial reporting quality in Zimbabwe. The researchers reviewed literature on how the IAS/IFRS and regulations affect the financial reporting quality of listed companies. The factors around IFRS adoption were identified (mandatory, voluntary and convergence) and discussed in relation to the financial reporting quality. Evidence from previous studies conducted in line with this same issue shows that there is no conclusive evidence on how IFRS and regulations affect the financial reporting quality. Issues to be addressed in further studies include the importance of financial statements prepared under IFRS framework and the importance of compliance with accounting and auditing requirements.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 1161-1184
Author(s):  
Josimar Pires Da Silva ◽  
Mariana Pereira Bonfim ◽  
Rafael Martins Noriller ◽  
Carlos Vicente Berner

AbstractThe objective of this research is to verify the level of relationship between the mechanisms of corporate governance and the performance of the companies of the public subsector, listed on BM&FBovespa. The research was based on the financial statements from 2010 to 2014, obtained on the BM&FBovespa website, resulting in a sample of 63 companies with 315 observations. In order to calculate the performance proxy of the company, the ROA was used, and for the calculation of the proxies of the corporate governance mechanisms were used for the quality of the audit, the concentration of ownership in common shares and preferred shares, participation in the levels of governance of BM&FBovespa, number of shares held by the government and number of directors in the Board, adapted from the Mollah and Zaman (2015) survey. Convergence with national and international research, the findings of the study showed that such variables as quality of profit, concentration of ownership in preferred shares, participation in governance levels and size of the Board are positively related to the performance of the company; already a concentration of ownership in common shares and number of shares held by the government are negatively related to performance. For future reference, it is recommended to expand other sectors of the market as well as to use other mechanisms of corporate governance, presented in the literature.Keywords: Corporate Governance. Performance. Public Subsector.Mecanismos de governança corporativa e desempenho: análise das companhias do subsetor de utilidade pública listadas na BM&FBovespa Resumo O objetivo da pesquisa foi o de verificar o nível de relação entre os mecanismos de governança corporativa e o desempenho das empresas do subsetor de utilidade pública, listadas na BM&FBovespa. A pesquisa teve como base os dados das demonstrações financeiras de 2010 a 2014, obtidas no sítio eletrônico da BM&FBovespa, resultando assim, em uma amostra de 63 empresas, com 315 observações. Para o cálculo da proxy de desempenho da empresa foi utilizado o ROA, e para o cálculo das proxies dos mecanismos de governança corporativa foram utilizadas a qualidade da auditoria, concentração de propriedade em ações ordinárias e em ações preferenciais, participação nos níveis de governança da BM&FBovespa, número de ações mantidas pelo governo e número de diretores no Conselho, adaptado da pesquisa de Mollah e Zaman (2015). Convergente com pesquisas nacionais e internacionais, os achados desse estudo evidenciaram que as variáveis qualidade do lucro, concentração de propriedade em ações preferenciais, participação nos níveis de governança e tamanho do Conselho são positivamente relacionados com o desempenho da empresa; já a concentração de propriedade em ações ordinárias e o número de ações mantidas pelo governo são negativamente relacionadas com o desempenho. Para pesquisas futuras, recomenda-se ampliar a outros setores do mercado bem como utilizar outros mecanismos de governança corporativa, presentes na literatura.Palavras-chave: Governança Corporativa. Desempenho. Utilidade Pública.


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