XBRL: Finding Purpose Beyond Regulatory Reporting

In the US, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is promoted largely through the efforts of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is currently pending guidelines for reporting of annual and quarterly financial statements. But once the technology is understood and embedded in business applications and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, XBRL usage will escalate as it has in Europe and Asia. Its value will not be limited to the reporting of financial statements alone. Beyond the creation of interactive data reports, finance process and application professionals should look to XBRL for budget and forecasting analysis as well as industry and competitor benchmarking.