IFRS and XBRL: How to improve Business Reporting through Technology and Object Tracking

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

TRADITIONAL ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE FUNCTIONS have changed greatly through the introduction, acceptance, installation and use of computerised systems. The same can be said of IFRS and XBRL, although relatively in a much shorter time frame. While the future of both pillars, IFRS and XBRL, were considered earlier, and the issue of object management was broached, consider the prospect and productive potential of combining objects and value to create a new, integrated financial, business and entity reporting model. This proposal is best put into perspective by reviewing where the notion sits in the context of earlier parts of this book.

Part I relates to historically grown standards that refer to objects and valuation, essentially mixing these up. This can mean that accounting for value occurs without any reference to the underlying objects. Issues, such as double counting, can arise in such circumstances. In Part II, with regard to disclosures, the objects are all the same, with tax and financial reporting being the same, too. But valuations differ. As a consequence, there is the strong probability of a different flow of information arising from comparable reporting entities. This is also likely to occur in relation to non-financial reporting where there is a lack of consistency between related non-financial standards, as well as due to differing views taken by various reporting entities as to what non-financial reporting means. In Part III, XBRL is identified ...