Digital Financial Reporting

Reporting Using US GAAP

2011 version of US GAAP Taxonomy

The following are helpful links in using the 2011 US GAAP Taxonomy for SEC XBRL financial filings:

• Model SEC XBRL Filing: This is a high-quality model SEC XBRL filing.
• Logical Model and Glossary: This logical model and glossary makes understanding and working with the US GAAP Taxonomy and SEC XBRL financial filings easier.
• Modeling Business Information Using XBRL: This document is a summary of the best detailed information available relating to modeling financial informtion using XBRL.
• US GAAP Taxonomy - Main page: This is the primary location of the US GAAP Taxonomy on the FASB web site.
• US GAAP Taxonomy - Physical files: This is a link to the physical files.
• US GAAP Taxonomy - Master Taxonomy (as released): This is the as released version of the US GAAP Taxonomy 2011.
• US GAAP Taxonomy - Reorganized version (prototype): This is a reorganzied version of many of select sections of the US GAAP Taxonomy Commercial and Industrial companies (most companies) entry point.
• US GAAP Taxonomy - Exemplars (prototype): High quality examples of modeling pieces of an SEC XBRL financial filing.
• DEI Taxonomy - Location: Schema, presentation, definition, labels, documentation.
• XBRL Techniques and Trends (prototype)
• Analysis of 1474 SEC XBRL filings: This is an analysis of 1474 SEC XBRL filings.
• Analysis of 5525 SEC XBRL filings: This is an analysis of 5525 SEC XBRL filings.
• Creating Investor Friendly SEC XBRL Filings Blog Posts: This category of blog posts help you understand how to create high quality SEC XBRL filings.
• Taxonomies of Top 100 SEC Filers by Total Assets: This is a listing of the top 100 SEC filers by total assets and a way to look at each of their taxonomies. This is very helpful in comparing one filer with another to see how you might choose to model financial information.
• View SEC XBRL Filings: This is a tool which helps you view SEC XBRL filings.
• Granular view of filing information: This lets you look at individual pieces of information.
: This is a prototype tool which helps you look at how 1474 filings are using the US GAAP Taxonomy.

Check my blog posts for the most current information, that is where things are first posted generally.  As I summarize that information, it is made available on other areas of this web site.

SEC EDGAR Filing Information

The following information is helpful in creating EDGAR submissions:

• General information on SEC web site.
• EDGAR Filer Manual
• Filings and Forms Information
• Information for EDGAR Filers
• Validation Errors (Errors and Warnings)

 * * * * * * The information below is now considered obsolete * * * * * *

2009 version of US GAAP Taxonomy

The following are helpful links in starting to understand and use the 2009 version of the US GAAP Taxonomy:

• Main page: This is the main on-ramp to the US GAAP Taxonomy. (All the links below can be found on this page somewhere)
• Physical files: This is a link to the physical files (which you hopefully never need to use because software vendors are dealing with all this behind the scenes within their software).
• Taxonomy viewer application: This is an application which can be used to viewthe US GAAP Taxonomy.
• Taxonomy documentation: This is documentation which helps you understandthe US GAAP Taxonomy.
• Sample XBRL Instances: This is a link to sample XBRL instancesprepared using the US GAAP Taxonomy.

2008 version of US GAAP Taxonomy

A new era of financial reporting is about to begin within the US and throughout the world.  XBRL is about to make its way into the mainstream.  This web site is intended to help business users (particularly CPAs)understand and make use of XBRL for financial reporting.  This section of the web site focuses on XBRL as used in the US for reporting under US GAAP.

This includes for reporting by public companies and private companies.

If you want to understand XBRL a good place to start is a white paper "Introduction to XBRL for CPAs" written by Wayne Harding, CPA and Charles Hoffman, CPA.  The white paper is about 50 pages and explains, in business terms what XBRL, how it works, why it is important, and other key information all business users need to understand.  There is also a two hour CPE course by the same name offered by the Colorado Society of CPAs.  If you would like more information about the white paper or course, please contact:  Charles.Hoffman@UBmatrix.com.

Other information which is useful in understanding the US GAAP Taxonomy will be posted to this site as it becomes available.  This information will help the business user understand the taxonomy, help them provide useful feedback during the taxonomy's public review period, make use of the taxonomy for filings, etc.  Come back and see what information becomes available which may help you understand this new part of business and financial reporting. 

Location of US GAAP Taxonomy:  A copy of the US GAAP Taxonomy can be downloaded at the following location:  http://xbrl.us/Pages/US-GAAP.aspx.

This is a link to the taxonomy location:  http://xbrl.us/us-gaap/1.0/

Various Ways to View US GAAP Taxonomy:

Here are several things which help a business user take a look at the US GAAP Taxonomy on the taxonomy's web site.  But here are a few additional ways.  These views are for the CI (commercial and industrial companies) entry point:

• Withing an XBRL Taxonomy Tool.  This is OK, but generally too "techie" and you really need to know way too much about XBRL to get started.  Some of the other views try and overcome limitations of tools such as this.  For example, if you have the taxonomy in Excel, you can do your own ad hoc queries, use Excel's searching, sorting, slicing, and dicing features, etc.
• Matrix of extended links (networks). This is an Excel file which has each of the extended links (networks) which are contained in the US GAAP Taxonomy.  This is used to see all the financial reporting components, it does not include the non-gaap taxonomies.
• CI - Excel spreadsheet.  This is an Excel spreadsheet which has information from the presentation linkbase for the CI entry point.  This is great for using Excel to search, sort, filter, and otherwise slice and dice the taxonomy.
• CI - PDF printout without references (makes it shorter).  This is a PDF printout of the CI entry point.  This lets you print the presentation view and see the taxonomy line-by-line rather than having to navigate a tree view control in an application.  This is shorter as it does not print the references.
• CI - PDF printout with references (makes it longer).  This is the same as the PDF above, except for it contains references for each line item.
• CI - XAML flow document with a color coded tree.  This is a ZIP file which contains individual files for each extended link (network) in the CI entry point for the most part.  The tree view is color coded to help the user see the relationships better.  Note that you need Microsoft.Net Framework 3.5 in order to use these XAML documents. (If you want an application to read the XAML other than Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can use KAXAML.)

If you have ideas on how you might like to see the taxonomy, please send me an email and I will try and see if I can create that view.  Or, if you have a view of the taxonomy, send me a link and I will hook it to this page.

Again, my personal focus and the focus of probably 85% of financial statement users will be the CI entry point.  Personally, I don't have a high level of interest in the other entry points.  If I get enough people requesting this, then I will perhaps take the time to generate reports for other entry points.