Watson L. - XBRL For Dummies

XBRL for Dummies

by Charles Hoffman, CPA, and Liv Apneseth Watson

with Marc van Hilvoorde; Christine Tan, PhD; Raynier van Egmond; and Eiichi Watanabe

Copyright 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2009937276

ISBN: 978-0-470-58320-3

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Authors and Contributors

Charles Hoffman: Charlie (Tacoma, Washington, United States), a certified public accountant (CPA), is credited as being the Father of XBRL. He was co-editor of the first ever XBRL taxonomy and played major roles in creating both the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and United States Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (US GAAP) XBRL taxonomies. He was a major contributor to the following: XBRL 2.1 specification, XBRL Dimensions specification, Financial Reporting Taxonomies Architecture (FRTA), and Financial Reporting Instance Standards (FRIS). Prior to his involvement with XBRL, Charlie served as an auditor for what was then Price Waterhouse, financial officer for a number of companies, and an accounting software implementation consultant. In 1997, Charlie was the recipient of the AICPA Innovative User of Technology award. He was named by Accounting Technology magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the accounting profession. In 2006, Charlie received the AICPA Special Recognition Award for his pioneering role in the development of XBRL. Charlie is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University (BA and MBA), and in 2007, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from PLU for his efforts in creating XBRL. Currently, Charlie is Director of Innovative Solutions for UBmatrix LLC. He maintains a blog about XBRL at http://xbrl.squarespace.com .

Liv Apneseth Watson: Liv (New York City, New York, United States) is one of the founders of XBRL International and serves on the XBRL International Steering Committee and as Vice Chairman of XBRL International. She has also played a number of leadership roles with XBRL US. Currently, Liv is a member of the Board of Director of IRIS India Business Services Private Limited. Prior to joining IRIS, Liv was the Vice President of Global Strategy at EDGAR Online Inc. [NADAQ: EDGR] where she was responsible for developing EDGAR Onlines International business development strategy. Liv has presented XBRL to a wide range of audiences, from international standards bodies to Fortune 1000 companies, and speaks with authority about its benefits, potential applications, and broad adoption. Liv authored one of IMAs most successful CPE courses, Accounting System Technology for the 21st Century. She has also authored several published articles on future trends of the profession for international publications and journals, including Harvard Business Review and Strategic Finance and writes a monthly column of financial and business reporting trends for CPA2Biz.

Marc van Hilvoorde: Marc (Oosteind, Netherlands) is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) in the Netherlands. He has performed duties in the fields of financial and IT auditing and consultancy work for PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. His knowledge of XBRL and standards-based reporting has involved him in leading roles in some of the major XBRL implementations, including the Netherlands Taxonomy Project. As the technical project manager, Marc and his team were responsible for the development and delivery of the Dutch national taxonomy. Marc was involved in the development of XBRL as member of the XBRL International Standards Board, member of the IASCF XBRL Advisory Council, and past chair of the Rendering and Domain working groups. Hes an important contributor to the public debate on the future of the accounting industry, audit innovation, and XBRL assurance.

Christine Tan, PhD: Christine (New York City, New York, United States) is a university professor of accounting and has taught at the University of Melbourne, Baruch College; City University of New York, New York University; and the Melbourne Business School. Christine has consulted with governments and industry and business executives on matters pertaining to financial reporting and financial analyses. Her research has been published in leading accounting journals and presented at conferences around the world. She was also a key player in the creation of the US GAAP XBRL taxonomy. Christine is currently an Assistant Professor in Accounting at Fordham University and a Principal of Tag-IT Financial Tagging, LLC, a firm that provides XBRL consulting.