In a newly released report, Enabling Compliance and Business Improvements through XBRL, Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE:HHS), provides guidance on the utilization of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) technology for financial reporting compliance and organizational productivity.

"The recent XBRL mandate by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has profoundly changed the world of financial reporting. One of the key motivations behind using XBRL technology to standardize business reporting is to expedite financial reporting processes and to limit erroneous reporting. Leading companies, therefore, consider automation as a necessary tool for expediting reporting, while minimizing manual data entry and ultimately consider it necessary for gaining a competitive advantage in the market," says Ankita Tyagi, Research Associate in Aberdeen Group's Financial Management and GRC practice. "Consequently, top companies are 30% more likely than laggards to invest in financial reporting solutions and more than two times as likely to use General Ledger (GL) technology solutions."

This report examines accounting practices across businesses to understand the processes and technologies they have in place to address financial calculation, compliance, and audit control. "Improving financial reporting and filing can contribute significantly to the reduction of audit exposure / risk, but many organizations lack the initiatives, capabilities, and technological enablers to mitigate such risks," according to William Jan, Senior Research Analyst at Aberdeen group. "By maintaining accurate financial data for income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, these top-performing companies are systematically mitigating their risks and reducing audit exposure. In fact, 75% of the leading companies assess and track their financial reporting accuracy, compared to only 11% of their laggard counterparts."

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Fujitsu, P3XBRL, Inc., SAP and WebFilings. To obtain this report, please visit:.

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