If you ask reporting managers,C-level executives and professional investors today about the value of XBRL,they are likely to channel the classic Edwin Starr anthem “War!(What is it Good For?)”by responding with a resounding “Absolutely nothin’!”

This is not exactly what the SEC had in mind when it handed down its mandate.The good news is that XBRL no longer has to be this way.As my lleague David Anderman stated,when reporting managers mbine a disciplined approach to disclosure authoring with an understanding of how the data will be analyzed,the result is an extremely valuable dataset that can be leveraged for rporate ernance,risk and mpliance (GRC)efforts and that investors can use as a basis for investing decisions.

So what is quality XBRL data good for?When used with the right analytics solutions,there are three benefits to nsider:

1、 Transparency:Disclosures that are authored aurately and with the end result in mind allow nsumers to gain a clearer picture of what is ourring within a mpany.Institutional investors are pushing for increased transparency and greater insight into what is driving rporate operations.While many executive teams may look at this requirement as a burden,aurate XBRL filings can be a valuable investor relations tool to clearly mmunicate the true story of a mpany’s value to its stakeholders.For example,mpanies listed on the OTC market are not required to submit XBRL disclosures to the SEC,but are deploying this technique in order to provide institutional investors with key data points to better understand the businesses in which they are investing.This reporting both increases liquidity in their shares and allows investors to spot emerging areas of growth faster.

2、 parability:There are two primary ways XBRL can be used for analysis:internal benchmarking historically and across peers.Overuse of extensions makes mparability nearly impossible,as it creates holes in historical mparisons and renders peer-to-peer analysis useless.Where is the benefit in creating technically aurate data if the nsumer finds it irrelevant?By deploying a nsistent,disciplined approach to XBRL tagging,particularly using solutions that can suggest tags,reporting managers create data that is BOTH aurate and relevant.This enables rporate executives to more quickly spot trends in their mpany information and allows investors to use analytics to dig deep into mpany-to-mpany mparisons.

3、Risk management:Enterprise risk management is not just a C-suite ncern;it is now a board of directors ncern.XBRL disclosures should be integral to rporate risk assessment,mitigation and management within an anization.With the anization authoring thoughtful disclosures and making appropriate tagging decisions,the ability to do deeper risk analysis across all areas of the business and financial statements improves significantly.With the growing proliferation of data within an anization,executives are under a tremendous amount of pressure to make better decisions faster.Quality XBRL tagged data mbined with powerful analytics applications is beming a re te of this initiative.

So again,I ask,“XBRL:What is it good for?”Once disclosure authoring shifts from an acunting mpliance task to a key step in aurate data production,the answer will be more rewarding for producers and nsumers.

中文新闻：http://www.xbrl-/2013/0913/95179.shtml