Another Look at the World's First Expert System for Creating Financial Reports

It is time for another look at the world's first expert system for creating financial reports. Here are some ways you can take a look should you be interested:

There is a lot there to see; but you really need to understand what you are looking at.


Think about something: Exactly how much does Microsoft Word or Excel understand financial reports or financial accounting?  Zip, zero, nota.  But what if software did, in fact, understand financial reports to a useful degree?  How exactly would you communicate that information to such a software application?  Here is how:

  1. Provide a logical model. Here is my logical model, Logical Conceptualization of Financial Report.
  2. Provide a framework that leverages the model.  Here is my framework, the Seattle Method.
  3. Provide machine-readable metadata that follows the framework.  Here is my metadata. What you should see if you look at this is progressively more complex working prototypes: Accounting Equation, SFAC 6, SFAC 8, Common Elements of Financial Statements, MINI Financial Reporting Scheme, PROOF Financial Reporting Scheme (to test 100% of the logical patterns), AASB 1060 which is a real life financial reporting scheme with about 20% of the reporting scheme completely represented using the framework.
  4. Provide a steel thread working prototype. Here is my steel thread working prototype.
  5. Provide working software.  Pesseract works, but it is a desktop application and a working proof of concept. XBRL Cloud works, but what they created was too inflexible, it was not complete and besides...they appear to have gone out of business. Auditchain Pacioli works, but the GUI/UX leaves a lot to be desired and is therefore not approachable to the average business professional.  Auditchain Luca works, but is is not quite there in terms of the GUI/UX; but give it a little more time.

Most people looking at this information will make the mistake that all this looks like some sort of toy.  Trust me when I say, what you are looking at is not a toy.  Most disruptive innovations look like toys when they emerge.  Besides, don't trust me. Examine the evidence for yourself and reach your own conclusion.

My target is a new way to create accounting schedules, audit working papers, and financial reports. This really has less to do with XBRL-based reports and more about a paradigm shift in financial accounting, reporting, auditing, and analysis.  Big idea?  Why not.

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