Master Class in Representing Financial Statement Logic Using XBRL

Over the next year, I am going to create a Master Class in Representing Financial Statement Logic Using XBRL. I now have the tools I need to create that class effectively.  I am able to separate the XBRL related "stuff" from the representation of financial statement information "stuff" because I have the proper tools.

I also have a boatload of examples that I have created that enable me to communicate important subtleties and nuances that, before now, you would need years of experience using XBRL to grasp.  Now understanding these important subtleties and nuances is trivial.

Here is my raw material which is basically financial statement logic represented using many different approaches using XBRL: (Note that I am using these to test and debug software so there are some issues with these representations currently, but those will go away eventually as the software is tuned.)

  • PROOF-Master: This is the baseline. This has pretty much all the logical complexity that anyone creating an XBRL-based digital financial statement would every have to get their heads around and deal with. Information is represented very consistently and with one explicit hypercube within a network. Have a look.
  • PROOF-Alternative1: This takes the baseline (the Master) and reorganizes the blocks of information differently within the XBRL networks and hypercubes.  As many networks were removed as possible.  This has one subtle issue; the first hypercube has many hypercubes but no "root" to organize those hypercubes. Have a look.
  • PROOF-Alternative2: This is exactly the same as Alternative1, except if you look in the first network, there is now a "root" or "container" that is used to organize the many hypercubes in the first network. Have a look.
  • PROOF-Hypercubes2: This is exactly the same as the Master or baseline, except that rather than giving hypercubes unique names, every hypercube is expressed using one standard hypercube named "Standard [Hypercube]". Have a look.
  • PROOF-Hypercubes3: This is exactly the same as Hypercube2 except that both "Standard [Hypercube]" and "Hypercube [Line Items]" are used.  Have a look.
  • PROOF-Implied: This is exactly the same as the Master or baseline except that explicit hypercubes where only used when they are required because noncore dimensions must be used to represent a financial disclosure.  Have a look.
  • PROOF-Dimensions: This is exactly the same as the Master or baseline except that every hypercube explicitly defines every dimension used anywhere in the financial statement. Have a look.
  • PROOF-Blocks: This is exactly the same as the Master or baseline except that every possible [Abstract] report element, used to organize the presentation relations, was removed. Have a look.
  • PROOF-Sparse: This is exactly the same as the Alternative2 except that a hypercube that represents a segment breakdown is intermingled with multiple other blocks of information causing a "sparse" hypercube as a result (i.e. a hypercube with a  lot of blank facts because of a non-best practices use of hypercubes). Have a look.
  • PROOF-Proper: This is very similar to the Master or baseline except that duplicate hypercubes where made unique and other issues were fixed.  Have a look.
And so, what is the point? The point is that while the technical format used to represent the XBRL artifacts is different in every one of the above examples, there is exactly NO DIFFERENCE in the financial logic being represented.  If you look at any of the above reports, the information BLOCKS are exactly the same: (Look here)

Further, there are a few other things to notice.  First, everything is comprehensible to humans.  Except, in two cases, "Comprehensive Income [Roll Up]" and "Prior Period Errors [Adjustment]", labels are used multiple times which makes understanding what information is there harder to  differentiate.  This is intentional to make a point.

(Spoiler alert.  I will discuss disclosures and the relationship between blocks and disclosures in another blog post so stay tuned.)

Additional Information:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Started with Auditchain Luca (now called Luca Suite)

Image
(Note that a newer, production version as opposed to only the development version , of Luca Suite is available) The Innovator's Dilemma points out that disruptive innovations often look like toys that are doing everything wrong. Auditchain Luca , which is part of the Auditchain Suite , is a unique approach to creating a knowledge graph .  To experience using Auditchain Luca, have a look at the Getting Started with Auditchain Luca instructions. Be sure to grab the Excel and JSON import files used for this getting started exercise.   This getting started exercise uses one of several different approaches to getting information into a tool for constructing and viewing professional quality knowledge graphs .  Additional getting started guides will be made available over time. Auditchain Luca might not make sense to you if you don't understand the paradigm shift that is occurring and if you have not shifted your mental map. For the next step in your journey, consider t...
Read more

Microsoft CEO: "AI Agents will Replace All Software"

Image
We have entered the "agentic era"; the era of the agent or intelligent software agent . Others refer to this as the "algorithmic economy".  Maybe think many very intelligent  microservices  exchanging information with each other and can work globally. In an interview with BG2, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella predicts that (paraphrasing) SaaS (software as a service) is dead and that AI agents will replace all software. The entire interview is the first link in "Additional Information" below.  These three videos provide a focused look at this statement: LinkedIn post including short video AI Insights Explorer video  (Microsoft CEO Predicts: "AI Agents Will Replace ALL Software") Microsoft CEO's Shocking Prediction: "Agents will replace ALL software" Here is my personal interpretation of what Satya Nadella is saying and what it means.  First, Nadella says that we are "on the brink of a monumental shift".  I agree with that statem...
Read more

New Tool for Accountants, Auditors, Analysts

Image
A new type of tool will be available (is becoming available) to support professional accountants.  This tool is somewhat similar to the traditional electronic spreadsheet but it works differently and provides different capabilities to professional accountants. This new tool will supplement the arsenal of tools available to accountants, auditors, and analysts. This new tool is semantic oriented, model-based, and a global standard technical format.  To describe this tool in the past I have used the terms " modern spreadsheet " and " professional knowledge graph " and " deductive apparatus " and " semantic oriented accounting and audit working papers " and " knowledge product " and " logical spreadsheet " and " logic programming " and " logical digital twin of financial reports ". This new type of tool will help usher in modern accountancy . In this new era, machines will support accountants, auditors, and ana...
Read more