Essentials for producing consistent, high-quality company financials in XBRL
As the organization that built the US GAAP Taxonomy, XBRL US has the expertise to establish guidelines for public companies on how to create the best quality XBRL data.
We analyzed hundreds of public company XBRL filings and uncovered thousands of errors related to the use of the US GAAP Taxonomy. Then we created a set of over 10,000 rules that identify and allow preparers to correct potential errors in public company XBRL filings.
You can run the checks automatically against your XBRL documents to identify and correct potential issues with your XBRL financials like incorrect signs, missing concepts or concepts used inconsistently.
The XBRL Consistency Suite includes access to a database of XBRL financial statements and analytics that let you identify concepts used and extensions created by peers and streamline your own process. The tool also includes an application that lets you compare your own XBRL financial statement to the 2011 release of the taxonomy to find out which definitions have been changed and concepts deleted.
Use the XBRL Consistency Suite on your XBRL financials along with your XBRL creation tool or service provider and of course, your own finance team.
Who Uses the XBRL Consistency Suite?
Mid-cap and large-cap companies including the Apollo Group, KB Home, Oracle, Time Warner, Validus, United Technologies and many more use the tool to improve their process and produce better quality information. Audit firms and accounting standard setters like the Financial Accounting Standards Board use the XBRL Consistency Suite to establish controls and streamline their process.
"The FAF/FASB uses the XBRL Consistency Suite in our taxonomy maintenance process to help identify best practice and research extensions and concepts used."
- Louis Matherne, Chief of Taxonomy Development, FASB
The XBRL Consistency Suite includes:
- Consistency Checks - access an automated roadmap on how to use the XBRL US GAAP Taxonomy to create high-quality XBRL data before you submit your financials to the SEC’s EDGAR database. Print out reports for group review using easy export capabilities. Read more…
- Taxonomy View and Compare - compare your previously submitted XBRL filing to the new FASB taxonomy release for 2011 to find out concepts removed and definitions changed quickly and easily. Don’t start from scratch, save time and work. Read more…
- Company Filings Analysis - find out which concepts were used and which extensions were created by your peers to see what common practice is being followed. Read more…
Annual subscription to the XBRL Consistency Suite is $2,500 per CIK. Consistency Checks can be integrated with third party XBRL software and services. Tools that support the Consistency Checks are:
XBRL US is currently working with other leading providers to integrate Consistency Checks with their products. For more information, email us at consistencysuite@xbrl.us.
XBRL Consistency Checks
Identify inconsistencies and problems in your XBRL-formatted financial statements with automated "tests" developed by the experts who built the XBRL US GAAP Taxonomy.
XBRL US has identified over 10,000 "rules" that should be followed when using the XBRL US GAAP Taxonomy to avoid problems and inconsistencies. This tool lets you perform an automated check against these rules on your XBRL document within seconds. Make XBRL Consistency Checks a standard part of your XBRL creation process for:
- Peace of mind - reviews key line items in your XBRL financial statement and identifies concepts that have been used incorrectly or inconsistently with peer companies.
- Ease of use - submit your XBRL financials through the online tool and get an instant report identifying line items where inconsistencies exist. Reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel for review with service providers and others in your organization.
- Security - your financial statements submitted online are not stored; they are simply reviewed and reported on. There’s no need to worry about financial statements that are not yet in the public domain.
What type of errors are detected? Thousands of problems have been detected to date including the most common errors such as:
- Incorrect use of signs on concepts
- Concepts used that have been removed from the most recent version of the taxonomy
- Required values that were not reported
- Values that should be reported when another value is reported
- Values that are reported when they should not be reported
- Values that should be reported when another value is zero
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Taxonomy View & Compare
Check the changes in the FASB’s 2011 taxonomy release – find out which elements you used in your last XBRL filing have had definition changes or been removed.
Access a tool that reviews your previously submitted XBRL document and shows you which concepts have been changed or deleted since the last release of the Taxonomy. Compare the 2009 Release to the FASB 2011 Release and find out what new concepts have been added that you might need to use. Learn which tags from your last quarter should be revised and make necessary adjustments early on in the process. Save time spent searching through concepts.
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Company Filings Analysis
Find out how your peers are tagging their financials and identify common industry practice.
Get an early read on best practices that you can use as you create your XBRL financials. This tool searches a database of XBRL submissions and is updated from the SEC website within minutes of posting to the SEC EDGAR database. Identify extensions created and concepts and labels used by peers. Helps you gauge peer activity and respond to upper management and outside stakeholders, including shareholders and analysts. View and analyze trends by company, by industry and by concept, including footnote disclosures as well as values. As more companies begin filing in XBRL and as detailed footnote tagging becomes more common, an automated tool is critical to allow for efficient, manageable analysis.
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