An XBRL Implementation Plan (Draft)

I’m looking at incorporating XBRL at my employer.  We receive federal, state, and local grant funds and have specific reporting that we must do.  We currently use an Excel spreadsheet to maintain our grant records.  I’m hoping that we can move to an XBRL process that will eliminate some of the manual entry and make the whole process more efficient and accurate.

I’ve started a draft of an XBRL Implementation Plan.  So far, I’ve come up with a mission statement, the goals and vision of the plan, and the scope.  I’m still working on the system requirements, budget, timeline, and how we will measure success.

Mission Statement

To create an XBRL system that will allow CityBus to maintain Grants Reporting.  To utilize the Grants Management module of Fleet-Net, a multi-user, multi-tasking software product that allows all users to access and to update a single database.  The software provides the tools to coordinate the efforts of Maintenance, Purchasing, Finance, Payroll & Human Resources, and Operations & Statistics.

Goals and Vision

Our goal is to streamline current manual processes into more automated, electronic processes.  The goal is to not only become more efficient, but to become more accurate.  XBRL can provide definitions that are common and standard for grants and general ledger data and it can reduce the time needed to process grants and will automate current manual processes.  Fleet-Net offers governmental compliancy for fraud control, National Transit Database reporting, and Federal, State, and local laws and regulations.  We are looking to add the Grant Management module to our current system set up.

XBRL

XBRL will allow CityBus to streamline the use of spreadsheets.  It will provide standardization, validate data, and provide a centralized database for grant maintenance.  The State of Nevada already uses XBRL for their Grants Reporting.  According to the State Controller, Kim Wallin, CityBus can expect to see the following results (Wallin, 2009):

Accurate, standardized, and timely reports to Federal, State, and Private Grantor Agencies

Real-time or near real-time data to deliver to administrators, project managers, and grant owners

A streamlined and standardized Grant and Agreement Application preparation

Administrative and fiscal oversight to the Grants Reporting process

 

Grant Management

This module will allow CityBus to effectively comply with the terms and conditions of a grant by improving our operations and performance as well as minimizing the risk of non-compliance with Federal, State, and local agencies.  GM provides financial reports to withstand an audit and assists with staying on tasks.

Grant Compliance

Cost Management

Auditing

Standard Reporting and Inquiries
 

Scope

CityBus currently maintains an Excel spreadsheet that houses all grant information.  The spreadsheet is very large and errors occur regularly due to manual entry of data.  There is also a lack of controls over the data elements and structure.  Grant Reporting preparation is very time consuming due to the fact that so much of the process is manual.  CityBus currently uses several modules that Fleet-Net provides.  They include General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Fixed Assets, Payroll Processing, Human Resources, Work Orders, Vehicle Maintenance, Road-Call Reporting, Purchase Order Processing, Inventory, Automated Dispatching, and Operator Timekeeping.  The departments that use these various modules include Maintenance, Operations, and Finance.

 

 

 

Research was done to provide the background knowledge that I will need to implement this plan.  I found many resources about XBRL and the SEC reporting requirements that helped with the details of XBRL and how it is beneficial to companies.  In my research, I found several articles and presentations about the State of Nevada and how they have incorporated XBRL into their Grants Reporting process.  They have also began a project for debt collections.  I’m excited to learn more about their process and see how I can follow their lead and implement an XBRL Grants Management program at CityBus.  Here are some of my resources and a brief summary of each.

 

Abraham, C., & Kull, J. (2008, November 19). AGA research study predicts bright future for XBRL use in state and local governments. accountingWEB. Retrieved from http://www.accountingweb.com/topic/aga-research-study-predicts-bright-future-xbrl-use-state-and-local-governments

           This article reports on the AGA’s research on the Oregon CAFR.  They created a taxonomy and tagged two statements from the Oregon CAFR: the Statement of Activities and the Statement of Net Assets.  The article reports that there were three significant findings:  1) A CAFR taxonomy would have to be at a high level since line items vary from state to state.  2) XBRL is a good choice for improving the handling, exchange, and reporting of public sector financial information.  3) There are a lot of opportunities to do more research and a greater opportunity to improve municipal reporting.

 

admin. (2011, November 14). List of free XBRL tools [Web log message].  FinanceSheets.com, Retrieved from http://www.financesheets.com/list-of-free-xbrl-tool/

           This web log lists free XBRL tools.  When considering using XBRL, it is important to have the right tools to make it work.  The tools allow you to design taxonomies, view, and review XBRL based financial statements and other XBRL documents.

 

Bills, H., & Hansen, J. (2008, October). Enabling grants reporting with XBRL: A case study [PDF document]. 18th XBRL international conference, Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://archive.xbrl.org/18th/sites/18thconference.xbrl.org/files/PublicSector-XBRLforImprovedGovernmentalReporting-Complete.pdf

           This PDF document takes a look at the Nevada Department of Agriculture’s use of XBRL for its Grants Management process.  The main purpose of using XBRL is to streamline the process to be more effective and efficient.  Currently, over 60 grants are manually maintained in spreadsheets.  It is estimated that they spend 1-2 hours per grant for report preparation.  They experience errors, re-entry of data, lack of standardization, incomplete or missing data.  By moving to XBRL they hope to see cost savings, efficiency, improved accuracy and reliability, paperless environment, enhanced business reporting and standardization, and transparency.  This will also allow them to be prepared for the “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act”.

 

Brands, K. (2012, March). Get ready to catch the XBRL wave! Strategic Finance, 64-65.

           This article discusses the momentum in the United States since the SEC 2009 XBRL Reporting Mandate became effective.  It addresses those companies that are not required to report the SEC by mentioning that XBRL can be used for both external and internal reporting.  The article details resources and educational opportunities that are available to help one learn about XBRL, including the XBRL International Certification Program.

 

Brands, K. (2012, January). U.S. federal government XBRL reporting update. Strategic Finance, 56-57.

           This article addresses the three bills passed in 2011 by the U.S. federal government that specify the use of a standard business reporting (SBR) tool to achieve transparency and accountability for several federal programs’ reporting.  The article states that all three bills include identical provisions regarding the data standards to achieve the reporting requirements:  “to the extent nonproprietary standards, such as the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL).”

 

Brands, K. (2012, November). XBRL tools can help. Strategic Finance, 64-65.

           This article addresses the need for using XBRL tools to find and fix common errors.  The purpose of using XBRL is to improve accuracy, transparency, and comparability.  Those items cannot be done if there are extensive tagging errors.  The author gives examples of a few tools available to help with internal controls in the tagging process.

 

Gray, G., & Miller, D. (2009). XBRL: Solving real-world problems. International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, 6(3), 207-223. doi: 10.1057/jdg.2009.8

           This is a study that conducted four focus groups to develop an understanding of the issues and concerns faced by organizations related to accounting, financial reporting, and auditing.  Specific issues and questions regarding XBRL were forward to the XBRL community to address the issues, concerns, and questions.  The study found that the XBRL community feels that XBRL technology can fulfill the needs of financial reporting and be used for management and control of internal financial data and reporting processes.

 

Hanson, W. (2009, May 1). Xbrl ends spreadsheet hell. digitalcommunities, Retrieved from http://www.digitalcommunities.com/articles/XBRL-Ends-Spreadsheet-Hell.html

           This article is about the State of Nevada’s efforts to use XBRL for tracking grants.  It discusses their many Excel spreadsheets used to maintain their grant files.  It mentions the manual entry, the time requirement, and the staff involved to create, maintain, and prepare reports for their grants.  The goal is to have timely and accurate data, stronger internal controls, reduced costs, a standardized system of seamless data exchange, business processes and data elements.  The article discusses the State results of their pilot program and their satisfaction with the results.

 

Hoffman, C., & Watson, L. (2010). XBRL for dummies. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc.

           This book was written to help those with little to no prior knowledge of XBRL get a grasp of the components of XBRL and their definitions.  It explains what XBRL is, why it is, and how one can use it for reporting.  The book teaches one how to prepare financial statements with XBRL, use it for strategic planning, and more…plan for XBRL implementation, set action-oriented agendas, and identify subject-matter experts within the organization.  It also teaches one to choose from and adapt existing XBRL taxonomies to comply with US GAAP standards.

 

Jackson, J. (2009, May 29). Nevada uses XBRL to streamline data reuse. Government Computer News, Retrieved from http://gcn.com/articles/2009/06/01/datagov-sidebar-1-nevada.aspx

           This article discusses the State of Nevada’s efforts to use XBRL to streamline the grants maintenance process, along with other processes.  It also discusses web-based XForms that process XML where the employees populate the data fields.  The article refers to several federal programs that could benefit from the use of XBRL to track the billions of dollars that have been allotted to various programs.

 

Janvrin, D., & No, W. (2012). XBRL implementation: A field investigation to identify research opportunities. Journal of Information Systems, 26(1), 169-197. doi: 10.2308/isys-10252

           This journal article analyzed the implementation process of XBRL reporting.  They found four themes:  1) management support and involvement; 2) implementation approach; 3) organizational readiness or expertise; and 4) control over the XBRL reporting process.  Their study contributes to a more complete understanding of how companies implement XBRL by providing a basis for accounting researchers to identify current implementation issues and future research opportunities.

 

Monterio, B. (2011, February). XBRL and its impact on corporate tax departments. Strategic Finance, 56-61.

           This article discusses the impact of XBRL on corporate tax departments.  It gives several examples of current uses and the likelihood that it will make its way to the United States and the IRS.  It also discusses XBRL solutions that help with reporting and analysis.  It talks of the financial benefits of XBRL due to its ability to streamlining processes, analysis, reporting, reduce errors, reduce manually entry, etc.

Mueller, D. (2009, June 25). Public sector case study: State of Oregon CAFR project [PDF document].  19th XBRL international conference, Paris, France.  Retrieved from http://archive.xbrl.org/19th/sites/19thconference.xbrl.org/files/Microsoft%20PowerPoint%20-%20JustSystems%20Mueller%20XBRL%20Oregon%20Case%20Study%20.pdf

           This PDF document discusses the Oregon CAFR project.  It details the project plan from development of the taxonomy to publishing of the report.  It lists the vendors used in each step of the implementation process.  It lists the participants in the taxonomy development; included are representatives from the State of Oregon, AGA, GASB, and PricewaterhouseCooper.  There are details of the mapping process from Excel spreadsheets.  It discusses the instance file, schema, and taxonomy extensions.

Piechocki, M. (2010, December). Standard business reporting: Modern language of governments. Strategic Finance, 56-61.

           This article discusses Standard Business Reporting (SBR).  It addresses that in light of the economic crisis, the need for governments to show that their markets and business environments are safe, competitive, less burdensome, and supported by proactive regulatory programs that help business survive and grow through difficult times.  It discusses the reporting requirements to several different government agencies and bodies that contain similar or even identical information, but that may differ in terms of formats, structures, or transmission methods.  SBR benefits include a streamlines process of passing and aggregating data across internal departments, offices, and business units of a company; increased interoperability of financial applications; better interaction with banks for loan application and risk systems; and improved data quality.

 

Ramin, K. & Reiman, C. (2013). IFRS and XBRL: How to improve business reporting through technology and object tracking. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

           This is the text for FL 551.  It contains four sections that introduce IFRS, address the importance of IFRS to business, give the history, structure, and finance of the IFRS Foundation, covers the framework, preface, standards, and interpretations of IFRS.

 

Rosivach, A. (2012, January 31). Governments and private companies exploring benefits of XBRL. accountingWEB. Retrieved from http://www.accountingweb.com/topic/technology/governments-and-private-companies-exploring-benefits-xbrl

           This article discusses the idea that XBRL should not be limited to just publicly traded companies in the U.S.  It mentions several benefits of XBRL to organizations that are not listed with the SEC that include streamlining and automating information sharing; removing the “silo mentality” that could exist between sales/marketing, operations, and finance.  Information is easier to track, analyze, and share.  It discusses how accountants can champion XBRL bringing value to companies.  Developing trends in the use of data standards and XBRL are also discussed.

 

Sheridan, B. (2009, Jun 29). XBRL and government: A marriage made in…Nevada? [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.macpa.org/blog/2258/xbrl-and-government-a-marriage-made-in-nevada

This web log discusses the State of Nevada’s use of XBRL for grants maintenance and their pilot program for using XBRL in the state’s debt collection process.  The idea is to allow the staff to focus on debt collection instead of administrative tasks which could save the state up to $6000,000 in staffing costs over two years.

 

Wallin, K. (2009, June). Enabling state grants and stimulus reporting with XBRL [PDF document]. 19th XBRL international conference, Paris, France. Retrieved from archive.xbrl.org/19th/../Paris XBRL Grants Reporting.pdf‎

           This PDF document discusses the State of Nevada’s XBRL strategy which includes their grants experience and other XBRL activities; state grant reporting and new federal grants reporting requirements; and XBRL use in Stimulus reporting (ARRA).

 

Wallin, K. (2008, October). Vision becomes reality [PDF document]. 18th XBRL international conference, Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://archive.xbrl.org/18th/sites/18thconference.xbrl.org/files/PublicSector-Keynote-KimWallin.pdf

           This PDF document details the grants reporting process at the Nevada Department of Agriculture and how they want to use XBRL to reduce costs, increase efficiency, improve accuracy, strengthen internal controls, standardize systems, and improve transparency.  It details the components and technology for the grants maintenance program.

 

Wallin, K. (2011, November 11). XBRL in government [PDF document]. Georgia Society of CPA’s. Retrieved from http://controller.nv.gov/Xbrl/XBRL_in_Government_11142011.pdf

           This PDF document discusses the way that XBRL can improve Grants Reporting by delivering accurate, standardized and timely reports to Federal, State, and Private Grantor Agencies; delivering real-time or near real-time data to administrators, project managers, and grant owners; streamlining and standardizing Grant and Agreement Application preparation; and by providing administrative and fiscal oversight to the Grants Reporting process.  The idea is to reduce costs, improve timeliness and accuracy, improve internal controls, and standardize the process.

 

Wallin, K. (nd). The State Business Portal [PDF document]. State Controller of Nevada. Retrieved from http://controller.nv.gov/Xbrl/Business_Portal_White_Paper.pdf

           This PDF document discusses a State Business Portal application used to streamline the complete information workflow between different state agencies in a State.  To achieve this state-wide platform, XBRL will be used.  XBRL will allow data to be shared and analyzed from many different systems within the state in one location.  This will eliminate the need to make multiple submissions of the same data to different agencies.  The article discusses the Standard Business Reporting (SBR) process in Australia and the great results that they have experienced.

 

XBRL Espana. (2011, August 14). CEBS Why is XBRL recommended to be used? Retrieved from http://www.xbrlwiki.info/index.php?title=CEBS_Why_is_XBRL_recommended_to_be_used?

           This article is from the XBRL Espana website.  It describes why the European Banking Authority recommends the use of XBRL.  They list several benefits of XBRL including increased communication, increased transparency, increased flexibility, increased efficiency, automated processes, validation, harmonization, and standardization.

XBRL International. (2013). XBRL projects [demographic map]. Retrieved from http://www.xbrl.org/knowledge_centre/projects/map

           This map gives a visual representation of the XBRL Projects going on world-wide.  When hovering over a project’s tag, one can find out a brief description of the project, its status, a link to the project webpage, and other pertinent information.

           

XBRL International. (2013). EBA XBRL project.  Retrieved from http://www.xbrl.org/project/eba-xbrl-project

           This web page gives details of the European Banking Authority (EBA) XBRL Project.  It includes details such as a brief description of the project, the objectives, a link to the project, its purpose, its status, whether it is mandatory or optional reporting, the sponsoring organization, and the region of the project.           

 

XBRL International. (2013). XBRL and public sector financial reporting: Oregon CAFR project.  Retrieved from http://www.xbrl.org/project/xbrl-and-public-sector-financial-reporting-oregon-cafr-project

           This web page gives details of the Oregon CAFR Project.  It includes details such as a brief description of the project, the objectives, a link to the project, its purpose, its status, whether it is mandatory or optional reporting, the sponsoring organization, and the region of the project.