“Through the survey (XBRL: What’s in it for Internal Auditors) we found internal auditors were minimally involved in the actual process of generating XBRL filings, even in those companies that are already using XBRL, either voluntarily or through the mandate,” explained Lily Bi, CIA, CISA, CGEIT, director of technology practices with The Institute of Internal Auditors. “But internal auditors need to be able to contribute to, and provide assurance on, the process of generating XBRL filings as they do with any other corporate reporting process.”

 

The paper provides internal auditors an overview of XBRL, approaches to implementation, and an overview of how internal auditors can be involved in the adoption of the reporting format. It also explains the U.S. Security Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) XBRL filing requirements, as well as information for executives making crucial decisions today on how to comply with the SEC’s interactive data mandate over the course of the next several years. Filing financial statements in XBRL format has become a regulatory mandate for many companies across the globe.

 

“XBRL’s value proposition in internal auditing processes goes far beyond being an additional format in which financial reports can be filed,” said Bi. “Both management and internal auditors should understand its value to the entire compliance and reporting process — from the initial transaction at the business-unit level, to the release of the group financial statements or management report.”

 

The XBRL paper highlights the uses of XBRL that go beyond regulatory compliance, and demonstrates how it enables the enhancement of critical processes in the internal space: data integration, reporting assembly, and application of validation rules and controls consistently across the entire corporate information system.

 

“XBRL: What’s in it for Internal Auditors” is available for free download from The IIARF at http://www.theiia.org/research/research-reports/.