EBR Enhanced Business Reporting

In order to implement a sound Performance Measurement Model, a relevant issue includes the selection of a proper set of measures. In this sense, a good starting point could be the analysis of an Annual Report containing all the relevant financial data about a company. It is a generally accepted fact that Annual Reports are a good means of describing the situation of a company to all stakeholders although it is difficult to compare Annual Reports from different entities. Once Annual Reports have been created by adopting IAS/IFRS standards, the next step is to code them using the same IT language. If a common computer language is selected, Annual Reports or other documents can easily be compared without recoding and retyping them. The starting point of this process is the definition of an appropriate taxonomy to be used by both those drafting and reading the documents. The process of choosing appropriate accounting standards, selecting the related taxonomy and, finally, compiling documents using XBRL language leads companies to produce sound, meaningful and clear documents that greatly improve the sharing of useful information. Moreover, the adoption of IAS/IFRS standards and XBRL encoded statements provides a set of measures for building sound and widely accepted models. The aim of this paper was to analyze the connection that links financial performance, adoption of IFRS standards and XBRL language. The first point was that the adoption of IFRS standards greatly improved the disclosure of performance information itself. The very next step was to emphasize the relevant role of XBRL in improving business reporting. By means of XBRL, it is possible to create and diffuse Enhanced Business Reports (EBR) and to provide a sound framework for the measurement and evaluation of Business Performance by means of a specific set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). In particular, we emphasized the potential benefits of the use of XBRL in providing integrated reports in a more timely and accurate manner. While the current GAAP reporting model provides an effective foundation from which business reporting should start, timely decisions can only be made by looking at both lagging indicators (such as those found in historical financial statements) and leading indicators (such as value drivers and KPIs), which provide more predictive information about future cash flows and the viability itself of a business. The development of XBRL taxonomy by EBRC and WICI may produce benefits because the high level items within this framework can be "tagged". XBRL enables providers and users of information to produce, capture and analyze information much more efficiently and effectively on a timely basis and across all software via the Internet. Coupled with the Internet – which allows key financial and nonfinancial business information to be widely available electronically – XBRL will enable a more effective utilization of financial disclosure.