Summary of articles for 2011 first time XBRL filers

Over the past eighteen months at the Random Comments blog, we have posted a number of articles and comments that we think are relevant to the Group 3, or Year 3 filers - those that must provide XBRL to the SEC for the first time in 2011. Instead of making you search and wade through the other stuff, we thought it was time to publish a quick directory.

The following is a quick directory of articles broadly grouped by topic. Over the time it seems there have been some consistent themes, including the cost and burden of XBRL, the availability (or otherwise) of experts, background type posts and some predictions. We hope this is helpful to anyone faced with their first year of XBRL. 

1. Don't expect the SEC to delay the XBRL program for Group 3 filers 

Cost and Burden 

2. Is XBRL Expensive? (Costs range from Under $8,000 to over $30,000).

3. Why is XBRL so Expensive (Cost Factors) Mainly people time and software, and the interaction of the two.

4. So how much effort is really involved?   

5. More on estimated costs How the SEC estimated the cost of XBRL com(January 2010)   

6. Never confuse cost with quality (Quality vs Price 1, Quality vs Price 2)   

7. Detailed tagging, just how big is the burden? Answer: Ouch! 

8. Detailed Tagging explained: a descent through Dante's inferno Or, the first 4 levels of Hell? 

Availability of Experts

9.  Over 10,000 companies to create XBRL this year - expertise will be in short supply   

10. After a decade of the standard, where are the experts

11. Cost of (voluntary) assurance over XBRL today    

Options for filers

12. As published in IRWeb Report - the 2011 XBRL Buyers Guide   

13. Should you replace your entire external reporting framework to produce XBRL?   

14. 5 Questions filers should ask any prospective service provider or software vendor.  

15. Outline of first time filer options.  

Background

16. Why did the SEC mandate XBRL? Remember SOX?   

17. Observations about recent filings (March 2011)   

18. XBRL and the audit and assurance industry  How some auditors are using XBRL as a marketing tool. 

19. A conversation with David Blaszkowsky of the SEC (Part 1, Part 2)   

Predictions

20. Prediction time (detailed tagging)

21. Assurance anyone? It will happen, but first the auditors need to figure out how to.

Guest Posts 

22. Dennis Santiago of Institutional Risk Analytics (XBRL Usability - Part 1, Part 2)

23. Neal Hannon:XBRL Conventional Wisdom Might be Wrong