Standard Business Reporting: Modern Language of Governments

Piechocki, Michal, Strategic Finance

When Paul Madden, program director of the Australian government's Standard Business Reporting (SBR) Program, reconfirmed at the 21st XBRL International Conference in Beijing that the expected annual savings for Australian businesses would top A$800 million in the coming years, thanks in part to the use of the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) standard, many of the 700 participants wondered: Is this another governmental post-crisis declaration or something that businesses could actually benefit from?

Madden's statement, reinforced by the National Bank of Belgium's alreadyrealized annual savings of [euro]17 million (with a further [euro]40 million expected), together with announcements from regulatory bodies in the U.K., the Netherlands, Singapore, New Zealand, Brazil, and Taiwan, told the participants that something is going on among governments worldwide regarding the common business reporting language, XBRL, and SBR.

The recent economic crisis and trust meltdown imposed new challenges on governments to demonstrate that their market and business environments were not only safe but also competitive, less burdensome, and supported by proactive regulatory …

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Publication information: Article title: Standard Business Reporting: Modern Language of Governments. Contributors: Piechocki, Michal - Author. Magazine title: Strategic Finance. Volume: 92. Issue: 6 Publication date: December 2010. Page number: 56+. © 1999 Institute of Management Accountants. COPYRIGHT 2010 Gale Group.

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