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Don’t learn XBRL - You are an Accountant

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The title of this blog is sure to raise a few eyebrows. Many of my accountant friends who have spent long hours and months coming to grips with XBRL are probably frowning. But seriously, you are an accountant for god’s sake. What makes sense to you is the familiar world of numbers. Things like “accumulated depreciation” and “contingent liabilities” are music to your ears. You would rather defer your movie plans than stop computing deferred taxes. You have cash flows for breakfast, assets for lunch and provisions for dinner. You tread bravely, where a lesser mortal would shudder to go.

With enough on your plate already, the world has conspired to burden you some more. A cursory glance at the XBRL jargon is sure to make you dizzy. XBRL experts don’t think twice before casually using terms like linkbase, dimensions, domains, hyper-cubes, tagging and facts; as if it is the natural thing for everyone to know. Let me let you in on a secret – it is not your job to understand any of this. If you want coffee from a vending machine, all you do is press the ‘coffee’ button; you don’t have to understand the mechanics behind it. Unfortunately when it comes to XBRL, the technologists want you to learn the mechanics behind it. The fact is, XBRL is still evolving, and so is the technology around it. Things always get worse before they get better.

But you still have a job to do. You have to make sure financial reports are converted to XBRL format, or the regulator will wring your neck. What you need is not courses in XBRL, but better software. A software that talks your language and not vice-versa.

Being a technologist myself, and having been in this field for a few years now, I am convinced about the need for accountants to do their job and the technologists to do theirs. If you identify with this situation, do feel free to write to me at karthik.ganeshan@beyondsquare.com . Based on your background and need, I will only be happy to provide you with recommendations.

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