A Spin on Comparability: XBRL’s Big Data Play

Posted by Jordan Woodard on June 18, 2013

Big Plans for Big Data

In a recent Interactive Business Reporting (IBR) article Comparability: XBRL’s Big Data Play, by Greg Soulsby, you’ll find insight into what the comparability of XBRL may look like in the future. Greg is the chair of XBRL International’s Comparability Task Force. I met Greg when I started participating on the Task Force, nearly two years ago. I want to congratulate Greg for his tireless efforts and commend the article for its message.

Rivet and Microsoft Office: Best Practice(s) Make PERFECT

Posted by Kevin Berens on June 13, 2013

As a past employee of Microsoft and current V.P. of Customer Success at Rivet, hosting yesterday’s CPE webinar, Microsoft Best Practices: How to Excel with Word and Play Nice with PowerPoint, put me in my “zone” as they say. We had nearly 500 registrants, which again reminded me of how ubiquitous Microsoft Office products are in financial reporting and the world in general.

I’m Not the Only Analyst Using XBRL Today

Posted by Jordan Woodard on June 11, 2013

The XBRL Analysts Tell Us What They Think

In a recent post by XBRL.US called Analyst Community Perspective on XBRL, we heard from Glen Doggett of CFA institute, Jo Guo of Morningstar and David Coluccio of Thomson Reuters. The three perspectives were very similar. The 50,000 foot view indicates the analyst community is using XBRL data today. Below I summarize the views expressed by David Coluccio of Thomson Reuters.

Better Financial Reporting: Do you eat, sleep, and breathe Microsoft Office?

Posted by Raul Varela on June 6, 2013

Microsoft Office + Rivet = Better Financial Reporting

Last week I hosted a CPE webinar on Interactive Financial Reporting. I discussed ways to improve data integration and how to take your reporting beyond the last mile of SEC compliance. After we had a short discussion on XBRL, I discussed some of the best ways to leverage Microsoft Office in the SEC Financial Reporting process.

In the last mile (and the next mile) MS Office wins the race every time. We had almost 200 attendees and we polled them about their MS Office usage during their reporting process. The numbers didn’t surprise us – we know financial reporting professionals eat, sleep, and breathe MS Office. Below is the specific question we asked during the webinar along with the percentages.

Failed US Banks – A Story Told with Open Data Sets

Posted by Emily Huang on June 5, 2013

How We Can Actually Use Government “Open Data”

As a follow up to my blog last week on President Obama’s “Open Data” executive order, Obama Administration’s Executive Order: Government Data Should Be Open & Machine-Readable, I’ve been thinking about what kind of stories can be told with the available open government data and also wondering when “Open Data” adoption become reality? I decided to spend a couple hours on a recent Sunday afternoon to find some answers for myself.

NHI, Rivet & XBRL Deliver: Better Analytics and More Accurate Data

Posted by Rivet Software on May 29, 2013

National Health Investors, Inc. (NHI) is a real estate investment trust based in Murfreesboro, TN that specializes in health care real estate financing. NHI’s Financial Analyst, Cameron Bell and his manager Vice President of Investments, Kevin Pascoe needed a better way to analyze their financial data. “We needed a way to compare data from our various properties side-by-side and to create custom reports as well as our standard, everyday reports”, states Kevin Pascoe. NHI’s process was manual, tedious and involved multiple Excel spreadsheets from their various properties.

Read more on how Rivet’s Crossfire enabled NHI to strategically turn the SEC XBRL mandate into better peer comparison and better financial data throughout their entire organization.

Obama Administration’s Executive Order: Government Data Should Be Open & Machine-Readable

Posted by Emily Huang on May 23, 2013

Information gathered and maintained by the US Federal Government is a national asset. We applaud and agree the best thing President Obama has done this month is sign an executive order that sends a clear statement from the top that open and machine-readable data should be the default for government information.

Unleashing “Open Data” in formats that are easy to use, while rigorously protecting privacy—has been a priority for the Obama Administration. In recent years, the Administration’s Open Data Initiatives have helped make thousands of government data resources available in all fields including health and medicine, education, energy, public safety, and finance in machine-readable formats through Data.gov.

Campbell Pryde Breaks it Down – How XBRL Will Change the Game for Investors

Posted by Jordan Woodard on May 21, 2013

A Sea Change for Investors

Wall Street Week (WSW) is an investment news and information TV program that is broadcast weekly each Friday on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. In a recent Wall Street Week interview with Campbell Pryde, CEO of XBRL US, he shared how investors can take advantage of XBRL data today.

“Who has the cash?”

This was one of the questions asked by correspondent, Al Berkeley. Campbell reminded us how companies stock pile cash in this day and age, and proceeded to show detailed views of which industries have the most cash by using XBRL. He highlighted pharmaceutical companies and their continual quests to buy new startups and buffer contingencies. Campbell pointed out these trends using a free tool made available by XBRL US. The coverage is worth a look:

Click HERE for the interview.

Continue Your Professional Education 1 CPE (or 40 CPEs!) at a Time

Posted by Rivet Software on May 16, 2013

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

- Ben Franklin

Leave it to Ben Franklin to combine a quote about education and finance. To extrapolate (and editorialize) a bit further, investing in your financial reporting knowledge is an extremely good idea.

At Rivet, we’re all about education and were all about choices. We also believe in making CPE education convenient, which means we hit the road on a regular basis to get out among the CPA masses and we also love playing host to our clients, prospects, and fellow CPAs here in Colorful Colorado. So, whether it’s our Regional CPE Events (4 Free CPE credits) or our CPE Webinars (1 Free CPE credit) or our 5-day Crossfire Boot Camp (40 CPE credits) or our 3-day Boot Camp (24 CPE credits), we’ve got it covered.

“When Will CPAs Fully Embrace XBRL?”

Posted by Raul Varela on May 14, 2013

Now is the time to give your clients what they need

After recently spending a day with a group of extremely knowledgeable CPA partners in various practice groups it was clear that XBRL is well-known. It’s also clear that CPAs not actively working with XBRL are in a “wait and see” mode. From both the creation and consumption sides of the XBRL SEC filing mandate there still seems to be a question about the most effective way to incorporate XBRL into their client’s daily financial reporting lives. However, there’s no doubt that incorporating XBRL into their accounting repertoires is a must-do in today’s financial reporting world.

The Rivet Blog