Disclosures, Narrative Reporting & XBRL

Tools to streamline the production of narrative commentary bundled with key financial data and metrics.  Traditionally, the Finance and Accounting Teams have diverted a substantial portion of their efforts towards the creation of consolidated financial statements.  However, similarly onerous is the effort involved to craft the context supporting these key financial figures – collectively known as “Narrative Reports” or “Narrative Performance Reports” (e.g., board reports, annual report, budget, pro forma, XBRL filing, etc.).

Challenges in producing Narrative Performance Reports commonly stems from:

1. Tick ‘n’ Tie (same numbers are referenced in multiple places with some part of sub-totals) and adjustments thereto.
2. Scaling and Footing – source numbers are expressed to the nearest thousand or million can create footing errors.
3. Volume of narrative reports required per reporting unit.
4. Significant number of reporting units.
5. Orchestration across multiple individuals (e.g., legal, tax, operations, finance, etc.)
6. Consistency of formatting throughout a report set.
7. New schedules or disclosures.
8. Roll-forwards (e.g., next period, next quarter, next fiscal, etc.).