Accountant

ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Vol. 25, No. 3 2010 pp. 465–488

American Accounting Association DOI: 10.2308/iace.2010.25.3.465

Adios! Airways: An Assignment on Mapping Financial Statements to the U.S. GAAP XBRL Taxonomy

Roger Debreceny and Stephanie Farewell

ABSTRACT: XBRL, based on XML, is an Internet language for disclosure of business reporting language. XBRL is the technological foundation for the interactive data mandate by the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC . The mandate requires corporate filers to disclose data in quarterly and annual reports in XBL. A key building block supporting the mandate is a substantial U.S. GAAP XBRL taxonomy that encapsulates most of the reporting concepts found in financial reporting. Filers must align their existing reports to the taxonomy. The accuracy of mapping financial statement line items to the U.S. GAAP taxonomy is of fundamental importance. Mapping errors may be as simple as mapping to an incorrect taxonomy concept, which should be discovered during review. Ineffective mapping may lead to unnecessary extensions, which hinders comparability. This instructional resource guides students through the steps in mapping financial statement line items to the taxonomy. While the case does not require students to create an extended taxonomy, it does require completion of a spreadsheet detailing the mapping process that is typical of practice. In addition, the resource provides a checklist that users can refer to during the mapping process. Keywords: XBRL; mapping; financial statements; taxonomies; disclosure; financial reporting; educational resources.

INTRODUCTION The eXtensible Business Reporting Language XBRL provides a method for automated disclosure of information such as financial statements, internal company reports, accounting transactions, sustainability, and many other facts. As part of the Semantic Web and Web 2.0, XBRL allows information to flow to web pages, databases, and web applications. XBRL is a key...