XBRL US and the AICPA jointly conducted an online survey among AICPA members and public company preparers in November 2009. The results showed that most public companies today are at least somewhat knowledgeable about XBRL and are preparing themselves for XBRL compliance. For those organizations that have filed a second time, preparation time decreases dramatically the second time around. The biggest concern going forward is tackling detailed footnote tagging.  Slightly more companies already have and plan to outsource than to take the process in-house. Download the full report.

Key Findings

• 93% of those surveyed indicated that they had some knowledge of XBRL, ranging from basic to expert knowledge.
• 45% said they were actively preparing or had already submitted XBRL formatted financials; an additional 28% said they were in preliminary discussions.
• Creation time needed decreases dramatically the second time around –
• 57% said it took them over 120 hours to complete their first submission; 64% of those that filed a second time around said it took less than 40 hours
• 45% of those that filed a second time said it was significantly easier the second time
• Respondents noted that the most challenging part of the process was mapping/tag selection (15%), getting educated (10%), and validation (9%).
• Resources most  commonly used to develop XBRL financials were the XBRL US GAAP Taxonomy (22%), their service or tool provider (16%), XBRL US Preparers Guide (12%), educational webinars (12%), tool provider training (12%), SEC resources (11%), review of competitor filings (11%), SEC EDGAR Filer Manual (10%).
• For those that have already done XBRL creation, the biggest concerns going forward were the need for information on detailed footnote tagging (21%), how to increase efficiencies in preparation and process (14%) and the ongoing cost of XBRL creation and submission (12%).
• For those who have NOT done XBRL creation, top resources they plan to use include the XBRL US GAAP Taxonomy (39%), training by software providers (37%), the XBRL US Preparers Guide (35%), filing agent resources (28%), educational webinars (28%), and a review of competitive filings (28%).
• For those who have already submitted XBRL-formatted financials, 55% said they had outsourced the process to a service provider.
• For those who have NOT done XBRL creation, 56% plan to outsource, 24% to do it themselves and 20% do not yet know.
• The biggest concerns stated for those who have NOT yet done XBRL creation are not having enough resources (35%), and the need to get educated (28%).