Contractors prepare financials and Work-in-Process reports for analysis by banks, insurance and surety carriers, bond agents, regulators like the Small Business Administration (SBA) and other stakeholders. These audiences review the contractor’s financials to identify risks and determine eligibility for surety bonds and for financing. The Work in Process (WIP) report describes the financial performance and status of a contractor’s construction projects. Financial reviews of contractor's data today is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and costly.
Data Standards Streamline Processing and Reduce Costs
The XBRL data standard renders paper-based information computer-readable, reducing costs and delays. Bringing XBRL into the creation of the WIP report and supporting financials can render this data computer-readable and automatable, eliminating manual data entry. The XBRL data standard will not change the underwriting process or other analytics, it simply changes how the data is prepared and conveyed. The Small Business Administration (SBA) implemented an XBRL SBA Conversion application that automates the WIP process for bond agents as part of the SBA Surety Guarantee program.
Listen to a podcast about the SBA's modernization of WIP submissions:
For more on the business case, read the white paper Data Standards in Surety Underwriting and the NASBP article "XBRL Exec Explains How Uniform Data Standards Will Impact Bond Producers and their Interactions with Clients and Sureties".
How It Works
Contractors can create XBRL-formatted financials and WIP reports using tools mapped to the Work-in-Process (WIP) Taxonomy as shown below. Data users receiving financials in XBRL format can ingest the data automatically into their financial management systems after performing a one-time mapping that allows them to read the concepts reported.
Get Involved
The WIP Taxonomy is available as a Proposed Recommendation. Bonding agents, sureties, contractors, accounting firms and tool providers that serve the surety market should review the taxonomy, white paper and related materials.
Email membership@xbrl.us to get involved as a Single Initiative Member of XBRL US.
Read the Surety FAQ.
Related news, papers, and posts.
The National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) posted a new blog, featuring XBRL US CEO Campbell Pryde on how the Small Business Administration (SBA) has modernized their process for collecting contractor data...
Administrator Isabella Guzman who leads the Small Business Administration (SBA), announced changes to streamline the process for small businesses to submit Work-in-Process information used in the SBA Surety Bond Guarantee program by leveraging...
Liberty Mutual Surety not only saved time and money, but was able to redirect skilled employees to higher value work at every level when they adopted standardized XBRL data collection of corporate financial...
David Hartman, Director, Analytics, IFIC Surety, and Michelle Savage, VP Communication, XBRL USWhen a project is bonded, the surety must be prepared to answer the call in the event subcontractors or vendors are...
The gruesome (and grueling) days of painful re-keying of data may be coming to an end. Could data standards be the magic bullet? The National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) has been...
The Work-in-Process (WIP) report and other financials can be delivered in useable form directly from contractor to surety eliminating manual rekeying of data, improving timeliness and access to credit for contractors. Financial data...
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