(142) EXTENSIBLE BUSINESS REPORTING LANGUAGE (XBRL): A TOOL FOR ACCOUNTING EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

摘要

21st century education standards focus on 21st century skills, content knowledge and expertise. Theybuild understanding across and among core subjects as well as newly emerging interdisciplinarythemes. They also emphasize deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge, engage studentswith the real world data, tools, and experts, and allow for multiple measures of mastery. Technologyadvances such as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) have revolutionized the wayinformation is exchanged and the way business is conducted. Corporate reporting is in the spotlighttoday more than ever before. These days, speed is of the essence and loss of accuracy, lack oftransparency, and difficulty in analysis are increasingly apparent risks. EXtensible Business ReportingLanguage (XBRL) is a freely available XML-based specification and twenty first century revolutionaryformat that uses accepted financial reporting standards and practices to exchange financialstatements across all software and technologies, including the Internet. This research exposes XBRLas a phenomenon that represents the future of global accounting education. It discusses the conceptand need for XBRL as well as its potential uses and challenges. The research finds that there is anongoing transformation in the way business is conducted and regulated world-wide. The onslaught ofthe information revolution has profound ramifications for corporate reporting information preparers andusers. It therefore recommends that the greater the degree of collaboration between all participants inthe financial information supply chain, including government regulators and public sector accountants,the greater the benefits that this information format enables for all participants, educationists,academics, companies, regulators, investors, and government agencies alike.