（2006）Interactive Data：The Impact on Assurance.pdfVIP

INTERACTIVE DATA: THE IMPACT ON ASSURANCE NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE AUDIT PROFESSION This paper results from research undertaken by the Assurance Working Group of XBRL International, November, 2006 Readers are encouraged to consider the ideas in this paper. Any comments are welcome and should be sent to: Jan Pasmooij - j .pasmooij @nivra.nl Bill Swirsky – Bill.Swirsky@cica.ca Principal author: Gerald Trites. FCA, XBRL Canada Assurance Working Group – XBRL International - November, 2006 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background The technology used in financial and business reporting is changing rapidly. A prime manifestation of this change is the growing use of Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) – what is increasingly becoming known as Interactive Data. The changes are happening around the world – in the United States, as evidenced through the activities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), in Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Australia and Europe as a whole, through the support and activities of the 1 European Commission and the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS). With these changes, the world of financial and business reporting is moving from a paper, to an electronic, paradigm. Because XBRL automates the exchange of information between information systems and provides for the fast and reliab