Real World XBRL

Features necessary for a user driven mapping program include the following.

1. Be visual and intuitive and easy to use.
2. Be able to extend taxonomies for new elements, labels and references from within the mapping program. This is very handy when the element you want to map to does not exist and you would like to create it on the fly.
3. Be visually able to see how and where report totals are located, and be able to distinguish calculation arcs from dimension rollup totals.
4. Create calculation total (arcs) for newly extended elements from within the mapping tool.
5. Create dimension definition rollup totals for newly extended elements from within the mapping tool.
6. Provide filtering mechanisms in order to narrow down the scope of possibili ties. The US-GAAP contains over 14,000 elements. Possible flavors of filtering include.

1. Industry level filtering. The US-GAAP (2009-January) provides for filtering based on five industries.
• banking
• brokers and dealers
• commerce and industry
• insurance
• real estate

Most businesses would most likely fall under commerce and industry. Choosing industry first, filters out elements not specific to your industry of interest.

2. Role module (report) filtering. This allows users to visually display a reporting module within the taxonomy in presentation view (as it would be printed). For instance, if you have a balance sheet related concept, role module filtering shows you the balance sheet and only those elements within the balance sheet.
3. Sounds like filtering matches concepts to elements based on word pattern matches. For instance, if the concept contains the word revenue, a pattern matching filter might display all elements that also contain the word revenue.

7. Mapping should be persistent. That means you map once and you are done.
8. Mapping should provide an inventory of unmapped concepts. Unmapped concepts will never show up on a report. They must be accounted for. Some concepts are intentionally not mapped. For instance, you are bringing data from your financial system or spreadsheet for total assets. If total assets is calculated within the taxonomy, mapping in a total assets value will multiply the result.
9. Elements should be displayed in label view and be translatable to other languages. Language translations are built into the taxonomy. The US-GAAP is presently English only. The IFRS has translations for most languages spoken throughout Europe, including Spanish, French and German and a host of others. You cannot expect people in foreign subsidiaries to properly map unless they can visually see elements in their native language.
10. Be able to map to elements relative to tuple attributes.
11. Insure that abstract elements are not mapped to. Abstract elements are for organizational purposes only. They cannot be mapped to.
12. Provide a means of overriding the precision and decimals of the applicable context for the concept being mapped.
13. Provide easy access to external references.