This paper evaluates the implications of the proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rule (33-8496) which encourages companies to file reports in the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format. We examine the impact of the proposed rule in three domains: (1) the role of XBRL in financial reporting, (2) concerns with XBRL taxonomies, and (3) the impact of XBRL on the SEC's filing program. The paper adopts a descriptive approach to generate normative and prescriptive propositions with implications for research that will guide preparers, users, and regulators of XBRL-tagged information.

This paper addresses the impact of Internet financial reporting (IFR) on financial accounting theory by incorporating it into the general Gibbins, Richardson, and Waterhouse (GRW) (1990) disclosure-management framework. The GRW model assumes that the firm has a relatively stable process of disclosure management. This process varies between two positions: one ritualistic and the other opportunistic. These dimensions can coexist in the same firm but, on average, the policy of a firm will be either more ritualistic or more opportunistic. Our survey of the financial information disclosed in traditional financial reporting (TFR) as compared with the website disclosures of a random sample of Canadian companies documents a significant difference between TFR and IFR, as well as a wide variability among the sample firms in their use of IFR content, format, and technology. We interpret this variability in the incremental difference of IFR over TFR as an indication that a firm's ritualistic or opportunistic behaviour under IFR is not different from its behaviour under TFR. Thus, the adapted GRW (1990) conceptual model appears to have the potential to support future research in the management of financial disclosure on corporate websites.

Recent emphasis on corporate governance has raised the level of interest in and concern about directors' responsibilities. It has become much more critical for directors and others to know more precisely what their responsibilities are and how they might be discharged. This has been apparent in the area of internal controls, where directors have long held certain responsibilities, but where those responsibilities are now being redefined through such means as the Sarbanes–Oxley act [Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, Public Law 107–204, 107th Congress, USA] and regulatory actions related to corporate governance issues.

Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Gerald Trites; Overview of CICA's Information Technology Control Guidelines. Journal of Information Systems 1 January 2000; 14 (s-1): 27–32. doi: https://doi.org/10.2308/jis.2000.14.s-1.27 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest Search