Technology

Since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were overhauled in 2006 to address the complicated issues of electronic discovery in civil litigation, the number of e-discovery vendors has more than quadrupled. But not all vendors—while ready and willing—can fit every client’s unique needs. “The first thing you want to do is figure out what you’re […]

Already hard at work making Security and Exchange Commission filings interactive, XBRL technology now finds itself at the heart of plans to save the U.S. financial system from future calamity. A group of risk-management leaders in the financial industry has begun studying how XBRL might bring clarity and transparency to the murky world of financial […]

Technology is often key to helping any business endure a government investigation or lawsuit—and can just as often be the company’s undoing if it navigates the perils of e-discovery poorly. Lackey “The work you’ve done prior to that day is going to determine in large measure how effective you’re going to be in your response,” […]

Investor relations may finally be entering the world of the blog, an Internet communications concept that began some 10 years ago. Blogs are a wonderful tool with great potential, so of course Corporate America has been late to adopt them. But finally, we’re seeing progress. A few brave CEOs have, for several years, created their […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has finally delivered its mandate—all 206 pages of it—that corporations start filing financial statements using XBRL technology. Published on Jan. 30, the adopting release still follows the schedule SEC commissioners approved in December: The 500 largest public companies must start XBRL compliance this summer, followed by other large filers in […]

Enterprise resource planning software is designed to reach into all corners of an organization and integrate the data throughout the whole company. But when it comes to compliance, cracks remain. ERP systems can show good return on investment for the pieces of compliance that they handle well, such as transaction compliance, segregation of duties, and […]

Corporate management has always been told to invest wisely in IT. The board has always been told to ensure management invests wisely in IT. It’s a truism everyone states all the time. Too frequently, however, IT investment decisions by management and the board have relied on, and even deferred to, managers of the IT function. […]

When Christopher Cox, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, heralded the arrival of XBRL technology last year as the greatest advance in financial reporting in 20 years, he declared: “Interactive data will enable new analysis tools to put key information at every investor’s fingertips within seconds, exactly as the investor wishes to see […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has given corporations one final farewell gift before the end of the Bush Administration: six more months to comply with the new XBRL mandate. The SEC approved the mandate on a four to one vote last week, requiring all companies and mutual funds to use XBRL technology when filing financial […]