Proven, industrial strength, good practices, standards-based pragmatic approach to creating provably high quality XBRL-based general purpose financial reports that builds on the Venetian Method of double entry bookkeeping and adapting it for the information age explained in simple terms
The Seattle Method attempts to clarify, simplify, formalize, popularize, and systematize digital financial reporting which will potentially be used worldwide. The Seattle Method's contribution is in the codification of digital financial reporting; turning scattered ideas into a rigorous, elegant, teachable, repeatable methodology which can be reliably used to create industrial processes. This can result in industry norms for digital financial reporting using the XBRL global open industry standard.
The Seattle Method is a proven, rigorously tested, pragmatic, global open industry standards based framework, structure, and process for producing high quality precise machine interpretable digital business reports. Accounting is a well understood knowledge system which is now undergoing a major transformation as digitization enables industrialization of reporting, auditing, and analysis. Model-driven digital accounting, reporting, auditing, and analysis artifacts are the next evolutionary step, a step that replaces ad hoc “craft” based processes which rely on individual skills, judgements, and memory into best practices based, standardized, scalable, repeatable, efficient industrial processes. This can occur because digital machine interpretable business reports can be created using global open industry standards such as XBRL International’s Open Information Model (OIM) and the Object Management Group’s Standard Business Report Model (SBRM).
The Seattle Method provides a framework, a structure (e.g. a model), and a process for working with digital financial reports. A framework is the principles, philosophy, set of explicit rules which establish boundaries, and supporting systems that enable and justify the creation of structures. A structure defines something and provides the "tracks" or "path" a process must follow. The process is the sequence of actions or methodology necessary to achieve the goal by utilizing the structure within the rules of the framework. You need all three: a framework to provide the approach and tools, the structures which are created, and the process to create the structures utilizing the framework. A structure is not a process. A process is not a structure. All of this is governed to minimize epistemic risk. And all of this works within the deterministic system which we call accounting.
Model-based reporting is independent of any specific financial reporting framework.
Could be used for compliance reporting, management reporting, cost reporting, tax reporting, general reporting.
Compliation, review, or audit/attestiation of financial statement information including supplementary information not subject to third-party independent audit.
WEF highlights T-shaped talent trees, federated organizational models (CAIO & BU CAIOs), and human oversight for quality assurance.
The Open Information Model (OIM) is a global industry standard conceptualization of a business report published by XBRL International. Many assume XBRL is only for financial reports; however that is not the case. A financial report is simply a specilization of a general business report.
| Aspect | Description | Comment | Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report Model | Ability to represent a report in the form of a model rather than in the form of a document. | A report model is a part of a report; a report model can be pivoted. Using Atomic Design Methodology, users can work with the logical artifacts of a report rather than the technical artifacts | Machine readable Canonical and best practices based models can be created and reused at scale. |
| Report | The reoprt is separated from the report model. | Separating the report from the report model (a.k.a. modularity) enables flexibility, scalability, modularity, and general industrialization which is impossible to achieve using electronic spreadsheets. | Query Observations, measurements, and other information can be queried across reports. |
| Semantics | Reports and report models are "things" rather than "stings". | Users create reports, working papers, audit schedules, and other artifacts using global open industry standard semantics rather than arbitrary "strings" (a.k.a. literals) that individual business professionals create. | Meaning oriented 1:1 mapping with global GAAP/IFRS tax schemas. |
| Exchange | To effectively exchange information you need a physical format, common semantics, common logic. | Effective exchange: Enables effective exchange of information which has a global context (e.g. not application specific) | Query and reuse A query can be written and information from report models and reports can be effectively exchanged. |
| Reporting Frameworks | A reporting framework is a specification for creating a report such as a compliance report, a tax report, any general report. | Control: Because there is a "boundary" or "fence" or "guardrails"; controlled and reliable reoprting frameworks can be created which are customizable but still controllable. | Freeform is not controllable Freeform reoprting is not controllable; anarchy is what results if "wild behavior" (a.k.a arbitrary) is not controlled. |
| General Reporting | While the Seattle Method focuses on financial reporting and leverages the rich semantics of the double-entry bookkeeping mathematical model; those same ideas will also work for general business reporting. | Not only financial reporting: While the this approach was created for and is demonstrated by financial reporting mainly; it is just as applicable to general busienss reporting. | AI enabled Think of the Seattle Method providing what amounts to a Crystal Reports report writer that is model-based, semantic-oriented, global open industry standards based, and artificial intelligence enabled. |
The Standard Business Report Model (SBRM) is a global industry standard conceptulization of a business report publiched by the Object Management Group (OIM).
Primative elements: Primitive elements are the fundamental building blocks of a report. Hypercubes, Dimensions, Members, LineItems, Abstracts, Concepts.
Complex elements: a.k.a. Structures. Complex elements, or structures, are sets of elements which go together.
Presentation: Presentation order of primary elements in a complex element (a.k.a. structure).
Calculation: Roll up of concepts (a.k.a. LineItems) within a Structure.
Definition: Other semantics related to connections between elements; "is-a" or "has-a" type assocations/relations.
Conditions: Assertions, restrictions, constraints, and other such rules which provide the laws by which a report or report structure must operate.
Facts: Observations and measurements; what is being reported. Numbers, words, prose, structured information (e.g. escaped XHTML).
The Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a global open industry standard for representing business reports.