Review of August Journal of Accountancy

The cover article sings the praises of XBRL--a financial reporting language which is designed to improve formatting of financial information, make financial reporting easier to automate and reduce ambiguous business terminology. Charles Hoffman, the leading developer of XBRL, is interviewed and points out websites which will help accountants understand this new language. It is important to note that federal banking regulators will require financial institutions to use XBRL in quarterly reporting and the that the SEC now has a voluntary program allowing public companies to file required documents in XBRL online.

Other topics covered in the August JoA are motivators for Generation X employees, penalty-free withdrawals of IRA accumulations for special circumstances such as health insurance if unemployed or qualified higher education experiences and distinguishing PCAOB standards from GAAS while insuring private company audits which comply with both sets of standards.