Coles College accounting professor helps improve availability of information for investors
Kennesaw‚ GA – The work of an accounting professor at the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw…
Georgia (Mar 8, 2007) — Coles College accounting professor helps improve availability of information for investors
Terri Thornton
Abstract
DIrector of University Relations
Frances Weyand−Harrison
770−423−6203
fharris4@kennesaw.edu
Writer/Contact: Terri Thornton‚ 404−932−4347 or territhornton@mindspring.com
Kennesaw‚ Ga. (March 8‚ 2007) – The work of an accounting professor at the Coles College
of Business at Kennesaw State University could make it much easier for stockholders
to rapidly receive detailed‚ high quality information about public companies.
“This project will change the way more than 10‚000 companies regulated by the Securities
and Exchange Commission will interact with the SEC and the investing public‚” said
Ernest Capozzoli‚ Ph. D.‚ C.P.A. “The significance‚ complexity and importance of the
project cannot be understated.”
Capozzoli is one of only two academics serving on a prestigious nationwide team developing
taxonomies‚ or standardized definitions‚ for financial statement footnote disclosures
through eXtensible Business Reporting Language‚ or “XBRL.” XBRL‚ often described as
the universal language of financial reporting‚ allows electronic reporting of financial
information for easy calculation and analysis. The effort is organized by the Financial
Accounting Foundation‚ and managed by XBRL US.
Public companies’ annual reports have voluminous footnote disclosures which hold information
that can be important to investors. But since there’s no easy or practical way to
retrieve the data‚ it can be difficult for investors to get basic information. For
example‚ an investor who wants to compare the number of oil wells drilled‚ operated
or abandoned by different oil and gas companies would have to either dig through the
footnotes of the companies’ annual reports or pay a subscription fee to a company
that compiles such data.
Setting a standard in XRBL means that in the future‚ investors will be able to download
easily understandable disclosure information for an individual company‚ or an entire
industry segment.
Before his academic career‚ Capozzoli worked for Saudi Aramco‚ formerly the Arabian
American Oil Company‚ and spent 17 years in Saudi Arabia. Because of this experience‚
he is working on the disclosures for the oil and gas industry. Other members of the
group‚ which include some of the most brilliant minds in the accounting industry‚
are tackling approximately 150 required disclosures‚ such as pension‚ executive compensation
and loan information. Additional industry specific disclosures are also being developed.
When their work is complete‚ the information will be available for public review.
XBRL US is a local jurisdiction of XBRL International – a not−for−profit consortium
of approximately 450 companies and agencies worldwide working together to build the
XBRL language and promote and support its adoption.
The Financial Accounting Foundation is responsible for funding the activities of both
the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and its counterpart for state and
local government‚ the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
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A member of the 35−unit University System of Georgia‚ Kennesaw State University is
a comprehensive‚ residential institution with a growing student population approaching
20‚000 from 132 countries. The third−largest university in Georgia‚ Kennesaw State
offers more than 60 graduate and undergraduate degrees‚ including a new doctorate
in education.
MORE NEWS…
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its approximately 38,000 students. With 13 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the third-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 92 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status, and one of the 50 largest public institutions in the country. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
