Standardized vs Customized Reports

Both standardized forms and customized reports have their pros and cons and specific capabilities. Financial statements and financial reporting as practiced when using financial reporting frameworks (a.k.a. reporting schemes) such as United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Government Accounting Standards in the United States (GAS), International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), and other such financial reporting frameworks are not "standardized forms". Rather, such financial reporting frameworks are intended to be, and should be, "customized reports".

If a customized report type approach is used, "freeform" or uncontrolled report customizations simply will not work.  Rather a "controlled report model" approach must be used in order to keep reports created within the boundaries of a specified report model in order to facilitate both the flexibility necessary for reporting economic entities required by these sorts of financial reporting frameworks and the control necessary to enable effective reporting systems to eliminate arbitrary or even "wild behavior" by reporting economic entities; keeping them within the necessary boundaries to facilitate the level of quality necessary to make use of reported information contained in customized report models and reports.

These control mechanisms or "boundaries" or "fenced boundaries" or "guardrails" provide the control necessary to enable comparability of information, preserve idiosyncratic detail of reported information, but still maintain excellent information quality.


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