Title: The impact of XBRL on forecast accuracy across nations

Authors: Chunhui Liu; Grace O'Farrell

Addresses: Department of Business and Administration, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2E9, Canada ' Department of Business and Administration, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2E9, Canada

Abstract: An important managerial question and regulatory concern in the international arena is whether value realisation from XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language), the new global data standard for business financial reporting, depends on national culture. In a study representing six nationalities, we explore the role of national culture in moderating the impact of mandatory adoption of XBRL on analyst forecast accuracy. Results show that national culture influences the impact of XBRL adoption on forecast accuracy. In addition, XBRL is found to positively associate with forecast accuracy. Our findings have immediate benefits for regulators, filers, information consumers, the accounting profession and other stakeholders.

Keywords: culture; information systems; XBRL; eXtensible Business Reporting Language; analyst forecasting; forecast accuracy; contingency theory; national culture theory; financial reporting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSS.2013.057238

International Journal of Services and Standards, 2013 Vol.8 No.3, pp.247 - 263

Received: 04 May 2013
Accepted: 06 May 2013
Published online: 20 Sep 2014 *

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