Factors influencing working backwards among auditors in the application of nonstatistical decision aids.

For more than a decade, research has demonstrated decision makers' unwillingness to rely on decision aids. However, extant research has most often studied the use of unfamiliar decision aids. For example, Kachelmeier and Messier (1990) and Messier, Kachelmeier, and Jensen (2001) provide evidence of auditors working backwards in the use of an unfamiliar decision aid. The current study builds on extant research by using process tracing software in an experimental setting to test whether auditors have learned from a decision aid used in practice and how learning affects decision aid use in relation to the use of an unfamiliar decision aid. Auditors used either a familiar decision aid, a modified familiar decision aid, an unfamiliar decision aid or a modified unfamiliar decision aid to compute a nonstatistical sample size. Results indicate that decision aid familiarity does not affect the auditors decision to work backwards, approximately 30 percent of auditors in all conditions worked backwards to alter the decision aid sample size. Further, working backwards has the affect of eliminating the significant, negative relationship that should exist between the number of controls tested and the substantive sample size. It also appears that auditors acquire task specific knowledge from general audit experience rather than task specific experience with the decision aid

REA and XBRL GL : synergies for the 21st century business reporting system

Incorporating an instance document example, we suggest a framework linking the Resource-Event-Agent (REA) model and eXtensible Business Reporting Language Global Ledger (XBRL GL) as a way to extend the generalized XBRL GL taxonomy. Using the REA semantic model to extend the existing XBRL GL taxonomy provides an ontology and associated process that is reusable. The resulting framework can provide uniform access to information and more reporting and query permutations, thereby facilitating more comprehensive and timely business reporting.Incorporando un ejemplo de documento instancia, sugerimos un marco que une el modelo Resource-Event-Agent (REA) – uno basado en cómo un sistema de contabilidad puede ser redirigido para la época informática – y Extensible Business Reporting Language Global Ledger (XBRL GL) – un marco global para intercambiar información en el mundo de los negocios –, como una manera de extender la taxonomía generalizada de XBRL GL. El uso del modelo semántico REA para extender dicha taxonomía, aporta un proceso ontológico y asociado que es reusable. El marco que resulta puede proporcionar un acceso uniforme a información, y a más permutaciones de informes y consultas, facilitando así información empresarial más completa y oportuna

Loss of CXCR3 expression on memory B cells in individuals with long-standing type 1 diabetes

Aims/hypothesis Islet-specific autoantibodies can predict the development of type 1 diabetes. However, it remains unclear if B cells, per se, contribute to the causal pancreatic immunopathology. We aimed to identify phenotypic signatures of disease progression among naive and memory B cell subsets in the peripheral blood of individuals with type 1 diabetes. Methods A total of 69 participants were recruited across two separate cohorts, one for discovery purposes and the other for validation purposes. Each cohort comprised two groups of individuals with type 1 diabetes (one with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes and the other with long-standing type 1 diabetes) and one group of age- and sex-matched healthy donors. The phenotypic characteristics of circulating naive and memory B cells were investigated using polychromatic flow cytometry, and serum concentrations of various chemokines and cytokines were measured using immunoassays. Results A disease-linked phenotype was detected in individuals with long-standing type 1 diabetes, characterised by reduced C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) expression on switched (CD27+IgD−) and unswitched (CD27intermediateIgD+) memory B cells. These changes were associated with raised serum concentrations of B cell activating factor and of the CXCR3 ligands, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand (CXCL)10 and CXCL11. A concomitant reduction in CXCR3 expression was also identified on T cells. Conclusions/interpretation Our data reveal a statistically robust set of abnormalities that indicate an association between type 1 diabetes and long-term dysregulation of a chemokine ligand/receptor system that controls B cell migration

SEC XBRL Filing Requirements: An Instructional Case on Tagging Financial Statement Disclosures

On January 20, 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission SEC) released Rule 33-9002 for the phase-in of interactive data (SEC 2009a). An important component of this rule is the phase-in of detailed tagging of financial statement note disclosures. Tagging is the process of associating a taxonomy element with a financial statement concept for a particular context. While some of the filers have participated in the SEC Voluntary Filing Project and prepared instance documents tagged at the line item level most have not prepared detail-tagged notes to accompany the financial statements (SEC 2005; Choi et al. 2008). This case discusses the structure of disclosures, as they exist in the 2009 U.S. GAAP Taxonomy, followed by a discussion of dimensional extensions and concludes with an example of block and detailed disclosure tagging using Rivet Software\u27s Dragon Tag (Rivet 2009). The example uses the capitalized costs disclosure for Anadarko Petroleum, a publicly traded company. Following the example, the case requires students to block and detail tag the capitalized costs disclosure for Dig Deep, a hypothetical oil and gas company. By completing the case, students develop an understanding of the current U.S. GAAP taxonomy, skills relating to mapping and tagging processes, and make use of a commonly used XBRL taxonomy and instance document creation program

Does it add up? Early evidence on the data quality of XBRL filings to the SEC

In 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission rolled out the first stage of a multi-year program to transition its EDGAR disclosure repository to the XBRL format. The quality of the XBRL data in the repository is vital for the success of the Commission's interactive data program. A key aspect of the data quality of these filings is the correctness of the mathematical relationships implied by the taxonomy and implemented in the instance document. One quarter of the filings by the initial 400 large corporations in the first round of submissions had errors, with differences reported monetary facts and the sum of other monetary facts that were bound together in a computation relationship. The primary cause of these errors was inappropriate treatment in the instance documents of underlying debit/credit assumptions in the taxonomy. The results of the research have a number of implications for filers, the SEC, XBRL US, software vendors and the global XBRL community.

Reduced Cancer Incidence in Huntington's Disease: Analysis in the Registry Study

Background: People with Huntington's disease (HD) have been observed to have lower rates of cancers. Objective: To investigate the relationship between age of onset of HD, CAG repeat length, and cancer diagnosis. Methods: Data were obtained from the European Huntington's disease network REGISTRY study for 6540 subjects. Population cancer incidence was ascertained from the GLOBOCAN database to obtain standardised incidence ratios of cancers in the REGISTRY subjects. Results: 173/6528 HD REGISTRY subjects had had a cancer diagnosis. The age-standardised incidence rate of all cancers in the REGISTRY HD population was 0.26 (CI 0.22-0.30). Individual cancers showed a lower age-standardised incidence rate compared with the control population with prostate and colorectal cancers showing the lowest rates. There was no effect of CAG length on the likelihood of cancer, but a cancer diagnosis within the last year was associated with a greatly increased rate of HD onset (Hazard Ratio 18.94, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Cancer is less common than expected in the HD population, confirming previous reports. However, this does not appear to be related to CAG length in HTT. A recent diagnosis of cancer increases the risk of HD onset at any age, likely due to increased investigation following a cancer diagnosis