The Paradigm Shift in Technology: Financial
Reporting Will Never Be the Same
Bob
Jensen and Petrea Sandlin
Trinity
University
An outline is shown below of the major topics in a paper called "The
Paradigm Shift in Technology: Financial Reporting Will Never Be the Same."
This full paper now published in Research on Accounting Ethics,
Volume 3, 1997, 191-202,
JAI Press Inc.
Advantages of Hypermedia Financial Reporting
- Text/Volume Constraints.
- Text/Graphics-Only Constraints.
- Publication Date Constraints.
- Information Source Constraints.
- Single-Alternative Reporting Constraint..
- Bifurcation of Attention Constraint.
- Minimum Level of User Sophistication Constraint.
- Minimum Level of Intercompany Divisional Reporting..
Drawbacks of Hypermedia Financial Reporting
- Circling the Wagons of Management Constraint.
- Authoring Practicality Restraint.
- Uncertain Copyright Restraints..
- Nonstandardized Operating Systems.
- Nonstandardized and Noncommunicating Authoring Systems.
- Runtime Complications.
- Difficulty and Cost of Language Translations.
- Limitations of Digitized Graphics, Video, and Audio Storage
- Costs of Videographics Productions.
Possible Components of Hypermedia Financial "Statements"
- 1. Daisy Chained Network Servers
- Interactive Users
- Ongoing History
- Animation and Graphics With Audio
- Video
- Hotwords for Nonlinear Navigation of Text, Graphics, Video, and
Audio
- Pedagogy and Technical Details
- Multiple Firm Comparisons
- Alternative Assumptions Underlying Retrospective and Prospective
Reporting
- Alternative Scenarios of Debt Versus Equity
- Contingency Disclosures
- Hidden Dimensions
Extending the Boundaries of Traditional Financial Reporting
- Multiple GAAP and Disaggregated "No GAAP" Reporting.
- Real Time Audits of Processes Rather Than Annual Presentations.
- Networked Opportunity Values and Risk Assessment Innovations
- Capital Market Efficiencies
- Information Overload
- Are Small Investors In The Dark?