Acknowledgements

THE CONSIDERABLE EFFORT OF MANY PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, over a number of years, precedes what is presented in this book. Without their attention, focus and dedication, accounting standards would not exist, nor would these be at the forefront of international business, as is the case today. The same applies to pioneers who forged XBRL as the means by which accounting standards, and financial reporting, are made more useful to private analysts and public policy formulators alike.

We acknowledge, therefore, all who work with IFRS and XBRL, especially those who are connected with the IASB in London. Certainly, particular thanks must go to Paul Pacter, who, through his early work in the IASB, was a vital and driving force in the development of international accounting standards.

In addition to people at the IASB, thanks go to colleagues at AccountAbility. Plus, we thank Tom Baumann, CEO of ClimateCHECK and co-founder of the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, especially for his assistance in relation to environmental standards. Also Erik Thomsen, chief scientist at DSS Lab, who is an internationally recognised pioneer in business intelligence (BI) and decision support systems (DSS), also called performance management. His comments and suggestions were especially insightful, as well as very useful. Also, we are thankful for handy feedback received from Robert Kirsch.

It is worth considering, at this point, the numerous professionals in commerce, industry, academia and governments who pursue the implementation of IFRS and XBRL. It is through their work that the aspiration of global accounting standards is realised. Better business reporting must be the result thereof.

Clearly, given the scope of this book, we are indebted to assorted organisations, such as the IASB, as well as various other accounting entities, from which we sourced valuable information. Whenever possible, we have cited such sources and we apologise for any omissions.

We are very grateful for the assistance given by professionals at John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The Finance and Accounting team there were supportive of our concept from the outset, and encouraging throughout the project. Special thanks, therefore, go to Sarah Jenkins, Stephen Mullaly and Gemma Valler. Also, those who are a fundamental part of the production process must be thanked, particularly Vivienne Church for her sterling effort as copyeditor in addition to Grace O'Byrne as production editor and Lynette James as proofreader.