CLOSUP and its nonprofit partner XBRL US are developing a new open data standard, based on eXtensible Business Language Reporting (XBRL), to modernize and digitize Michigan local government financial reporting. XBRL formatted financial statements are both human-readable and machine-readable, so that the underlying digital data can be easily searched, sorted, merged, compared, analyzed and put to use.
View the data standard and provide your feedback
Transcript:
Hi, thank you for your interest in helping us put Michigan communities on the cutting edge of financial transparency.
I’m Stephanie Leiser and I lead the Fiscal Health Project here at the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan. The Center is working on a project to modernize and streamline local government financial reporting. We want to share what we’ve been working on and we need your help to ensure that it will work for your community. Our goal is to design a system where any local government in Michigan can create a fully digital open data version of their audited financial statements. In order to do this, we have partnered with XBRL US, a nonprofit leading the creation of financial open data standards around the world, to create what’s known as a data taxonomy.
The taxonomy is essentially a list of all of the data elements from audited financial statements - like capital assets, expenses, or fund balances - and their definitions. We use the taxonomy to create digital statements like this and also to track which of these data points are reported on the state F-65 report, the state retirement system reports, as well as the Uniform Chart of Accounts. We believe the future of financial transparency is digital open data. To make sure this system will work for all Michigan communities, we’re collecting feedback during a public comment period and would love your input. On this website, you’ll find instructions for viewing the taxonomy and providing your feedback. On behalf of our entire team, we thank you very much!