RE: Feedback on Ingredients for High Quality Linked Data section of Linked Data Cookbook

Dear Charles Hoffman,

Thanks for your recommendation to look more closely into XBRL, for instance,
w.r.t. the application of business rules on Linked Data. 

What may be of interest in this regard:

1) In GLD, we are considering to add XBRL use cases to the development of
the "RDF Data Cube Vocabulary" (QB) for publishing statistics (such as
financial disclosures). See [1] for the current vocabulary QB. Examples of
possible use cases:

1.1)  Colleagues and I have used QB at [2] (an XBRL challenge submission) to
publish XBRL filings from SEC as Linked Data and to consume those filings
using Online Analytical Processing. 

1.2) At [3] of our current QB use case document (not official, reviewed or
published), a possible use case (UC 10) is described that transforms
financial statistics as Linked Data reusing QB into XBRL.

2) There will be a paper on using rules on financial Linked Data (XBRL as
Linked Data) in the FEOSW workshop at ESWC 2012 [4]  

I would be happy to hear your opinion about using XBRL in use cases of the
RDF Data Cube Vocabulary.

Best,

Benedikt

[1] <http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-vocab-data-cube-20120405/> 
[2] <http://xbrl.us/research/appdev/pages/275.aspx#> 
[3]
<http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/gld/raw-file/default/data-cube-ucr/index.html#transfo
rming-published-statistics-into-xbrl--uc-10> 
[4] <http://nadir.uc3m.es/feosw2012/#ui-tabs-9> 
Title: Using SPIN to Formalise Accounting Regulations on the Semantic Web

Authors: Dennis Spohr, Philipp Cimiano, John McCrae and Seán O'Riain

Abstract:
The eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) has
standardised financial reporting and provide a machine-interpretable format
that makes financial and business reports easier to access and consume.
Leveraging XBRL with Open Linked Data for purposes such as
multi-dimensional regulatory querying and investigation requires XBRL
formulisation as RDF. This paper investigates the use of of-the-shelf
Semantic
Web technologies to formulise accounting regulations specified in
XBRL jurisdictional taxonomies. Specifically the use of the SPARQL
Inferencing
Notation (SPIN) with RDF to represent these accounting regulations
as rule constraints, not cater for in the RDF abstract model is
investigated. We move beyond previous RDF to XBRL transformations
and investigate how SPIN enhanced formalisation enables inferencing
of financial statement facts associated with financial reporting concepts
and sophisticated consistency checks, which evaluate the correctness of
reported financial data with respect to the calculation requirements imposed
by accounting regulation. The approach illustrated through two
use cases demonstrates the use of SPIN to meet central requirements for
financial data and regulatory modelling.


-- 
AIFB, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Phone: +49 721 608-47946 
Email: benedikt.kaempgen@kit.edu
Web: http://www.aifb.kit.edu/web/Hauptseite/en 


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Charles Hoffman [mailto:CharlesHoffman@olywa.net]
> Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 4:28 PM
> To: public-gld-comments@w3.org
> Subject: Feedback on Ingredients for High Quality Linked Data section of
> Linked Data Cookbook
> 
> This is a great working group, nicely organized.  In particular the Linked
Data
> Cookbook is quite useful.
> 
> 
> 
> I do have some feedback for the High Quality Linked Data section of that
> Linked Data Cookbook.
> 
> 
> 
> It is my view that one thing missing from the list of items necessary for
high
> quality linked data is business rules.  In particular computations or
relations
> between information items.
> 
> 
> 
> This is a very good summary/example of what I am taking about and way I
> have this position:
> 
> 
> 
> http://xbrl.squarespace.com/journal/2010/5/27/census-bureau-confirms-
> error-revises-data-set.html
> 
> 
> 
> The cliff notes are that the US Census Bureau published data, the format
was
> CSV.  If the data were in RDF, the same issue would exist.  The data had
an
> error in it.  It was not until I created business rules to be sure that my
use of
> the data was correct that I discovered an error in the US Census data.  I
found
> this error because I wanted to be sure the XBRL information I was creating
> was correct. As such, I created business rules, using XBRL, to verify that
my
> data set was correct.  And that is how I found the error.
> 
> 
> 
> Said another way, if the data set had business rules provided WITH the
data
> set, then (a) those providing the data would have become aware of the
error
> and (b) those using the data could both better understand the
relationships
> because they are articulated and they can validate the information prior
to
> use to confirm that there is no error.
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you for considering this feedback.
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> 
> 
> Charles Hoffman, CPA

Received on Thursday, 26 April 2012 09:43:43 UTC