Abstract
More than Just Numbers: Mapping Accounting Disclosures
Track: Business GIS
Author(s): Peter Bergevin, Kimberly Cass
This paper examines the benefits of geographically mapping financial accounting disclosures. It demonstrates the value of reporting the geographically-segmented financial data as spatial disclosures, rather than the conventional tabular format used to report financial values. After discussing the concept of asset impairment, the authors examine its effects on a national home builder�s financial disclosures. We then convert those disjointed notational narrative reports into a series of color-coded maps that visually demonstrate the extent to which the economic downturn has reduced the builder�s asset base. Mapping of the distressed assets in this fashion enables financial statements users to more easily and thoroughly understand the impact of impaired assets on an entity�s resources. Our maps are economically informative because they present impaired assets in their correct format�geographically.
Peter Bergevin
University of Redlands School of Business
PO Box 3080
Redlands , California 92373
United States
Phone: 909-748-8764
E-mail: peter_bergevin@redlands.edu
Kimberly Cass
University of Redlands
P.O. Box 3080
Redlands , California 92373
United States
Phone: (909)793-2121
E-mail: kimberly_cass@redlands.edu