An increasing number of public companies expect to take their XBRL filing process in-house, hoping to improve on what many regard to be the biggest bottleneck in their reporting function, even as they continue to question the value of the exercise.

In a 2012 survey conducted by the Financial Executive Research Foundation, companies at every stage of XBRL compliance said the XBRL process is the most significant bottleneck they deal with in trying to meet their financial reporting obligations. The results are based on responses from more than 400 companies that are subject to the XBRL filing requirement.

Of the largest companies, those brought in through the first and second stages of XBRL implementation, 55 percent cited it as their biggest headache, while 64 percent of the smallest reporting companies also said it was their biggest headache. It consistently ranked ahead of other issues that might complicate the reporting process, such as late changes, the internal review process, the auditor's review, or legal review.

The survey results suggest companies across the board are looking to take greater control over their XBRL filing, reducing their reliance over the coming year on outsourced service providers to perform the tagging and filing and increasing their internal staffing and knowledge of XBRL. Nearly half of large accelerated filers, those with the most experience with XBRL, said they expect to rely on no outsourcing to meet their XBRL mandate in the coming year, while only 21 percent expect to rely on outsourcing entirely.

The numbers aren't as strong among other accelerated filers, non-accelerated filers, and smaller reporting companies, but they show some migration away from outsourcing solutions as well. Among accelerated filers who also have the most experience with XBRL, for example, only 19 percent relied on no outsourcing, but 27 percent expect to in 2013.

The biggest concern cited by companies of all sizes is the cost-benefit equation of XBRL compliance. Companies have been vocal with the Securities and Exchange Commission, expressing their doubts about the merits of XBRL. Among large accelerated filers, 45 percent said it is their greatest concern, on par with their concern about possibly getting a comment letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Half of other accelerated filers and non-accelerated filers also ranked it as their biggest concern, and 68 percent of the smaller reporting companies also named it as their biggest concern.

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