XBRL, as one of the many regulatory changes with which CFOs have had to cope over the past decade, has engendered high hopes among those calling for greater transparency in financial reporting. Individual investors and government regulators alike, it is argued, will eventually be able to query financials throughout the system for indicators of everything from fraud to good news without relying on analysts, Bloomberg terminals and other intermediaries.

But, as with nearly all innovation, there are detractors.

Many CFOs participating in earlier XBRL implementation rounds, which began in 2010, .

But this ascent up the learning curve has come only after many reported horror stories and here is skepticism about whether these initial compliance headaches have been worth it.

Vanderploeg feels their pain.