An analysis of the charitable granting sector market for XBRL consulting services

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is examining new markets for its extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) consulting services unit. XBRL is a web-based programming standard that prepares, publishes and exchanges financial statements. This analysis examines suitability of the charitable granting sector as a new market for XBRL consulting. The charitable granting sector comprises large granting agencies distributing non-repayable funds to organizations applying for grants. BC Lotteries and the Vancouver Foundation are examples. This analysis examined the suitability of using XBRL in "transaction models" used by granting agencies to evaluate incoming grant applications. Sixteen agency and charity representatives were interviewed. The interview results provided the basis for the market entry recommendation for PwC. This analysis determined the new market to have only "moderate" fit for XBRL consulting services. The concluding chapter recommends a delayed market entry strategy for PwC and discusses tactics to improve strategic fit of XBRL consulting services in this market.