Financial document change identifier

• US 20050015716A1
• Filed: 04/12/2004
• Published: 01/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Andre Lavoie, Roland C. Beaulieu, Suriyan Lohavichan
• Original Assignee: Andre Lavoie, Roland C. Beaulieu, Suriyan Lohavichan
• Inventors: Lavoie, Andre, Beaulieu, Roland C., Lohavichan, Suriyan
• Application Number:
  US10/822,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20050015716A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/255
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/177 of tables; using ruled lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/194 Calculation of difference between files
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

An apparatus for generating a comparison of related subject matter found in two different financial documents. The apparatus includes a first document with at least a portion of said first document in a tabular data format, a second document with at least a portion of said second document in a tabular data format, said second document being a variation of said first document, a processor for receiving said first document and said second document and a comparator executing on said processor for comparing said first document tabular data to related subject matter of said second document tabular data to generate tabular delta data indicative of at least one of change and percentage change between the related subject matter of said first document tabular data and said second document tabular data.

Claims

1. An apparatus for generating a comparison of related subject matter found in two different financial documents, the apparatus comprising:

a first document with at least a portion of said first document in a tabular data format;

a second document with at least a portion of said second document in a tabular data format, said second document being a variation of said first document;

a processor for receiving said first document and said second document; and

a comparator executing on said processor for comparing said first document tabular data to related subject matter of said second document tabular data to generate tabular delta data indicative of at least one of change and percentage change between the related subject matter of said first document tabular data and said second document tabular data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a user interface in communication with said processor for delivering at least one of said tabular data and tabular delta data.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said tabular delta data is delivered on said user interface as visually distinct from said tabular data.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said visually distinct tabular delta data for the change between said first document tabular data and said second document tabular data is represented in a first manner and the percentage change between said first document tabular data and said second document tabular data is represented in a second manner.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein there is a plurality of said visually distinct tabular delta data.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said tabular delta data delivered on said user interface is chronicled by at least one of numeric, alphabetic, alphanumeric, and consecutive sequence units.

7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said comparator inserts into said tabular delta data a graphic indicative of change magnitude for each change and percentage change between related subject matter of said first document tabular data and said second document tabular data.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said graphic is comprised of at least one of graphs, charts, statistics, and images.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said comparator compares sections of said first document tabular data with related subject matter sections of said second document tabular data based on at least one of tables, graphs, columns, rows, time units, idea units, and line items.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first document tabular data and said second document tabular data both contain data in a text format and said comparator compares said first document text/tabular data to related subject matter of said second document text/tabular data to generate text/tabular delta data.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said text/tabular delta data includes at least one of additions data, deletions data, and substitutions data.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising a user interface in communication with said processor for delivering at least one of said additions data, deletions data, substitutions data, and text/tabular data.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said additions data, deletions data, and substitutions data is each delivered on said user interface as visually distinct from said text/tabular data.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said visually distinct additions data is represented in a third manner, deletions data is represented in a fourth manner, and substitutions data is represented in a fifth manner.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said additions data, deletions data, and substitutions data are chronicled on said user interface by at least one of numeric, alphabetic, alphanumeric, and consecutive sequence units.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said comparator compares sections of said first document text/tabular data with related subject matter sections of said second document text/tabular data based on at least one of words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, columns, rows, headers, idea units, and line items.

17. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said comparator integrates at least two of said tabular delta data, text/tabular delta data, tabular data, and text/tabular data for delivery on said user interface.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first document and said second document further comprises data in a text format and said comparator separates said text from said tabular data in said first document and said second document prior to comparison of said first document to said second document.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said comparator compares said first document text to related subject matter of said second document text to generate text delta data.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said text delta data includes at least one of additions data, deletions data, and substitutions data.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising a user interface in communication with said processor for delivering at least one of said additions data, deletions data, substitutions data, and text.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said additions data, deletions data, and substitutions data is each delivered on said user interface as visually distinct from said text.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said visually distinct additions data is represented in a third manner, deletions data is represented in a fourth manner, and substitutions data is represented in a fifth manner.

24. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said additions data, deletions data, and substitutions data are chronicled on said user interface by at least one of numeric, alphabetic, alphanumeric, and consecutive sequence units.

25. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said comparator compares sections of said first document text with sections related subject matter of said second document text based on at least one of words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, columns, rows, headers, idea units, and line items.

26. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said comparator integrates at least two of said tabular delta data, text delta data, tabular data, and text for delivery on said user interface.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein said comparator also integrates in at least one of text/tabular data and text/tabular delta data for delivery on said user interface.

28. A system for generating a comparison of related subject matter found in two different financial documents, the system comprising:

a first document with at least a portion of said first document in a tabular data format;

a second document with at least a portion of said second document in a tabular data format, said second document being a variation of said first document; and

a processor for receiving said first document and said second document and computer executable instructions executing on said processor for comparing said first document tabular data to related subject matter of said second document tabular data to generate tabular delta data indicative of at least one of change and percentage change between the related subject matter of said first document tabular data and said second document tabular data.

29. A method for generating a comparison of related subject matter found in two different financial documents, the method comprising:

providing a first document with at least a portion of said first document in a tabular data format;

providing a second document with at least a portion of said second document in a tabular data format, said second document being a variation of said first document;

receiving said first document and said second document into a processor; and

comparing in said processor said first document tabular data to related subject matter of said second document tabular data to generate tabular delta data indicative of at least one of change and percentage change between the related subject matter of said first document tabular data and said second document tabular data.