Patent ID: 8175937

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for evaluating data sets comprising financial data, comprising: receiving data sets comprising financial data, the data sets including posting dates and financial evaluation rules; sorting, using a computer, the data sets by posting dates into an ordered sequence of the data sets, the ordered sequence beginning with an initial data set that has an earliest posting date; receiving, by the computer from a user, an end date that defines an evaluation period, the evaluation period beginning on the earliest posting date and ending on the end date; creating, by the computer, an initial data segment covering the evaluation period; inserting, by the computer, the initial data set into the initial data segment and associating the posting date and the financial evaluation rule of the initial data set with the initial data segment; performing the following sub-steps (a)-(c): (a) retrieving, by the computer, a next consecutive data set from the ordered sequence; (b) if the posting date and the financial evaluation rule of the next consecutive data set match the posting date and the financial evaluation rule of the initial data segment, inserting, by the computer, the next consecutive data set into the initial data segment; and (c) if the posting date or the financial evaluation rule of the next consecutive data does not match the posting date or the financial evaluation rule of the initial data segment: dividing, by the computer, the initial data segment into a first data segment and a second data segment, wherein the first data segment includes data sets previously inserted into the initial data segment and is associated with the posting date and the financial evaluation rule of the of the initial data segment; inserting, by the computer, the next consecutive data set into the second data segment and associating the posting date and the financial evaluation rule of the next consecutive data set with the second data segment; and setting, by the computer, the second data segment to be the initial data segment; performing the sub-steps (a)-(c) on the ordered sequence until the ordered sequence is exhausted; and evaluating, by the computer, the data sets within resulting data segments in accordance with the associated financial evaluation rules.