XBRL Background
About XBRL / iXBRL
What are the taxonomies?
Taxonomies are dictionaries used by iXBRL / XBRL. They define the specific tags
for individual items of data (such as "net profit"). Different taxonomies
are required for different financial reporting purposes. Different XBRL
jurisdictions may have their own financial reporting taxonomies to reflect
their local accounting regulations. Many different organisations, including
regulators, specific industries or even companies, may require taxonomies to
cover their own business reporting needs.
XBRL stands for eXtensible Business Reporting Language. It is one of a
family of "XML" languages which is becoming a standard means of
communicating information between businesses and on the internet.
XBRL is a language for the electronic communication of business and
financial data which is revolutionising business reporting around the world.
It provides major benefits in the preparation, analysis and communication of
business information. It offers cost savings, greater efficiency and
improved accuracy and reliability to all those involved in supplying or
using financial data.
What is iXBRL?
iXBRL (inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a further
development of XBRL. It is a hybrid that combines the XBRL data tags with HTML
formatting that make it possible to view a reproduction of the accounts in a
web browser. HMRC in the UK utilise iXBRL which can be
viewed in a web browser, rather than XBRL which
cannot be viewed in a web browser.
Who owns XBRL?
No-one “owns” XBRL, it is open source. XBRL is being developed by an international non-profit consortium of
approximately 450 major companies, organisations and government agencies. It
is an open standard, free of licence fees. It is already being put to
practical use in a number of countries and implementations of XBRL are
growing rapidly around the world.
What is the idea behind XBRL?
The idea behind XBRL, eXtensible Business Reporting Language, is simple.
Instead of treating financial information as a block of text - as in a
standard internet page or a printed document - it provides an identifying
tag for each individual item of data. This tag is computer readable. For
example, company net profit has its own unique tag.
The introduction of XBRL tags enables automated processing of business
information by computer software, cutting out laborious and costly processes
of manual re-entry and comparison. Computers can treat XBRL data
"intelligently"; they can recognise the information in a XBRL document,
select it, analyse it, store it, exchange it with other computers and
present it automatically in a variety of ways for users. XBRL greatly
increases the speed of handling of financial data, reduces the chance of
error and permits automatic checking of information.
Companies can use XBRL to save costs and streamline their processes for
collecting and reporting financial information. Consumers of financial data,
including investors, analysts, financial institutions and regulators, can
receive, find, compare and analyse data much more rapidly and efficiently if
it is in XBRL format.
XBRL can handle data in different languages and accounting standards. It
can flexibly be adapted to meet different requirements and uses. Data can be
transformed into XBRL by suitable mapping tools or it can be generated in
XBRL by appropriate software.
More information on XBRL
For a more detailed understanding of XBRL, see the following pages of
the
XBRL International website: