An Introduction to 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 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.
XBRL is already in practical use for specific purposes in several
countries and projects are under way to introduce it in others.
Other sections of this web site give news about its use, provide
more detailed technical explanations and set out how producers and
consumers of business information can adopt XBRL
