Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL)
XBLR SAP BPC:
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.
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.
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 provides a number of benefits, including:
- Computer readable, transmittable over the Internet
- Global agreement on reporting standards
- Automatable, reliable re-use of data
- Reduce re-keying of information to reuse it
- Focus on numbers, not presentation
- Mechanism for building "dictionaries" of terms to be exchanged
- Extensible (extendable, flexible, scalable)
| Term | Description |
| Attribute | A property of an element, including its name, balance, data type and whether the element is abstract. Attributes of XBRL US GAAP Taxonomy elements cannot be changed. |
| Axis | An instance document contains facts; an axis differentiates facts, and each axis represents a way that the facts may be classified. For example, Revenue for a period might be reported along a business unit axis, a country axis, a product axis and so forth. |
| Cloud Report | The Cloud Report is a validation tool created by a third party to assist with the XBRL filing process. This report was designed as a collaborative tool to help vendors and filers interpret the SEC EDGAR Rules. |
| DFN | Detailed FootNote |
| Deprecated Element | Element that has been removed in later revisions of the taxonomy. Their use should be avoided. |
| Dimensions | Permits use of same element in multiple contexts (as opposed to separate tags for each item). Most commonly found in Statement of Shareholders Equity. Also an XBRL technical term for axis. |
| Domain | An element that represents an entire set of other elements; the domain and its members are used to classify facts along the axis of a table. |
| Element | XBRL components (items, domain members, dimensions, etc.) The representation of a financial reporting concept, including: line items in the face (financial statements without the notes or schedules) of the financial statements, important narrative disclosures and rows and columns in tables. |
| Extended Element | See Taxonomy Extension |
| FAF | Financial Accounting Foundation - Maintains the U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy in XBRL for the SEC. |
| Flow-through | When shared elements and/or values exist in more than one of the financial statements. |
| Mapping | Process of determining the elements that correspond to lines and columns in a financial statement and which elements must be created by extension. Partially used by Rivet to assist clients in viewing given tags to be used in clients' filings. |
| Native XBRL Files | Native XBRL files submitted to SEC as part of Official EDGAR submission. XBRL submission consists of the following 6 files:
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| Rendering | Viewing - Since XBRL is computer code and cannot be understood by simply reading it, the files need to be "rendered" and put into a readable format. |
| Segments | Tag that allows additional information to be included in the context of an instance document; this information captures segment information such as an entity's business units, type of debt, type of other income, etc. Commonly used with subsidiaries. |
| Significant Accounting Policies | Accounting policies that are truly significant and should be tagged at Level 2 |
| Tag (noun) | Markup information that describes a unit of data in an instance document. All facts in an instance document are enclosed by tags. |
| Tag (verb) | To apply markup to an instance document. |
| Tag Attribute | Each tag has specific attributes to identify a specific tag, such as period type, tag type, standard definitions, etc. |
| Taxonomy | List of common accounting terms used to tag individual line items |
| Taxonomy Extension | If no appropriate tag can be found in existing taxonomy, an element may be "extended" by creating a new, more focused element. |
| Test Filing | An XBRL filing submitted to EDGAR to ensure filing is accurate before final submission by a client. |
| US GAAP Taxonomy | List of common accounting terms approved by the SEC to use when tagging line items. |
| Validate | Process of checking that instance documents and taxonomies correctly meet the rules of the XBRL specification. |
| XBRL | eXtensible Business Reporting Language - Computer language designed specifically for business users to make data "interactive" and understandable across languages, currencies and global accounting terms. |
Business Challenges
• Pressure to implement an XBRL publishing solution quickly
• Desire for more control and flexibility than XBRL outsourcing offers
• Limited in-house resources who can work with complex XBRL syntax directly
Key Features
• XBRL taxonomy navigation – Quickly search and filter large, complex taxonomies to find tags relevant for your business data
• Mapping – Map taxonomy tags to data using a drag-and-drop mapping environment
• Validation – Use comprehensive validation functionality to confirm accuracy and completeness and identify issues
• Disclosure inclusion – Link to and import management discussions, disclosures, footnotes, and other narratives created in Microsoft Word to XBRL documents
• Taxonomy extension – Easily extend published XBRL taxonomies to include other information
• Compliance – Be confident that your XBRL documents comply with the business rules of third-party taxonomies
Business Benefits
• Reduced time and effort to create XBRL documents thanks to integration with Microsoft Excel, taxonomy navigation tools, and drag-and-drop functions that simplify mapping
• Lower audit costs because auditors can “slice and dice” your financial data quickly and easily, enabling them to perform audits faster, more accurately, and at lower cost
• Greater confidence in your financial disclosures because data and mappings are validated as accurate, complete, and in compliance with business rules defined by third-party taxonomies
• Increased flexibility and control and lower costs by eliminating the need for XBRL outsourcing services
XBRL Formulas
* Assertions: For example asserting that the balance sheet balances or Assets = Liabilities + Equity.
* Computations: For example, calculating things, such as Total Property, Plant and Equipment = Land + Buildings + Fixtures + IT Equipment + Other Property, Plant, and Equipment.
* Process-oriented rules: For example, the disclosure checklist commonly used to create a financial statement which might have a rule, "If Property, Plant, and Equipment exists, then a Property, Plant and Equipment policies and disclosures must exist."
* Regulations: Another type of rule is a regulation which must be complied with, such as "The following is the set of ten things that must be reported if you have Property, Plant and Equipment on your balance sheet: deprecation method by class, useful life by class, amount under capital leases by class . . ." and so on. Many people refer to these as re portability rules.
* Instructions or documentation: Rules can document relations or provide instructions, such as "Cash flow types must be either operating, financing, or investing."
