XBRL Reporting gains

What is XBRL?

XBRL is an open, international standard for the exchange of financial and non-financial information in digital form. The standardisation of this information enables computer systems to automatically recognise and process data throughout the entire reporting chain. This simplifies the delivery of digital reports to various parties and enables better access of information for analyses and benchmarking purposes.

Who uses XBRL?

Global XBRL developments in more than 30 countries have seen governments working on the implementation of XBRL for business-to-government reporting processes.

The mandating of XBRL by the European Banking Authority (Basel) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Solvency II) has paved the way for the European Securities and Markets Authority to implement the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF), which became law in May 2019. The mandate is due to take effect for all IFRS based annual reports issued by public companies and PIEs for financial years that start on or after January 1 2020 and heralds a huge step forward for transparency in Europe. ESEF will require all public companies across Europe to submit their Annual Financial Reports digitally as Inline XBRL documents and in accordance with the IFRS standards.

What are the benefits of XBRL?

In the below video, representatives of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), ING, the SBR Program, WebFilings, and Deloitte share their views on what XBRL is and the benefits it offers to companies, financial regulators, and standard setters.

Additional information?

Would you like to know more about what XBRL can mean to your organisation? Our XBRL team is available to help.