Lecture 6- Extensible business reporting language (XBRL)

Internet financial reporting- Refers to the use of the [blank_start]internet[blank_end] as a [blank_start]communications medium[blank_end] by companies for their [blank_start]annual reports[blank_end] & other financial reporting [blank_start]information[blank_end]

The key attributes of any standard for financial reporting is to ensure [blank_start]electronic files[blank_end] are [blank_start]easy[blank_end] to create, does not require [blank_start]significant investment[blank_end] & use [blank_start]proprietary[blank_end] hardware or software

Mark-up language- A programming [blank_start]language[blank_end] using [blank_start]tags[blank_end] to [blank_start]signify[blank_end] how text should be [blank_start]displayed[blank_end]

Taxonomy- A [blank_start]method[blank_end] of [blank_start]classifying items[blank_end] which have [blank_start]shared[blank_end] characteristics into [blank_start]groups[blank_end]

The main difference between XBRL & iXBRL is that iXBRL contains [blank_start]various formatting[blank_end] instructions to allow [blank_start]humans[blank_end] to [blank_start]read[blank_end] the file

The <> tag [blank_start]signifies[blank_end] where a tag [blank_start]begins[blank_end] & the </> tag [blank_start]signifies[blank_end] where a tag [blank_start]ends[blank_end]

Financial reporting data commonly required by many bodies such as [blank_start]managers[blank_end], investors, [blank_start]suppliers[blank_end], customers & [blank_start]regulatory bodies[blank_end], such as [blank_start]tax[blank_end] authorities. Public organisations are legally required to publish such [blank_start]financial information[blank_end]

Lack of standard method of transmitting financial reporting data leads to [blank_start]source[blank_end] of [blank_start]errors[blank_end] if data is [blank_start]duplicated[blank_end], manually [blank_start]re-entered[blank_end]. Solution to such problems is [blank_start]eXtensible Business Reporting Language[blank_end] (XBRL)

Three main approaches to internet financial reporting are [blank_start]static reporting[blank_end], [blank_start]interactive reporting[blank_end] & [blank_start]interactive reporting[blank_end] with [blank_start]data analysis[blank_end]

Static reporting- Use of [blank_start]electronic[blank_end] format of [blank_start]paper-based[blank_end] annual report & accounts. It's easier to [blank_start]distribute[blank_end] to wider audience. [blank_start]PDF[blank_end] allows some degree of [blank_start]interaction[blank_end], making it less [blank_start]static[blank_end]

Interactive reporting- [blank_start]Interactive[blank_end] menus enable selection of [blank_start]particular[blank_end] financial information from [blank_start]report[blank_end]. Users can [blank_start]build[blank_end] their own [blank_start]PDF[blank_end] based on selection

Interactive reporting with data analysis- Simple [blank_start]analytical[blank_end] tasks possible without [blank_start]human intervention[blank_end]. It's less [blank_start]prone[blank_end] to human [blank_start]error[blank_end] when doing it [blank_start]manually[blank_end]. No data [blank_start]conversion[blank_end] necessary at recipients for [blank_start]data[blank_end] from different sources

Two major problems in using different methods to publish annual reports online are: data would need to be [blank_start]converted[blank_end] to [blank_start]common[blank_end] format & users of [blank_start]accounting data[blank_end] such as government agencies will have [blank_start]difficulties[blank_end] managing & [blank_start]analysing[blank_end] data from diverse sources

Possible solution for problems of using different methods to publish annual reports online is to create an [blank_start]interface[blank_end] between systems so that [blank_start]data[blank_end] can be transmitted [blank_start]electronically[blank_end] (however this will be [blank_start]costly[blank_end] & [blank_start]time-consuming[blank_end])

Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML)- Use [blank_start]pre-defined[blank_end] tags to determine how [blank_start]text[blank_end] appears on [blank_start]web page[blank_end] (not [blank_start]interactive[blank_end])

Extensible Mark-up Language (XML)- Use [blank_start]tags[blank_end] & [blank_start]attributes[blank_end] that can be defined by [blank_start]user[blank_end] to make it [blank_start]machine-readable[blank_end]. It's a language understood by [blank_start]computers[blank_end], as is used to [blank_start]transmit[blank_end] data

Benefit of XML is its [blank_start]speed[blank_end] in storing, [blank_start]publishing[blank_end] & exchanging electronic documents. Also, tags can be [blank_start]joined[blank_end] so varied other pieces of [blank_start]information[blank_end] can be added

Essential features of XBRL include: communications [blank_start]standard[blank_end] that does not [blank_start]execute[blank_end], but [blank_start]represent[blank_end], independent of any [blank_start]proprietary[blank_end] hardware (& software [blank_start]platforms[blank_end]) & ensures [blank_start]electronic[blank_end] transmission of financial reporting data with little or no [blank_start]human[blank_end] intervention

In XBRL tag names & value arguments are [blank_start]agreed[blank_end] & [blank_start]classified[blank_end] to dis/aggregate data ([blank_start]taxonomy[blank_end]). Classification is based on [blank_start]similarities[blank_end] between data items (e.g. assets, liabilities & equity) & [blank_start]items[blank_end] in financial reports such as income statement & statement of financial position

Benefits of XBRL include: [blank_start]increased[blank_end] data quality, [blank_start]elimination[blank_end] of duplicated data, [blank_start]increased speed[blank_end] of processing, [blank_start]streamlined[blank_end] reporting processes, [blank_start]automated[blank_end] data handling, reduced [blank_start]compliance[blank_end] costs, reduced [blank_start]regulatory[blank_end] burden, [blank_start]one-time filing[blank_end], reduced [blank_start]operating[blank_end] cost, reduced cost of [blank_start]reporting[blank_end], enhanced [blank_start]competitive advantage[blank_end], reduced [blank_start]audit[blank_end] costs & reduced [blank_start]risks[blank_end] due to [blank_start]increased[blank_end] data integrity

Inline XBRL (iXBRL)- XBRL with [blank_start]additional[blank_end] formatting to create [blank_start]human-readable[blank_end] document. Therefore, it's able to overcome need to produce both [blank_start]machine[blank_end] & [blank_start]human-readable[blank_end] financial reporting information. Using iXBRL, in principle [blank_start]only one[blank_end] file is needed to satisfy all [blank_start]users[blank_end] of financial reporting data

iXBRL is achieved by ‘[blank_start]outsourcing[blank_end]’ formatting information from [blank_start]actual code[blank_end] by only linking to [blank_start]CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)[blank_end] file. [blank_start]CSS[blank_end] represents [blank_start]presentation[blank_end] semantics (format, look)

Some regulatory authorities are requiring use of [blank_start]iXBRL[blank_end] rather than [blank_start]normal XBRL[blank_end]. Most companies prepare & publish annual reports using [blank_start]graphics[blank_end] & [blank_start]pictures[blank_end] & may continue to provide [blank_start]PDF formats[blank_end] of their annual reports. As more regulators require [blank_start]iXBRL[blank_end], companies will most likely publish their financial statements & annual reports as [blank_start]web pages[blank_end] only

Two uses of iXBRL are [blank_start]regulatory filing[blank_end] & [blank_start]integrating[blank_end] non-compatible accounting [blank_start]systems[blank_end]

(i)XBRL can be used to [blank_start]communicate[blank_end] financial reporting information to any [blank_start]party[blank_end] adopting standard ([blank_start]internal[blank_end] & [blank_start]external[blank_end]). Basis for [blank_start]integrating[blank_end] data that comes from all kinds of sources (suppliers, customers), no matter their [blank_start]size[blank_end]

Global Ledger Taxonomy (GLT) may assist companies with different [blank_start]internal[blank_end] accounting systems. It provides [blank_start]system-independent[blank_end] way for users to communicate any [blank_start]information[blank_end] typically found in [blank_start]chart of accounts[blank_end] or actual accounting transactions

Any accounting software with an [blank_start]instance document[blank_end] (contains taxonomy and data) can create an [blank_start]XBRL[blank_end] document

SAP (for larger businesses) uses its [blank_start]Business Objects[blank_end] reporting tool to create XBRL files according to [blank_start]SEC[blank_end] & [blank_start]HMRC[blank_end] regulations. Also, SAP allows [blank_start]customised XBRL[blank_end] files by extending standard [blank_start]taxonomies[blank_end]