Accounting Information Systems (ACCT 312)
PowerPoint Presentations
XBRL:
eXtensible Business
Reporting Language
What is XBRL?
 XBRL is a freely available electronic language for financial
reporting.
 XBRL provides an XML-based framework that the global
business information supply chain can use to create,
exchange, and analyze financial reporting information
including, but not limited to, regulatory filings such as annual
and quarterly financial statements, general ledger
information, and audit schedules.
 XBRL is not about establishing new accounting standards but
enhancing the usability of the ones that we have through the
digital language of business.
 XBRL will not require additional disclosure from companies to
outside audiences.
What is XBRL Used For?
 An XBRL-based financial statement is a digitally enhanced
version of paper-based financial statements, which include
the balance sheet, income statement, statement of equity,
statement of cash flows, and the notes to the financial
statements as well as the accountant's report.
 XBRL documents can be prepared efficiently, exchanged
reliably, published more easily, analyzed quickly, retrieved by
investors simply, and enables smarter investments.
 Other potential XBRL applications include tax returns,
regulatory filing, general ledger, authoritative literature, and
management reporting.
Financial Reporting Process Without/With XBRL
Printed
Financials
Regulatory
Filings
Web Site
Accounting
System
Explanatory
Text
Tax Return
Third Party
Information
Trade Filings
Accounting
System
Explanatory
Text
Third Party
Information
XBRL
Documents
Printed
Financials
Regulatory
Filings
Web Site
Tax Return
Trade Filings
What are the Benefits of XBRL
for Financial Statements?
With XBRL, information will be entered once and the same information will
be "rendered" as
 a printed financial statement,
 an HTML document for a Web site,
 an EDGAR filing file for SEC,
 a raw XML file, or
 a specialized reporting format such as periodic banking and other
regulatory reports.
Specific benefits of XBRL include:
 Allows users to quickly access the information they need
 Permits the automatic and reliable exchange of financial information
 Does not require a change to accounting standards or disclosure policies
 Eliminates the need to reenter data for different users
 Lowers the cost to prepare and distribute financial statements
 Allows accountants to quickly and easily consolidate and scrutinize
internal data for use in financial reports
 Enhances transparency of financial reporting
Who will benefit from using XBRL?
 Companies who prepare financial statements: More efficient preparation of
financial statements because they will be created one time and rendered as
printed reports, on Web sites, as Edgar filings, or as other regulatory filings.
 Analysts, Investors, and Regulators: Enhanced distribution and usability of
existing financial statement information. Automated analysis, significantly
less re-keying of financial information from one form into another form,
receiving information in the format you prefer for your specific style of
analysis.
 Financial publishers and data aggregators: More efficient data collection
lowers operating costs associated with custom, idiosyncratic data feeds and
reducing errors while concentrating on adding value to the data and
increasing transaction capacity
 Independent Software Vendors: Virtually any software product that
manages financial information could use XBRL for its data export and import
formats, thereby increasing its potential for full-interoperability with other
financial and analytical applications.
Three Requirements for the
Successful Deployment of XBRL
 Creation of a specification that is the same for all companies
that is consistent from one financial statement to another.
 An application that will allow the creation of financial
statements ”tagged” with XML that adhere to the
specifications.
 Style sheets which render information for a specific or variety
of formats.
XBRL for financial statements will provide agreement on the
terms used by establishing uniform categories for financial
data. Yet, the system remains flexible to accommodate any
company’s internal environments, processes, systems, and
even styles.
Comprehensive XBRL Example
A comprehensive example is illustrated from
http://www.xbrlsolutions.com/Public/Demos/FinancialHighlights. This
demo explains various stages of the XBRL creation process:
 Data Stores: how to assess data stored internally to put it in an XBRL format.
 Preparing XBRL: how to prepare an XBRL document.
 Validation: how to validate the document to be sure that it is prepared
correctly.
 Publishing: how to make the information available to the public.
 Styling Information: how raw XBRL can be styled to make it more useful to
humans.
 Reusing: how information can be put into a different format and reuse
without rekeying information.
 Analyzing: how information can be extracted automatically into a
spreadsheet model, rather than having to rekey.
 Conclusion
Discussion Questions








Does XBRL set new accounting standards?
Is XBRL a standard chart of accounts?
Does XBRL require additional disclosure?
Is XBRL a U.S. centric initiative?
How will XBRL affect the assurance function?
Does XBRL represent an opportunity for continuous auditing?
Does XBRL make financial information more comparable?
How will the accounting profession be different because of
XBRL?
 What other XML languages will affect business?