US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework
Overview
Public Working Draft - dated 2004-08-15
Editor
Name
Jeffrey Naumann
Contact
jnaumann@aicpa.org
AICPA
Affiliation
Contact
charleshoffman@olywa.net
bhomer@aicpa.org
UBmatrix
AICPA
Authors
Name
Charles Hoffman
Bradford Homer
Affiliation
Abstract
The purpose of this document is to explain the 2004-08-15 version of the US Financial
Reporting Taxonomy Framework, which is designed to be used to express financial
statements of public companies using XBRL.
Table of Contents
Editor .................................................................................................................. 1
Authors ................................................................................................................ 1
Abstract ............................................................................................................... 1
Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 1
1.
Introduction ................................................................................................. 2
2.
Overview of the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework ........................... 2
2.1.
Framework Overview ................................................................................ 2
2.2.
Summary of types of Components or Layers ............................................... 3
2.3.
Components ............................................................................................ 5
3.
Design Decisions & Updates from Previous versions .......................................... 6
3.1.
Elements ................................................................................................ 7
3.2.
Labels .................................................................................................... 7
3.3.
References .............................................................................................. 8
3.4.
Presentation ............................................................................................ 8
3.5.
Calculation .............................................................................................. 8
3.6.
Definitions .............................................................................................. 8
4.
Sample Instance ........................................................................................... 9
5.
Taxonomy Feedback ...................................................................................... 9
US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy Framework, © AICPA, Public Working Draft Candidate Release 2 - 2004-08-15, Page 1 of 9
1. Introduction
This Document describes the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) “US
Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework” (USFRTF), which has been prepared by the
XBRL-US Domain Working Group, with feedback from other members of XBRL
International as well. The US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework has been
updated to be compliant with the XBRL 2.1, Specification and the candidate
recommendation Financial Reporting Taxonomy Architecture 1.0 (FRTA).
The purpose of this document is as follows:
-
Explain the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework – Provide an
overview of the components and structure of the framework as well as plans for
future components.
-
Describe significant design decisions and updates from previous versions
– This release represents an update to previous versions of the framework, the
most recent being the 2003-07-07 version
(http://www.xbrl.org/Taxonomy/us/usfrtf/2003-0707/TaxonomyFrameworkOverview.htm). This section will describe the significant
design considerations in modelling the framework for XBRL 2.1 and FRTA 1.0
compliance and also highlight other significant updates from previous versions.
This document does not intend to describe all of the detailed technical rationale
behind changes or every detailed change, but seeks to provide an overview of the
significant issues.
This document assumes an understanding of US GAAP financial reporting, XBRL and
FRTA.
2. Overview of the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy
Framework
2.1.
Framework Overview
The US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework is a collection of XBRL taxonomies that
will be used to express the financial statement-based reports of both public and private
companies across all industry sectors. Different components of the framework will be
used for different reporting purposes, and new components will be added over time to
cover more diverse reporting needs.
Below is a graphical representation of the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework
(each component will be explained in more detail later in this document):
US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy Framework, © AICPA, Public Working Draft Candidate Release 2 - 2004-08-15, Page 2 of 9
2.1.1.
Modularity goals of this framework
In developing the framework, the following goals were used to determine how to
modularize the taxonomies:

Minimize duplicate elements for a single concept between taxonomy components

Ease maintenance of the taxonomies

Ease company extension and instance creation
2.2.
Summary of types of Components or Layers
The following is a summary of the types of components or “layers” contained in the US
Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework:

Stand alone add-ons

Common terms

Industry terms
US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy Framework, © AICPA, Public Working Draft Candidate Release 2 - 2004-08-15, Page 3 of 9
2.2.1.
Stand Alone Add-ons
Stand Alone Add-ons are self-contained DTSs that may be used by creators of XBRL
Reports. These components include a schema file and all linkbases (presentation, label,
calculation, reference and definition) as appropriate. They are not referenced or
imported by the GAAP Industry extension DTSs because they:
- Are not universally needed by users of the Industry Extension Taxonomies
- May be updated, superseded or replaced by other external components
independent of changes to the Industry Extension Taxonomies
Users who wish to take advantage of the Stand Alone Add-Ons can either import the
add-on components into their company extension taxonomy or use the add-on
components directly in their instance document.
NOTE: In previous versions of the taxonomy framework, these components were
imported directly into the Industry Extension Taxonomies.
2.2.2.
Common Terms Layer
The Common Terms Layer components are the foundational building blocks for the
Industry Extension Taxonomies. These taxonomies include elements for concepts that
are common to multiple industry extensions which are stored in a common component to
ease maintenance and maximize comparability.
These components will include a schema file, label linkbases and reference linkbases, in
some cases they may also include presentation and calculation linkbases where the
relationships are known to be common for all industries that will extend the particular
common term component.
NOTE: In previous versions of the taxonomy framework, the elements contained in the
current version of the Primary Terms component were split into two components,
Primary Terms and Notes and Management’s Discussion and Analysis. Also, in previous
versions of the taxonomy, some concepts had elements in both of these separate
components (e.g. Inventory for the balance sheet and Inventory for the Notes). As we
removed the duplicate elements (in accordance with FRTA 1.0 Rule 2.1.1) and modelled
the taxonomy using multiple links rather than multiple elements, it was deemed
appropriate to capture these concepts in a single layer. The two significant reasons for
this change were:
-
Making arbitrary decisions about which taxonomy to place a concept in, based on
how historical paper-based financial statements were constructed, would be
confusing to both creators and consumers of XBRL
US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy Framework, © AICPA, Public Working Draft Candidate Release 2 - 2004-08-15, Page 4 of 9
-
As multiple relationships for single elements were being constructed (to depict the
different ways that a concept may be presented or disaggregated) it was more
efficient to have all of the concepts in a single taxonomy
2.2.3.
Industry Taxonomy Layer
Users creating company extensions or instance documents will normally select a single
primary taxonomy from the Industry Taxonomy Layer. The Industry Taxonomies
specialize and extend the concepts defined in the common terms layer and build
relationships between these concepts using the presentation and calculation linkbases.
2.3.
Components
The following is a summary of components in the USFRTF:
Namespace
Prefix
int-gcd
Name
Layer
Description
Global Common
Document
Stand Alone
Add-on
Contains information that is specific
to the document being created or
the entity that issues the document.
For example, general information
about the title of the document, its
creator, revisions to the document,
the name of the entity and the
industry in which the entity
operates.
usfr-ar
Accountants Report
Stand Alone
Add-on
Contains information that describes
the independent accountants’ report,
if one is issued, such as the name
and signature of the independent
auditor/accountant.
usfr-fst
Financial Services
Terms
Common
Terms Layer
This financial reporting taxonomy is
intended to provide detail level
accounting terms that are typically
included in financial statements. This
taxonomy includes such terms that
are common solely to the financial
services sector.
usfr-mda
Management
Discussion and
Analysis
Stand Alone
Add-on
Includes information for the section
of then annual report where the
company’s management provides
US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy Framework, © AICPA, Public Working Draft Candidate Release 2 - 2004-08-15, Page 5 of 9
analysis on results of operations,
financial position and other issues.
usfr-mr
Management Report
Stand Alone
Add-on
Information contained within the
Management Report which typically
accompanies audited financial
statements.
usfr-pt
Primary Terms
Common
Terms Layer
This financial reporting taxonomy is
intended to provide detail level
accounting terms that are typically
included in financial statements. This
taxonomy includes such terms that
are common to multiple major
industries.
usfr-sec-cert
SEC Officers
Certification
Stand Alone
Add-on
Information contained in the Officers
Certification report as mandated by
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 0f 2002
us-gaap-ci
Commercial and
Industrial
Companies
Industry
Taxonomy
Layer
This taxonomy is intended to provide
the accounting concepts and
relationships to allow Commercial
and Industrial entities to express
their financial statements in XBRL.
This taxonomy builds on top of the
Common Terms layer and may serve
as the basis for further details
industry extensions.
us-gaap-basi
Banking and Savings
Institutions
Industry
Taxonomy
Layer
This taxonomy is intended to provide
the accounting concepts and
relationships to allow banking
related entities to express their
financial statements in XBRL. This
taxonomy builds on top of the
Common Terms layer.
us-gaap-ins
Insurance industry
Industry
Taxonomy
Layer
This taxonomy is intended to provide
the accounting concepts and
relationships to allow insurance
related entities to express their
financial statements in XBRL. This
taxonomy builds on top of the
Common Terms layer.
3. Design Decisions & Updates from Previous versions
This section will describe, at a high level, the significant design considerations in
modelling the framework for XBRL 2.1 Specification and FRTA 1.0 compliance and also
highlight other significant updates from previous versions. As the taxonomies are aimed
to be fully XBRL 2.1 Specification and FRTA 1.0 compliant, the rationale and details
behind many of the design decisions can be found in those documents.
US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy Framework, © AICPA, Public Working Draft Candidate Release 2 - 2004-08-15, Page 6 of 9
3.1.
Elements
The basic strategy for elements is to provide one element for one financial reporting
concept. If there is reasonable question as to whether two concepts are always identical,
the taxonomy errs on the side of creating two elements, rather than forcing what may be
two concepts into one concept.
Each element within a taxonomy has a unique name and ID expressing a unique
financial reporting concept. Element names have been created in conformance with the
LC3 convention as prescribed in FRTA 1.0. Element names remain largely unchanged
from previous versions of the taxonomy framework; a map of name changes for those
that have been modified will be circulated with the taxonomies.
This version of the taxonomy framework contains a robust level of elements for the
disclosures typically found in the financial statements for the selected industries. Building
on to the methods used to create, validate and test the previous iterations of the
taxonomy; additional efforts have gone into analyzing a wider range of financial
statements to ensure the taxonomies have sufficient elements to meet market needs.
However, it is not practical or realistic to include every possible accounting concept or
disclosure in these common taxonomies due to company specific disclosures and
aggregations. It is expected that many if not all companies will require an extension
taxonomy to cover those terms not in the taxonomy.
Elements for the notes to the financial statements are provided on a summary level
throughout, and in varying levels of detail for certain specific notes. Over time, this
framework of disclosures for the notes to the financial statements will be built out to
provide all of the detailed elements required. It is possible to tag a complete set of notes
to the financial statements using the taxonomy as its structured today; future efforts will
provide the capability for this tagging to occur at a more detailed level.
3.2.
Labels
A unique, standard label (standard label role) is provided for every element within each
taxonomy. A full set of labels is also provided for the terse label role, these labels are
NOT unique. Additional label roles are utilized on an as needed-basis, for example period
end labels.
All labels are in English as used in the United States. Additional labels for different labels
may be provided at a later time. For example, the US Domain Working Group is
currently working with the Japan Domain Working Group to explore how to provide a set
of Japanese labels for the taxonomy.
As with previous versions of the taxonomy, documentation or ‘human readable’
definitions are provided for the elements in the taxonomy. These brief descriptions are
intended to provide users with an easy, non-authoritative mechanism to understand the
accounting or reporting concept that an element represents.
In previous versions of the taxonomies, these definitions were included the XML Schema
“documentation” element of the taxonomy schema. For this taxonomy release the
definitions have been moved to the documentation label role of the label linkbase in
accodance with FRTA 1.0 rule 2.1.13.
The following table shows the migration of the label roles from the previous release of
the taxonomies to the current release:
US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy Framework, © AICPA, Public Working Draft Candidate Release 2 - 2004-08-15, Page 7 of 9
3.3.
Taxonomy Version
Role
Role
Role
2003-07-07
Standard
Long
Not in label linkbase – in
schema documentation
2004-08-15
Terse
Standard
Documentation
References
References are currently provided for many elements but have not yet been completed
for all elements in the taxonomy. Elements in the current taxonomy release which do
have references defined may not have a complete set of references across all the
different possible sources of references.
The US Domain Working Group currently has a subcommittee working on updating the
references to ensure consistency amongst reference sources and to complete the
reference linkbase to cover all elements in the taxonomy.
3.4.
Presentation
The presentation link base provides an organizational hierarchy of elements in the
taxonomy to make it easy for users and reviewers of the taxonomy to find specific
content within the taxonomy; in general terms this hierarchy follows the organization of
a set of financial statements.
Abstract elements are used throughout the presentation linkbase as described in rule
3.2.7 of FRTA 1.0 to provide additional organization. Separate extended link roles are
also used to define the major separate presentation networks found within the
taxonomies.
3.5.
Calculation
Calculation linkbases are provided to document all calculations that are true within a
context. Calculations are NOT provided across contexts as XBRL does not support these
types of calculations at this time. When the formula linkbase is completed additional
calculations will be provided, including calculations across contexts such as those used to
express reconciliations between a beginning balance to an account, changes to that
account, and the ending balance to an account (movement analysis).
Separate extended link roles are used where there are multiple calculation networks for
elements within the taxonomies.
3.6.
Definitions
No definition linkbases have been provided as part of this taxonomy release; they may
be included as enhancements to future releases of the taxonomy, but there are no
immediate plans to create definition linkbases for the taxonomies.
US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy Framework, © AICPA, Public Working Draft Candidate Release 2 - 2004-08-15, Page 8 of 9
4. Sample Instance
Sample instance documents have been provided for each industry taxonomy, which may
be useful in helping you understand how the taxonomy works and is intended to be
used. If you are confused by something in the taxonomy, look for that information in the
sample instance documents to see if the context helps explain the taxonomy content.
5. Taxonomy Feedback
Comments and feedback on either accounting concepts within the taxonomy or technical
aspects of the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework are welcome, particularly
ideas to improve this taxonomy. If you have a comment or feedback or wish to report an
error, email comments to Brad Homer (bhomer@aicpa.org).
To assist in the feedback process, a review template has been provided for each
taxonomy, these can be found on each individual taxonomy summary page. Other
feedback outside of this template will be accepted, however it should be as specific as
possible in identifying the taxonomy, elements, links or other details that are being
commented on. Feedback received will be summarized and be made available to the
XBRL-US Domain Working Group and also publicly.
Detailed responses will not be provided for every comment submitted, however a
summary of which feedback has been incorporated will be provided.
US GAAP XBRL Taxonomy Framework, © AICPA, Public Working Draft Candidate Release 2 - 2004-08-15, Page 9 of 9