About XBRL

Starting with fiscal periods ending on or after June 15, 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission enacted rules require some public companies to submit their financial statements in the XBRL interactive data format.  The rule stated that this requirement would be extended to all reporting companies effective Jan 1, 2011.

XBRL is a technology language for the electronic communication of business and financial data and is being implemented worldwide.  XBRL-formatted documents enable greater efficiency, improved accuracy and reliability as well as cost savings to those involved in supplying and using financial and business information data.

Primary benefits of XBRL Solutions

• Reduces Costs
• Increases Productivity
• Improves Data Quality
• Extends Data Interoperability

How XBRL works

XBRL is based on XML, a widely accepted standard, and has the ability to “tag” or code each element on a financial or business report with information such as description, units, currency, etc., so that it is easy to identify and understand for users of the information.  All the elements are grouped together into a collection of financial and business reporting terms called a “taxonomy”.  XBRL is extensible, meaning that the terms available for use can be customized so that companies using XBRL can create their own elements – called "extensions"  – to describe a unique reporting situation . 

XBRL is not an accounting standard and will not change what is reported, only how it’s reported.  The XML tagging means that the information in a business report is computer readable and can be more easily extracted, searched and analyzed by users of that information.

Source xbrl.us