IFRS and XBRL: How to improve Business Reporting through Technology and Object Tracking

CHAPTER ONE

XBRL

XBRL IS A SIGNIFICANT INITIATIVE in the finance and accounting community as it has the capacity to partner productively with IFRS in the reliable and rapid development, and delivery of business reports. It is an influential agent of change and one that cannot be overlooked in terms of its implications and impact, whether within any reporting entity or when considered more broadly, such as in any inter-organisational or international capacity.

XBRL enables the control of information flows through open-source technology by binding business (financial and non-financial) data requirements and technical functions, including systems and platforms. XBRL provides a means of describing and defining business and financial information, enabling its transfer and enhanced analysis. This may also affect existing auditing and assurance processes intended to increase users' trust in reported data.

XBRL can handle data in different accounting standards and present it in various languages. It is flexible and can be adapted to meet different requirements and uses. Data can be transformed into XBRL by suitable mapping tools or it can be generated in XBRL by appropriate software. It acts as an intelligent chart of accounts. In fact, by using numbers, just similar to a global chart of accounts, a reader is able to consume data in any language.

For information related to XBRL, in addition to what is presented in this section, see www.xbrl.org (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 An overview of ...