XBRL definition
/What is XBRL?
XBRL is a contraction of the term eXtensible Business Reporting Language. XBRL uses tags to specifically identify various types of information within a financial report, which are then used by software to convert the data into an electronic spreadsheet for further analysis. Thus, XBRL is a step in the process of converting plain-text financial information into a spreadsheet format for further analysis. XBRL is required for the financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which means that it must be used by publicly-held companies in their public report filings.
XBRL Taxonomies
XBRL incorporates a set of definitions, referred to as taxonomies, that summarize the meanings in the terms used in a financial report. These taxonomies have been developed by regulators and the parties setting accounting standards. For example, the tag “ProfitLoss” can be assigned to the reported net earnings of a business, while “CostofGoods” could be assigned to its reported cost of goods sold.
This concept can be expanded upon by anyone who uses XBRL-tagged reports, in order to extract additional information from the reports.