Accounting Dictionary

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

XBRL

Definition: 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.

Click here to listen to a podcast with the CEO of Rivet Software, which produces XBRL tagging software.