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 Definitions

XBRL incorporates a set of definitions, referred to as taxonomies, that summarize the meanings in the terms used in a financial report. These definitions have been developed by regulators and the parties setting accounting standards. This concept can be expanded upon by anyone who uses XBRL-tagged reports, in order to extract additional information from the reports.