iXBRL Tagging Article Series – Part 1 : What is XBRL and iXBRL
In a 6 part series about iXBRL tagging we cover the basics of iXBRL tagging and conversion of annual accounts and tax computations. Starting from 2011, HMRC has mandated that these financial statements have to be submitted in iXBRL format as a part of CT600 filing
In the first part of this IXBRL tagging series, we cover the following basic questions
- What is XBRL?
- What is iXBRL and how is it different from XBRL?
- What are the components involved in preparing a XBRL document?
What is XBRL
Worldwide, regulators are embracing XBRL technology to ring in digitisation of the production and consumption of the business financial reports of thousands of companies. Digitisation of such financial data delivers benefits like transparency, comparability and analytics to all the stakeholders including regulators, companies, business analysts and investors.
XBRL, abbreviation for eXtensible Business Reporting Language, is an XML-based language for tagging financial data that enables business to efficiently and accurately process and share their data. This is a language that allows the presentation of financial information in a computer readable format. This is achieved by tagging each piece of financial information with a label that identifies it in terms of standard accounting or tax concepts. XBRL is being increasingly adopted by both businesses and regulators world-wide.
XBRL is an information exchange standard and not an accounting standard. XBRL is purely concerned with the introduction of computer-readable XBRL tags into business reports to enable automated handling of financial data. It should not otherwise change the nature and content of company business reports. That continues to be determined by individual companies’ adoption of accounting principles and applicable statutory regulations.
What is iXBRL
Standard XBRL is presented as a series of tags and numbers. iXBRL, or inline XBRL, is a more recent version of the language which allows financial information to be presented in a format that is both human readable and machine readable. This is achieved by presenting the data (e.g. Financial Statements) in a normal document format but with XBRL “tags” embedded in the soft copy document. iXBRL thus handles both the presentation of accounts and the delivery of XBRL data in a single file.
What are the components of XBRL
- The XBRL Specification explains, in technical terms, what XBRL is , rules and how to build XBRL instance documents and XBRL taxonomies.
- The XBRL Schema are the core low-level components of XBRL. The schema is the physical XSD file which express how instance documents and taxonomies are to be built.
- The XBRL Linkbases are the physical XML files which contain various information about the elements defined in the XBRL Schema, such as labels in one or more languages, how they relate to each other, how to sum up elements, etc.
- An XBRL Taxonomy is a "vocabulary" or "dictionary" created by a group, compliant with the XBRL Specification, in order to exchange business information.
- An XBRL Instance document is a business report, such as a financial statement prepared to the XBRL specification. The meaning of the values in the instance document is explained by the taxonomy. An instance document is somewhat useless unless you know the taxonomy to which it is prepared.
How FinTags iXBRL services can assist in CT600 filing.
FinTags, whose subject matters experts have been involved in preparing iXBRL reports right from the time it was mandated by HMRC in 2011, offers a compelling choice for companies seeking to outsource their iXBRL reporting. Besides our accounting and XBRL expertise, we deliver meaningful distinguishing features from our competitors such as:
(1) No questions asked refund policy - Our competitors assure quality, assured filing with HMRC and on time delivery. We go one step ahead – all our customer facing employees are authorized to refund money without any questions if you are not satisfied with our service.
(2) Sensible pricing based on actual number of pages tagged and not based on page bands, as charged by our competitors
For more details about our iXBRL tagging services please email us at hello@fintags.ie and we will take care of your iXBRL reporting needs
Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of FinTags and its employees. The purpose of this article is primarily to educate and inform, not to provide specific professional advice. FinTags assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents. If you have any queries or feedback about this article please email us at creative@fintags.co.uk
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