XBRL: Just About the Complex - Chapter 2. What is XBRL?

Original author: Jos van der Heiden, Batavia XBRL BV
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2. What is an XBRL?


Before diving into the XBRL specification, in this chapter we will briefly review what XBRL is. As explained in the previous chapter, XBRL actually consists of two things: determining what to include in the report and the reporting data itself . Both parts of XBRL will be presented to you: taxonomy and reports.


2.1. What is a taxonomy?


Remember the example of the reporting form that I showed in the first chapter ? Here she is again:


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The form strictly defines the composition of the report as a set of fields in which the company can fill out the facts. The text in front of each field explains what exactly needs to be specified in this field. You can also see footnotes in the reporting form that provide more information (for example, whether it is necessary and how to correctly calculate the number of freelance contractors and part-time employees) or links to legislation, general practice, reference manuals, etc.


Similarly, a taxonomy is a document that defines a set of concepts, facts about which should be contained in the report. A taxonomy defines the meaning and structure of concepts, and also provides additional information about them in the following ways:


  • Concepts are of a type , for example, “Cash” will have a monetary type (numeric, with a face value), and “Name” will be plain text;
  • Concepts can be related to each other (for example, calculating one concept based on others) and to documentation (for example, with reference material);
  • There are two types of concepts:
    • Item (item) - describes an independent concept that allows you to convey a certain fact, for example. “Cash” or “number of employees”.
    • A tuple (tuple) - is a collection of concepts (items or other tuples) that allows you to group related facts, each of which individually does not have sufficient meaning, for example. the manager tuple may contain a name and a position.

If you need to receive completed reports from companies, you can order the printing of 10,000 copies of the reporting form in the printing house and send them to each reporting company every year for manual filling.


When using XBRL, just publish a taxonomy and ask the company to send reports based on it.


2.2. What is an XBRL Report?


Let's go back to the example of the completed reporting form from the first chapter :


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In the last section, we talked about how a taxonomy simply defines the concepts by which companies convey facts, like filling out a paper reporting form.


Filling the necessary data in the form fields, we get a ready-made report. To transmit reporting data, you do not need a complete template with all the explanations. The following information would be sufficient:


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All you really need is an identifier for the reporting form, company name, reporting period, and the facts themselves with links to the form fields.


This is exactly what the XBRL Report contains:


  • Taxonomy Link
  • The context identifier within which the facts are filled
  • Facts with links to taxonomy concepts





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