eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL): A Review and Implications for Future Research
Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory 30 (2)
58 Pages Posted: 4 Jun 2020 Last revised: 21 Nov 2024
Date Written: December 7, 2020
Abstract
This study seeks to advance research related to eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). XBRL is an open standard for reporting structured financial information which enables the efficient gathering of data and automated comparison of financial information. To encourage research using XBRL we describe the richness of XBRL data and sources from which it can be obtained. We also present a review of relevant XBRL literature, beginning with studies examining the consequences of XBRL adoption and data quality concerns that arose during this timeframe. We next discuss the use of extended XBRL tags and implications of this decision for users of financial reports. The following related literature stream includes studies that leverage XBRL tags to identify unique numerical, or textual data that is otherwise unavailable or requires manual data collection. We conclude the review with a discussion of auditors’ potential use and assurance of XBRL data. Based on the review of the literature, we identify topics with the greatest potential for future research.
Data Availability: Data are available from http://www.xbrlresearch.com.
Keywords: XBRL, eXtensible Business Reporting Language, assurance, interactive data, structured data, textual analysis, literature review
JEL Classification: M40, M41, M42, M48, C55, G18
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation