XBRL stands for eXtensible Business Reporting Language. It is a language for the electronic communication of business information, providing major benefits in the preparation, analysis and communication of business information. It offers cost savings, greater efficiency and improved accuracy and reliability to all those involved in supplying or using business information.
It is one of a family of “XML” languages which is a standard means of communicating information between businesses and on the internet.
XBRL is being developed by an international non-profit consortium of over 600 major companies, organisations and government agencies. It is an open standard, free of licence fees. It is already being put to practical use in a number of countries and implementations of XBRL are growing rapidly around the world.