XBRL and IFRSs

eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a language that is used for the electronic communication of information between businesses and other users of financial information for the purpose of business reporting.  A taxonomy is a computer-readable dictionary that defines business reporting terms and the relationships between them.

The IASC Foundation XBRL Team is responsible for developing and maintaining the taxonomy for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), including the IFRS for Small- and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs), known as the IFRS Taxonomy.  The IFRS Taxonomy is used around the world to facilitate the electronic use, exchange and comparability of financial data prepared in accordance with IFRSs.

The IASC Foundation XBRL Team

The objective of the IASC Foundation XBRL Team is to provide a high quality IFRS Taxonomy in the same languages as the IFRSs and at the same time as IFRSs are issued, in order to provide a framework for the consistent adoption and implementation of IFRSs. The development of the IFRS Taxonomy is integrated with the development of IFRSs and is developed through a formal, transparent system of due process and broad international consultation.

For more information about the IFRS Taxonomy and XBRL support materials, please click here.

The Team consists of two pillars - technology and financial reporting.  The technology pillar is responsible for providing technical XBRL expertise and developing XBRL tools.  The financial reporting pillar provides accounting domain expertise necessary when representing IFRSs in XBRL format.

The Team is supported by two external committees—the XBRL Advisory Council (XAC) and the XBRL Quality Review Team (XQRT).