Regulatory authorities around the world have adopted rules requiring companies to provide financial information in an interactive, machine-readable (i.e., structured) format. One such format is eXtensible business reporting language (XBRL).
We begin this study by examining what companies are saying about the costs associated with their XBRL filings. We then go through several case studies to demonstrate how, with proper implementation, both large and small publicly listed companies—as well as nonprofits—can benefit from structured data. We conclude that if companies focus on how they implement structured reporting—that is, by
- bringing it in-house instead of using outside vendors to prepare their regulatory filings,
- implementing inline XBRL (iXBRL), a form of XBRL that is both human and machine readable, and
- curtailing the use of company-specific tags, or “extensions”—
they can reduce costs, allowing both companies and users to benefit from structured reporting.