So, what is XBRL and how does it affect South African Companies?

XBRL is short for Extensible Business Reporting Language. This is a globally recognized reporting format or electronic language used for reporting financial information in a standardized format to ensure smoother analysis, preparation and communication of business information around the world in one format.

Now as fancy as this sounds, how is this XBRL language important in today’s ever changing technologically driven economy? The answer is that with the introduction of XBRL it essentially changes the way financial reporting is being conducted. This allows electronic communication of financial data in one format which enables users of this data to perform analysis more effectively as data is more readily available in a clear and concise format. This can greatly assist investors, analysts, financial institutions and regulators as they can analyze data much more efficiently if it is in the XBRL format.