Are multi-target XBRL documents just a bandaid?
In an effort to streamline financial reporting, some regulators that need to facilitate the reporting needs of both securities regulators and business registrars have turned to an XBRL technique called “Multi-Target Documents”—but is this a long-term solution or just a stopgap?
Martin DeVille’s recent article, Digital Reporting Made Simple, takes a critical look at this approach, that allows a single iXBRL document to be used across multiple taxonomies. DeVille suggests that while the Multi-Target Document (MTD) approach can offer short-term flexibility, it effectively pushes complexity downstream onto filers, analysts, and software vendors.
The core issue is data model fragmentation. Instead of unifying taxonomies into a single entry point, Multi-Target-Documents create separate data pipelines, requiring multiple XBRL target documents from a single report. This makes it harder to validate data, increases software development costs, and complicates analysis for investors and regulators.
DeVille’s article points out that these multi-target documents might fill a temporary gap, but a better approach is to design combined taxonomies—where data models are unified. This ultimately streamlines reporting and reduces costs for everyone.
If you’re grappling with multiple reporting frameworks, it’s worth a read (and perhaps a rethink). Dive in here.
