New draft guidance: addressing entity specific disclosures in XBRL reports
XBRL International’s Entity Specific Disclosure Task Force (ESDTF) has released its first publication, titled “How to address Entity Specific Disclosures in XBRL reports.” The primary goal of this guidance is to identify and recommend mechanisms that taxonomy architects and authors can employ to incorporate Entity Specific Disclosures (ESDs) within the base taxonomy.
ESDs are unique disclosures pertinent to a specific reporting entity or a small number of entities. The challenge lies in handling these disclosures within XBRL as it is impractical for the base taxonomy to include all concepts and domain members required to report such disclosures for all entities. To address this, mechanisms like entity-specific extension taxonomies are often utilised.
ESDs can vary widely, ranging from prescriptive and predictable disclosures, such as segment reporting, to broadly defined reporting requirements like describing the business, and even unpredictable information chosen by the entity but not mandated by reporting requirements.
The architecture of the base taxonomy significantly impacts the quality and utility of XBRL reports. An effective base taxonomy (that permits extensions) should offer mechanisms for ESD reporting, resulting in extension taxonomies that are consistent, user-friendly, and conducive to report comparisons.
This guidance explores various taxonomy modelling alternatives for ESDs to aid taxonomy authors in making informed decisions. It outlines a decision tree to help determine the optimal level of breakdown for disclosure modelling, ensuring the information collected is relevant, cost-effective, and useful to end-users.
The guidance is a review draft, and comments are welcome.
Find the guidance here.
