users of ixbrl

Who uses it?

The international XBRL consortium is supported by more than 600 member organisations, from both the private and public sectors. The standard has been developed and refined over more than a decade and supports almost every kind of conceivable reporting, while providing a wide range of features that enhance the quality and consistency of reports, as well as their usability. XBRL is used in many different ways, for many different purposes, including by:

Regulators

• Financial regulators that need significant amounts of complex performance and risk information about the institutions that they regulate.
• Securities regulators and stock exchanges that need to analyse the performance and compliance of listed companies and securities, and need to ensure that this information is available to markets to consume and analyse.
• Business registrars that need to receive and make publicly available a range of corporate data about private and public companies, including annual financial statements.
• Tax authorities that need financial statements and other compliance information from companies in order to process and review their corporate tax affairs.
• Statistical and monetary policy authorities that need  financial performance information from many different organisations.

Companies

• Companies that need to provide information to one or more of the regulators mentioned above.
• Enterprises that need to accurately move information around within a complex group.
• Supply chains that need to exchange information to help manage risk and measure activity.

Governments

• Government agencies that are simplifying the process of businesses reporting to government and reducing red tape, by either harmonising data definitions or consolidating reporting obligations (or both).
• Government agencies that are improving government reporting by standardising the way that consolidated or transactional reports are prepared and used within government agencies and/or published into the public domain.

Data Providers

• Specialist data providers that use performance and risk information published into the market place and create comparisons, ratings and other value-added information products for other market participants.

Analysts and Investors

• Analysts that need to understand relative risk and performance.
• Investors that need to compare potential investments and understand the underlying performance of existing investments.

Accountants

• Accountants use XBRL in support of clients reporting requirements and are often involved in the preparation of XBRL reports.