PUBLISHED ON - 16.10.2023.

How XBRL improves your financial reporting

While XBRL is already a matter of regulation, leveraging the power of XBRL reporting can be an overall game-changer for CFOs, accountants, and others in the finance department. In this blog, we will explain why.

XBRL reduces errors and improves transparency

XBRL, or eXtensible Business Reporting Language, is a structured, global standard for exchanging business information. It has revolutionized financial reporting by introducing standardization, which not only improves the quality of reports, but also makes them easier to analyze. .

Before XBRL, reports were compared by different issuers who used different names of positions, which had the same accounting meaning. For example, when representing revenue, one used the name Net revenue, and another used the name Net sales. The accounting meaning of these positions is essentially the same and can be marked with a single XBRL tag (Net revenue).

The unified structure of XBRL tags standardizes financial statements, making the comparison and analysis of statements by different issuers easier and faster.

XBRL is mandatory for financial reporting in the EU

From 2021, all financial reports must be made in the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF), an electronic reporting format based on the XBRL standard. ESEF was created for the purpose of financial reporting transparency, introduced at the EU level for all companies listed on stock exchanges. This means that issuers of financial statements are required to mark the elements of the annual financial reports with XBRL tags.

However, understanding and implementing XBRL syntax can be a complex task, especially if you are new to it. For companies without an adequate XBRL reporting process in place, this begs the question: how to get started quickly?

How to start with XBRL reporting fast

XBRL Point by Poslovna Inteligencija is a plug-and-play solution that allows you to generate XBRL reports in-house, without having to dive deep into the technicalities of XBRL language or depend on external consultants.

With a simple and intuitive user interface, it enables you to quickly and effectively generate XBRL reports, ensuring that you meet all ESEF & UKSEF requirements seamlessly. Here are its main features:

• Managing Taxonomies: XBRL Point comes equipped with valid ESEF & UKSEF taxonomies. You can easily download newly published taxonomies and even opt for a multilingual taxonomy set.
• Creating Projects & Importing Reports: XBRL Point serves as a centralized place for defining your company information and financial reports, enabling you to create them as projects. All your report settings, including period settings, are applied uniformly, ensuring consistency in tagging.
• Simple Tagging Process: Whether you want to drag & drop taxonomy elements manually or use AI-powered automatic tagging, XBRL Point makes the process fast and easy.
• Integrated Validations: With built-in controls and an integrated Arelle report validator compliant with ESMA, our solution minimizes the risk of errors.
• Easy Preview and Export: You can preview your reports with marked XBRL tags and download them as either an XBRL zip package or in an interactive inline preview.
• Easy Integration: XBRL Point is easy to integrate with your existing business or department processes.

It is an XBRL-certified solution, which means that you never have to worry about compliance or special syntax issues. At Poslovna Inteligencija, we are proud members of XBRL Europe, an organization consisting of existing European XBRL jurisdictions and other international members. This allows us to stay updated on the latest XBRL standards and regulations.

Why we recommend XBRL Point as a long-term solution

• Saves the costs of outsourcing: Companies often consider outsourcing their XBRL reporting to third-party vendors, which can be costly. With XBRL Point, you can do all this in-house, saving your company money in the long-term.
• More affordable than other complex software: Other complex software requires the purchase of licenses and then additional funds on education and support. With XBRL Point, we offer free educational resources for all clients. This ensures you have the tools and the know-how to manage your XBRL reporting effectively.
• Flexible and adaptable to reporting requirements: As regulatory requirements evolve, your company may need to adapt by creating new types of reports, also in XBRL format, adding another layer of complexity to the implementation process. XBRL Point is designed to meet the needs of changing requirements.
• Easy to integrate with any team: Organizational resistance to change can slow down or even derail the implementation of new technology. XBRL Point was designed as a simple, plug-and-play solution with this in mind, with various companies already using it. To help your team members become comfortable with the software quickly, we also provide training to speed up the process.

Starting with XBRL Point is quick and easy

We help companies start using XBRL Point in three stages:

1. Activation: The activation process is swift; it takes only a few days to set up your company profile in XBRL Point.
2. Training: Our team of experts will train you to work efficiently with XBRL Point, ensuring you are well-prepared to meet all your reporting obligations.
3. Support: Should any questions or issues arise post-implementation, our trained support team is always on standby to provide you with timely assistance.

Conclusion: XBRL reporting is a strategic advantage

Adopting XBRL is not just about meeting regulatory standards; it's about improving the quality of your financial reporting. This is crucial in today's business landscape, not just for compliance but also for maintaining stakeholder trust.

While transitioning to XBRL can be daunting, solutions like XBRL Point simplify and speed up the process. Offering an intuitive interface, cost savings compared to other solutions, and robust features for managing financial reports, XBRL Point is designed to get you up to speed quickly and efficiently. Its flexibility enables you to adapt to future reporting changes, with strong ongoing support from our team to help you along the way.

Overall, by implementing XBRL reporting and XBRL Point, you're making a strategic decision that benefits your entire organization. You can get started by scheduling a demo of XBRL Point here.