What Is Inline XBRL or iXBRL for Financial Reporting?

Inline XBRL, often called iXBRL, represents a significant advancement in how financial information is prepared and disseminated. It combines human-readable documents with machine-readable data, creating a single, integrated file for financial reporting. This technology streamlines reporting for companies and improves financial data accessibility and usability for regulators and the public.

Understanding Inline XBRL

Inline XBRL is a specific format of the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), designed to make financial data both visually presentable and computationally accessible within a single document. The “inline” aspect means that machine-readable XBRL tags are embedded directly within a human-readable document, typically an HTML file. This allows financial reports to be viewed in a standard web browser, similar to any webpage, while also containing structured data that computers can process.

iXBRL’s dual functionality provides a seamless experience for both human readers and automated systems. Users see a traditional financial statement with tables and text. Beneath this visual layer, financial data points, like revenue figures, are marked with hidden XBRL tags. These tags provide context and definition, making data machine-readable without disrupting the visual presentation. This integration eliminates the need for separate human-readable and machine-readable versions, reducing inconsistencies.

Embedded tags allow automated tools to extract and analyze data efficiently. For example, software can identify revenue figures across companies because iXBRL tags consistently define “revenue.” Simultaneously, humans can read the report and understand the narrative. This simplifies data consumption for various stakeholders.

The Relationship Between iXBRL and XBRL

XBRL, or eXtensible Business Reporting Language, serves as a global open standard for exchanging business information. It functions as a language for tagging financial data, much like barcodes on products allow scanners to quickly identify items and their prices. This tagging provides a standardized, machine-readable format for financial statements, making data searchable and enhancing transparency. XBRL aims to improve the comparability and analysis of financial information across different entities and reporting periods.

Inline XBRL is not a replacement for XBRL; rather, it is an enhancement or a specific way to implement XBRL. Traditional XBRL often involved two separate files—one human-readable (like an HTML document) and one machine-readable data file. iXBRL integrates these into a single document, meaning machine-readable tags are directly embedded within the HTML document.

With traditional XBRL, users or systems typically needed to reconcile data between the visual report and a separate data file. iXBRL streamlines this by embedding the XBRL data directly into the HTML document, removing the need for a separate instance document. This combination allows for easy human consumption while retaining structured data capabilities for automated analysis, ensuring human-readable and machine-readable versions remain aligned.

Creating and Using iXBRL Filings

Creating an iXBRL filing transforms a standard financial document into an integrated, tagged report. The process begins with a human-readable document, like an HTML annual report. Specialized software tags financial data points, assigning XBRL elements from a taxonomy. This provides standardized definition and context for machine-readable data. The result is a single iXBRL file with visual presentation and embedded, structured data.

iXBRL filings are primarily used for regulatory reporting by companies submitting financial statements to government agencies. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has mandated the use of iXBRL for corporate financial statement information and fund risk/return summary information. This requirement applies to various forms, including annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as certain registration statements and other disclosures. The SEC’s adoption of iXBRL aimed to improve data quality and accessibility.

Beyond the U.S., other regulatory bodies, such as Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the United Kingdom, have also adopted iXBRL for corporate tax returns and financial accounts. These filings enable regulators to automatically extract and analyze the embedded data, facilitating more efficient oversight and compliance checks. For data consumers, such as investors and analysts, iXBRL filings can be viewed directly in a web browser, often with built-in viewers that allow users to inspect the underlying XBRL tags and contextual information by clicking on specific data points. This supports both automated data processing and user-friendly access.