XBRL releases GL taxonomy as a Candidate Recommendation
7 November 2005
XBRL International has released a new version of its GL taxonomy – which allows the efficient handling of financial and business information contained within an organisation – as a Candidate Recommendation. This means that the taxonomy is in the last stage before gaining Recommendation status. A Recommendation represents consensus within the XBRL International community and is considered appropriate for widespread deployment.
The taxonomy, XBRL GL 2005, is an improved version of the taxonomy released as a Public Working Draft in July 2005. A number of detailed improvements and additions reflect feedback during the public comment period over the past four months.
XBRL GL 2005 is based on the latest XBRL 2.1 Specification and represents a significant step forward in the capabilities of XBRL in handling financial and business information. The taxonomy enables the representation of financial and other data found in charts of accounts, journal entries and historical transactions.
Together with the new GL taxonomy, the GL Taxonomy Framework Technical Architecture (GLTFTA) document and the GL Instance Standards (GLIS) document have been published as Candidate Recommendations. GLTFTA sets out a recommended architecture for journal-focussed taxonomies which will assist in the comprehension, usage and performance of such taxonomies. GLIS sets out rules which will facilitate the analysis and comparison of XBRL GL data by computer applications and human readers
The taxonomy, GLTFTA and GLIS are available on the XBRL International website at http://www.xbrl.org/GLFiles/.
The GL taxonomy is intended to provide a standardised format for representing the data fields found in accounting and operation systems and transactional reports that will allow organizations to tag journal entries, accounting master files, and historical status reports in XBRL. The modular set consists of the COR (Core), the BUS (Advanced Business Concepts), MUC (Multi-Currency), USK (concepts for "saxonic" accounting in the US, UK, and elsewhere) and TAF (Tax Audit File) modules.
This modular taxonomy consists of a series of modules that extend the basic identifiers for entries, agents, and resources to meet the needs of specific jurisdictions and industries. It enables data from the general ledger and transaction journals of an organisation to be transported efficiently into XBRL financial reports.
Circulation of the taxonomy is unrestricted. Users and reviewers are invited to submit their questions and comments to the chair of the XBRL GL Working Group, Diane Mueller, at xbrlgl@xbrl.org. Members of XBRL may submit their contributions direct to the XBRL GL Working Group and also participate in the group.
Announced by
Peter Calvert
XBRL International
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