US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework -2005-02-28
Overview
Editor
|
Name |
Contact |
Affiliation |
|
Campbell Pryde |
cpryde@speakeasy.net |
KPMG |
Authors
|
Name |
Contact |
Affiliation |
|
Charles Hoffman |
charleshoffman@olywa.net |
UBmatrix |
|
Bradford Homer |
bhomer@aicpa.org |
AICPA |
Abstract
The purpose of this document is to explain the 2005-02-28 version of the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework, which is used to express financial statements of public companies using XBRL.
Table of Contents
2. Overview of the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework
2.2. Summary of types of Components or Layers
3. Design Decisions & Updates from Previous versions
1. Introduction
This Document describes the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) “US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework” (USFRTF), which has been prepared by the XBRL-US Domain Working Group, with feedback from other members of XBRL International. The US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework is compliant with the XBRL 2.1, Specification and the Financial Reporting Taxonomy Architecture 1.0 (FRTA).
The purpose of this document is as follows:
- Explain the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework: Provide an overview of the components and structure of the framework as well as plans for future components.
- Describe significant design decisions and updates from previous versions: This release represents an update to previous versions of the framework, the most recent being the 2004-08-15 version. This section will describe the significant design considerations in modelling the framework for XBRL 2.1 and FRTA 1.0 compliance.
This document assumes an understanding of US GAAP financial reporting, XBRL and FRTA.
2. Overview of the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework
2.1. Framework Overview
The US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework is a collection of XBRL taxonomies that will be used to express the financial statement-based reports of both public and private companies across all industry sectors. Different components of the framework will be used for different reporting purposes, and new components will be added over time to cover more diverse reporting needs.
Below is a graphical representation of the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework (each component will be explained in more detail later in this document):
2.1.1. Modularity Goals of this Framework
In developing the framework, the following goals were used to determine how to modularize the taxonomies:
· Preclude duplicate elements for a single concept between taxonomy components
· Ease maintenance of the taxonomies
· Ease company extension and instance creation
2.2. Types of Components or Layers
The following is a summary of the types of components or “layers” contained in the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework:
· Add-on taxonomies
· Common terms
· Common relationships
· Industry relationships
2.2.1. Add-on Taxonomies
Add-on taxonomies are self-contained taxonomies that may be used by creators of XBRL instance documents. The taxonomies are self-contained in that they include all of the elements and relationships required, i.e. these components include a schema file and all linkbases (presentation, label, calculation, reference and definition) as appropriate. They are not referenced or imported by the GAAP Industry Extension Taxonomies because they:
- Are not universally needed by users of the industry extension taxonomies and
- May be updated, superseded or replaced by other external components independent of changes to the industry extension taxonomies.
Users who wish to take advantage of the Add-on Taxonomies can either import the add-on components into their company extension taxonomy or use the add-on components directly in their instance document.
2.2.2. Common Terms Layer
The Common Terms components are the foundational building blocks for the Industry Extension Taxonomies. These taxonomies include elements for concepts that are common to multiple industry extensions. They are stored in common components to ease maintenance and maximize comparability.
These components will include a schema file, label linkbases and reference linkbases, in some cases they may also include presentation and calculation linkbases where the relationships are known to be common for all industries that will extend the particular common term component.
NOTE: In previous versions of the taxonomy framework, (usfr-pte), (usfr-ptr), (usfr-fste) and (usfr-fstr) were combined into the (usfr-pt) and (usfr-fst). These two primary building blocks were split for the following reasons:
- The new structure allows a taxonomy builder to import elements without importing the associated relationships, if they are not required.
- Allows the adding of elements without the need to build the associated links. For example elements associated with the Broker-Dealer Taxonomy are already incorporated into the (usfr-fste) although the relationships to other elements is not defined. This will allow a bank with brokerage deposits to use this element in their banking taxonomy.
2.2.3. Industry Taxonomy Layer
Users creating company extensions or instance documents will normally select a single primary taxonomy from the Industry Taxonomy Layer. The industry taxonomies specialize and extend the concepts defined in the common terms layer and build relationships between these concepts using the presentation and calculation linkbases.
2.3. Components
The following is a summary of components currently available in the USFRTF:
|
Namespace Prefix |
Name |
Layer |
Description |
|
usfr-ar |
Accountants Report |
Stand Alone Add-on |
Contains information that describes the independent accountants’ report, if one is issued, such as the name and signature of the independent auditor/accountant.
|
|
usfr-fste |
Financial Services Terms - Elements |
Common Terms Layer |
This financial reporting taxonomy is intended to provide detail level accounting terms that are typically included in financial statements. This taxonomy includes such terms that are common solely to the financial services sector.
|
|
usfr-fstr |
Financial Services Terms - Relationships |
Common Terms Layer |
This financial reporting taxonomy is intended to provide detail level accounting relationships that are typically included in financial statements. This taxonomy includes such relationships that are common solely to the financial services sector.
|
|
usfr-mda |
Management Discussion and Analysis |
Stand Alone Add-on |
Includes information for the section of then annual report where the company’s management provides analysis on results of operations, financial position and other issues.
|
|
usfr-mr |
Management Report |
Stand Alone Add-on |
Information contained within the Management Report which typically accompanies audited financial statements.
|
|
usfr-pte |
Primary Terms - Elements |
Common Terms Layer |
This financial reporting taxonomy is intended to provide detail level accounting terms that are typically included in financial statements. This taxonomy includes such terms that are common to multiple major industries.
|
|
usfr-ptr |
Primary Terms - Relationships |
Common Terms Layer |
This financial reporting taxonomy is intended to provide detail level accounting relationships that are typically included in financial statements. This taxonomy includes such relationships that are common to multiple major industries.
|
|
usfr-sec-cert |
SEC Officers Certification |
Stand Alone Add-on |
Information contained in the Officers Certification report as mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 0f 2002
|
|
us-gaap-ci |
Commercial and Industrial Companies |
Industry Taxonomy Layer |
This taxonomy is intended to provide the accounting concepts and relationships to allow Commercial and Industrial entities to express their financial statements in XBRL. This taxonomy builds on top of the Common Terms layer and may serve as the basis for further details industry extensions.
|
|
us-gaap-basi |
Banking and Savings Institutions |
Industry Taxonomy Layer |
This taxonomy is intended to provide the accounting concepts and relationships to allow banking related entities to express their financial statements in XBRL. This taxonomy builds on top of the Common Terms layer.
|
|
us-gaap-ins |
Insurance Entities |
Industry Taxonomy Layer |
This taxonomy is intended to provide the accounting concepts and relationships to allow insurance related entities to express their financial statements in XBRL. This taxonomy builds on top of the Common Terms layer. |
3. Design Decisions & Updates from Previous versions
This section will describe, at a high level, the significant design considerations in modelling the framework for XBRL 2.1 Specification and FRTA 1.0 compliance and also highlight other significant updates from previous versions. As the taxonomies are XBRL 2.1 Specification and FRTA 1.0 compliant, the rationale and details behind many of the design decisions can be found in those documents.
3.1. Overview
The US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework is not intended to represent authoritative GAAP or SEC guidance, but a suggested model that can be used as a starting point for companies to use in creating an XBRL instance. Although the framework is intended to be as comprehensive as possible, it should not be used as a guide for what should and should not be included in the financial statements of the company. The taxonomy is not intended to redefine US GAAP but capture the application of those existing standards. The taxonomy models alternative presentations and calculations that could be used; however it does not provide every disclosure option available to financial statement preparers. For example the taxonomy models both the direct and indirect method for the statement of cash flows, but only describes one approach for the presentation of comprehensive income. This does not infer that one method is preferred over the other but that the taxonomy models the more commonly followed approach. In a number of cases financial information can be presented in almost infinite combinations. For this reason we have attempted to define elements at an atomic level to meet most companies reporting needs and allow a reasonable level of comparability but not represent every possible reporting combination. In order for a company to meet their specific disclosure requirements they will need to create a company extension. The company extension allows a company to take the elements that exist in the framework and arrange them in a manner that meets their current reporting convention.
The inclusion of elements in the taxonomy is based on their historical occurrence in financial statement disclosures. The taxonomy was built under the premise that no company will ever use every element described in the taxonomy. For this reason the taxonomy does not distinguish between elements that need to be disclosed and those that do not need to be disclosed. However, almost all elements that need to be disclosed by a company will be defined in the taxonomy. The taxonomy includes certain elements such as, litigation expense and merger/acquisition costs, because those elements were found to be disclosed in some financial statements reviewed pursuant to the GAAP requirement to separately disclose items that are unusual or infrequent in occurrence. Accordingly, the definition provided with those elements may be broad.
In creating the Presentation Linkbase for the US Financial Reporting taxonomies, we have included a significant level of detail in the face of the Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Statement of Cash Flows. In fact, the level of detail is far more than would be expected in actual financial statements. Specifically, we have taken the philosophy of representing more detail in the face of the financial statements. If a company chooses not to disclose the detailed element, the company will be able to prohibit the element so that it does not appear in the presentation. If the company chooses to disclose detailed information in the face of the financial statements they will not have to create a significant extension. If a company chooses to disclose the additional details in the notes they will need to remove the detailed disclosure in the face of the financial statements. In the taxonomy, the items in the face are the same elements that appear in the notes. For example "Land" in the notes is the same as "Land" on the face of the financial statements. For those companies that disclose "Property Plant and Equipment" in the face of the balance sheet and "Land" in the notes, the company will need to remove "Land" from the Balance Sheet if they do not want it to appear in a rendering of the balance sheet. The reason to provide this level of detail is as follows:
· Improve the ability of a user to quickly identify a financial element in the taxonomy,
· Convey the meaning of an financial reporting element in a relative context and
· Ease of use. It is easier to override a taxonomy to remove a disclosure on the face of the financial statements than it is to extend the taxonomy to add elements. In addition, adding elements in a company extension, rather than removing them, is more likely to create errors.
Elements and relationships for “Notes to the Financial Statements” in the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework are at a very high level and do not cater to every disclosure that a company is expected to disclose. The scope is deliberately broad but does not go into significant depth. The “Notes to the Financial Statements” section of the taxonomies will be expanded over the next year to include most disclosures that are commonly used by companies in their financial statements.
The taxonomies in the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework define the calculations that exist in a set of financial statements. We have taken the approach of defining calculations and creating an element for the totals.
References are used in the taxonomy to provide an extra level of detail and explanation of the data element. This helps a preparer of an instance to ensure that they have used an appropriate element to tag a financial statement concept. These references are based on the "House of GAAP". Many elements will have multiple references, and in a number of cases, elements will have no reference at all. Where there was no relevant reference easily identifiable, we did not go to the extent of referring to specific accounting texts outside of the AICPA, FASB, or SEC. The reference sources used in the taxonomy are documented in the references section of this document. Initiatives underway by the AICPA and the codification project of the FASB will streamline the efficiency of this process over time. In a number of the references we have linked the authoritative literature to web links available for authoritative sources on the web. These links lack sufficient detail to go to the exact reference and in a number of cases will reference to the publication only. These links have no guarantee of continued existence as the owner of the source document is independent of XBRL. At present these links are limited to the SEC and FASB websites.
3.2. Elements
The basic strategy for elements is to provide one element for one financial reporting concept. If there is reasonable question as to whether two concepts are always identical, the taxonomy errs on the side of creating two elements, rather than forcing what may be two concepts into one concept.
Each element within a taxonomy has a unique name and ID expressing a unique financial reporting concept. Element names have been created in conformance with the lower camel case convention (LC3) as prescribed by FRTA 1.0. Element names remain largely unchanged from previous versions of the taxonomy framework; a map of name changes for those that have been modified will be circulated with the taxonomies.
This version of the taxonomy framework contains a robust level of elements for the disclosures typically found in the financial statements for the selected industries. It builds upon the methods used to create, validate and test the previous iterations of the taxonomy. Additional efforts have gone into analyzing a wider range of financial statements to ensure the taxonomies have sufficient elements to meet market needs.
However, it is not practical or realistic to include every possible accounting concept or disclosure in these common taxonomies due to company-specific disclosures and aggregations. It is expected that many if not all companies will require an extension taxonomy to cover those terms not in the taxonomy.
Elements for the “Notes to the Financial Statements” are provided on a summary level throughout, and in varying levels of detail for certain specific notes. Over time, this framework of disclosures for the notes to the financial statements will be built out to provide more of the detailed elements required. It is possible to tag a complete set of notes to the financial statements using the taxonomy as its structured today; future efforts will provide the capability for this tagging to occur at a more detailed level.
3.3. Labels
A unique, standard label (standard label role) is provided for every non-abstract item element within each taxonomy. Additional label roles are utilized on an “as needed” basis, for example period end labels, and are not necessarily unique.
All labels are in English as used in the United States. Additional labels in other languages may be provided at a later time. For example, the US Domain Working Group is currently working with the Japan Domain Working Group to explore the creation of a set of Japanese labels for the taxonomies.
As with previous versions of the taxonomy, documentation or ‘human readable’ definitions are provided for the elements in the taxonomy. These brief descriptions are intended to provide users with an easy, non-authoritative mechanism to understand the accounting or reporting concept that an element represents.
In previous versions of the taxonomies, these definitions were included the XML Schema “documentation” element of the taxonomy schema. For this taxonomy release the definitions have been moved to the documentation label role of the label linkbase in accordance with FRTA 1.0 rule 2.1.13.
The following table shows the migration of the label roles from the previous release of the taxonomies to the current release:
|
Taxonomy Version |
Role |
Role |
Role |
|
2003-07-07 |
Standard |
Long |
Not in label linkbase – in schema documentation |
|
2004-08-15 |
Terse |
Standard |
Documentation |
3.4. References
References are currently provided for many elements but have not yet been completed for all elements in the taxonomy. Where references have been provided they do not represent complete set of references across all the different possible sources of references.
The US Domain Working Group currently has a subcommittee working on updating the references to ensure consistency amongst reference sources and to complete the reference linkbase to cover all elements in the taxonomy.
3.5. Presentation Relationships
The presentation linkbase provides an organizational hierarchy of elements in the taxonomy to make it easy for users and reviewers of the taxonomy to find specific content within the taxonomy; in general terms this hierarchy follows the organization of a set of financial statements.
Abstract elements are used throughout the presentation linkbase as described in rule 3.2.7 of FRTA 1.0 to provide additional organization. Separate extended link roles are also used to define the major separate presentation networks found within the taxonomies.
3.6. Calculation Relationships
Calculation linkbases are provided to document calculations within a given context. Calculations are NOT provided across contexts as XBRL does not support these types of calculations at this time. When the formula linkbase is completed additional calculations will be provided, including calculations across contexts such as those used to express reconciliations between a beginning balance to an account, changes to that account, and the ending balance to an account (movement analysis).
Separate extended link roles are used where there are multiple calculation networks for elements within the taxonomies.
3.7. Definition Relationships
No definition linkbases have been provided as part of this taxonomy release; they may be included as enhancements to future releases of the taxonomies, but there are no immediate plans to do so.
4. Sample Instance Documents
Sample instance documents have been provided for each industry taxonomy, which may be useful in helping you understand how the taxonomy works and is intended to be used. If you are confused by something in the taxonomy, look for that information in the sample instance documents to see if that helps explain the taxonomy content.
5. Taxonomy Feedback
Comments and feedback on either accounting concepts within the taxonomy or technical aspects of the US Financial Reporting Taxonomy Framework are welcome, particularly ideas to improve this taxonomy. If you have a comment or feedback or wish to report an error, email comments to Brad Homer (bhomer@aicpa.org).