Getting units right: new draft guidance for taxonomy authors
Units may look like a technical footnote in XBRL, but they are fundamental to data quality. Every numeric fact in an XBRL report combines a data type with a unit of measure, and if those units are applied inconsistently or incorrectly, comparability falls apart.
This week, XBRL International’s Taxonomy Design Working Group published draft guidance on designing taxonomies for accurate unit declarations. It sets out practical recommendations for taxonomy authors and preparers, from choosing the right data type, to avoiding unnecessary custom units, to validating that units align with concepts. The document also covers common challenges, such as scaling in iXBRL and handling units not currently in the XBRL Unit Registry.
The guidance emphasises the importance of building solid foundations for machine-readable reporting with clear modelling choices and consistent unit declarations. Get them right, and structured data works as intended. Get them wrong, and usability suffers.
The draft is open for public comment, and feedback from the community will help refine this important piece of guidance.
Read the draft guidance and share your comments here.
