Digital financial reporting allows investors and other users of financial reports to efficiently search, extract and compare companies’ accounting and sustainability-related financial disclosures.
A digital financial report is a financial report in a computer-readable, structured data format (such as XBRL).
The IFRS digital taxonomies facilitate the reporting of information prepared in accordance with IFRS Standards in a computer-readable, structured data format.
Introductory materials
The introductory article Digital financial reporting—Facilitating digital comparability and analysis of financial reports is a helpful starting point for those that have limited experience with digital financial reporting and the IFRS digital taxonomies. The article covers:
- what are digital financial reports and how are they created?
- what are the benefits of digital financial reporting and how can these benefits be realised?
- what are the IFRS digital taxonomies?
- what effect does AI have on digital financial reporting?
The article includes spotlights on various jurisdictions to illustrate digital financial reporting developments around the world.
The IFRS digital taxonomies provide a list of defined elements (or tags) which, when assigned to information in financial reports prepared in accordance with IFRS Standards, provide the structure and classification necessary for that information to be computer readable.
The digital taxonomies are unrelated to the ‘green’ taxonomies used for assessing or categorising the sustainability rating or attributes of a company or product, or the sustainability attributes of economic activities.
The IFRS digital taxonomies are designed as distinct and separate taxonomies. Therefore, the use of one IFRS Taxonomy does not depend on the use of the other.
However, both IFRS digital taxonomies have been developed using best modelling practice, which allows them to work well with each other and maximises the likelihood they can be used effectively with other digital taxonomies, such as the SASB Standards Taxonomy.
Licensing
IFRS digital taxonomies can be used free of charge for non-commercial purposes, such as preparing corporate disclosures. Any other use, including integration into products and services, requires a licence from the IFRS Foundation. Learn more about sustainability licensing and accounting licensing.
IFRS Accounting Taxonomy
IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy
SASB Standards Taxonomy
The IFRS Foundation also maintains the SASB Standards Taxonomy, which can be used to structure information reported in accordance with the industry-based SASB Standards.
