Accessing XBRL Data
The European Securities and Markets Authority implemented an XBRL reporting requirement for public utilities in 2021. As part of the regulator’s transition, they migrated and published an archive of over 10 years of quarterly and annual financial data in XBRL, as well as continuing to publish reports as they are submitted.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission implemented an XBRL reporting requirement for public utilities in 2021. As part of the regulator’s transition, they migrated and published an archive of over 10 years of quarterly and annual financial data in XBRL, as well as continuing to publish reports as they are submitted.
The public can access XBRL for free via SEC EDGAR Financial Statements Data Sets and Financial Statements and Notes Datasets. Quarterly datasets can be downloaded through 2023 Q1, with monthly datasets available beginning in April of 2023. Note that the datasets are very large and may require additional computing power.
In addition to getting data directly from a regulator, XBRL US Members offer analytical tools, and XBRL US has freely-available APIs, spreadsheet templates and code resources connected to its Public Filings Database of more than 10 years of SEC, FERC and ESMA reports.
Essentials
The mission of XBRL US, Inc. is to support the implementation of XBRL business reporting standards for use by U.S. public and private sectors, with a goal of interoperability between sectors, and to promote XBRL adoption through marketplace collaboration. Brief History The XBRL technology standard for business information reporting was initiated in 1998 by several […more]
Not yet a Member? Get started today(Learn more) Your school’s XBRL US Membership offers a number of significant benefits – timely communication, tools and resources, and networking with faculty and other segments of our diverse membership – to help you with research and introduce your students to the wealth of standardized data available for educational […more]
Experience from Being a Visiting Scholar at the SEC (requires login) This January 2023 webinar covers relevant insights related to teaching and research that were gained during Christine Cheng’s time as a visiting scholar with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The insights range from gathering publicly available data, to data analytics, and the ability […more]
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recognizes and appreciates the academic community’s critical role in accounting education and research. The FASB is committed to educating the academic community about using XBRL data and structured data more broadly.
For the Classroom
XBRL US has developed two online modules designed to help learners get acquainted with the basics of the global standard for reporting. XBRL Fundamentals is for anyone looking to get a technical foothold for understanding the XBRL standard, taxonomies and reports. Understanding the US GAAP Taxonomy covers the structure of this taxonomy and explains and how the features of the XBRL standard are implemented.
XBRL data is volumous, which is both a benefit, but also a hurdle for students who are newer to data extraction. You can overcome this hurdle by providing students with a highly structured case, like the one presented below.
Spotlight Case:
How can XBRL data be used to detect changes in unreserved loan losses.
Author: Christine Cheng, Univrsity of Mississippi; Marc Cussatt, Clemson University; Holly Hawk, Clemson University
Inspiration: Media article link by Campbell Pryde
XBRL is an open technology standard that enables the electronic communication of business and financial data. It is a free, nonproprietary standard and there are no licensing fees associated with its use. The XBRL standard has been implemented worldwide for the reporting of public company financials, government expenditures and corporate actions, among other reporting domains. […more]
This is a case for students tackling the ETR analysis. They found that they were unable to determine statistically significant associations between the companies and various economic factors, including ETRs. The loss of detail in commercial data sets can impact their usefulness in certain types of data modeling. Pulling data directly from company financial reports would be more useful for this case study, but is labor-intensive and time consuming.
In Research
Hoitash, Hoitash, and Morris (2021)
Du, Huddart, Jiang (2023)
Burd (2024)
Idea is to feature a short interview (3 questions) with academics doing XBRL research.
During the American Accounting Association’s 2021 Midyear Meeting of the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section, Elizabeth Blankespoor from the University of Washington presented a session on how to use XBRL data for a detailed data set of financial statements and footnotes for research.
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