XBRL in the Accounting Curriculum

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This position paper argues that the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) be integrated across the accounting curriculum, in a manner relevant to the temporal stage and content of particular courses within the curriculum. XBRL is a metadata representation language for the Internet, based on the World Wide Web consortium’s eXtensible Markup Language (XML). XBRL provides an important foundation for the automated transfer of accounting information and associated metadata. The design of XBRL is fine-tuned to meet the particular needs of accounting and related disclosures. Several countries have adopted XBRL in a variety of information value chains, notably in the USA context the Securities and Exchange Commission’s interactive data program. XBRL has implications for the totality of the accounting curriculum and pedagogy. A program for the integration of XBRL across a typical accounting curriculum is developed. The proposed XBRL assignments, as part of this program, are aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Objectives. Recommendations are made for faculty, case and textbook writers, and the leadership of the XBRL and academic accounting communities.