Regnizing the growing international use of Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL)—a language for the electronic mmunication of business and financial data that is changing business reporting around the world—the staff of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has developed a new question-and-answer publication. It is designed to raise awareness about how XBRL-tagged data is prepared and how it may affect financial reporting.

Entitled XBRL: The Emerging Landscape, the publication explains that the IAASB’s current International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) were not developed with XBRL in mind and, acrdingly, do not require auditors to perform procres on XBRL-tagged data as part of a financial statement audit. It clarifies how XBRL may lead to a demand for various types of assurance and related services engagements, and describes the spe of the IAASB’s planned nsultations to determine whether to develop a new international pronouncement addressing XBRL.

“As more and more financial authorities begin to require or permit entities to provide financial information in XBRL, now is the time to help cate users about some XBRL fundamentals, and for the IAASB to explore whether and how a related international standard might help address assurance needs,” says James Gunn, IAASB Technical Director. “A number of anizations are involved in XBRL initiatives and we look forward to hearing the viewpoints of preparers, users, regulators, national standard-setters, auditors, and others on this important ic,” adds Mr. Gunn.

The publication is available to download free of charge from the IAASB section of IFAC’s Publications and Resources : see .