NEW DELHI: The new financial reporting format will allow investors to view the balance sheet of companies in the language of their choice, helping spread financial literacy in the country. Investors will be able to access a company's balance sheet on the website of the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) in any of the regional languages mentioned on currency notes, such as Bengali , or Kannada or Punjabi.

This will be possible once data on a standard balance sheet has been converted to the new format , known as eXtensible business reporting language (XBRL). "Consuming of standardized data by different investors across the country is a huge step forward in the government's plan for financial inclusion in the country," an MCA official told ET. XBRL, being developed by the MCA, uses an electronic glossary of business and financial terms known as taxonomy and helps in easier and more standardised financial reporting.