Towards the global adoption of XBRL using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) E. Bonsón, V. Cortijo ⁎, T. Escobar Department of Accounting and Information Systems, University of Huelva, Plaza de la Merced,11, 21002 Huelva, Spain article info abstract Article history: Received 2 February 2007 Received in revised form 22 October 2008 Accepted 23 October 2008 XBRL is a language based on XML for the electronic communication of business information. It is designed to improve the exchange, aggregation and analysis of corporate data requiring disclosure, through a unique tagging structure that provides interoperability. But, the proliferation of a multitude of XBRL taxonomies, based on different accounting principles, can risk the objectives of standardization, comparability and re-usability of the information that is sought with XBRL. It is therefore essential to develop global accounting standards as a unique foundation on which the XBRL taxonomies can be established, so that it becomes possible to compare the financial information originating from various countries. Along these lines, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS-GP) taxonomy was created to establish a common ground for international firms and create a platform that would enhance the benefits of XBRL. This paper examines whether the IFRS-GP taxonomy, at its current state, adequately covers European companies' dissemination practices and strengthens the benefits of XBRL. Our results provide implications for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the IFRS-GP taxonomy and shed light on directions that may lead to the improvement of this taxonomy. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) XML Digital reporting Internet reporting IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) 1. Introduction XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a commercial branded language, based on XML, devised with the aim of establishing standardized protocols for the transmission of accounting information through the Internet. Currently, it is being promoted by the consortium XBRL International, which groups around 450 companies and organizations committed to extending the use of a standard taxonomy globally. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems 10 (2009) 46–60 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 959 217895; fax: + 34 959 217849. E-mail addresses: bonson@uhu.es (E. Bonsón), virginia.cortijo@decd.uhu.es (V. Cortijo), tescobar@uhu.es (T. Escobar). 1467-0895/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.accinf.2008.10.002 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Accounting Information Systems