Inline XBRL (or iXBRL) allows report issuers to combine the advantages of digital tagging with the high level of visual design that is typical of many corporate reports. These include graphics, custom fonts and precise control of page layout. Unfortunately, these design elements can also cause slow loading and rendering in certain browsers, or when opening in iXBRL viewer software, as we have seen in many early filings using the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) format.

As Technical Director Paul Warren explains in a new post over in the Taggings section of our website, XBRL International’s Base Specification Working Group has been investigating these performance issues. It has now published an initial Working Group Note, making a number of specific recommendations on improving performance. Key among these is the addition of a simple CSS style property to Inline XBRL reports which can reduce loading time by over 90% in some cases.

“At XBRL International we’re excited that the most serious performance issues seen with these documents are solvable, paving the way for a true, single electronic format that combines a visually attractive, human-readable report, with easy-to-analyse,” says Paul. The Working Group is now planning further investigation to evaluate other possible optimisations, and we look forward to updates as more information becomes available