Machine-readable XBRL data enables a wide range of insights and improved decision-making by many stakeholders – perhaps most obviously regulators and investors, but also companies themselves. A post from Iris Carbon focuses on the use of XBRL in financial analytics, offering five use cases for today's Chief Financial Officers. As it observes, the utility of XBRL is that "it offers a ready pool of raw financial data, speeds up the analytics process, and lends transparency to the entire data supply chain."

One area where XBRL can contribute to business decision-making is in improved 'FP&A' or financial planning and analysis, helping companies to spot areas of strength and weakness. In particular, where companies use integrated systems to manage and analyse digital data rather than focussing solely on reporting compliance, dynamic and up-to-date insights are available whenever they are needed. The combination of high-quality XBRL data and artificial intelligence in analytics can also offer further value. Other use cases discussed in the post include effective peer benchmarking, enhanced communication with stakeholders, and proactive risk management processes.