As you learned in this chapter, XML allows users to define their own markup tags. You also learned that this flexibility can lead to problems when IT professionals who have developed tag sets for their own organizations are asked to share information with other organizations that are using other tag sets. One way organizations can avoid this problem is to agree to follow common standards. A common standard for financial information is XBRL.
Accountants and financial analysts around the world have agreed to use XBRL to format financial statements and other reports. In about 300 words, outline the advantages that companies and financial analysts can obtain by using the XBRL standard. You can research this subject in your school library or online using your favorite search engine and the links provided for this exercise in the Online Companion.