FRC releases discussion paper on UK XBRL Taxonomy Suite

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has released a discussion paper detailing potential technical updates to the UK XBRL Taxonomy Suite and invited comments from all stakeholders involved in digital financial reporting.

The proposed changes focus on improving the structure and functionality of the taxonomies used for digital filings in the UK.

According to the FRC, these adjustments are intended to enhance usability, scalability, and technical consistency in financial data submissions.

FRC stated that for more than a decade it has developed and maintained UK taxonomies, creating a consistent digital reporting framework that reduces business burdens while supporting economic growth.

Key areas included in the discussion paper include shifting from fixed item types to extensible enumerations, which would bring alignment with current XBRL standards.

The paper also proposes introducing formula linkbases to enable automatic checks and improve data quality, as well as expanding the use of typed dimensions for increased flexibility.

Additional recommendations include eliminating usage of across entry-points elements to safeguard taxonomy structure; considering particular entry-points for micro-entity and small company reports; incorporating accounting semantics arcroles for clearer data interpretation; and moving towards digitising charities’ receipts and payments accounts.

The FRC is encouraging responses from individuals and organisations involved in preparing digital financial reports, including software providers, accountants, regulators.

These suggested changes are expected to have implications for all digital reporting software that utilises FRC-developed taxonomies.

Software suppliers will need to update their systems in line with the new taxonomy structure if the proposals go ahead.

Responses to the discussion paper are requested by 11 January 2026.

"FRC releases discussion paper on UK XBRL Taxonomy Suite " was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand.

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