Below is a summary of the changes in the new XBRL taxonomy as well as a link to a quick reference guide that lists out all the new, deprecated, and modified elements within the 2019 US GAAP taxonomy. This reference guide also contains information about changes to the SRT, EXCH and DEI taxonomies.

What’s New in 2019

This year, changes were made to address required ASUs, common reporting practices, and projects designed to improve the utility of the taxonomy. Additionally, certain elements were moved from the US GAAP Taxonomy (UGT) to to the SEC Reporting Taxonomy (SRT).

829 new elements: 829 new elements were added to the UGT: 792 due to ASUs, and 37 due to public comments, and internal analyses. Two new elements have been added to the SRT.

386 changes to documentation: 386 elements had their documentation label (definition) changed for various reasons. Among those, 273 elements had their documentation label changed as a result of Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs). 113 elements had their documentation label changed due to public comments or internal analyses, which is usually done to clarify the definition of a concept, to remove unnecessarily restrictive wording, and to correct inconsistencies.

402 label changes: 402 elements had their Standard, Period Start, Period End, and/or Total labels changed to better reflect the intended application of the element.

32 property changes: 32 elements had their data type changed. These elements’ data type was changed from us-types:.

3,119 added Taxonomy Implementation Notes: 3,119 Taxonomy Implementation Notes were added for 2,623 elements to assist preparers with determining their intended use.

295 deprecated elements: Elements are deprecated for a number of reasons, including errors in their creation, because the element was superseded by ASUs or other GAAP changes, or low usage. The Change Notes for an element contains information about each element as follows:

Taxonomy Version – contains the version of the Taxonomy in which the deprecation is applicable.

Change Date – contains the year and month in which the deprecation was made.

Deprecated Date – contains the date on which the element is deprecated. The date of deprecation is the date after which the element no longer should be used.

Deprecated Label – contains the reason for the deprecation.

Deprecation Replacement – contains a possible replacement element or possible replacement elements, if applicable. Multiple replacement elements are separated by a space. Not all elements will have a replacement element.

Element Deprecated – contains the value of true to indicate it is a deprecation.

Modified Deprecated Label – contains the value of true if the part for Deprecated Label has been modified.

XBRL preparers can also use the definition linkbase to view relationships between deprecated elements and other elements within the taxonomy. Deprecated elements will remain in the taxonomy for two years to aid in transitioning financial reports and viewing legacy documents but should not be used in new SEC filings.

Removal of the 2016 UGT deprecated elements: With EDGAR Release 18.2 last year, the 2016 US-GAAP Taxonomy was no longer accepted by the SEC. The 681 elements that were deprecated in the 2018 UGT will no longer appear in the 2019 UGT.

While there is currently a transition period where the SEC will continue to accept EDGAR filings that use older taxonomies, we always recommend making the move to the latest taxonomy as soon as possible. The taxonomies change because of ASUs, public comment, analysis of data, and other impetuses. The most valuable data you can provide your investors and the public will be data that is the most up to date with accounting standards and financial reporting standards.

Sources:

2019 US GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy (www.fasb.org)