Digital Financial Reporting

I initially provided this summary of financial report levels in another blog post: (An example of each level is provided and here are more details about the levels; this VIDEO explains the levels; this PDF presentation explains the levels)

• Level 0: Not machine readable.
• Level 1: Machine readable, nonstandard, structured for presentation.
• Level 2: Machine readable, nonstandard, structured for meaning, no taxonomy (a.k.a. dictionary), no rules, no report model.
• Level 3: Machine readable, global standard syntax, structured for meaning, with taxonomy (a.k.a. dictionary), incomplete rules, incomplete high-level report model. (Level3a shows XBRL calculations also removed)
• Level 4: Machine readable, global standard syntax, structured for meaning, with taxonomy (a.k.a. dictionary), complete set of rules provided, incomplete high-level report model.
• Level 5: Machine readable, global standard syntax, structured for meaning, with taxonomy (a.k.a. dictionary), complete set of rules provided, complete global standard high-level report model, yields PROVEN properly functioning system and UNDERSTANDABLE report information.
• Level 6: All of Level 5 PLUS blockchain-anchored XBRL to increase trust.
• Level 7: All of Level 6 PLUS blockchain-anchored transactions and events.

I have revised the financial report levels slightly to make them more understandable. This is the revised set of financial report levels: 

• Level 0: Not machine readable. 
• Level 0a:Nonstandard syntax, nonstandard meaning. 
• Level 1: Standard syntax, structured for presentation. 
• Level 2: Standard syntax, structured for meaning. 
• Level 3: Standard syntax + Dictionary of Terms. 
• Level 4: Standard syntax + Dictionary of Terms + Associations between Terms + Rules 
• Level 5: Standard syntax + Dictionary of Terms + Associations between Terms + Rules + Model. (Complete, consistent, precise) 
• Level 6: All of Level 5 PLUS blockchain-anchored XBRL to increase trust. 
• Level 7: All of Level 6 PLUS blockchain-anchored transactions and events. 

Level 5 is the minimum that will work for XBRL-based digital financial reporting when report creators are permitted to modify the report model.  To understand all of this I recommend the following three documents:

1. Essence of Accounting
2. Understanding Method (Abridged)
3. Essentials of XBRL-based Digital Financial Reporting

Those three documents will help you understand the dynamics of financial information.