SEC XBRL Check #1: XBRL Validation

Bullet point #1 from page 58 of the proposal says:

• Check if required conventions (such as the use of angle brackets to separate data) are applied properly for standard and, in particular, non-standard special labels and tags

The "required conventions" refer to all the technical aspects of XBRL that are layed out in the specification. Any XBRL software you use will have validation routines which will check for any of these inconsistencies (and some others that are in the rule proposal which we'll cover later). Validation is really just a mouse click but it does bring up some process issues that are good to keep in mind if you're doing the work in-house. Full service customers don't have to worry about this.

• Always validate your data just prior to export or, if you choose to use separate validation software, just following export. It's a good habit to get in to like saving your work as you go. Edit, validate, save.
• Never make edits to your data files outside of your XBRL creation software. It can be tempting because these are just text files but all the files that make up an XBRL document are tightly bound together and the business rules are complex. Let the software handle it for you.
• Never change a file name outside of your XBRL creation software. Again, the collection of files that will make up your document are linked together very tightly. If all of the references to a particular file aren't changed when the file name is changed the document will "break". Let the software handle it for you.

Next up, what the SEC refers to as "non-standard special labels and tags"--custom or extension tags.

-- Ed Hodder