XBRL Reporting by State and Local Governments

Changes on the Horizon

Jacqueline Reck, PhD, CPA, and Tammy R. Waymire, PhD, CPA

The development of Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) in the corporate sector, the demand for better state and local government reporting, legislation at the national and state levels, and increased user interest in XBRL reporting are the factors providing momentum for use of this powerful reporting tool for state and local government financial reports. In 2018, Florida was the first state to pass legislation (https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/1073/Analyses/h1073z1.IBS.PDF) requiring the state's Chief Financial Officer to create an XBRL taxonomy that would be used by Florida local governments starting in 2022. Other states, including California, Utah, and Illinois, are exploring similar XBRL reporting requirements.