Analyzing Semantic Heterogeneity in XBRL Taxonomies: An Ontology Perspective

Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a standard for the electronic exchange of data between businesses and on the Internet. XBRL Taxonomies are the dictionaries which the language uses. Many different organizations, including regulators, specific industries or even companies, may require their own taxonomies to cover their business reporting needs. They are generally heterogeneous, which severely hampers the interoperability and comparability of the XBRL instances. This paper first gives the representation of a taxonomy using formal ontology. Then we define the concept-level semantic differences between Chinese two taxonomies which is developed by Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shen Zhen Stock Exchange, respectively. There are label and meaning conflictions, which can be resolved through concept mapping. This paper could be a basis to reconcile semantic conflictions among heterogeneous taxonomies.