XBRL Europe 2025: AI, Financial Tagging & ESG Reporting Insights
In early June, the ARKK team attended the 33rd XBRL Europe Conference in Frankfurt. The event brought together industry leaders and regulators to explore how digital reporting is evolving. Three major themes dominated the conversation: artificial intelligence (AI), the future of financial statement tagging, and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) data digitisation.
AI and Digital Reporting: Complementary, Not Competing
AI continues to dominate discussions in the reporting space. Over the past year, we’ve had many conversations with clients around whether AI could replace XBRL. The reality is, AI works best when consuming structured, consistent data- something that traditional PDF annual reports don’t offer.
XBRL brings that structure. It transforms unstructured content into a machine-readable format, improving the quality and reliability of analysis without sacrificing the storytelling element of a glossy report. Live demos at the conference proved that AI delivers better results when powered by XBRL-tagged data. The takeaway: AI and XBRL work best together.
The Future of Financial Reporting: From Block to Detailed Tagging
Eduardo Moral from ESMA provided an important update on the consultation that closed in March 2025, particularly around the shift from block tagging to detailed tagging in the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Block tagging, which groups large pieces of information into one tag, limits the usability of digital data. ESMA’s proposal to implement detailed tagging over time has been met with strong support. Detailed tagging will enable more effective data extraction, support automation, and bring us closer to a truly digital reporting environment.
ESG Reporting: A Push for Structured Data Amid Concerns
No digital reporting event would be complete without a focus on sustainability. Unlike the general agreement on financial tagging, responses to sustainability tagging were more divided.
On one side, users of ESG data pushed for immediate structured digitisation, highlighting the urgent need for machine-readable ESG reports. On the other side, some raised concerns about the increased complexity and cost of compliance. The upcoming EU Omnibus proposals aim to address these challenges by simplifying the reporting process for issuers—while still delivering the structured data that end users require.
Final Thoughts
The XBRL Europe Conference reinforced the importance of structured data in enabling transparency, consistency, and automation in financial and ESG reporting. With AI and regulatory developments moving quickly, it's clear that XBRL is more important than ever.
We look forward to seeing how ESMA progresses with its consultation review. In the meantime, if you have any questions about digital tagging, AI, or upcoming regulatory changes, feel free to reach out to the ARKK team.
