XBRL - eXtensible Business Report Language - is a language for the dissemination of financial information on the internet and is being implemented in different countries. The major purpose of this research was to show XBRL state-of-the-art and its evolution, as well as to assess the current status of financial information dissemination on the internet in Brazil. Additionally, a survey with open capital companies in Brazil so as to detect the dissemination of financial statements on the internet was also carried out, focusing on the future expansion of XBRL use in the business environment. The research revealed a strong acceptance of the electronic media for dissemination of financial information, but that there is still very little knowledge of XBRL and that the number of institutions already studying the implementation of the language in the country is even smaller. It also showed the inexistence of a pattern of dissemination of electronic information; the prevailing formats were PDF, HTML and DOC, which hinders data analysis and comparison by regulatory agencies and by the general public.
XBRL; financial statements; knowledge diffusion; corporate governance; internet
