Like the IFRS Bound Volume, the IFRS Taxonomy is released once a year to incorporate new IFRSs, improvements to existing IFRSs, and also changes in XBRL technology.

The annual development cycle of the IFRS Taxonomy involves the:

1. construction of an XBRL technology framework (known as an architecture), and
2. implementation of up-to-date IFRS disclosure and presentation requirements (ie financial reporting content).

The two are then combined and the result is a set of XBRL, computer files which make-up the IFRS Taxonomy.  The annual development cycle of the IFRS Taxonomy is illustrated below:

The IFRS Taxonomy is developed through a formal system of due process and broad international consultation. This ensures transparency and compliance with best practice, and also provides quality assurance and opportunities to engage with stakeholders in order to understand their concerns and the impact the IFRS Foundation's decisions will have.

A taxonomy enables a computer with XBRL software to:

• understand what the tag is (whether it is a monetary item, a percentage or text);
• what characteristics the tag has (eg if it has a negative value);
• its relationship to other items (eg if it is part of a calculation).

Taxonomies differ according to different reporting purposes, the type of information being reported and reporting presentation requirements.  Therefore a company may use one taxonomy when reporting to a stock exchange, but use a different taxonomy when reporting to a securities regulator.

Taxonomies are available for most of the major national accounting standards around the world.  For a company reporting in IFRS, the IFRS Foundation publishes tags for each IFRS disclosure.  These tags are organised and contained within the IFRS Taxonomy.