Taxonomies for financial statements
To generate digital, structured financial statements, different taxonomy specifications are used, depending on the content of the report. See this page for more information on different taxonomies and instructions relating to them.
See below for more information about the following XBRL taxonomies supported by the PRH:
What is the XBRL taxonomy?
Taxonomies are descriptions of data content. They make it possible to present the data content of the report in a structured and uniform format. Taxonomies alone do not produce data, increase the volume of data or guarantee their quality.
The taxonomy specifies the data elements to be reported and their mutual relationships. Consequently, a taxonomy consists of basic elements and Linkbase specifications that define the dependencies between these elements, description logics, nomenclatures and calculation rules.
The XBRL taxonomy is a description of a report's data content in XBRL language. The XBRL taxonomy is presented as a set of XML schema files and related XML metadata libraries generated in accordance with the XBRL specification. They are used to define the data content describing a specific reporting framework in machine-readable language. For example, metadata libraries can be used to define the items, presentation format, and calculation formulas of the data content to be collected. The taxonomy can also be used to validate the data content to be reported.
SBR taxonomy
The SBR taxonomy is developed for producing financial reporting in accordance with the Finnish accounting legislation. The SBR taxonomy comprises reporting sets for financial statement reporting as well as for the financial reporting of municipalities and wellbeing services counties. The reporting sets for financial statement reporting are maintained and developed by the PRH. The reporting sets for the financial reporting of municipalities and wellbeing services counties are maintained and developed by the State Treasury.
The SBR taxonomy is utilised in companies’ financial statement reporting when structuring financial statements prepared in accordance with the FAS. At the moment, the latest version of the SBR taxonomy includes the following entities for financial statement reporting:
- OYTP (Financial statement reporting of limited liability companies and co-operatives)
- LSTP (Financial statement reporting of credit institutions and investment service firms)
- VYTP (Financial statement reporting of insurance companies)
- STP (Financial statements of foundations)
- STK (Annual report of foundations)
The SBR taxonomy and its updates will be published on the avoindata.fiAvautuu uuteen välilehteen as “SBR taxonomy information material”. The publications include the taxonomy and supporting instructions for applying it. In addition, versions of the SBR taxonomy related to the reporting sets of municipalities and wellbeing services counties will be published as separate datasets.Avautuu uuteen välilehteen
The PRH maintains instructions for using the SBR taxonomy in financial statement reporting. The SBR Taxonomy User Guide provides content-related instructions for preparing financial statements consistent with the SBR taxonomy. The Guide does not contain technical documentation or instructions, as they are provided separately for each taxonomy. The Guide goes through the contents of the framework and contains instructions for using the taxonomy elements. It also provides instructions concerning the elements that are mandatory in financial statement reporting. To download the Guide, go to Open Data.fi.Avautuu uuteen välilehteen
PRH to update the taxonomy specifications annually
The PRH will annually approve the sections of the SBR taxonomy specifications concerning companies’ financial reporting before the end of the year so that the approved taxonomy specification is available for financial periods starting from the beginning of the following year. For instance, the taxonomy specification approved at the end of 2025 must be used for financial periods starting on or after 1 January 2026.
The annual update will incorporate any legal amendments and other necessary updates arising during the year. However, the basic structure of the specifications will not change. The company’s reports must always follow the latest taxonomy specification, but it can use the previous year’s reporting template to prepare its financial statements.
You can influence the annual updates by participating in the efforts of the working group on the development and maintenance of financial statement taxonomies. Read more about the working group.
ESEF taxonomy
ESEF taxonomy is a taxonomy specification developed and maintained by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and based on the IFRS taxonomy.
Provisions on the introduction of the ESEF taxonomy are laid down in the Delegated Regulation on ESEF (RTS on ESEF) adopted by the EU. Read more in the annually updated delegated regulation on ESEF RTS on the EurLex websiteAvautuu uuteen välilehteen.
The ESEF financial statements must be sent to the Official Appointed Mechanism of Nasdaq HelsinkiAvautuu uuteen välilehteen and, as of the financial period starting in 2024, also to the Finnish Trade Register. Read our instructions: Digital, structured financial statements of limited liability companies.
The ESMA publishes the taxonomy versions and their supporting materials on its websiteAvautuu uuteen välilehteen.
IFRS taxonomy
The IFRS taxonomy is a taxonomy specification maintained by the IFRS Foundation. It complies with the presentation and publication requirements for financial statements prepared in accordance with the IFRS. The IFRS taxonomy is updated as new and updated IFRS accounting standards are published. The IFRS taxonomy can be applied as its own taxonomy, but it is also used as the basis for other taxonomies such as ESEF.
The PRH advises applying the IFRS taxonomy for marking up financial statements if the financial statements have been drawn up in accordance with the IFRS. If the consolidated financial statements have been drawn up in compliance with the IFRS and the parent company’s financial statements have been drawn up in compliance with the FAS, the consolidated financial statements should be marked up according to the IFRS taxonomy, and the parent company’s financial statements according to the SBR taxonomy.
The versions of the IFRS taxonomy are available on the IFRS Foundation’s website.Avautuu uuteen välilehteen In addition, you can check here which versions of the IFRS taxonomy are currently supported in the PRH’s receiving interface.
The IFRS Foundation provides instructions and material to help use the application and the IFRS taxonomy. The instructions are available on the IFRS Foundation’s website.Avautuu uuteen välilehteen
Taxonomy versions used in reporting for each reporting period
The PRH maintains a list showing the taxonomy version applicable during each reporting period and its entry point specification that each company must apply during that period. See the up-to-date list.