Explaining the Mechanisms Through Which XBRL-Based Digital Financial Reporting Affects Accounting Information Quality: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework
Keywords:
Digital financial reporting, XBRL, Accounting information quality, Information transparency, Data-based theoryAbstract
This study aimed to explain the mechanisms through which XBRL-based digital financial reporting affects accounting information quality and to develop an integrated conceptual framework. This study was conducted as a systematic review based on the PRISMA 2020 guideline. The research population included studies published in reputable international databases on digital financial reporting, XBRL, accounting information quality, transparency, comparability, disclosure quality, and financial reporting quality. Searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Emerald, SpringerLink, and Wiley Online Library. After identification, duplicate removal, title and abstract screening, full-text assessment, and application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 20 eligible articles were included in the final analysis. Extracted data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory approach through open, axial, and selective coding. The analytical findings indicated that XBRL-based digital financial reporting affects accounting information quality through data standardization, financial information structuring, improved processability, enhanced comparability, increased information transparency, and stronger interoperability among reporting systems. The three-stage coding process resulted in 123 final concepts and 31 main categories, which were organized within a paradigmatic model consisting of causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, the central phenomenon, strategies, and consequences. The central phenomenon was identified as “standardization and intelligentization of financial information within XBRL-based digital financial reporting.” The results show that XBRL is not merely a technological tool for financial disclosure, but a transformative infrastructure for improving accounting information quality. Its full effectiveness depends on organizational digital maturity, institutional coordination, standardized reporting infrastructures, user acceptance, and strengthened digital monitoring. Accordingly, XBRL can improve financial transparency, comparability, decision usefulness, investor trust, and the efficiency of financial reporting and oversight systems.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Hajar Moazami Nejad (Corresponding author); Zahra Aghashiri (Author)
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