XBRL (extensible business reporting language) drives the way of these changes in financial accounting. The aim of this work is to identify the main features of this technological standard and analyse the benefits that, according to the community promoting it, is taking to financial reporting. The topic will be deepened in the second part of the work, relating the technical benefits of electronic reporting to the users of accounting, defined by the “Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements”. The question is whether or not the users’ needs are met by XBRL, not only in terms of efficiency and time saving, but also ranging underlying conceptual limitations of traditional financial accounting. In the last part of the work, limitations and issues about XBRL will be pointed out, in order to understand why the global adoption of such an improving means is not completed yet