| **Information on Business Segments (Net Sales by Segment) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | 3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|-----------------|
||
| **Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
| Net sales                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          | $ 437.6        | $ 431.3         | $ 410.1 | $ 278.1 | $ 412.1 | $ 413.6 | $ 394.7 | $ 290.0 | $ 1,557.1 | $ 1,510.4 | $ 1,689.2 |
| ACCO Brands North America | Operating Segments                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
| **Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
| Net sales                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   | 955.5 | 963.3 | 1,006.0 |
| ACCO Brands International | Operating Segments                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
| **Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
| Net sales                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   | 485.0 | 426.9 | 546.9 |
| Computer Products Group | Operating Segments                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
| **Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
| Net sales                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |           |            |   |   |   |   |   |   | $ 116.6 | $ 120.2 | $ 136.3 |
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| [1]Historically, our business has experienced higher sales and earnings in the third and fourth quarters of the calendar year. Two principal factors contribute to this seasonality: (1) we are a major supplier of products related to the "back-to-school" season, which occurs principally from June through September for our North American business and from November through February for our Australian and Brazilian businesses; and (2) several products we sell lend themselves to calendar year-end purchase timing, including AT-A-GLANCE® planners, paper organization and storage products (including bindery) and Kensington® computer accessories, which have higher sales in the fourth quarter driven by traditionally strong fourth-quarter sales of personal computers and tablets. |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Total revenue from sale of goods and services rendered during the reporting period, in the normal course of business, reduced by sales returns and allowances, and sales discounts.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 225 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.1) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=63488584&loc=d3e20235-122688
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_SalesRevenueNet**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**credit**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_SegmentReportingInformationLineItems**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:stringItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                              |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=abd_AccoBrandsNorthAmericaMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                      |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_ConsolidationItemsAxis=us-gaap_OperatingSegmentsMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                               |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=abd_AccoBrandsInternationalMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                             |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=abd_ComputerProductsGroupMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |