XBRL Financial Report
Revised XBRL Filing Requirement
ACRA announces Revised XBRL Filing Requirement and Releases New XBRL Preparation Tool for Companies
ACRA announced on 30 September 2013 that the revised XBRL filing requirements will be implemented from 2 December 2013. Replacing the online FS Manager will be a new offline tool, BizFinx, for preparing XBRL financial statements and the BizFinx Portal, for submitting the Annual Returns together with these financial statements.
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How to convert financial statements into XBRL?
If you’ve ever tried to convert a financial statement into XBRL, you’ll know the difficulty it poses. This data entry language is not designed for individual accounts, so it’s essential to create a customized format. However, this method does come with its advantages. You’ll be able to import a variety of formats into a single document. Moreover, you can easily convert XBRL to any other format, whether it’s PDF or Microsoft Excel.
XBRL is a standard way of sharing business information. This format is an open standard, and it lets you easily analyze and interpret financial data. Its goal is to help people make better, more informed decisions by providing them with better, more meaningful information. Consequently, it helps companies and their shareholders make better decisions and improve their performance. The process of converting a financial statement to XBRL can be a difficult, time-consuming and complicated process. Fortunately, there are a number of companies that will handle all of the data conversion for you.
XBRL is a standard way of sharing business information. This format is an open standard, and it lets you easily analyze and interpret financial data. Its goal is to help people make better, more informed decisions by providing them with better, more meaningful information. Consequently, it helps companies and their shareholders make better decisions and improve their performance. The process of converting a financial statement to XBRL can be a difficult, time consuming and complicated process. Fortunately, there are a number of companies that will handle all of the data conversion for you.
What do we need to prepare XBRL?
A soft copy of your full set financial statements
What is XBRL?
XBRL stands for eXtensible Business Reporting Language, a language used in computers to present financial statements such that they can be retrieved from online records and transferred directly to users such as auditors, regulators and financial analysts for various purposes. More information on XBRL can be found at www.xbrl.org. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) implemented a new filing requirement for Singapore incorporated companies to file their financial statements (FS) in XBRL format as of 1 November 2007.
Why the need for XBRL?
Most companies currently file their FS in PDF format. ACRA believes that the use of XBRL will achieve the objectives of facilitating the conduct of business in Singapore, providing more value-added financial information and enhancing the regulatory environment with improved transparency and timely dissemination of relevant financial information.
XBRL enables source data to be tagged electronically, making the data machine-readable. Thus, the user’s system can automatically extract the information without the need for copy-pasting or keying-in. XBRL enables tagging of numbers, quantitative data and textual information. The benefits of XBRL go beyond compliance since any data collation process can be streamlined using electronic tags.
What are the 5 Key benefits of XBRL?
- Wide range of user benefits
- No need for manual data entry
- More than a financial database
- SEC recognized
- More cost-effective to use
XBRL has a range of benefits that are very helpful to the users. That is because it is an extensive software where you can compare multiple data all at once. You can also analyze the data as you make comparisons through the XBRL. This software can readily present the necessary information that you need. Information, such as investment data, stakeholder details, and even government agencies, is very accessible for the business owner through XBRL. Thus, this software can give lots of benefits and improvements in the business.
Manual inputting of data has been the norm in a business for a very long time. However, that shouldn’t be the case now that XBRL is here to help. With XBRL, manual data entry has been reduced a lot. Businesses save a lot of time by not manually preparing and reviewing large amounts of financial statements. As a result, your accounting staff will not have to allot their time in doing mundane and repetitive tasks. Thus, they can focus more on analyzing the financial data. They can focus on brainstorming cost-effective solutions.
XBRL is commonly used to manage financial data. However, that is not what this software is only used for. In fact, non-financial data can be communicated through XBRL. For example, XBRL can store information of important business investors and the amount they have invested. It can also give a regular report on the investment earnings of each shareholder. It can also be a good tracking software for the inventory status of the business. With the help of a good payroll services company, they can find more ways to use XBRL in your business. As a result, the internal management reporting process becomes more efficient and improved.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore had preferred businesses to use XBRL to file their financial statements. That is because this is not only most suitable to use in Singapore. Furthermore, it is also used all around the world, most especially by the United States.
XBRL is actually required by the United States Security and Exchange Commission or SEC to all companies under its authority since 2009. Thus, it is safe to say that XBRL is the standardized way of filing financial statements. If you decide to do business overseas, you know that you are already using a financial data software that is widely-used.
Apart from time, expenses are saved when a company uses XBRL. There is no need for the company to hire someone whose main job is to just to manually input data. If they are able to incorporate XBRL in other aspects of the business, some data-related mistakes and other data monitoring issues can be avoided. As a result, the company has no need to exert funds and effort to fix these issues.
Who is responsible for the correct representation and accuracy of information?
Directors of the companies will continue to be responsible for the correctness and accuracy of FS in XBRL format filed with ACRA. They are therefore advised to check the information to be filed before authorizing their company or persons to submit the information on behalf of the company to ACRA.
Who is affected by the revised XBRL filing?
All Singapore incorporated companies (unless exempted below) which are either unlimited or limited by shares required to file their financial statements with ACRA will be required to file a full set of financial statements in XBRL format, according to a Minimum Requirement List within the new ACRA Taxonomy 2013 (i.e. Full XBRL). Filing of Option B (Partial XBRL), using FS Manager, will no longer be available.
Which businesses are excluded from XBRL filing/ XBRL Conversion?
The following types of companies are exempted from XBRL conversion filings their full set of financial statements in XBRL format. Instead, the companies that are exempt from XBRL conversion will file their financial statements in PDF with Financial Statements Highlights in XBRL format instead.
- Companies that are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
- Commercial Banks
- Merchant Banks
- Registered Insurers
- Finance Companies, that are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
- Companies that are allowed (by law) to prepare accounts with other accounting standards
- A full set of financial statements in XBRL format.
- A full set of financial statements in PDF with Financial Statements Highlights in XBRL ACRA format.
Companies that are generally regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore include:
Other companies exempt from XBRL conversion are businesses allowed by law to prepare accounts in accordance with accounting standards other than SFRS, SFRS for Small Entities and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). As one of Singapore’s top accounting service providers, our accountants will prepare you on all this.
Solvent XBRL conversion private companies (EPCs) will continue to be exempted from filing their FS with XBRL ACRA.
Insolvent EPCs will have the following options to file their financial statements with ACRA:
Companies limited by guarantee will continue to file only their financial statements in PDF format to XBRL ACRA. Foreign companies and their local branches will also continue to file only their financial statements in PDF format to ACRA.
What are the Applicable Financial Periods?
The revised XBRL filing requirements will be applicable for companies if they are filing financial statements with periods ending on or after 30 April 2007.
Companies XBRL filing financial statements relating to financial periods ending before 30 April 2007 will continue to file their financial statements in PDF format and their financial highlights in respect of the financial statements in their Annual Return (AR).
What are the Advantages of Preparing the XBRL Voluntary?
Free data analysis will be made available at ACRA’s new one-stop financials filing portal, BizFinx. BizFinx will commence operations when the revised filing requirements take effect in October. Company directors and officers can log into BizFinx Portal to generate the free analysis within 30 days after filing their AR form with a full set of financial statements in XBRL ACRA format.
This analysis is only available once a year upon the filing of the AR by the company and companies can utilize these data to:
- Benchmark themselves against peers
- Compare their performance against competitors
- Gain a competitive edge with improved analytics
- Understand industry trends and make appropriate decisions
- Achieve cost savings within your company with better business insights and quicker and more accurate decision-making
- Compare, share and transmit data with related subsidiaries and different company divisions even if different accounting systems are being used.
How can I Prepare?
If your Singapore company is not exempt from XBRL conversion, it is important to go through the XBRL filing process with an experienced consultant or consultancy firm. You can either:
- Free yourself of the hassle by engaging a professional firm like W.L.P Pte. Ltd. to assist you in the preparation.
- Do the XBRL filing yourself. Download the tool at ACRA website, go through all the procedures and prepare the XBRL filing report yourself.
To facilitate DIY XBRL filing, ACRA has provided a free offline tool known as “BizFinx” to enable companies to prepare and manage their FS in XBRL.
Looking for a trusted consultancy in Singapore to help you with XBRL ACRA filing or HR? Call+65 6493 2970 to schedule a free consultation with our experienced XBRL filing consultants! Alternatively meet with us for a HR shared services Singapore consultation.
What is the eXtensible business reporting language?
The eXtensible Business Reporting Language is a language that allows businesses to describe the processes they follow in their daily operations. It has been designed to be easy to use, which can drastically reduce the time it takes for these reports to be written and read by others.
Business reporting is a difficult topic for many people to get their head around. The best way to understand how it can be used in your industry is by looking at a practical application. In the case of eXtensible Business Reporting Language, this practical application is creating reports from data stored in an SQL database.
eXtensible Business Reporting Language (xbrl) is a conceptually unified XML-based business reporting language. It enables automated generation of reports from data sources and supports a wide variety of business reporting needs, including ad hoc analysis, complex calculations, graphic visualization and presentation.
Gaining insight into your business is crucial to the success of your company. You need to know what is going on in order for you to have a complete understanding. For this, you need an accurate and reliable reporting system that gives you a clear picture of what is going on in your company so you can make the right decisions.