Since 1 November 2007, companies required to file financial statements with ACRA, are to convert their financial statements in to XBRL for submission. With effect from 3 March 2014, the revised XBRL filing requirements under the BizFinx system apply.
What is XBRL
XBRL stands for eXtensible Business Reporting Language. It is a language for the electronic communication of business and financial data worldwide. As one of the family of “XML” languages, it is becoming a standard means of communicating information between businesses and on the Internet.
XBRL is being developed by an international non-profit consortium of over 600 companies, organisations and government agencies. It is an open standard, free of licence fees. It is already being put to practical use in a number of countries and implementations of XBRL are growing rapidly around the world. (Source: http://www.xbrl.org/)
Providing major benefits in the preparation, analysis and communication of business information, XBRL offers cost savings, greater efficiency, and improved accuracy and reliability to all those involved in supplying or using financial data.
Who are required to file
| Type of Companies | Requirements |
|---|---|
SG-incorporated exempt private companies (EPCs) that are insolvent (The company is unable to meet its debts when they fall due) | To file FS in XBRL format, and the extent of XBRL filing varies based on the company’s nature and size of operations: – Smaller and non-publicly accountable companies. To file FS in Simplified XBRL template, together with PDF copy of FS authorised by directors; and – All other companies – to file FS in Full XBRL template |
SG-incorporated exempt private companies (EPCs) that are solvent (The company is able to meet its debts when they fall due) | Not required to file FS. If the company opts to voluntarily file, to file FS in either – PDF Copy of the FS authorised by directors; or – FS in XBRL format |
| Private Company | To file FS in XBRL format, and the extent of XBRL filing varies based on the company’s nature and size of operations: – Smaller and non-publicly accountable companies are to file FS in Simplified XBRL template, together with PDF copy of FS authorised by directors; and – All other companies to file FS in Full XBRL template |
Definition of smaller Company
Total revenue and total assets for the current financial year do not exceed S$500,000 and S$500,000 respectively. For FS presented in foreign currency, revenue should be translated based on average rates over the financial year and total assets to be translated based on closing rate as of financial year-end,
Why engage us
To prepare the XBRL financial statements, preparers will need to do mapping by matching information within the AGM financial statements (e.g. the amount of fixed assets) to a relevant concept within the Taxonomy (e.g. Property, Plant and Equipment).
XBRL conversion of the financial statements requires familiarity with the BizFinx XBRL conversion software as well as technical accounting knowledge of Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS)
For this reason, people in the company who are most familiar with the financial statements should be involved in mapping financial statements information to taxonomy concepts.
The directors of the company are responsible for the accuracy for the XBRL submission. They may be familiar with the business operations, but they may lack the required accounting knowledge and competency in using the BizFinx XBRL conversion software.
Outsourcing the XBRL conversion and filing to KSN group saves time and effort to meet your company’s statutory compliance, leaving you free to focus on the more important staff of managing your business.
Note: As the filing requirement is to file the financial statements or financial statements highlights in XBRL format, we will require a copy of the financial statement before we can assist you in your XBRL filing.