If you had read our recent post about XBRL, you will know that it stands for eXtensible Business Reporting Language and is a global standard that was developed to improve how financial data is communicated and that it also enables digital financial reporting.
Wondering If Your Company Is Affected By XBRL?
Similarly, any company that needs to provide information to financial regulators, securities regulators, stock exchanges, business registrars, tax authorities, and statistical and monetary policy authorities is affected by XBRL. Enterprises that regularly move information around in a complex grouping or supply chains that exchange information to manage risk and measure activity will be impacted by XBRL.
Where Is XBRL Applicable?
According to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), XBRL can be applied to a wide range of business and financial data. Below are a few examples of the data XBRL can handle:
- Internal and external financial and business reporting;
- Reporting and exchange of information in all types of regulators such as tax and financial authorities, central banks, and even government;
- Filing of loan reports and applications;
- Credit risk assessments; and
- Authoritative accounting literature, providing a standard way of describing accounting documents provided by authoritative bodies.
Who Will Benefit Most From XBRL?
- Regulators, analysts, and investors: XBRL allows for enhanced distribution and usability of existing financial statement information. It enables automated analysis and less rekeying of information from one form to another.
- Data aggregators and financial publishers: More efficient data collection lowers operating costs, boosts traction capacity, and adds value to data to minimise errors.
- Independent financial software developers: Any software that handles financial information can use XBRL for importing and exporting data. This increases the potential for full interoperability for other applications.
- Companies that prepare financial statements: The value of XBRL is that companies can create financial statements more efficiently because they only need to do so once.
At Caseware Africa, we provide a full range of professional services and “best of breed” software solutions to thousands of customers. Our solutions automate financial statements and assurance engagements, streamline tax management processes, enable simplified times and billing, and also takes care of secretarial duties. To find out more about how we can help you on your XBRL reporting journey, get in touch.
