The CIPC rolled out a full-scale implementation of Inline XBRL in South Africa a year ago under which, entities were mandated filing of their AFS in iXBRL format. The second phase of this transition is already underway and the CIPC has rolled out an updated taxonomy. The intent has always been to go beyond streamlining a regulatory process. You can explore all the benefits of transitioning to iXBRL here. The success of phase two and the subsequent benefits depend on the submission of clear, concise iXBRL reports that meet the CIPC guidelines. This makes preparing your iXBRL report the right way, very important.
In this article, we will walk you through the five things you must know about iXBRL report preparation.
Five things you must know about iXBRL report preparation
iXBRL format
iXBRL or Inline XBRL is an open standard technology used to create financial reports that are both human and machine-readable. The transition to iXBRL will improve data quality substantially and make XBRL data visible in the document in a comprehensible manner. More about iXBRL, and its underlying standard XBRL, can be found here.
The CIPC Taxonomy
Taxonomy is like a dictionary, comprising a collection of financial and business reporting terms. It provides the user with background information on the meaning of the term and the relationship of one term with another.
The CIPC taxonomy primarily derives its concepts from the IFRS taxonomy. In fact, as part of phase 2, the taxonomy will now include the 2017, 2018 and 2019 updates of the IFRS taxonomy. The number of elements in the new taxonomy has also increased from the original 4783 elements to 5515 elements. It is, therefore, important to get yourself familiarized with the new taxonomy as well, so you can produce reports on par with the latest standards.
Scope of Tagging
The CIPC has clearly defined the scope of tagging on its website and it extends beyond just tagging mandatory elements in the iXBRL report. This includes – tagging all the applicable facts of the Primary Financial Statements (PFS), text block tagging the disclosures and explanatory notes, and tagging the concepts that are within the text blocks. The CIPC has listed 51 elements that have to be mandatorily tagged before filing the iXBRL document. Out of the 51 elements, there will be at least a few items that may not have anything specific to report. In such cases, you will have to add an explanation in the footnote to ensure a successful submission.
The Different Tagging Approaches
Confirm with your iXBRL solution provider if they do on-document tagging or template-based tagging. Here’s why:
Template-based tagging requires the user to key-in the data for the whole document manually. It is not just time-consuming and prone to errors, but may also impact the format of the AFS.
On-document tagging, on the other hand, requires the user to apply tags on the AFS document itself. This helps in maintaining the format of the AFS.
Every iXBRL solution provider promises a hassle-free and quick AFS filing. However, knowing the different tagging approaches will help you identify the right provider for preparing your report.
Review and Validation
There may be errors and warnings in the iXBRL report that you create. Warnings could be related to elements such as assets, liabilities, or revenue. Errors include elements such as PI score, business address, customer code, etc. It is important that you review the AFS for accuracy and validate the data for errors and warnings before filing it.
Note: You will not be allowed to file your iXBRL – AFS unless you rectify the errors. So, check the document thoroughly before filing.
Knowing these five essential points will help you to be better prepared while submitting the next iXBRL report. If you are looking for an iXBRL partner, who can help you to prepare an error-free, high quality, and CIPC compliant iXBRL report, look no further. We have helped some of the largest South African entities such as Nedbank, Redefine, and Old Mutual file their AFSs in iXBRL format. Moreover, the CIPC uses our platform to receive and analyze the iXBRL reports submitted by entities in South Africa. So you can rest assured that your filing will not just be compliant with the CIPC mandate, but you will also have a smooth lodgement at the first attempt.
About IRIS
IRIS has been in the XBRL implementation space since 2005 and has done XBRL filings across 22 countries. IRIS is a trusted partner of the CIPC and has implemented the iXBRL filing platform and the iXBRL validator for CIPC. Our clients include security commissions, central banks, business registries, stock exchanges, public companies, private companies, banks, and mutual funds. With more than 1.5 million filers across the globe, we do more than implement the XBRL standard; we actually help to shape it. To know more about what we do, visit our website.
