IRIS CARBON® and CMS Helped Hellenic Bank Navigate ESEF Compliance Smoothly

Customer Profile

Hellenic Bank is one of the leading financial institutions in Cyprus providing, Businesses and Individuals with a full spectrum of banking products and services.

It is a public company listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange and is currently at the forefront of financing the recovery and transformation of the islandʼs most important industries. The Bankʼs success is based on the customer-centric service provided by its staff, the wide range of products and services it offers, and the use of advanced information and control systems. Further, Hellenic Bank has accelerated its digital transformation and introduced first-class technologies to its digital channels offering a seamless customer experience. Aside from traditional loan and deposit banking products, Hellenic Bank offers a wide range of banking and insurance services.

Partner Profile

CMS Systems Solutions Ltd is a provider of a vast array of professional services and solutions including IFRS Financial Statements, Consolidations, Tax Returns, Capital Statements, Time and Billings, and ISA Compliant Audits. They are the authorized distributor of CaseWare International Inc. in Cyprus. The company offers solutions for accountants and auditors working in practice, in corporations, and in the government sector. Their Smart-Tools help in completing tasks faster and gives their customers a competitive advantage over the competitors.

CMS Systems Solutions is IRIS CARBON®ʼs partner catering to the Cyprus market. IRIS CARBON® is an intuitive platform that can handle all functions involved in the ESEF compliance process seamlessly – leading up to a high-quality digital filing that serves the information needs of all stakeholders.

Business Challenges

The iXBRL Reporting Process For Banks Is Complex

Declarations for banking institutions differ significantly from disclosures for commercial and industrial businesses. Consequently, the process of reporting for a bank in the newly accepted iXBRL format necessitates the advice, opinions, and strategies of the XBRL domain experts to complete the annual reports.

Translating Annual Report Data In Both Greek And English

Hellenic Bank sought software for ESEF compliance that quickly converted annual report data into both Greek and English. They required a unified platform for both languages. This feature could provide unequaled usability for their users throughout the EU region.

Changes To The iXBRL Files At The Last Minute

To comply with the ESEF mandate, team Hellenic Bank needed to develop an iXBRL conversion that was an identical replica of their annual report when it was presented in PDF format. Putting out an annual report required a lot of work because it involved weaving together important facts in a specified iXBRL format. Hellenic Bank wanted to publish a high-quality annual report that accurately stated all the data, so they searched for a software vendor that would give them the ability to control any last-minute adjustments made to their iXBRL, even up until a few moments before the submission deadline.

Why Hellenic Bank Chose IRIS CARBON®

IRIS CARBON® ʻs Professionalism And Experience On XBRL Subject

Team Hellenic Bank was on the lookout for an ESEF solution that was simple to use and would help them meet the requirements of the just-implemented ESEF legislation. When it came to ESEF filings, IRIS CARBON® provided an unrivaled experience. They had more than ten years of expertise and are well-versed in both the International Financial Reporting Standards and the recently established ESEF taxonomy.

Impressive IRIS CARBON® Platform Demonstration

The IRIS CARBON® team’s presentations were easy to comprehend. Utilizing Hellenic Bankʼs previous year’s annual report to conduct demonstrations on the IRIS CARBON® platform, effortlessly taught the Hellenic Bankʼs team the essentials of tagging. IRIS CARBON® guaranteed to deliver a high-quality ESEF iXBRL annual report with unrestricted assistance from their in-house XBRL specialists. IRIS CARBON®ʼs proposal and presentations seemed reliable.

Project Objectives

The starting point for Hellenic Bank for ESEF compliance was to collectively identify and prioritize the most significant challenges, with IRIS CARBON®.

The following objectives have been set forward for implementation purposes

The IRIS CARBON® Approach

IRIS CARBON® handled Hellenic Bankʼs ESEF reporting by aligning with the above-identified objectives.

1. Setting Up Hellenic Bankʼs 2020 Document

IRIS CARBON® started by setting up the Hellenic Bankʼs 2020 base document by using their already published 2020 annual report. This required loading the 2020 annual report onto the IRIS CARBON® platform. Appropriate tags were then selected from the ESEF taxonomy and applied to the base document.

XBRL experts at IRIS CARBON® came across situations where there was no specific element in the ESEF taxonomy matching the line items mentioned in the annual report. At that point, they created custom elements (also known as extensions) to map the unique or company-specific disclosures. Anchoring relationships were then used to further define these extensions.

Team IRIS CARBON® then validated the files to verify they were error-free.

2. Training Sessions On Reviewing The iXBRL Tagging

Once the base document was ready, IRIS CARBON® planned training sessions around the ESEF mandate and review module of the platform. IRIS CARBON® walked team Hellenic Bank through the ESEF taxonomy. Several important concepts on ʻhow to review the iXBRL documentsʼ and ʻvalidating the files using an integrated XII certified Bushchat validatorʼ were discussed. With this information in hand, team Hellenic Bank was able to conduct a thorough assessment of tags in the newly generated 2020 iXBRL annual report.

The workshops were held using a variety of extensive educational videos on using the IRIS CARBON® platform review module and the dashboard. Video recordings were maintained for future reference.

3. Creation And Publication Of The 2021 iXBRL Annual Report

As a result of Hellenic Bankʼs review and approval of the iXBRL 2020 annual report, IRIS CARBON® had the base ready for the iXBRL 2020 annual report. Now when it came to the ESEF 2021 filing, a similar procedure was followed. Hellenic Bank provided the data for the fiscal year 2021, this was further loaded on the IRIS CARBON® platform. Using IRIS CARBON®ʼs rollover function, the previously approved tags by team Hellenic Bank were used to reapply on the iXBRL 2021 annual report. Where necessary additional tags, extensions, and anchoring relations were created and added to the 2021 XBRL document.

Once the iXBRL 2021 annual report was processed Hellenic Bank was asked to review the report and then approve the same. When it came to reviewing the ESEF annual report, it was observed that the Hellenic Bank team had become well-acquainted with the review module of the IRIS CARBON® platform because of the educational videos. The stage was now set for a successful 2021 iXBRL annual reportʼs live filing.