South Africa has recently moved from a paper-based to an automatic reporting system beginning 1st July 2018, with the implementation of Inline XBRL (iXBRL). The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), South Africas business registry, is implementing iXBRL as the stepping stone to move towards smart data and to future-proof the way compliance reporting and data works. IRIS and XDS are the CIPC’s trusted partners to implement Inline XBRL in South Africa.
To go through the annual reports of so many companies, one would need an army of people who constantly require access to data not just accurately but also swiftly! There’s got to be a smarter way to process information and that’s where XBRL comes to the rescue. iXBRL is the next generation of smarter reporting where data in annual reports are not just machine-friendly, but also easy for people to understand and use.
XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a freely available global standard for exchanging business information that is machine-readable. The XBRL Specification is developed and published by XBRL International, Inc. (XII). Below is an extract of machine-readable XBRL files.
iXBRL is a standard for digital financial reporting and is the next generation of XBRL. It is not only machine-readable but also human-readable.
Let us now look at the Who, When, and How of the iXBRL CIPC Mandate.
1. Who needs to file with the CIPC?
The following entities who have been filing with the CIPC in PDF format now need to file in the Inline XBRL format.
- All public companies;
- Private companies (qualifying and currently submitting using PDF);
- State-Owned companies;
- Non-Profit entities;
- Close Corporations (qualifying and currently submitting using PDF)
A possible question that you may have-
If I own a Group Company that has many subsidiaries, should the filing be for just the Group Company or should each subsidiary company also file?
As per the mandate, both the Group Company and its subsidiaries will have to individually file in the iXBRL format based on certain criteria. To know if you are required to file with the CIPC, click here.
2. When to file your AFS?
All entities are required to submit their AFS 30 business days after the annual anniversary from the date of incorporation. However, Closed Corporations are allowed 60 days for the submission of the iXBRL documents.
3. How is the filing to be done?
Whenever there is a new mandate, there are two ways of complying with it:-
- Outsource it to an XBRL service provider
- Learn the standard and do it yourself
Based on our experience serving several markets worldwide, entities who initially sign up choose to outsource it to an XBRL service provider. Once they get familiar with the reporting process, they prefer to take it in-house. The iXBRL document that is prepared needs to be submitted on the CIPC’s portal.
While these were just some basic details about the CIPC mandate, should you have any queries about the mandate or how to file with CIPC, please reach out to us at sales@iriscarbon.com or visit our website.
