The 2020 XBRL Taxonomy from ACRA: What You Really Need to Know

XBRL taxonomy is, in simple words, a guide used to prepare XBRL financial reports. The ACRA taxonomy levied in Singapore is based on disclosure requirements laid down in the Accounting Standards and Companies Act.

ACRA taxonomy has set generalised concepts that every eligible company needs to adhere to so to enhance the comparability of collated financial data. However, certain customisations are allowed in the ACRA taxonomy. These customisations provide preparers with the flexibility in presenting their financial statements (e.g., company-specific labels and re-ordering of the concepts).

The Changing Landscape of XBRL

With the pandemic disturbing the Singapore economy to a certain degree, ACRA has decided to revamp the XBRL filing system. Concurrently with the release of revised XBRL filing requirements and an updated BizFinx portal, a new taxonomy is being made available to eligible entities for preparing and uploading their XBRL financial statements to ACRA.

For a detailed understanding of these new filing requirements and an insight into the revised taxonomy, please visit the ACRA website.

Here’s an overview of what’s new.

Revised ACRA XBRL Filing Requirements

(Mandatory from May 1, 2021)

As per the new filing requirements laid down by ACRA, companies are now required to apply the revised filing requirements along with the right data elements on or after May 1, 2021. However, eligible entities can put in a voluntary request to apply these revised filing requirements until April 30, 2021, to iron out any complications or irregularities.

To further help companies ease the financial reporting burden, ACRA has revised the templates to be used by companies to meet the new filing requirements and data elements. For instance, the number of data elements (earlier 400) in the Full XBRL template has been reduced by 50% to about 210 data elements.

What to Do Next?

The revised ACRA taxonomy comprises many intricacies and complexities related to XBRL filing requirements. Companies need to look for a reliable software solution provider that can help them comply with all the filing requirements laid down by ACRA. DataTracks, a global XBRL solutions provider with over 15+ years of experience and expertise in this domain, is the key to accurate XBRL filing. Ranging from compliance to accuracy, conversion, and updates, DataTracks takes care of every facet of financial reporting.

To learn more about the quality and reliable XBRL services offered by DataTracks, speak to an expert @ +65-3158-3654.