Emerging Trends Transforming the Financial Reporting in South Africa

South African financial industry is moving towards digital transformation:

However:-

• Has Covid-19 slowed things down?
• Has it delayed the emergence of trends?

All the financial reporting sector trends have gone either of the two ways – died down due to Covid-19 or rapidly grown. So let’s explore some of the trends that HAVE transformed or are yet to hit the financial reporting sector in South Africa.

• Automation is Taking Over

As companies conservatively transition towards the digital realm, cloud-based ERP, automation, and cognitive innovation will continue to evolve. This is expected to create opportunities in automating processes and freeing up resources radically.

Some may say that finance is disappearing under the boulder of digital disruption. However, these people couldn’t be more wrong. The financial reporting sector has strengthened since the digital wave of automation. And it will continue to support businesses in carrying out functions like reporting, planning, budgeting, tax preparation, etc.

• Real-time Reporting – In The New Normal

The workforce has gone digital; the operations have gone digital, so why shouldn’t financial reporting? This trend emerged before the pandemic hit. However, it has picked up pace since physical reporting has gone to dust.

Technology-driven reporting has become the new normal. Now all the data is being produced, collated, analyzed, and submitted online. So organizations will have to start transitioning towards real-time reporting over the cloud while leading and managing virtually becomes the new mantra.

• iXBRL – Transforming Quality of Data Submitted

The CIPC introduced iXBRL in 2018 as an effort to streamline the financial reporting system. However, in today’s technology-powered world, iXBRL has done more than just streamline financial reporting; it has transformed the way data is analyzed and decisions are made.

Business analysts and other users like regulators and investors leverage iXBRL report to ascertain a company’s financial position. Moreover, CIPC has introduced a data quality monitoring initiative to address issues observed in AFS submitted by issuers. This initiative is expected to yield positive results as an increased number of quality checks are being instilled.

The Road Ahead

Apart from these, the financial reporting sector is expected to witness a surge in the amount of data being produced. This means the CIPC needs to prepare itself for analyzing a massive amount of data.

If your organization is striving to invest in financial reporting automation, DataTracks can be the ideal partner for collaboration. Boasting 16+ years of extensive experience in XBRL preparation and tagging, DataTracks experts have successfully delivered 2,00,000 reports, transforming financial reporting for 19,900 clients across the globe.

Speak to an iXBRL expert @ +27-10-446-9061 or email at enquiry@datatracks.co.za and transform your financial reporting TODAY!