Things you should know about CIPC’s XBRL Programme

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) embraces international best practices and the іmрасt of the use of iXBRL when submitting Annual Financial Statements (AFS) online and in improving efficiency. iXBRL will simplify reporting financial information electronically for companies. The CIPC is mandating the digital reporting standard for all qualifying entities from 1 July 2018.

What you should know about iXBRL

• As of 1 July 2018, iXBRL will be mandated for qualifying entities as the sole AFS submission format to the CIPC. There were no changes to the filing rules except the format of submission which will be in iXBRL.
• iXBRL format is mandated for all the entities who are currently submitting AFS in PDF format to the CIPC will have to switch to iXBRL format after 1 July 2018. These entities include public companies (whether listed or unlisted), private companies, state-owned companies, not-for-profit entities and qualifying close corporations.
• Entities with subsidiaries need to submit both their individual and consolidated AFS and there is an option to submit in a single XBRL file. Local SA registered subsidiaries also need to submit their own individual statements separately from the parent.

Reasons for the XBRL adoption:

Increased efficiency for dealing with high volumes of reports – manual analysis of large numbers of AFS will be replaced by automated analyses and validation of reporting criteria.

Improved regulatory effectiveness – analyses on consolidated statements by industry via Business Intelligence (BI) technology, will replace the limitations of manual sample analyses on just individual statements. XBRL therefore enables improved high-level understanding of business.

By implementing XBRL, the CIPC hopes to pioneer the eventual rollout of Standard Business Reporting (SBR) in South Africa, where various regulators can share data – the principle of “report once share many times”. This eliminates businesses needing to report different formats of financial statements to various regulatory authorities. This sharing of data with other government agencies can be used for economic policy formation. The economy as a whole can therefore be impacted in a positive way. Potential data sharing with private investment companies can also assist with better investment advice and decision making.

XBRL Solutions

Every qualifying entity will need to have software with iXBRL capabilities in place for compiling AFS data in the iXBRL format adhering to the taxonomy published by the CIPC.

To help reporting entities along in their search for a suitable solution for their iXBRL needs, the CIPC has established a panel of Software Service Providers (SSP). A number of SSPs have been assessed in terms of the solutions and services they can provide to reporting entities to ensure at least minimum compliance with CIPC’s technical XBRL requirements. The CIPC continues to liaise with them in all matters technical to ensure the filers focus on iXBRL tagging decisions while leaving syntactical issues to SSPs.

A list of recommended SSPs has been published on the CIPC’s website. Reporting entities are encouraged to get in touch with the recommended SSPs for information on the various solutions, services and license/costing options they offer.

The way forward for reporting entities

It’s recommended that entities regulated by the CIPC familiarise themselves with all the aspects of the programme by consuming the relevant information on the CIPC website, in order to ensure compliance by the 1st of July.

DataTracks, a leading disclosure management, compliance regulatory solution provider and a recognised SSP by CIPC offers a comprehensive iXBRL solution that not only simplifies the entire process. We can help you meet deadlines effortlessly without compromising on the accuracy of your documents.