Xbrl the future of financial reporting by ca. nirmal ghorawat
1 like2,171 views
This document provides an introduction to XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) and its benefits. It discusses that XBRL allows for automated processing of business information through tagging individual data items, reducing errors and manual work. XBRL development is led by XBRL International consortium. The document also notes that India has mandated filing of annual reports for specified companies using XBRL, and that XBRL adoption is growing worldwide for financial reporting.
More Related Content
Similar to Xbrl the future of financial reporting by ca. nirmal ghorawat (20)
![Xbrl india[1]](https://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/xbrlindia1-120914052038-phpapp01-thumbnail.jpg?width=560&fit=bounds)
Xbrl the future of financial reporting by ca. nirmal ghorawat
- 1. Published by the Guwahati Branch of EIRC of ICAI in their PROFILE: CA. NIRMAL GHORAWAT Souvenir for the National Conference of ICAI held at CA. Nirmal Ghorawat is a qualified Chartered Accountant. Guwahati, Assam on 16-17 December 2011. 16- He can be reached at [email protected] XBRL - THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL REPORTING Prepared By: CA. NIRMAL GHORAWAT, B.Com, ACA Synopsis A. Introduction to XBRL B. XBRL in INDIA 1. Why we need XBRL? 1. Introduction 2. What is XBRL? 2. The MCA21 Mandate 3. Who develops XBRL? 3. Role of Finance Professional in XBRL Filings 4. How XBRL Works? 5. Benefits of XBRL C. Conclusion 6. XBRL - Around the World..! A. Introduction to XBRL Consequentially, more time & energy is spent on data XBRL is the buzz word today in our professional fraternity. mining and data gathering and less is spent on data Why not, ‘The Companies (Filing of documents and forms in analytics. With XBRL, we intend to reverse this. Extensible Business Reporting Language) Rules, 2011’ has mandated filing of annual reports of specified class of 2. What is XBRL? companies using XBRL and as always, something new, a jargon probably never heard before, has been thrown at us To begin with, XBRL is an abbreviation for eXtensible X to comply with. Business Reporting Language. In the following paragraphs, we try to unravel this mystery XBRL is an Open Standard XML based language for and solve the puzzle –answer a few basic questions – Why, electronic communication of business and financial What, Who, How and Where - put together these fragments information and on the Internet. to frame a picture called XBRL. 1. Why we need XBRL? However, XBRL is a more powerful and flexible version of Every entity, commercial or otherwise, is required to XML which has been defined specifically to to meet the prepare and present one or more financial reports to requirements of Business & Financial information. showcase its activities or operations and its financial standing. However, the Financial Reporting model today Conversion of Financial Information into XBRL involves involves manual processes and is rather disjointed. tagging of Individual elements or item in the financial report (Concepts) for their electronic dissemination. Even in the era of advanced automation and Electronic Data Processing, applications or computer servers seldom These concepts are defined in a Taxonomy based on a interact outside their periphery, because different Common Accounting Framework (say, Indian GAAP, IFRS or applications have different data structures and generate US GAAP, etc.). Thus, Taxonomy is basically a Dictionary of reports in closed formats (word, excel or pdf) i.e., to say, the financial reporting terms or concepts. Since national output of one application is not automatically input in jurisdictions have different accounting regulations and another application for further processing. This gives rise to accordingly separate Taxonomies are developed for manual extraction and re-entry of data which is laborious, different reporting purposes such as Indian GAAP error prone and adds no value. Commercial & Industrial (C&I), IFRS, Bank Regulatory reporting, etc. The users of financial information – regulatory authorities, stakeholders, lenders, etc. have differing requirements. XBRL is an Open Standard and is thus free of all licenses This leads to a disjointed system of financial reporting and royalty. It is also software and application independent. requiring the preparer to prepare multiple financial reports However, here lies the catch – basically, the Taxonomy or for different users. the Data Standard is free – the tools and applications to convert and / or view the Financial Report are developed by
- 2. proprietary software vendors and are accordingly subject to 4. How XBRL Works? a license fee. A Simple Explanation XBRL is extensible. Each entity’s business operations have The idea behind XBRL, eXtensible Business Reporting unique aspects of reporting. An EXTENSION TAXONOMY Language, is simple. Instead of treating financial allows a company to create and customize concepts and information as a block of text - as in a standard internet elements for their particular reporting practices. Extension page or a printed document - it provides an identifying tag taxonomies import then build on, or “extend” the core for each individual item of data. This is computer readable. reporting taxonomy. For example, company net profit has its own unique tag. This enables reporting software to collect relevant data and This characteristic of extensibility of XBRL provides it with place it in the appropriate financial reports. the much needed flexibility and adaptability to differing accounting environments. Without extensibility, XBRL would XBRL “Tags” can be thought of as a “Bar Code” system for have been a mere standard chart of accounts. financial information, allowing financial statements to be read and understood by a computer. XBRL will do for Financial & Business Reporting what Bar Code has done for Product Distribution. 5. Benefits of XBRL The introduction of XBRL tags enables automated processing of business information by computer software, cutting out laborious and costly processes of manual re- entry and comparison. Computers can ACCESS, EXTRACT Figure 1 - Explaining the Extension Taxonomy AND PROCESS XBRL data "intelligently": they can recognize the information in a XBRL document, select it, analyze it, What XBRL is NOT! store it, exchange it with other computers and present it XBRL is neither an Accounting Standard nor a computer automatically in a variety of ways for users. XBRL greatly program. It is also not a limited chart of accounts or a increases the speed of handling of financial data, reduces proprietary information standard or software. the chance of error and permits automatic checking of information. Simply stated, XBRL is a language for transmitting transmitting information. It must accurately reflect data reported under Probably, the best explanation of benefits derived from the different standards and regulations – it does not change use of XBRL lies in the following words of Mr John Connors, them. Chief Financial Officer, Microsoft – “Through Internet delivery, XBRL will also provide analysts and investors with 3. Who develops XBRL? extensible financial data to make informed decisions about The origins of XBRL lie in the proposal of Mr Charles the company. We see XBRL as not only the future standard Hoffman, AICPA to use XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language) for publishing, delivery and use of financial information for electronic reporting of Financial Information. over the Web, but also as a logical business choice.” XBRL is being developed by XBRL International Inc. (XII). XII 6. XBRL - Around the World..! is a Not for Profit consortium of Regulators, Government XBRL is growing quickly around the world with increasing Agencies, Accountancy Institutes, Leading Corporates, IT & participation from individual countries and international Financial & Professional Services Companies. organisations. At present, XBRL International is comprised of 23 Established jurisdictions and 3 Provisional XBRL International Inc. (XII) is a Consortium similar to how jurisdictions which represent countries, regions or the Universal Product Code (UPC) Seal (commonly ‘Bar international bodies and which focus on the progress of Code’) was developed… and BAR CODING HAS XBRL in their area. REVOLUTIONISED PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION… WHAT WILL FINANCIAL XBRL DO TO FINANCIAL REPORTING? Well, we’ll answer this question after we first learn how XBRL works…
- 3. B. XBRL in INDIA. 2. The MCA21 Mandate The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) envisages a two- 1. Introduction Introduction phase approach for implementation of XBRL based XBRL India, a company registered under section 25 of the reporting of Company Annual Reports. Companies Act, 1956 is the Indian Jurisdiction of XBRL International Inc. (XII). In the first phase beginning April 1, 2011, select class of companies noted below are required to file their annual The main objective of XBRL India is to promote and reports using XBRL. encourage the adoption of XBRL in India as the standard for They are:- electronic business reporting in India. All Listed Companies & their Indian Subsidiaries Companies with Paid up Capital >= 5 crores XBRL India has overseen the development of the Taxonomy Companies with Turnover >= 100 crores for Indian GAAP Commercial and Industrial and Indian GAAP However, Banking, NBFC, Insurance & Power Sector Banking taxonomy. Separate taxonomies for insurance and companies are excluded. power sector are under development. In the second phase beginning April 1, 2012 ALL XBRL Projects in India COMPANIES (Including Banking, NBFC, Insurance & Power RBI has already implemented Capital Adequacy Reporting Sector Companies) are required to file their annual reports by Banks as per Basell II norms in XBRL. using XBRL. MCA has mandated the e-filing of annual reports in XBRL Further, the existing Commercial & Industrial (C&I) format for specified classes of companies. Taxonomy to be UPDATED & MAINTAINED to conform to REVISED SCHEDULE VI and new Taxonomy(ies) for Banking, SEBI has an under development project - “Super-D” for NBFC, Insurance & Power Sector Companies are under XBRL filing by all Listed Companies and Mutual Funds in development. India. (Source: http://xbrl.icai.org/) The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is The MCA XBRL filing process is depicted in Figure 2 below. also developing an XBRL based Regulatory Information Management System (RIMS). Figure 2 – MCA21 XBRL Filing Process
- 4. 3. Role of Finance Professionals in XBRL Filings. Filings. XBRL provides an exciting opportunity to finance In this regard, the ICAI has issued a Guidance Note on professionals in the following fields: Certification of XBRL Financial Statements. The said guidance note, inter-alia, entrusts the practitioner to ensure a. Compliance with the MCA Regulatory environment; completeness, accuracy, mapping and structure of the b. Impact assessment of XBRL on Management XBRL financial statements. Information Systems; c. Designing extension Taxonomies; and C. Conclusion d. Mapping (Tagging) line items in accounts masters with the XBRL Taxonomy. Businesses and accountants gain significant benefits e. Certification of XBRL Financial Statements through easier preparation, analysis and communication of information. These benefits include cost savings, greater The responsibility of the practitioner in carrying out a efficiency, and improved accuracy and reliability of certification of XBRL financial statements is to certify that information. the said XBRL financial statements fairly present, in all material respects, the audited financial statements of the Company from which such XBRL financial statements have XBRL is the emerging global standard of Financial been prepared, in accordance with the taxonomy Reporting. XBRL will change the way we communicate with prescribed by MCA. the regulators in the years to come.