3Vital Things You Need to Know About ACRA XBRL Filing

Every year, incorporated companies based in Singapore submit their financial statements in the XBRL format to ensure that their financial information with ACRA is up-to-date.

In 2020, post-pandemic, ACRA implemented a few revisions that companies need to be aware of while preparing and filing XBRL financial statements. So here are 3 critical things that have changed in the last year.

Revised ACRA XBRL Filing Requirements

In May 2020, ACRA announced a set of revised filing requirements to take effect from January 1 2021. However, considering the challenging economic situation amid Covid-19, ACRA is providing an extension, allowing companies more time to adopt the revised ACRA XBRL filing requirements and data elements.

According to the latest amendment, companies must apply the revised ACRA XBRL filing requirements and data elements from May 1 2021. Furthermore, companies can choose to adopt revised filing requirements voluntarily before it becomes a mandate. It would be helpful to take the revised ACRA XBRL filing requirements and data elements out for a practice run before these come into effect to iron out the intricacies.

1. Decommissioning of the BizFinx Preparation Tool

Since 2014, the BizFinx portal has provided companies with access to several tools and other resources to facilitate the preparation and filing of financial statements in the XBRL format. However, in May 2019, ACRA introduced the BizFinx multi-upload tool that enabled companies to upload multiple XBRL files to the BizFinx server concurrently. With this introduction, companies no longer need the BizFinx portal to validate and upload XBRL financial statements.

In light of these functions of the BizFinx multi-upload tool, ACRA has decommissioned the BizFinx portal w.e.f. October 1 2020.

2. Ways to Prepare and Manage XBRL Financial Statements

There are 3 ways to prepare your XBRL financial statements:-

• You can use the BizFinx preparation tool and file your annual return via the BizFile+ portal.
• You can use accounting software to prepare and file your annual return; or
• You can outsource the process to a trusted service provider who can help you prepare error-free and quality XBRL financial statements.

3. Worried About Preparing Your XBRL Financial Statements?

The revised filing requirements and changes from ACRA may seem hard to track and intimidating at times. However, with an ideal partner like DataTracks by your side, you can leave the worries at bay and focus on your business. The finance experts at DataTracks have almost 16 years of experience and expertise in preparing financial statements in the XBRL format. So rest assured, quality and error-free XBRL reports are a no-brainer with DataTracks.

For more information about their XBRL solution, please speak to a DataTracks expert @ +65-3158-3654.