Need of XBRL Filing Services in Singapore
Do companies need XBRL filing services Singapore? Yes, they need these experts to comply with the prevailing regulatory requirements.
As per the Companies Act, Singapore private companies (limited or unlimited by shares) need to file their annual returns with ACRA. It involves submitting their financial statements (if applicable). And unless exempted, they have to file these documents in XBRL format.
XBRL Filing for Singapore Companies
A company director or company secretary can use ACRA's web portal to submit an annual return and XBRL report. However, many companies prefer to appoint a registered filing agent to do so. It is a time-consuming task involving preparation and converting financial statements in XBRL format.
The chances are that you may only have to submit an online declaration at the time of filing an annual return. However, if you need to submit a full set of FS in XBRL format, you must prepare and validate them before filing the annual return.
While preparing the documents for XBRL filing, the preparer must map the info in the Financial Statements (FS) to the relevant XBRL tags. They need command of accounting concepts and XBRL tags libraries to do the task successfully. It is why companies appoint professional accountants working for XBRL filing services Singapore.
From 1 May 2021, it is mandatory for Singapore companies to use XBRL filing requirements revised in 2020. They, unless exempted, have to submit a full set of FS or key financials in XBRL format plus a signed copy of their accounts presented to the Annual General Meeting.
Depending on the compliance needs of their company, the preparers have to choose one of the following templates for XBRL filing.
Full XBRL Template: They can use this template to record financial data in their primary statements & selected notes to FS
Simplified XBRL Template: They can use this template in place of XBRL FSH (General) to record their financial info in the FS
XBRL FSH (Banks): This template comes with 80 data elements that help preparers to record financial data
XBRL FSH (Insurance): This template has 80 data elements that a preparer can use to record financial data
If you are unsure which template to use, discuss it with your provider of XBRL filing services Singapore. It should not be a problem as their accountants can quickly advise you with it. That is one of the advantages of hiring an experienced provider.
Trends: The financial data aggregated through XBRL filing also comes in handy to government, financial institutes and experts in understanding the trends in the economy. It helps in the planning and reallocation of the resources.
Investors: Filing of Annual Returns (AR) is an important step taken by the authorities to protect the investors. An information-rich AR assists the company’s stakeholders in making data-driven investment decisions. So, it is imperative that you hire a competent accounting services provider for the task.
XBRL filing is an administrative task that produces no revenue or profit to the companies. This non-core, compliance-related task ties up time and human resources. It has the potential of diverting management's focus from the core goals and objectives of the company. Outsourcing it to a reliable provider of XBRL filing services is a far better option than doing it in-house.
