(ACRA) Who needs to file and who is exempted from filing XBRL
Under the revised XBRL filing requirements taking effect from 22 October 2013, Singapore incorporated companies which are either unlimited or limited by shares required to file their financial statements with ACRA will be required to file a full set of financial statements in XBRL format, according to a minimum requirement list within the new ACRA Taxonomy 2013. Filing of Option B (Partial XBRL), a filing option under the current XBRL filing system, will no longer be available.
The following types of companies are exempted from filing their full set of financial statements in XBRL format, and will file their financial statements in PDF with Financial Statements Highlights in XBRL format instead:
- Companies which are (1) Commercial Banks; (2) Merchant Banks; (3) Registered Insurers; and (4) Finance Companies, that are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore; and
- Companies allowed by law to prepare accounts in accordance with accounting standards other than SFRS, SFRS for Small Entities and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards).
Insolvent EPCs will have the following options to file their financial statements with ACRA:
- A full set of financial statements in XBRL format; or
- A full set of financial statements in PDF with Financial Statements Highlights in XBRL format.
Companies limited by guarantee will continue to file only their financial statements in PDF format to ACRA.
Foreign companies and their local branches will also continue to file only their financial statements in PDF format to ACRA.
Applicable financial periods
The revised XBRL filing requirements will be applicable for companies if they are filing financial statements with periods ending on or after 30 April 2007. Companies filing financial statements relating to financial periods ending before 30 April 2007 will continue to file their financial statements in PDF format and their financial highlights in respect of the financial statements in their Annual Return (AR).
Minimum requirement list and phased implementation
The minimum requirement list is a set of elements within ACRA Taxonomy 2013 which companies are required to file if the information is available in the financial statements. Companies may choose to submit more information in XBRL format than the minimum requirement list.
The minimum requirement list is designed on a needs-driven basis, which means elements are only included for collection if they are sought after by consumers of financial information. A comprehensive cost-benefit analysis weighing the interests of all stakeholders was conducted before the minimum requirement list was derived.
The minimum requirement list as explained in the table below, comprises a combination of:
- a text block element to allow companies to submit their entire set of financial statements; and
- detailed information elements to allow companies to submit information within individual sections of the financial statements.
| Information Required | Minimum Requirement List |
| Text block information | An entire set of financial statements submitted using a single text block element |
| Detailed information (Statutory reports) | Statement by directors Independent auditors’ report |
| Detailed information (Primary financial statements) | Statement of financial position (note 1) Income statement (note 1) Statement of cash flows (note 2) |
| Detailed information (Disclosure notes) | Corporate and general information Trade and other receivables (note 1)(note 3) Trade and other payables (note 1)(note 3) Provisions (note 1)(note 3) Share capital (note1)(note 4) Revenue (note 1) Government grants (note 1) Employee benefits expense (note 2) Operating segments (note 1) Property, plant and equipment (note 1)(note 4) Selected income and expense (note 2) |