What Is Singapore Extensible Business Reporting Language

By Author: Robert Sparks
Total Articles: 68
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Singapore XBRL or eXtensible Business Reporting Language is a language for the electronic communication of business and financial data worldwide. It enables the organization and management of financial data for research and analysis. It also simplifies the communication of financial information online and among businesses with significant accuracy and reliability. On this page, we will provide you with preliminary Singapore XBRL filing details.

The objective of XBRL is to have a more efficient financial reporting, to enable the flow of financial information into the international business community and to promote a pro-enterprise environment. These objectives served as decision points for Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) in adopting XBRL.

As stated in Singapore’s corporate law, all Singapore incorporated companies, which are unlimited or limited by shares, must submit financial statements in XBRL format. This law was implemented on the 1st of November 2007. However, there are still companies who are allowed to continue to file financial statements in PDF format. These companies ...
... are as follows:

• Companies limited by guarantee will be able to continue filing financial statements in PDF format as tabled at the Annual General Meeting;
• Companies that are commercial banks, merchant banks, registered insurers and finance institutions as stated in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory;
• All companies that are permitted by law to prepare in accordance with accounting standards other than Singapore or International Financial Reporting Standards.

In filing financial statements in XBRL, there are two options to choose from:

• Option A _Full XBRL can be used if the company uses FS Manager to prepare the full set of financial statements for tabling at the Annual General Meeting (AGM); or FS Manager is used to prepare a full set of financial statements identical in content to the full set of financial statements tabled at the AGM.
• Option B _Partial XBRL should attach a PDF copy of its full set of financial statements as tabled at the AGM. In the case of a private company, which has dispensed with holding an AGM, it shall be a copy of its full set of financial statements sent to the shareholders of the company. With Option B, a company must file a minimum of Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Comprehensive Income and information denoted by a red asterisk in FS Manager. If the company presents all items of income and expense in two statements, both Statement of Comprehensive Income and Income Statement must also be filed.

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