Financial Statements in XBRL format
Unless exempted, all Singapore (SG) incorporated companies are required to file financial statements (FS) with ACRA. Depending on company type, nature, and financial position, companies are either required to file a full set of FS in XBRL format or key financial data in XBRL format and a full set of a signed copy of the FS tabled at an annual general meeting and/or circulated to members (AGM FS) in PDF to complete the filing of Annual Return.
Sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership are not required to file FS with ACRA.
WHAT IS XBRL?
XBRL stands for eXtensible Business Reporting Language. It is a language for the electronic communication of business and financial data worldwide and is becoming a standard means of communicating information between businesses on the Internet.
A key advantage of XBRL is greater transparency and it gives a far wider scope and complexity for business analytics than manual comparison of financial statements. With more companies filing in full XBRL, analysis of business data can be more efficiently generated and made available to the business community.
To file FS in XBRL format, an XBRL file must be uploaded to the BizFinx server (e.g. through the BizFinx preparation tool), then proceed to file it as part of the Annual Return in BizFile.
Revised XBRL filing requirements
To streamline the filing of FS, ACRA has revised the filing requirements and data elements in XBRL format as follows:
- Full XBRL template – This captures the information in primary statements and selected notes to FS. The number of data elements for this template is about 210 data elements.
- Simplified XBRL template – This template replaces XBRL FSH (General) and captures the complete information in the statements of financial performance and position with about 120 data elements.
- XBRL FSH (Banks) template – There is minimal change to this template. This template has about 80 data elements; and
- XBRL FSH (Insurance) template – There is minimal change to this template. This template has about 80 data elements.
XBRL Filing Requirements Companies are mandated to apply the revised filing requirements and data elements on or after 1 May 2021.
| Companies that file FS that are made public | XBRL Filing Requirements |
| SG-incorporated exempt private companies (EPCs) that are insolvent An exempt private company is insolvent if it is unable to meet its debts when they are due. |
The extent of XBRL filing varies based on the company’s nature and the size of the operations as follows:
|
| SG-incorporated EPCs that are solvent An exempt private company is solvent if it is able to meet its debts when they are due. | Not required to file FS, however, if the Company chooses to voluntarily file, the filing requirements are as follows:
|
| SG-incorporated companies in the business of banking, finance, and insurance that are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) | To file FS in:
|
| SG-incorporated companies preparing FS using accounting standards other than prescribed accounting standards in Singapore or IFRS | To file a PDF copy of the FS authorized by the directors. |
| SG-incorporated companies that are not covered in items 1 to 4 above | The extent of XBRL filing varies based on the company’s nature and the size of the operations as follows:
|
| SG-incorporated companies limited by guarantee | To file a PDF copy of the FS authorized by the directors |
| Foreign companies with SG branches | To file a PDF copy of the FS authorized by the directors. |
What is a smaller company?
A smaller company refers to a company whose revenue and total assets for the current financial year do not exceed S$500,000 and S$500,000 respectively.
If a company has control, joint control, or significant influence over other entities, its revenue and total assets are assessed based on consolidated figures unless the company is exempted by the accounting standards or by ACRA from preparing consolidated FS.
For FS in foreign currency, revenue should be translated based on average rates over the financial year and total assets to be translated based on the closing rate as of financial year-end.
What is a non-publicly accountable company?
A non-publicly accountable company refers to a company that is:
- NOT a company that is listed or is in the process of issuing debt or equity instruments for trading on a securities exchange in Singapore;
- NOT a company whose securities are listed on an exchange outside Singapore;
- NOT one of the following financial institutions:
- entity that is part of the banking and payment systems (namely, licensed banks1, financial institutions approved under section 28 of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Chapter 186), operators of payment systems designated under section 42 of the Payment Services Act 2019 (Act 2 of 2019), settlement institutions of payment systems designated under section 42 of the Payment Services Act 2019, persons that have in force a standard payment institution licence granted under section 6 of the Payment Services Act 2019, persons that have in force a major payment institution licence granted or deemed to have been granted under section 6 of the Payment Services Act 2019 and licensed finance companies);
- licensed insurer, foreign insurer under Lloyd’s Asia Scheme and registered insurance broker;
- capital market infrastructure provider (namely, approved holding companies, approved exchanges, recognised market operators, approved clearing houses and recognised clearing houses under the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289));
- capital markets intermediary (namely, holders of capital market services licence, licensed financial advisers, registered fund management companies, licensed trust companies and approved trustee for collective investment scheme);
- licensed trade repository, authorised and exempt benchmark administrator under the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289);
- operator of the Central Depository System under the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289);
- trustee-manager of listed registered business trust;
- designated financial holding company under the Financial Holding Companies Act2; and
- licensed credit bureau under the Credit Bureau Act.
