XBRL is used for businesses and accounting professionals. XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a freely available and global framework for exchanging business information.
XBRL is used around the world, in more than 50 countries. Millions of XBRL documents are created every year, replacing older, paper-based reports with more useful, more effective and more accurate digital versions.
Accurate reporting
XBRL makes reporting more accurate and more efficient. It allows unique tags to be associated with reported facts, allowing:
- people publishing reports to do so with confidence that the information contained in the AFS can be consumed and analysed accurately,
- people reading financial reports to test them against a set of business and logical rules, in order to capture and avoid mistakes at their source. +4
- people using the information to do so in the way that best suits their needs, including by using different languages, alternative currencies and in their preferred style
- people consuming the information to do so confident that the data is accurate.
In South Africa, CIPC introduced XBRL in 2019 for the first time, requiring all companies subject to an audit, to file their annual returns in XBRL format instead of submitting hard-copy AFS.
CIPC and others reporting on XBRL
1. According to the Companies Act of 2008 as amended in 2011, all entities registered with the CIPC need to annually file Annual Returns (AR), and together with ARs, either a FAS or AFS as required by the Act for a specific entity. Please note that even dormant companies need to familiarize themselves with the stipulations of the Companies Act and are NOT automatically exempted from filing either a FAS or AFS. Please refer to the “Filers Guidelines: Business Aspects” document on the CIPCs XBRL web page for more details.
2. When entities are required to file AFSs, they MUST do so via XBRL format. No .PDF documents are accepted anymore, and entities are not allowed to e-mail AFSs anymore. For uploading AFSs via XBRL, refer to the “User Manual for XBRL Portal” on the CIPCs XBRL web page.
3. Both AFSs and FASs are to be filed via the CIPCs e-service portal from the link below: https://eservices.cipc.co.za/ 4. Both AFSs and FASs can be filed on a stand-alone basis or from within the AR process.
- An entity must submit AFS to CIPC in iXBRL format only if any one of the below-mentioned criteria applies:
- If an audit is required as per the MOI (Memorandum of Incorporation)
- If the PI score of the entity is 350 or more
- If the PI score of the entity is 100 or more and the financials are internally compiled
- If the entity holds any kind of assets in a fiduciary capacity for persons who are a part of the entity, and the aggregated value of such assets exceeds R5 Million at any given time during the financial year.
The entities who are required to file AFS must do it in the iXBRL format.
If your entity doesn’t fall under any of the categories mentioned above, you are required to prepare FAS and submit to CIPC.
iXBRL format is also available for those who wish to audit their financial statements voluntarily. They can choose to file AFS in iXBRL or FAS. And those companies that don’t fall under any of the aforementioned categories need to submit FAS with CIPC.
Filing XBRL is what we do for you
My practice was one of the first to compile and submit reports to CIPC. We have to date submitted well over 200 reports, ranging from small companies to large consolidations involving several subsidiaries.
We utilise the DraftWorx application and do not charge you for the cost thereof.
Our XBRL fee has not changed since 2020 and we will hold it at the same level for 2024 as well. We apply a simple, easy-to-use formula and clients only pay once we have completed the work.
Call us…
Please call us. We know what to do.