XBRL

Extensible business reporting language (XBRL) is the financial and operational business reporting offshoot of XML, which is a freely-licensable, open technology standard used to electronically exchange business information. XBRL makes the analysis and exchange of corporate financial information easier and more reliable by allowing data to be extracted and processed automatically by XBRL-aware applications.

Benefits of XBRL:

• Reduce reporting burden
• Drive down costs
• Improve data timelines
• Improve data accuracy
• Increase transparency
• Increase accurate
• Improve flexibility

WHAT IS MANDATE:

Companies whose Balance Sheet date is 31.03.2011 or onwards, need to file their financial statements in XBRL provided they qualify the criteria laid as per Ministry’s general Circular 37/2011 dated 07.06.2011.The following class of companies have to file the Financial Statements in XBRL Form from the year 2010-2011:-

• All companies listed in India and their subsidiaries (Subsidiary of listed company are required to file in XBRL format, irrespective of its paid up capital)
(Note : If A ltd is Listed Company , B (P) Ltd is A’s Subsidiary and C (P) Ltd is B’s Subsidiary , then as per FAQ by MCA all three i.e. A Ltd , B (P) Ltd & C (P) Ltd have to file in XBRL Format only)
• All companies having a paid up capital of Rs. 5 Crore and above or a Turnover of Rs 100 crores or above i.e. about 28,000 companies have to file in XBRL format. There shall be a separate set of Form 23AC (Form for filing Balance Sheet and other documents with the Registrar) and Form 23ACA (Form for filing Profit & Loss Account and other documents with Registrar) available on the MCA portal for filing in XBRL form. Existing Form 23AC and 23ACA shall continue to be there for filing by companies to which XBRL filing is not applicable; and for filing of earlier year’s documents.

XBRL Taxonomy:

XBRL Taxonomies are the reporting-area specific hierarchical dictionaries of business terms and their corresponding tags. They define the specific tags that are used for individual items of data such as net profit, their attributes and their interrelationships. Different taxonomies will be required for different business reporting purposes. We need to take into account three broad categories including Commercial and Industrial, Banking Companies and Non-Banking Companies while building the taxonomy. Once an organization has the appropriate taxonomy, it can enable its reports for XBRL. From there, organizations can more easily use and share data from the reports within the organization and between organizations.

Cost Audit:

Cost audit is an internal audit used for the verification of cost accounts and a check on the adherence to cost accounting plan. Cost audit therefore, comprises of the verification of the cost accounting records such as the accuracy of the cost accounts, cost reports, cost statements, cost data and cost techniques and examination of these records to ensure that they adhere to the cost accounting principles, plans, procedures and objectives.

Financial Statements

Financial statements are a collection of reports about an organization's financial results, financial condition, and cash flows. Financial statements are useful to determine the ability of a business to generate cash, and the sources and uses of that cash, to track financial results on a trend line to spot any looming profitability issues. And moreover, to investigate the details of certain business transactions, as outlined in the disclosures that accompany the statements.

Important References