AUASB Bulletin

Standard Business Reporting and XBRL: Information for Audit and Assurance Practitioners

AUASB Bulletin

1 SeeAppendix1forhighlightsabouthowXBRLisbeingadoptedinotherjurisdictions.2 Seewww.sbr.gov.auforfurtherinformationregardingthedevelopmentofSBRinAustralia.3 Seewww.sbr.gov.auforafulllistofformsinscopeforSBR.4 Formoreinformation,seewww.xbrl.org/jurisdictions.aspx

June2010

Introduction

eXtensibleBusinessReportingLanguage(XBRL)ischangingthebasisofbusinessreportingaroundtheworldandthereisincreasingmomentumforitsadoptioninallmajordevelopedcountries.1

InAustralia,StandardBusinessReporting(SBR),whichusesXBRLastheunderlying,harmonizedreportinglanguage,willbeavailablefrom1July2010.

AuditandassurancepractitionersneedtobeawareoftheimplementationofSBRandXBRLandhowitmayimpacttheirwork.

ThisBulletinaimstoincreaseauditandassurancepractitionerawarenessbyprovidinginformationon:

a. thedevelopmentofSBRinAustralia;

b. XBRL:whatitisandhowitworks;

c. theimpactofSBRandXBRLonauditandotherassurancepractitionersinAustralia;

d. whattheAUASBisdoinginrelationtoSBRandXBRL;and

e. whatishappeninginothercountries.

Inparticular,thisBulletinexplainsthatAustralianAuditingStandardscurrentlydonotrequiretheauditortoperformproceduresorprovideassuranceonXBRLtaggeddatainthecontextofanauditorreviewofafinancialreport.

However,auditandassurancepractitionersmaybeengagedtoperformnon-auditservicesrelatingtotheuseofSBRandXBRL,andthisBulletinprovidesexamplesofsuchengagements.Italsohighlightstheethicalconsiderations,includingindependenceissues,thatmayarisewhenauditandassurancepractitionersundertakenon-auditservicesrelatedtotheuseofXBRL.

SBR in Australia

SBRisanAustralianGovernmentinitiativetoreducethebusiness-to-governmentreportingburdenby:

a. simplifyinggovernmentformsbyremovingunnecessaryorduplicatedinformationfromforms;

b. adoptingacommon,orharmonised,reportinglanguage,basedoninternationalstandardsandbestpractice;

c. usingaccountingsoftwaretopre-fillformsautomatically;and

d. introducingasingle,securesign-onforallparticipatingagencies.2

TheGovernmenthaschosentouseXBRLtorepresenttheharmonisedreportinglanguageonwhichSBRisbased.

TheSBRprojectisledbytheAustralianTreasuryandparticipatingagenciesaretheAustralianTaxationOffice(ATO),theAustralianSecuritiesandInvestmentsCommission(ASIC),theAustralianPrudentialRegulationAuthority(APRA),allStateandTerritoryGovernmentrevenueoffices(ROs)andtheAustralianBureauofStatistics(ABS).Itisbeingdevelopedinpartnershipwithsoftwaredevelopers,businessesandtheiraccountants,bookkeepers,taxagentsandpayrollprofessionals.

ExamplesofreportsthatwillbeavailableinSBRformatincludebusinessactivitystatements,companyincometaxreturnsandFBTreturns(ATO),financialreportsandnotificationofhalfyearlyreports(ASIC),financialstatements(APRA),payrolltaxreturns(ROs)andthequarterlybusinessindicatorssurvey(ABS).3

SBRhasnotpresentlybeenmandatedinAustralia,however,theAustralian

GovernmentanticipatesthatSBRwillbecomethepreferredmethodofreportingtoGovernmentbecauseitwillbecheaper,fasterandeasiertouse.

What is XBRL?

XBRLisacomputerbasedlanguageforthecommunicationofbusinessandfinancialdata,promotedbyXBRLInternational,4aninternationalnon-profitconsortiumofcompanies,organisationsandgovernmentagencies.Itisanopenstandard,freeoflicencefees.

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Why use XBRL?

XBRLtechnologyarosefromtheneedformorereliable,timelyandefficientbusinessreportingbyGovernments,regulators,businesses,investors,analystsandfinancialinstitutions.

Currentdisparatereportingtechnologiescreateadministrativeburdensforbusinessesworld-wide.Oftenbusinesseshavetotailorandduplicatethesameinformation,andsupplyittodomesticandinternationalgovernmentagencies,regulatorsandparentorsubsidiarycompaniesinvariousforms.

Financialinformationisusuallypresentedinastaticformat,suchaspaper,pdforhtml,theuniversallanguageforwebbrowsers.Pdfandhtmlimprovetheabilityofuserstoaccessrelevantinformationeasily,regardlessofphysicallocation.However,theseformatsdonotenableelectronicdatainterchangeoffinancialinformation,otherthanthroughbasic“copyandpaste”functionality.

Staticformatsforfinancialinformationcreatethefollowingissues:

a. Usersarerequiredtoaccessasinglefileandreadtheinformationpagebypage;

b. Datamustbeinterpretedbyuserswithinthecontextofthereporttheyarereading,potentiallyleadingtointerpretiveand/ortranspositionerrors;

c. Datamustbecopiedandpasted,orre-keyed,toenablefurtheranalysisorpresentationinadifferentform;

d. Comparativeanalysismayrequireuserstoaccessseveralfiles.Forexample,tocomparetheincomeoftencompaniesforaperiodoftenyears,ananalystmayberequiredtoaccess100discretefiles,searchineachoneforrequiredinformationandthen,iffound,extracttherelevantinformation;

e. Manualmanipulationandre-workoffinancialinformationiserror-prone,time-consumingandexpensive.

Therefore,solutionsweresoughttomakefinancialandotherbusinessinformationdynamic,orinteractive,toenableuserstoeasilyinteractwiththerelevantdatapopulation,improvethequalityofinformationandreduceusagecosts.

XBRLeliminatestheneedforrepeateddatainputting,comparison,transferralandsubmission,thusstreamliningtheprocessesforcollectingandreportingfinancialandotherbusinessinformation.Consumersoffinancialinformation,includingGovernments,regulators,investors,analystsandfinancialinstitutions,canreceive,find,compareandanalysedatamuchmorerapidlyandefficientlyifitisinXBRLformat.

How does XBRL work?

Insteadoftreatingfinancialinformationasablockoftext,asinastandardinternetpageoraprinteddocument,XBRLprovidesacomputerreadabletagsimilartoabarcodetoeachdataitemsothatelectronicallyeachindividualitemofdataisuniquelyidentifiable.

XBRLenablestheautomatedprocessingofbusinessinformationbycomputersoftware.Computerscantreatthedata“intelligently”:theycanrecognisetheinformation,selectit,analyseit,storeit,exchangeitwithothercomputersandpresentitautomaticallyinavarietyofwaysforusers.Inthisway,XBRLgreatlyincreasesthespeedofhandlingoffinancialdata,reducesthechanceoferrorandpermitsautomaticcheckingofinformation.

XBRL tags

Thetagassignedtoaspecificfigureinthefinancialinformationidentifiescertaincharacteristicsthatallowtheinformationtoberead,understoodandmanipulatedbyacomputerprogramthatcanrecognisethetag.Themeaningsofthetagsareincludedinarelevanttaxonomy(definedbelow)interpretedbycomputerprograms,likeanelectronicdictionary.

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5 Taxonomiesarepre-preparedbyvariousorganisationsandarefreelyavailable.6 Seewww.sbr.gov.au.7 TheXBRLSpecificationhasbeenestablishedbytheXBRLInternationalConsortium.FortheITtechnicaldetails,seewww.xbrl.org/Specifications.

XBRL taxonomies

Thelibraryoftagsrequiredforanyparticularpurposeisreferredtoasataxonomy.5Ataxonomyisessentiallyacollectionofconcepts,similartoadictionary.Individualtagsareknownastaxonomyelements.

IntheSBRcontext,thetaxonomyisacollectionofreportabletermsandtheirassociationwithaccountingandrelatedconcepts.ItisthelanguageusedtoenablebusinesssoftwaretosendreportstoAustralianGovernmentagencies.

TheSBRTaxonomyisbasedoninternationalstandardsandbestpractice.Indevelopingthetaxonomy,participatingagenciesundertookaprocessofrationalisation/harmonisation.Theprocessidentified,definedandlabelledeveryelementofdatathatisreportedtoAustralianGovernmentagenciesforeachoftheformsincludedinthescopeoftheSBRproject.Duplicateitemswithdisparatenameswereharmonisedunderonelabel.Similarly,itemswiththesamename,butdisparatedefinitions,wereidentifiedanduniquelylabelled.

TheSBRTaxonomyhasaround4,000elementsandmayberegardedasadefinitionaltaxonomy.OthertaxonomiesdevelopedinAustraliaforspecificpurposesarecreatedusingelementsfromtheSBRTaxonomy.Forexample,ataxonomymaybecreatedtoenablethelodgementofcompanytaxreturns.

EachnewtaxonomycreatedinAustraliamustreferencetheSBRTaxonomyandmustbeapprovedthroughacentralisedchangecontrolprocess.Inthisway,variationsintheapplicationofharmonisedelementswithintaxonomiesareminimised.

TheSBRTaxonomyisbeingusedbysoftwaredeveloperstobuildandtestSBR/XBRLenabledproductsforspecificpurposes.

Extending a taxonomy

The“X”inXBRLstandsfor“extensible”andaccordinglyXBRLisflexible,enablingareportingentitytocreatespecificelementsbywayof“extensions”toagiventaxonomy.Suchflexibilitysupportstheadaptabilityrequiredtoensurethatthefinancialresults,cashflowsandfinancialpositionofareportingentitycanbepresentedfairlyforanygivenaccountingframework.

TheAustralianSBRTaxonomycontainsalltheelementsrequiredtoenableareportingentitytomeettheminimumstandardstocreateavalidfinancialreport.However,asnotwobusinessesarethesame,notwofinancialstatementsarelikelytobethesame.Itisthereforehighlyunlikelythatanytaxonomycanbecreatedthatcontainsallthevariouselementsanygivenpopulationofreportingentitiesmayrequiretotaguptheirfinancialreports.Forexample,thetagsabankmightneedforitsfinancialstatementsorannualreportwilllikelydifferfromthoserequiredbyamanufacturingcompany,eventhoughbothmayusethesamereportingframeworksuchasAustralianAccountingStandards.Inadditiontheremaybeentityspecificinformation,forexample,analysisofsalesbyproductlinethatwouldbeuniquetothereportingentity.

Theuseofextensionsrequirescaretoensurethatcomparabilitywithotherreportsusingthesametaxonomyisnotundulyhindered.Accordinglyitisimportantthatextensionsareusedappropriately.Comparabilityisclearlyenhancedwhencommonlyusedextensionsareseparatelycodifiedintotheappropriatetaxonomytotheextentpossible.

TheSBRofficeinTreasuryprovidesguidanceonthedevelopmentandpublicationofindustrybasedextensions,6howevertheassuranceandaccuracyofsuchextensionsistheresponsibilityofthecreator.

XBRL Specification

XBRLenabledinformationcanbecreatedandacceptedbyanycomputer,similartothewaythatemailscanbetransmittedandreceivedworldwide.Theserules,orITstandards,arecalledtheXBRLSpecification7andtheyhaveuniversalacceptance.TheSpecificationsetsoutrulesastotheinformationthatisrequiredtocreatevalidXBRLinstancedocuments(describedbelow),taxonomiesandextensionsthereto.InthesamewaythatusersdonotneedtounderstandwhatmakesE-mailwork,usersdonotneedtounderstandthetechnicaldetailsoftheXBRLSpecification.

XBRL instance

AnXBRLinstanceisacomputerfilecontainingtheXBRLtagsforagivensetoffinancialinformation.ForexampleifareportingentitytaggeditsfinancialreporttheresultingcomputerfilecontainingthetaggedinformationiscalledanXBRLinstancedocument.

Instancedocumentsarenotmeanttobereadbyusersoffinancialstatements;theyarewrittenincomputercodecreatedforinterpretationbycomputers,comparabletothehtmlcodingthatisbehindmanyinternetpages.

Computerapplicationsconvertinstancedocumentsintohuman-readablereportingformats,inmuchthesamewaythatawebbrowserconvertshtmlcodeintotheinternetpagesthatwesee.

AnXBRLinstanceispreparedoncebutiscapableofusemanytimesandthisflexibilityallowsavarietyofuserneedstobemet.Forexample,aninstancedocumentcouldbeusedbyaninvestortoextractdataforanalysis;bytheATOtoextracttheinformationneededfortaxreturnpurposes;byabankforcreditcontrolpurposesandsoforth.Ineachcasetheuserappliesitsparticularcomputerapplicationtotheinstancetoextracttherequireddata(ifthesetaggeddataareavailableintheinstancedocument).

ThevalueofXBRLtaggingisthatitallowscomputerstorecognise,select,storeandexchangeinformationquicklyandeffectively,sothatdataismoreeasilyaccessible,manipulableandreviewable.XBRLallowsuserstocustomisetheiranalysisandpresentationoftaggedinformation.

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Preparing financial reports in XBRL format

ThereareanumberofwaysforentitiestopreparefinancialreportsforSBRpurposesusingXBRL:

a. ThefinancialreportcanbemappedintoXBRLafterithasbeenfinalised,eithermanuallyorbyusinga‘‘bolt-on’’applicationthatcompilesXBRLdatafromthetraditionalfinancialreportintoXBRLformat;or

b. XBRL-awareaccountingsoftwareproductsmaybeused.Suchproducts,whicharebeingdeveloped,willallowuserstomapchartsofaccountsandotherstructurestoXBRL,therebysupportingtheexportofdatainXBRLform.

Themethodwhichanentityadoptswilldependonitsrequirementsandtheaccountingsoftwareandsystemsituses.8

Whilestandardisedtaxonomiesexist,9taggingfinancialreportscanrequireasignificantamountofjudgementonthepartofthepreparer.Judgementmayberequiredwhere:

a. Therearemultipletagsthatcouldbeseenasapplicabletoaparticularfinancialstatementlineitem;

b. Whenthetaxonomydoesnotcoverallitemsofinformationtobedisclosedanditisnecessarytocreatenewtagsforthoseitems;or

c. Whenpreparersarenotwell-acquaintedwiththetaxonomyandcreateextensionstothetaxonomywhentheyarenotneeded.

Taxonomiesareperiodicallyrevisedandupdatedand,accordingly,preparersneedtoensurethattheappropriatetaxonomyhasbeenusedtotagthefinancialreport.

WhileSBRisexpectedtoimprovethecommunicationanduseoffinancialdata,theinformationprovidedinXBRLdocumentsisonlyasreliableastheunderlyingfinancialdatausedandtheaccuracyandcompletenessofthetaggingappliedtothatdataincreatingtheXBRLdocuments.

Lodging financial reports under SBR

From1July2010entitiesrequiredtolodgefinancialreportswithASICandAPRA,willbeabletodosoinXBRLformat,usingSBR-enabledsoftware.Formsthatwillbeavailablefromthatdateinclude:10

a. ASICForms

(i) Form388 CopyofFinancial StatementsandReports

(ii) FS70 ProfitandLossStatement andBalanceSheet

(iii) 7051 NotificationofHalfYearly Reports

(iii) FINRPT FinancialReportsand Statements

b. APRAForms

(i) StatementofFinancialPerformance;and

(ii) StatementofFinancialPosition.

Atthisstage,lodgingafinancialreportwithASICinXBRLformatusingSBRisvoluntaryanddoesnotreplaceanentity’sobligationtolodgethefinancialreportintherequiredpaperorpdfformat.

Audit requirements

NojurisdictiontodatehasmandatedtheauditoffinancialreportspreparedinXBRLformat.

AustralianAuditingStandardsdonotcurrentlyrequireauditorstoperformproceduresorprovideassuranceonXBRLtaggeddatainthecontextofanauditorreviewofafinancialreport.

Furthermore,becausetheXBRLtaggingissimplyamachine-readablerenderingofthedatawithinthefinancialreport,ratherthanadiscretedocument,itdoesnotconstitute‘otherinformation’asdefinedinASA720The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Other Information in Documents Containing an Audited Financial Report.11AccordinglytherequirementofASA720fortheauditorto‘‘read’’theotherinformationforthepurposeofidentifyingmaterialinconsistenciesormaterialmisstatementsoffact12isnotapplicabletoXBRLinstancedocuments.

Similarly,theauditor’sreportinaccordancewiththeAustralianAuditingStandardsdoes

notcurrentlyapplytotheprocessbywhichinformationistaggedforXBRLpurposesortotheXBRL-taggeddatathatresultsfromthetaggingprocess,andnoassuranceisgivenonanyrepresentationoftheXBRL-taggeddata.

AustralianAuditingStandardsdonotprecludetheauditorfromclarifyingtheauditor’sassociationwithXBRL-taggeddataintheauditor’sreport,ifconsiderednecessary.Thismaybedone,forexample,byidentifyingwhatfinancialinformationiscoveredbytheauditor’sreport,orincludinganOtherMatterparagraph13inthereport.

AstheuseofXBRLevolvesinAustralia,itispossiblethatassurancemayberequiredonXBRL-taggeddatabyregulatorsorrequestedbypreparers,orbyinvestorsorotherfinancialreportusers.

Non-audit services

WhileauditorsarenotrequiredtoperformproceduresorprovideassuranceonXBRL-taggeddatainthecontextofanauditorreviewofafinancialreport,theremaybeademandfornon-auditservicestobeperformedbypractitioners.Examplesofnon-auditservicesmayinclude:

a. AdvisingontheimplementationofXBRL,wherenotprohibitedbyrelevantindependencerequirements;

b. AssistingwithorperformingtheXBRLtagging,wherenotprohibitedbyrelevantindependencerequirements;

c. TrainingmanagementandstaffinXBRLtagging;and

d. Otherassuranceengagements(forexample,specifiedassuranceproceduresrelatingtotheaccuracyoftheXBRLtaggingperformedbymanagement,toassisttheauditcommitteeinitsoversightrole;orassuranceonthecontrolsrelatedtotheXBRLtaggingprocess).

Whereotherassuranceengagementsareundertaken,ASA102Compliance with Ethical Requirements when Performing Audits, Reviews and Other Assurance Engagementsrequirestheauditor,assurancepractitionerandfirmtocomplywithrelevantethicalrequirements,includingthosepertainingtoindependence.14Accordingly,theauditorconsiderspossiblethreatstoindependence

8 Itisanticipatedthat,initially,mostAustralianentitieswillmapfinancialreportsintoXBRLaftercompletion.9 Atthisstage,theXBRLtaxonomyforAustralianfinancialreportsisbeingmanagedbyASIC,inconsultationwith

theAustralianAccountingStandardsBoard,accountingfirmsandsoftwaredevelopers.10OtherreportswillalsobeabletobelodgedwithotherregulatorsdirectlyfromSBR-enabledsoftwarefrom1July

2010.Forexample,theBusinessActivityStatementwillbeabletobelodgedfromSBR-enabledsoftwaredirectlywiththeAustralianTaxationOffice.

11SeeASA720,paragraph5(a).12SeeASA720,paragraphs8and14.13SeeASA706Emphasis of Matter Paragraphs and Other Matter Paragraphs in the Independent Auditor’s Report.14SeeASA102paragraph5.

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andobjectivityandwhetheritisappropriatetoaccepttheengagementand,ifso,whethertoapplyappropriatesafeguards.

Certainotherjurisdictionshaveissuedguidanceaboutnon-auditservicesrelatingtoXBRL.15TheAUASBismonitoringthesedevelopmentswithaviewtodeterminingthedemandforandapplicabilityofsuchguidanceinAustralia.

Potential implications of XBRL for audit and assurance

AstheadoptionofXBRLincreasesandusersbegintointeractwiththeXBRLdataavailabletothem,thedemandforauditofthatdataislikelytoincrease.Accountants,auditors,regulatorsandacademiaarebeginningtoconsiderwhattheimplicationsforauditandassurancemightbe.

Inpart,thewayinwhichXBRLisusedforfinancialreportingwilldeterminethenatureoftheassuranceprovidedonthatinformation.Forexample,whereXBRLisappliedafterthefinancialreporthasbeencompleted,suchthatthereisbothahumanreadablereportandanXBRLreport,thecurrentauditmodelmaycontinuetoapply.Thismodelprovidesfortheexpressionofanopinionbytheauditoronwhetherthefinancialreport,asawhole,presentsfairlyinallmaterialrespectsthefinancialpositionandresultsofanentity.AssuranceontheXBRLreport,inthisinstance,islikelytoinvolvereferencingtheequivalenthumanreadablereport.

However,whereXBRLisappliedatthechartofaccounts,ordata,level,suchthattheendproductisacomputerreadable,XBRLreportonly,newauditmethodologiesmayberequired,asthecurrentauditmodeldoesnotprovideforassurancetobegivenatthedatalevel.

XBRLwillenabledynamicinformationtobeprovidedtothemarket,allowinguserstoextractandre-useonlythoseelementsofanXBRLfinancialreportthatarerelevanttotheirenquiry.Anissuethereforearisesaboutassuranceatthedisaggregated,ratherthanreport,level.WillusersassumethatthedisaggregatedXBRLinformationhasbeenaudited?Willusersdemandassuranceofthisdisaggregatedinformation?Whatlevelofassurancewillberequiredandwillit

bepossibletoprovidethatassuranceatareasonablecost?

Toassiststandardsetters,policymakersandregulatorsunderstandandprepareforthechangestoauditandassurancepractice,researchisbeingundertakeninmanyjurisdictionsbyacademicinstitutions.Someoftheareasbeingexaminedinclude:

a. TheimplicationsofXBRLforauditsof,orotherassuranceserviceson,financialstatements;16

b. TheneedforaconceptualframeworkforprovidingassuranceonXBRLinstancedocumentsandasetofassertionssimilartothemanagementassertionsforfinancialaudits;17and

c. Theapplicabilityoftraditionalauditconceptssuchasmateriality,errorandsamplinginadata-centric,XBRLenvironment.18

IAASB work in relation to XBRL

TheInternationalAuditingandAssuranceStandardsBoard(IAASB)hascommissionedaresearchprojectontheimplicationsofXBRLforthefinancialstatementauditandisundertakingaconsultationprocesstodeterminetheneedsofpreparersandusersofXBRL-taggeddatatoassisttheIAASBinassessingwhetheritisnecessaryandinthepublicinteresttodevelopapronouncementaddressingassociationwithand/orassuranceonXBRL-taggeddata.19

AUASB work in relation to XBRL

TheAUASBiscloselymonitoringlocalandinternationaldevelopmentsintheXBRLareawithaviewtodeterminingwhetheritisinthepublicinteresttoissueapronouncementtoassistauditandassurancepractitioners.Inparticular,theAUASBismonitoringtheworkbeingdonebytheIAASB,theAustralianTreasury,ASIC,APRAandacademia.

ThecommencementofvoluntarylodgementoffinancialreportsinXBRLformatwithASICfrom1July2010willbecloselywatchedbytheAUASBasanindicatorofthetake-upofthetechnologyforfinancialreportinginAustralia.

15Forexample,seetheAmericanInstituteofCertifiedPublicAccountants(AICPA)StatementofPosition09-1Performing Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagements that Address the Completeness, Accuracy, or Consistency of XBRL-Tagged Data(April2009).

16 Seewww.ifac.org/MediaCenterfortheIAASBmediareleaseregardingthisresearchproject.17 Forexample,seeSrivastava,RajendraP.andKogan,Alex,Assurance on XBRL Instance Document: A Conceptual Framework of Assertions(September2009)18 Forexample,Plumlee,R.DavidandPlumlee,MarleneA.,Assurance on XBRL for Financial Reporting(September2008)19Seewww.ifac.org/IAASB/ProjectHistory.

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What is happening in other countries?

XBRLandstandardbusinessreportingarebeingadoptedtovaryingdegrees,andfordifferentpurposes,inmanycountries,includingBelgium,Canada,China,Denmark,France,Germany,HongKong,India,Israel,Italy,Japan,Korea,theNetherlands,Singapore,Spain,Sweden,Thailand,theUnitedStatesofAmericaandtheUnitedKingdom.DevelopmentsinthesecountriesaretooextensivetodescribeinthisBulletin,however,certainhighlightsareprovidedtogivethereaderasenseoftheadoptionofXBRLworldwide.

United States of America

FromDecember2008,thetop500publiccompanieshavebeenrequiredtofiletheirfinancialstatementswiththeSecuritiesandExchangeCommission(SEC)inbothtextand“interactive”20format.

Netherlands

TheNetherlandswasthefirstcountrytoembarkonastandardbusinessreportingprogramandtheAustralianSBRprogramisbasedontheirapproach.SinceJanuary2007,DutchbusinesseshavebeenabletomaptheirfinancialdatainacommonXBRLlanguageandsendreportsdirectlyfromtheirsoftwaretotherelevantgovernmentagency.BusinesseswhousethefacilitiesoftheDutchSBRprogramhaveestimatedtheysaveupto15percentoftheircompliancereportingcosts.

United Kingdom

TheonlinefilingofallCompanyTaxReturnsusingInlineXBRL21willbemandatoryfrom1April2011,whichwillresultinmorethantwomillionreturnsbeingprocessedbyHerMajesty’sRevenueandCustoms(HMRC)eachyear.

Germany

InJanuary2010,theFederalMinistryofFinanceissuedaTaxDeregulationActmandatingthestandardisedsubmissionoffinancialstatementsinXBRLformatforfiscalperiodsbeginningonorafter31December2010.Thislegislationisakeypartofaministerialinitiativetoreducethetaxreportingburden.Itisbeingco-ordinatedthroughtheFederalCONSENUS(co-ordinatedsoftwaredevelopmentforelectronictaxadministration)project.

Spain

InMarch2010,theSpanishBusinessRegistryannouncedtheavailabilityofannualfinancialstatementsinXBRLformatforusersofitsonlineportal,www.registradores.org.Todate,therehavebeenmorethen600,000submissionstotheBusinessRegistryinXBRL.ThisfollowsthepublicationofOrder BOE JUST/206/2009intheofficialjournaloftheSpanishgovernmentinFebruary2009,mandatingtheuseofXBRLinthepresentationofannualfinancialstatements.

Belgium

Thefilingofregisteredcompanies’annualreportstotheNationalBankofBelgiuminXBRLformatwasmademandatoryinApril2007.Sincethen,over98%ofthe235,000registered,unlisted,non-financialcompaniesinBelgiumhavefiledreportsinXBRLformat.

China

ChinapioneeredtheadoptionofXBRLreportingin2003withapilotprogramunderwhich118annualreportswerefiledinXBRLformatwiththeShanghaiStockExchange(SSE).InApril2010,864companieslistedonSSEsuccessfullylodgedannualreports(for2008)inXBRLformat.

APPENDIX 1

20 Theterm“interactive”iscommonlyusedintheUnitedStates,ratherthantheacronym“XBRL”.21 InlineXBRL(iXBRL)useswebbrowsertechnology(htmlorxhtml)toprovidewebbrowserpresentationsofinstancedocuments.Itprovidesamechanismfor

takingXBRLfragmentsinfinancialandbusinessinformationinhtmlandaddingtoithiddenmetadata,ortags,whichcanbeusedtoconstructamachine-readablecopyofthesameinformation.TheobjectiveistoprovidedocumentswhichcanbeviewedinawebbrowserwhilemakinguseofXBRLtagswhichcanbeprocessedautomaticallybyconsumingapplications.

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TherearenumerouswebsiteswhichprovideinformationaboutXBRLanddemonstrationsofhowXBRLcanbeused.ThefollowingwebsitesprovideexamplesofthetypesofXBRL,andSBR,informationavailableontheinternetandusefulstartingpointstolearnmoreaboutXBRL.Thereare,however,manymorewebsitesandtoolswhichareavailableandthislistprovidesonlyafewexamples.

• www.sbr.gov.au ThisistheAustralianGovernmentwebsitefortheSBRinitiative,developedoveranumberofyears,whichprovidesforthecommencementofreportingtoGovernmentinXBRLformatfrom1July2010.ThewebsiteprovidesextensiveinformationontheSBRPrograminAustralia,aswellasinformationaboutXBRL,includinglearningprogramstailoredforbusiness,reportingprofessionals,softwaredevelopersandthepublic.

• www.xbrl.org ThisisthemainwebsiteforXBRLInternational.ItprovidesextensiveinformationaboutthedevelopmentofXBRLgloballyandlinkstootherwebsites.

• www.iasb.org/xbrlThisistheInternationalAccountingStandardsBoardXBRLwebsite.ItprovidesashortsummarydescribingXBRLanddetailsofhowitworks.

• usgaap.xbrl.usThisisthewebsiteoftheUSjurisdictionofXBRLInternational,aseparatenon-profitorganisation.ItprovidesusefulinformationaboutXBRLintheUS,aswellascasestudies,whitepapersandfactsheets.

Copyright

©2010AuditingandAssuranceStandardsBoard.Thetext,graphicsandlayoutofthisBulletinareprotectedbyAustraliancopyrightlawandthecomparablelawofothercountries.ReproductionwithinAustraliainunalteredform(retainingthisnotice)ispermittedforpersonalandnon-commercialusesubjecttotheinclusionofanacknowledgmentofthesource.RequestsandenquiriesconcerningreproductionandrightsforcommercialpurposeswithinAustraliashouldbeaddressedtotheExecutiveDirector,AuditingandAssuranceStandardsBoard.Otherwise,nopartoftheBulletinmaybereproduced,storedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeanswithoutthepriorwrittenpermissionoftheAUASBexceptaspermittedbylaw.

Disclaimer

AUASBBulletinsareissuedtoraiseageneralawarenessofmattersthatareofinteresttoauditorsandassurancepractitioners.TheydonotprovideauthoritativeguidanceanddonotamendexistingAUASBStandardsandGuidanceStatements.NoresponsibilityistakenfortheresultsofactionsoromissionstoactonthebasisofanyinformationcontainedinthisAUASBBulletin,oranyerrorsoromissionsinthedocument.

Web Resources

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