ACRA accepts filings of financial statements in both PDF and XBRL format.
From 1 November 2007 onwards, Singapore incorporated companies which are either limited by shares or unlimited must file their financial statements in XBRL for financial periods ending on or after 30 April 2007, except as provided below.
Filing Financial Statements in PDF
Singapore incorporated companies excluded from filing their financial statements in XBRL are set out as follows:
Companies Limited by Guarantee
Companies limited by guarantee shall continue to file their financial statements by attaching a PDF copy of the financial statements as tabled at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Companies with Financial Periods Ending Before 30 April 2007
Companies filing financial statements relating to the financial periods before 30 April 2007 will continue to file their financial statements by attaching a PDF copy of the financial statements, and will also have to set out their financial highlights in respect of the financial statements in the Annual Return (AR).
Companies with Financial Periods Ending On or After 30 April 2007 (Option C – Full PDF Format)
Categories of companies under Option C (Full PDF format) are:
a) Companies which fall under the scope of (1) Commercial Banks; (2) Merchant Banks; (3) Registered Insurers; and (4) Finance Companies as stated in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory; and
b) Companies that are allowed by law to prepare accounts in accordance with accounting standards other than Singapore Financial Reporting Standards or International Financial Reporting Standards.
Financial Highlights
Please refer to the following table on the changes to the financial terminologies used in the financial highlights on or after 1 November 2007:
| Financial Highlights before 1 November 2007 |
Financial Highlights on or after 1 November 2007 |
| Turnover/Sales and other operating revenues |
Revenue |
| Net Income (or Loss) from extraordinary and non-operating items |
NIL - Not required under FRS 1 |
| Profit before tax |
Profit before tax from continuing operations |
| Profit after tax |
Profit from continuing operations, net of tax |
| Loss before tax |
Loss before tax from continuing operations |
| Loss after tax |
Loss from continuing operations, net of tax |
| Total assets |
Total Asset |
| Current assets |
Total Current Assets |
| Fixed and other assets |
Total Non-Current Assets |
| Total Liabilities |
Total Liabilities |
| Current Liabilities |
Total Current Liabilities |
| All non-current and long term liabilities |
Total Non-Current Liabilities |
| Shareholders’ Funds |
Total Equity |
| Paid-up Capital |
Share Capital |
| Reserves (Total of all types) |
Total Other Reserves |
| (Accumulated Loss) |
Retained Earnings (Accumulated Loss) |
Filing Financial Statements in XBRL
Users may use FS Manager to prepare financial statements in XBRL. The options available are as follows:
a) Option A (Full XBRL); or
b) Option B (Partial XBRL).
Option A (Full XBRL)
A company shall file its financial statements under Option A (Full XBRL) for its AR only under the following two scenarios:
a) The company had used the FS Manager to prepare the full set of financial statements for tabling at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) [note (i)]; or
b) The 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 [note (i)].
Note (i): For the case of a private company which has dispensed with holding an AGM, the full set of financial statements will be that sent to the shareholders of the company.
The different financial periods stated in Option B do not affect the filing in Option A.
Option B (Partial XBRL)
Companies filing in Option B must attach a PDF copy of its full set of financial statements as tabled at the AGM with its AR (or for 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 which was sent to the shareholders of the company).
There is a difference for filings in Option B for the financial periods:
Financial Periods Beginning On or Before 31 December 2008
A company which chooses to file in Option B files a minimum of the Balance Sheet, Income Statement and information denoted by a red asterisk in FS Manager.
Financial Periods Beginning On or After 1 January 2009 (or Earlier, if FRS 1(R) Has Been Early Adopted)
The Accounting Standards Council has issued on 28 March 2008, the revised FRS 1 for Singapore incorporated companies [FRS 1(R)], effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2009, with earlier adoption permitted.
A company which chooses to file in Option B files 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.
More information on the changes is available under "Practice Direction No. 4 of 2009 - Specific Information from Practice Directions"
Filing Requirements
The table below illustrates the information required to be filed in XBRL format for Option A and Option B filing respectively.
|
Statements for Financial Periods Beginning On or Before 31 December 2008
(Taxonomy Version 1.23)@ |
Statements for Financial Periods Beginning On or After 1 January 2009 (or earlier, if FRS 1(R) has been early adopted)
(Taxonomy Version 2.10 & above)@ |
Option A
(Full XBRL) |
Option B
(Partial XBRL) |
|
Directors’ Report |
ü |
|
|
Statement by Directors |
ü |
|
|
Independent Auditors’ Report |
* |
|
|
Income Statement |
Statement of Comprehensive Income (and Income Statement, if the company has presented all items of income and expense in two statements) # |
ü |
ü |
|
Balance Sheet |
Statement of Financial Position |
ü |
ü |
|
Statement of Changes in Equity |
ü |
|
|
Cash Flow Statement |
Statement of Cash Flows |
ü |
|
|
All Notes to the Financial Statements |
ü |
|
|
Mandatory information denoted by a red asterisk in FS Manager |
ü |
ü |
# For Taxonomy V2.12 (SFRS for Small Entities), companies with Statement of Income and Retained Earnings will file under Option B (Partial XBRL) instead of Option A (Full XBRL)
* Applicable for companies not exempted from audit requirement.
@ Explanatory notes on the various ACRA Taxonomy versions are available in the FS Manager