XBRL Filing Singapore: How to Validate Your Financial Statements Before Submission

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) filing is an essential part of the annual compliance process for businesses in Singapore. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) requires all registered companies to submit their financial statements in XBRL format. Ensuring that your XBRL filing is accurate before submission is critical to avoid penalties, delays, or rejections.

In this article, we will walk you through the process of validating your financial statements before submitting them as part of your XBRL filing, and how automated accounting tools can help streamline this process.

1. Understand the Key Validation Requirements for XBRL Filing

Why It’s Important:
Before submitting your XBRL filing to ACRA, it's essential to ensure that the financial data is tagged and categorized correctly according to ACRA’s XBRL taxonomy. Misclassifying data, missing required tags, or errors in the formatting can result in a rejected filing or delay in processing.

Validation Factors to Consider:

• Correct Tagging: Ensure that financial elements (such as revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities) are tagged according to the relevant XBRL taxonomy.
• Consistency Across Statements: Verify that data from your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement align with each other. For example, net income from the income statement should match the appropriate line in the balance sheet.
• Required Data Fields: Make sure that all required data fields are included and correctly populated (e.g., share capital, retained earnings, etc.).

2. Run a Preliminary Check of Your Financial Data

Why It’s Important:
Before converting financial statements to XBRL, it's important to ensure that your data is accurate. Any inconsistencies in the data can affect the entire filing.

How to Check:

• Double-check Key Financials: Verify that your balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement are accurate and align with each other. Ensure that your trial balance is balanced and that there are no discrepancies in your accounts.
• Look for Missing Data: Check that all required financial data, including revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity, is complete. Missing data can cause errors in your XBRL filing.
• Audit Internal Records: If necessary, run an internal audit to ensure that financial records are accurate and complete.

How AI Can Help:
AI-powered tools like ccMonet automatically reconcile financial data in real time, ensuring that your accounts are up-to-date and accurate. This reduces the chances of discrepancies and makes the data validation process much easier.

3. Use Built-in XBRL Validation Tools

Why It’s Important:
One of the most common reasons for XBRL filing rejection is incorrect tagging or misclassification of financial data. ACRA has specific taxonomies that your financial data needs to align with, and using built-in XBRL validation tools can help ensure your data is tagged properly.

How to Validate:

• Use Automated XBRL Generation Tools: Many accounting software platforms, including ccMonet, offer tools that automatically tag and categorize your financial data according to ACRA’s XBRL taxonomy. These tools generate XBRL-compliant reports from your financial statements and validate the data in real time.
• Cross-Check Against Taxonomies: Review the financial tags and classifications generated by the software and ensure they are mapped to the correct XBRL elements as per ACRA’s taxonomy.

How AI Can Help:
AI tools built into accounting software like ccMonet automatically categorize your financial transactions in line with ACRA’s taxonomies. The AI system checks for errors in real-time, such as misapplied tags, missing data, or inconsistencies, and alerts you to any issues before submission.

4. Run a Test Submission

Why It’s Important:
Running a test submission allows you to catch any issues with your XBRL filing before the actual submission. ACRA’s XBRL filing system includes built-in error-checking, but performing your own test submission ensures that everything is in order.

How to Perform a Test Submission:

• Submit a Test File to ACRA: ACRA’s XBRL filing system allows you to submit a test file to ensure that your data is formatted and tagged correctly. Use this feature to check if there are any issues or errors before finalizing your submission.
• Review ACRA’s Feedback: ACRA will provide feedback on any errors or issues in your filing. Use this feedback to correct the problems and revalidate your data.

How AI Can Help:
AI-powered accounting platforms like ccMonet can simulate the test submission process, allowing you to check for issues in your filing before submitting to ACRA. These tools automatically flag potential errors and provide actionable recommendations to fix them.

5. Verify the XBRL Tags and Formatting

Why It’s Important:
XBRL filings must adhere to very specific formatting rules, including the correct tags for each line item in the financial statements. If tags are missing, misapplied, or incorrectly formatted, your filing may be rejected.

How to Check:

• Verify Tags Against ACRA’s XBRL Taxonomy: Check that each data point in your financial statements is tagged according to the correct XBRL element from ACRA’s taxonomy. For example, make sure that revenue, assets, liabilities, and equity are properly categorized.
• Ensure Proper Tag Structure: XBRL filings require a specific structure, including the use of appropriate parent-child relationships between tags (e.g., total revenue being linked to its subcategories). Verify that these relationships are correctly defined in your filing.

How AI Can Help:
AI tools like ccMonet automatically apply the correct XBRL tags based on ACRA’s taxonomy, ensuring your financial statements are properly formatted. The AI also ensures that parent-child relationships between tags are accurately applied, helping you avoid formatting errors.

6. Review Key Financial Figures and Ensure Consistency

Why It’s Important:
ACRA requires consistency across your financial statements. For example, the net income reported in your income statement should match the net income in your balance sheet, and the total assets in your balance sheet should align with the cash flow statement.

How to Check:

• Cross-Check Key Figures: Ensure that your key financial figures, such as net income and total assets, are consistent across all financial statements.
• Review Ratios and Percentages: Check financial ratios like profitability, liquidity, and solvency to ensure they are reasonable and in line with industry standards.

How AI Can Help:
AI accounting platforms like ccMonet continuously validate financial data, cross-checking key figures to ensure consistency across your financial statements. The AI system flags inconsistencies, helping to ensure that your XBRL filing is error-free.

7. Finalize and Submit Your XBRL Filing

Why It’s Important:
Once all validation checks are completed, you’re ready to submit your XBRL filing to ACRA. Ensure that your financial data is fully accurate and formatted correctly to avoid delays and penalties.

How to Submit:

• Submit via ACRA’s Online Filing System: Once validated, submit your XBRL filing through ACRA’s online portal. Double-check that all necessary documents, including financial statements and shareholder information, are included.
• Track Submission Status: After submission, track the status of your filing to confirm that it has been received and processed by ACRA.

How AI Can Help:
AI tools like ccMonet can automate the submission process, allowing you to submit your XBRL filing directly to ACRA with just a few clicks. AI validation ensures that your filing is fully compliant and ready for submission without the need for additional manual checks.

Conclusion

Validating your financial statements before submitting them as part of your XBRL filing to ACRA is essential to ensure compliance and avoid errors that could lead to penalties or rejection. By leveraging AI-powered accounting tools like ccMonet, you can automate the validation process, catch errors early, and ensure that your filing is accurate and compliant with ACRA’s requirements.

👉 Ready to streamline your XBRL filing process? Explore how ccMonet can help you automate validation and ensure accurate, compliant filings.

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