In XBRL filing, precision is what most Singapore SMEs focus on first. Numbers must be accurate. Totals must tie. Figures must reconcile perfectly. All of that matters — but it’s not what usually determines whether an XBRL submission passes.
More often than not, consistency matters more than precision.
Traditional accounting reviews look for correctness at a point in time. XBRL validation looks for patterns across data.
It checks whether:
A perfectly precise number placed inconsistently can fail validation. A consistently applied structure, even with minor rounding differences, usually passes.
Small inconsistencies are easy to overlook during normal accounting work:
To a human reviewer, these look harmless. To XBRL, they are structural breaks.
Once structure breaks, precision no longer helps.
Many SMEs rely on manual adjustments to fine-tune reports. While this improves visual precision, it often reduces structural consistency.
Examples include:
Each manual step increases variation. XBRL flags variation far more aggressively than it flags small numerical differences.
When teams focus heavily on making numbers “perfect,” they may assume compliance is covered. But precision without consistency can actually increase risk.
Highly precise but inconsistently structured data leads to:
The more time spent polishing numbers, the more frustrating it feels when filings still fail.
Consistency is not something that can be fixed at filing time. It’s built gradually through:
When these foundations are in place, XBRL filing becomes predictable — even if minor adjustments are needed.
Consistency is hard to maintain manually, especially as a business grows.
Platforms like ccMonet help enforce consistency by design. By combining AI-powered bookkeeping with expert review, ccMonet ensures that similar transactions are treated consistently over time and that financial data remains structurally aligned — reducing XBRL risk downstream.
In XBRL filing, precision makes reports look good. Consistency makes them acceptable.
For Singapore SMEs, understanding this distinction is often the turning point between repeated filing issues and smooth submissions.
When consistency is prioritised throughout the year, XBRL stops being a technical hurdle and becomes a routine confirmation.
👉 Learn how ccMonet helps SMEs maintain consistency for smoother XBRL filing at https://www.ccmonet.ai/
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