Efficiency in data collection, processing and analysis to generate timely and accurate information for policy formulation and decision making purposes XBRL technology  is the proper standard. It is also known as “interactive data” – is a standard used to define and exchange business and financial performance. .  The benefits are seen in automation, cost saving, faster, more reliable and more accurate handling of data, improved analysis and in better quality of information and decision-making.

About XBRL

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) – also known as “interactive data” – is a standard used to define and exchange business and financial performance information. The purpose of using XBRL in regulatory filing is to uniquely code numbers and content within financial statements allowing computer programs to easily identify, extract, and compare them.

XBRL in Mauritius 

The Corporate and Business Registration Department (CBRD) of Mauritius is using XBRL to collect annual financial statements from registered businesses. The agency has partnered with Mauritius Network Services, which administers a template-based instance document generator for filers to use. Once the data has been validated the system generates a .zip file that companies can upload to the CBRD. Since the the data is also validated when filed to the CBRD, companies can also generate their own XBRL files for submission. This is the second XBRL initiative in Mauritius.

Benefits and Beneficiaries

• XBRL offers major benefits at all stages of business reporting and analysis.  The benefits are seen in automation, cost saving, faster, more reliable and more accurate handling of data, improved analysis and in better quality of information and decision-making.
• XBRL enables producers and consumers of financial data to switch resources away from costly manual processes, typically involving time-consuming comparison, assembly and re-entry of data.  They are able to concentrate effort on analysis, aided by software which can validate and manipulate XBRL information.  As just one example, searches for particular information which might in the past have taken hours can be completed with XBRL in a fraction of a second.
• Those who stand to benefit include all who collect business data, including governments, regulators, economic agencies, stock exchanges, financial information companies and the like, and those who produce or use it, including accountants, auditors, company managers, financial analysts, investors and creditors.  Among those who can take advantage of XBRL include accountancy software vendors, the financial services industry, investor relations companies and the information technology industry.
• The XBRL and Business section on XBRL International’s website explains how particular types of organization can benefit from XBRL.
• The use of XBRL does not imply an enforced standardisation of financial reporting.  On the contrary, the language is a flexible one which is intended to support all current aspects of reporting in different countries and industries.  Its extensible nature means that it can be adjusted to meet particular business requirements, even at the individual organisation level.

Anglo African offers the following services in the XBRL space

• ETL Process

Extract data from source systems, Transform the data into the required format and load the transformed data into a central database (Data Warehouse)

•  Data Warehouse

The Data Warehouse will act as a data store of Extracted, Cleansed data, which will form the single source of Information for all regulatory returns.

•  Reporting & Scheduling

This uses automated system driven triggers or schedulers, which will automatically generates and submits the returns as stipulated by regulatory. When the report generation process is triggered, the system will check for the specific data in the Data Warehouse and prepare the return only after all the required data is available for the specific report.

•  XBRL Conversion

Conversion of regulatory reports into XBRL Format is performed through this process which acts as a bridge between submitter’s internal data systems and regulatory reporting system. This conversion also helps submitter to generate XBRL reports in a ready to submit state.