This report, from IRIS Accountancy Practice Solutions and Sift
Media, discusses the reasons for introduction of iXBRL, the
benefits of iXBRL and the options available for practitioners to
ensure they are fully prepared for the new standards.
A revolution in the way HMRC accepts Corporation Tax
returns is imminent. From 1 April 2011 computations and accounts
accompanying the CT600 will generally need to be filed online in
iXBRL format. Accountancy firms that currently use accountancy
software to produce Corporation Tax returns and associated accounts
should be able to rely on their software provider to release
upgrades in time to help them cope with the changes required.
Although tax returns and computations should be straightforward,
accounts can be slightly more complex. Many suppliers have already
delivered the required update to the return and computation element
of their software but updates for accounts software are taking
longer. Once the software suppliers have delivered their updates,
there may still be some situations when human intervention is
required within an Accountancy Practice in order to finalise a set
of iXBRL-enabled accounts. Accountants should beware of vendors
that claim that their software can cover every eventuality without
human input in the practice, particularly when some discretion
needs to be exercised before submission.
Even if your supplier is likely to do the bulk of the work for
you, almost all Accountants and Bookkeepers will need to know
something about iXBRL “tagging” of their tax and accounts work in
order to be able to complete and review iXBRL–enabled output.
Currently HMRC accepts tax computations and accounts in file
formats that make sense to humans, both in the practice before the
return is submitted and by HMRC upon receipt. However they cannot
automatically be interpreted or analysed by the computer systems
within HMRC. With the introduction of iXBRL each e-filing has a
consistent human readable form, as before, but embedded within it
is a “machine readable” version of each element in the return that
can be stored directly into the systems of HMRC for automatic
verification and analysis. The use of iXBRL will lead to more
efficient, reliable and accurate methods of exchanging data which
will provide obvious benefits to HMRC.
 Continue
reading the iXBRL whitepaper
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