About XBRL
XBRL is a digital format for filing financial statements in Singapore. Learn what XBRL is, how it helps businesses and why ACRA uses it for financial reporting.
Last updated 29 January 2026
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What is XBRL
XBRL stands for eXtensible Business Reporting Language.It is a language for the electronic communication of business and financial data.
XBRL is:
Open standard
Free of license fees
Part of the XML family of languages
Used by many countries, stock exchanges and regulators.
Countries using XBRL include the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, China and India. Learn more about XBRL International.
How XBRL works
XBRL uses digital tags to label items in financial data. Computers can then process this information quickly. Each tag labels a financial item (such as "net profit"). The tag provides details about that item, including:
Whether it is a monetary item, percentage or fraction
Labels in any language
Accounting references
Other related information
XBRL can also show how items are related to one another. This means it can show how items are calculated. It can also identify whether they belong to particular groups. Most importantly, XBRL is easily extensible. Companies and other organisations can adapt it to meet a variety of special requirements.
Through the use of “metadata” or “descriptive data” (tags), XBRL provides more information about the data. This allows computers to communicate with one another without human intervention.
Benefits of XBRL
XBRL filing offers major benefits for businesses and people who use financial data.
XBRL benefits
Benefit | Details |
|---|---|
Easily extensible | Companies can adapt XBRL to meet their specific needs. |
Greater transparency | You can analyse XBRL data almost immediately using software tools. |
Enhanced business analytics | You can analyse XBRL financial data to:
As more companies file in full XBRL, you can generate business data analysis more easily. This data can then be shared with the wider business community. |
ACRA's Corporate Compliance and Financial Profile (CCFP)
ACRA developed the CCFP. This is an electronic report that provides a quick and complete overview of a company.
The CCFP shows:
Financial profile
Basic profile information
You can use CCFP and other XBRL data to make better business decisions.
XBRL implementation in Singapore
Implementation history and ACRA project milestones
Year and milestone | Details |
|---|---|
2022 and 2024: BizFinx tool updates | ACRA released updated versions of the BizFinx preparation tool (preptool) on:
|
2020: Revised requirements announced | On 9 March 2020, ACRA announced revised XBRL filing requirements. We also released a beta version of the BizFinx preptool. On 16 May 2020, we released Practice Direction No. 2 of 2020 [PDF, 498 KB]. This informed companies that:
On 11 December 2020, we announced a one-off extension. This gave companies more time to adopt the revised requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies could continue to adopt the revised requirements by choice until 30 April 2021. The revised requirements became mandatory from 1 May 2021. |
2018 to 2019: Further consultation | ACRA held another public consultation from 30 November 2018 to 31 January 2019. We gathered feedback on proposed changes to XBRL filing requirements and data elements. More details: Summary of Responses to Feedback on Proposed Revisions to XBRL Filing Requirements and Data Elements |
2014: BizFinx launched | ACRA launched BizFinx on 3 March 2014. Read the:
|
2013: BizFinx preptool development | ACRA developed and tested BizFinx. This is a preptool to help companies file financial statements in XBRL format. Focus groups and public consultations helped refine the tool. We released the revised XBRL filing requirements and beta version of the preptool on 27 June 2013. On 12 November 2013, we released a new version of the preptool. More details: Summary of Response to Public Feedback on BizFinx Preparation Tool |
2012: Requirements study and public consultation | ACRA conducted studies and public consultations to improve XBRL filing. We gathered feedback from:
More details: Summary of Response to Feedback from Public Consultation on ACRA XBRL Revamp 2012 |
2007: Launch of FS manager | ACRA launched FS Manager and introduced XBRL filing requirements. Main objectives:
|