Friday, March 26, 2010


The XBRL Canada IFRS/XBRL Webinar

The March 24, 2010 XBRL Canada WEBINAR, featuring Paul Cherry, veteran of International Accounting Standard Setting, and Wasim Thaha, chair of XBRL Canada in now available online. The Webinar featured the major issues ariound IFRS convergence and the links with XBRL adoption.
                 The archive for this event is at click here
                 An MP3 version of the audio is available, click here

Friday, March 12, 2010

IFRS and XBRL - What you need to know now

TORONTO, March 12 /CNW/ - XBRL Canada is holding a webinar on this important topic on March 24th from 12:00 Noon - 1:00 PM.
The SEC Rule regarding XBRL contains a clause stating that "all foreign private issuers that prepare their financial statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB, will be subject to the same interactive data reporting requirements beginning with a periodic report on Form 10-Q, Form 20-F or Form 40-F containing financial statements for a fiscal period ending on or after June 15, 2011."
In Canada, all companies are required to adopt IFRS beginning with January 1, 2011. This means that IFRS must be applied to the first interim financial statements in 2011.
The end result is that all Canadian Cross-listed companies, which number approximately 350, will be required to adopt both IFRS and XBRL, using the IFRS taxonomy, beginning in 2011 and early 2012.
This webinar focuses on the planning issues that are of concern to Canadian Cross-listed companies in preparing for the adoption of IFRS and XBRL. It will address key questions such as;
    -  What are the planning implications of the current and emerging
       regulations on IFRS and XBRL in Canada and the U.S.?
   
    -  What has been the experience of other companies that have already
       adopted IFRS and XBRL in other parts of the world?
   
    -  What commonalities exist in the planning for XBRL and IFRS adoption
       that can be employed to achieve greater efficiency?
   
    -  What resources are available to help companies as they move to
       implement IFRS and XBRL?
Paul Cherry, Chairman of the Standards Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) and former Chair of the Canadian Accounting Standards Board, as well as Wasim Thaha, Chair of XBRL Canada will be speaking at the webinar.
Be sure to reserve this date. Registration is available on the XBRL Canada website at www.xbrl.ca.
XBRL Canada is sponsored and administered by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
For further information: XBRL Canada, Gerald Trites, Project Director, (416) 602-3931, Email: gtrites@xbrl.ca

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

XBRL Canada Welcomes the Announcement of the Red Tape Reduction Commission

TORONTO, March 10 /CNW/ - The announcement in the Federal Budget Document tabled in the House of Commons on March 4 that includes a Red Tape Reduction Commission is a welcome move for Canadian business. The complexities of compliance mandated by government agencies are substantial and often redundant.
At present, companies who file with the federal departments and agencies must file a diverse number of different reports, usually in different formats. The inefficiency of this approach costs reporting companies substantial dollars in unnecessary expense for systems maintenance, multiple data input and completion of various forms.
Leveraging the efficiencies of a unified system employing XBRL could save considerable dollars. It is important to note that XBRL is an open standard currently in various stages of use worldwide.
Over twenty countries have implemented programs to reduce the compliance burden and red tape for companies reporting to government agencies. In several of these countries, XBRL is well recognized as an important part of achieving efficiency within these programs.
The Netherlands, for example, recognized this several years ago and has been implementing XBRL throughout government filings. The estimated value of reducing reporting burdens is approximately (euro)400 million per annum. In addition, they say full implementation of XBRL, "with its wide incorporation across relevant financial accounting software packages will result in substantial time savings to business - up to 33% compared to the time required for traditional annual accounts." A similar program is underway in Australia and under consideration in other countries.
The adoption of XBRL for standardizing the reporting of data is a feasible and cost-effective way to achieve the objective of substantially reducing the cost of compliance by Canadian companies. XBRL Canada will welcome the opportunity to present the efficiencies of XBRL to the Red Tape Reduction Commission as part of its initiative.

XBRL Canada is a not-for-profit consortium, funded and supported by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, formed to foster and encourage the use of XBRL for greater efficiency in Canadian Business.

For further information: XBRL Canada, Gerald Trites, Project Director, (416) 602-3931, Email: gtrites@xbrl.ca

IFRS and XBRL in the Oil and Gas Industry - What you need to know now

CALGARY, Mar. 9 /CNW/ - XBRL Canada is holding a seminar on this important topic in Calgary on April 7th at 8:00AM.
There is an urgent need to prepare for the adoption of IFRS in Canada and to understand how the emerging corporate reporting landscape will be impacted by XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language). The SEC in the U.S. has already enacted regulations that cover mandatory reporting in XBRL. In 2011 these SEC rules will have significant implications for Canadian companies as foreign filers using IFRS and the associated IFRS XBRL taxonomy.
This seminar focuses on the planning issues that are of concern to Canadian Oil and Gas companies in preparing for the adoption of IFRS and XBRL. It will address key questions such as;

-   What are the implications of the current and emerging regulations on
        IFRS and XBRL in Canada and the U.S.?
    -   What has been the experience of other companies that have already
        adopted IFRS and XBRL in other parts of the world?
    -   How suitable is the current IFRS XBRL taxonomy for Oil and Gas
        companies and how could the taxonomy be impacted by IASB Extractive
        Activities project?
    -   What resources are available to help companies as they move to
        implement IFRS and XBRL?

Global experts in IFRS and XBRL will be speaking at the seminar. Solution providers will also demonstrate their products and will be available to discuss best practices.
Cost of the seminar is $50 per person. Registration is available through the XBRL Canada website at www.xbrl.ca.
XBRL Canada is supported and administered by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

For further information: XBRL Canada, Gerald Trites, Project Director, (416) 602-3931, Email: gtrites@xbrl.ca

Friday, March 05, 2010

Red Tape Reduction Commission
by Gerald Trites

The Federal Budget tabled yesterday contained an interesting announcement that is very pertinent to what the XBRL community is trying to accomplish. The announcement was as follows:

"Red Tape Reduction Commission: A commission, involving both parliamentarians and private sector representatives, will be established to review federal regulations in areas where reform is most needed to reduce the compliance burden and provide specific recommendations for improvement."

The Budget report tabled yesterday goes on to say:

"Reducing red tape for businesses is an ongoing challenge that requires continued attention. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) estimates that businesses in Canada currently spend over $30 billion each year complying with regulations."

At present companies who file with the federal departments and agencies must file a diverse number of different reports, usually in different formats. The inefficiency of this approach costs the filers millions of dollars, perhaps billions, in unnecessary expense for systems maintenance, data input and form completion. If they were able to use a standard system - XBRL - they could save considerably in these areas.

Over twenty countries around the world have implemented programs to reduce the compliance burden and red tape for companies dealing with the governments. In several of these countries, XBRL has been considered and/or recognized as a way to assist with achieving the goals of these programs.

The Netherlands, for example, recognized this several years ago and has been implementing XBRL across the board for government filings.  "It was in response to concern for the enormous incidence of duplication in reporting that the Netherlands Government in 2004 launched a major initiative known as the Dutch Taxonomy Project."

"In their progress report to the Dutch Government in April 2006 officials indicated that from January 2007 the majority of small and medium sized businesses would be required only to provide annual accounts data to the Chamber of Commerce (thus replacing traditional multiple reporting arrangements). The XBRL taxonomy will make it possible to supply the data to other institutions with 'just one push of the button'. The estimated value of burden reduction from this measure is put at approximately €400 million per annum. In addition, full implementation of the Dutch XBRL taxonomy in 2007, with its wide incorporation across relevant financial accounting software packages will result in substantial time savings to business- up to 33% compared to the time required for traditional annual accounts." (emphasis added). A similar program is underway in Australia and under consideration in other countries.

The adoption of XBRL for rationalizing the reporting of data to governments is a feasible and cost-effective way to achieve the laudable objective of substantial reduction in the cost of compliance by Canadian companies. The new Red Tape Reduction Commission should give top priority to its consideration.