Energy firms will quickly begin reporting quarterly and annual monetary and operational information in XBRL format to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The XBRL format isn’t new for public companies which have been submitting reports with XBRL tags to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for years, but the taxonomy for tagging FERC forms shall be totally different.
TIME TO EVALUATE YOUR OPTIONS
In many respects, the burden must be lighter for FERC filers than SEC filers. Both will rely on the XBRL 2.1 Specification (which defines the basic constructing blocks of XBRL implementation in enterprise reporting) and the Arelle open-source XBRL validation engine. And a “fact” in both reviews is represented by a value (numeric or non-numeric), parts, date, unit, and accuracy.
But, as we element under, you’ll notice quite a few variations with FERC’s XBRL necessities.
SIMPLIFIED ELEMENT SELECTION
Standard schedules permit for highly prescriptive tag assignments. That means no more tagging from scratch. For instance, the Workiva solution for FERC reporting provides customers with pre-tagged varieties. These standardized pre-tagged forms not solely reduce preparation efforts considerably, additionally they minimize tagging inconsistencies—you can obtain higher knowledge high quality with much less effort.
Also, you aren’t required to tag every number. Notes to monetary statements require block tags only. For instance, if disclosure notes are pasted into FERC Form 1 from the 10-K you file with the SEC, these can be tagged with a single textual content block for FERC. A bonus for customers of the Workiva solution for SEC reporting and the Workiva resolution for FERC reporting: You will have the power to hyperlink data in your 10-K to your pre-tagged Form 1 for consistency and efficiency.
If no applicable XBRL idea is on the market, the knowledge is not to be tagged. However, if an relevant idea exists, FERC requires the information to be tagged (both numeric and nonnumeric). Note that some required data may be reported inside footnotes for schedules.
Additionally, ไดอะแฟรม ซีล are allowed. Besides ideas, axes and members are also for use as provided. So, how do you report company-specific information, such as officer names? In order to assist reporting of company-specific data, FERC uses the typed dimension.
The bonus for Workiva users? Although FERC makes use of a special technical specification, you will see the Workiva FERC reporting answer presents the same look and feel as axis/member application in the Workiva resolution for SEC reporting.
NO OUTLINE MANAGEMENT OR CUSTOM DATES
For FERC reporting, no custom labels or label roles are wanted. Labels are auto-assigned by the official FERC renderer based mostly on kind areas. Also, there are no calculation to define. In truth, customized calculations aren’t permitted. Validation guidelines will deal with consistency checks.
Since FERC taxonomy assigns specific hypercube to every schedule, there isn’t a outline structure to construct. For users of Workiva for FERC reporting, that is mechanically managed by the Workiva platform.
Plus, reality ordering isn’t managed by the outline and is not required. FERC uses a numeric factor “OrderNumber” to regulate sequencing of company-specific data. Users of the Workiva answer for FERC reporting can easily assign row numbers within the form schedules as “OrderNumber” within the Workiva platform. Lastly, there aren’t any customized dates as you’re limited to a small record of allowable values.
SUBMISSION OF DATA AS INSTANCE DOCUMENT ONLY
Going forward, there isn’t any digital kind to submit. Machine-readable knowledge is the key focus. Although not in iXBRL format, FERC’s official form renderer will provide standardized viewing for the submitted XBRL knowledge.
SUPPORTS REQUEST FOR CONFIDENTIAL DATA
Since most submitting information to the SEC is public document, the SEC doesn’t provide this, but FERC does. Whether FERC will actually approve a request for confidential knowledge is one other question! If you have an XBRL vendor for SEC reporting, make certain your vendor also supports FERC compliance, for the explanation that FERC taxonomy is not going to be the identical as the SEC reporting taxonomy.
PREPARE FOR YOUR NEEDS
Whether you outsource XBRL tagging, select an XBRL software program vendor, or invest the money and time to build and preserve an in-house solution for FERC compliance, understanding the similarities and differences between XBRL filings for FERC and for the SEC might be essential when evaluating your options.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Percy Hung is director of structured data initiatives and Peter Larison is supervisor of structured information initiatives at Workiva. Workiva, Inc. is a worldwide software-as-a-service firm. It provides a cloud-based related and reporting compliance platform that permits the usage of connected information and automation of reporting throughout finance, accounting, risk, and compliance. For more info, go to www.workiva.com
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