For Energy Companies, Tagging Regulations Require a New Approach

Energy corporations will quickly start reporting quarterly and annual monetary and operational data in XBRL format to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The XBRL format isn’t new for public companies that have been submitting reports with XBRL tags to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for years, however the taxonomy for tagging FERC forms shall be different.
TIME TO EVALUATE YOUR OPTIONS
In many respects, the burden ought to be lighter for FERC filers than SEC filers. Both will depend on the XBRL 2.1 Specification (which defines the basic building blocks of XBRL implementation in enterprise reporting) and the Arelle open-source XBRL validation engine. And a “fact” in both reports is represented by a value (numeric or non-numeric), parts, date, unit, and accuracy.
But, as compound gauge ราคา , you’ll discover quite a few variations with FERC’s XBRL requirements.
SIMPLIFIED ELEMENT SELECTION
Standard schedules allow for extremely prescriptive tag assignments. That means no extra tagging from scratch. For example, the Workiva answer for FERC reporting offers customers with pre-tagged types. These standardized pre-tagged forms not solely reduce preparation efforts considerably, they also minimize tagging inconsistencies—you can achieve greater knowledge high quality with less effort.
Also, compound gauge ราคา required to tag each number. Notes to monetary statements require block tags solely. For example, if disclosure notes are pasted into FERC Form 1 from the 10-K you file with the SEC, those could be tagged with a single textual content block for FERC. A bonus for users of the Workiva resolution for SEC reporting and the Workiva answer for FERC reporting: You will be in a position to hyperlink information in your 10-K to your pre-tagged Form 1 for consistency and effectivity.
If no applicable XBRL idea is out there, the knowledge is to not be tagged. However, if an relevant idea exists, FERC requires the knowledge to be tagged (both numeric and nonnumeric). Note that some required data could also be reported inside footnotes for schedules.
Additionally, no extensions are allowed. Besides concepts, axes and members are also to be used as provided. So, how do you report company-specific data, corresponding to officer names? In order to support reporting of company-specific information, FERC uses the typed dimension.
The bonus for Workiva users? Although FERC makes use of a different technical specification, you will see the Workiva FERC reporting solution offers the identical feel and appear as axis/member software in the Workiva resolution for SEC reporting.
NO OUTLINE MANAGEMENT OR CUSTOM DATES
For FERC reporting, no custom labels or label roles are needed. Labels are auto-assigned by the official FERC renderer based mostly on kind areas. Also, there aren’t any calculation to define. In fact, customized calculations usually are not permitted. Validation rules will deal with consistency checks.
Since FERC taxonomy assigns specific hypercube to every schedule, there isn’t a define structure to build. For customers of Workiva for FERC reporting, that is automatically managed by the Workiva platform.
Plus, reality ordering is not managed by the define and is not required. FERC makes use of a numeric element “OrderNumber” to control sequencing of company-specific data. Users of the Workiva answer for FERC reporting can simply assign row numbers within the form schedules as “OrderNumber” within the Workiva platform. Lastly, there are not any customized dates as you’re limited to a small list of allowable values.
SUBMISSION OF DATA AS INSTANCE DOCUMENT ONLY
Going forward, there is no digital form to submit. Machine-readable information is the key focus. Although not in iXBRL format, FERC’s official kind renderer will present standardized viewing for the submitted XBRL knowledge.
SUPPORTS REQUEST FOR CONFIDENTIAL DATA
Since most filing information to the SEC is public report, the SEC doesn’t supply this, however FERC does. Whether FERC will actually approve a request for confidential data is another question! If you’ve an XBRL vendor for SEC reporting, make sure your vendor also helps FERC compliance, since the FERC taxonomy is not going to be the same because the SEC reporting taxonomy.
PREPARE FOR YOUR NEEDS
Whether you outsource XBRL tagging, choose an XBRL software program vendor, or invest the time and money to construct and maintain an in-house resolution for FERC compliance, understanding the similarities and differences between XBRL filings for FERC and for the SEC shall be essential when evaluating your options.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Percy Hung is director of structured data initiatives and Peter Larison is supervisor of structured knowledge initiatives at Workiva. Workiva, Inc. is a global software-as-a-service company. It supplies a cloud-based connected and reporting compliance platform that allows the utilization of linked data and automation of reporting throughout finance, accounting, danger, and compliance. For extra information, visit www.workiva.com
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