For Energy Companies, Tagging Regulations Require a New Approach

Energy companies will soon begin reporting quarterly and annual financial and operational data in XBRL format to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The XBRL format isn’t new for public firms that have been submitting stories with XBRL tags to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for years, but the taxonomy for tagging FERC forms might be different.
TIME TO EVALUATE YOUR OPTIONS
In many respects, the burden should be lighter for FERC filers than SEC filers. Both will depend on the XBRL 2.1 Specification (which defines the essential constructing blocks of XBRL implementation in business reporting) and the Arelle open-source XBRL validation engine. And a “fact” in each reports is represented by a value (numeric or non-numeric), parts, date, unit, and accuracy.
But, as we element below, you’ll notice quite a few variations with FERC’s XBRL requirements.
SIMPLIFIED ELEMENT SELECTION
Standard schedules permit for highly prescriptive tag assignments. That means no extra tagging from scratch. For example, the Workiva resolution for FERC reporting supplies users with pre-tagged types. These standardized pre-tagged varieties not only cut back preparation efforts considerably, additionally they minimize tagging inconsistencies—you can achieve larger data quality with less effort.
Also, you aren’t required to tag each quantity. Notes to monetary statements require block tags only. For example, if disclosure notes are pasted into FERC Form 1 from the 10-K you file with the SEC, these could be tagged with a single textual content block for FERC. A bonus for users of the Workiva answer for SEC reporting and the Workiva solution for FERC reporting: You will have the flexibility to hyperlink information in your 10-K to your pre-tagged Form 1 for consistency and efficiency.
If no relevant XBRL idea is on the market, the information is to not be tagged. However, if an applicable idea exists, FERC requires the data to be tagged (both numeric and nonnumeric). Note that some required information could additionally be reported inside footnotes for schedules.
Additionally, no extensions are allowed. Besides เกจวัดแรงดัน4บาร์ , axes and members are also for use as supplied. So, how do you report company-specific info, corresponding to officer names? In order to assist reporting of company-specific information, FERC uses the typed dimension.
The bonus for Workiva users? Although FERC uses a different technical specification, you will notice the Workiva FERC reporting resolution offers the identical look and feel as axis/member utility within the Workiva answer 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 primarily based on type locations. Also, there are no calculation to outline. In fact, customized calculations usually are not permitted. Validation guidelines will handle consistency checks.
Since FERC taxonomy assigns specific hypercube to every schedule, there is not a define construction to build. For customers of Workiva for FERC reporting, this is routinely managed by the Workiva platform.
Plus, reality ordering isn’t managed by the outline and isn’t required. FERC uses a numeric factor “OrderNumber” to regulate sequencing of company-specific info. Users of the Workiva solution for FERC reporting can easily assign row numbers within the type schedules as “OrderNumber” in the Workiva platform. Lastly, there are no custom 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 kind to submit. Machine-readable information is the necessary thing focus. Although not in iXBRL format, FERC’s official kind 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 offer this, but FERC does. Whether FERC will truly approve a request for confidential data is another question! If you have an XBRL vendor for SEC reporting, ensure your vendor also helps FERC compliance, for the reason that FERC taxonomy will not be the same as the SEC reporting taxonomy.
PREPARE FOR YOUR NEEDS
Whether you outsource XBRL tagging, choose an XBRL software vendor, or make investments the time and money to construct and keep an in-house solution 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 information initiatives and Peter Larison is manager of structured information initiatives at Workiva. Workiva, Inc. is a world software-as-a-service firm. It offers a cloud-based connected and reporting compliance platform that allows the use of connected data and automation of reporting throughout finance, accounting, risk, and compliance. For more information, go to www.workiva.com
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