Nearly every XBRL filing that stalls in Singapore stalls for one of about eight reasons, and none of them are difficult once you know what the error code is actually testing. The codes are opaque, the fixes are not.
Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.
This assumes you have the accounts, you have the BizFinx preparation tool open, and something has gone wrong. If you are earlier in the process, start with our overview of filing financial statements in XBRL or the broader guide to XBRL filing with ACRA.
One thing to hold in mind. The validation engine is not checking whether your accounts are good. It is checking whether your tagged data is internally consistent and whether it corresponds to the signed accounts. Every error below is one of those two questions in disguise.
Start by importing last year properly
The single biggest time saver is loading last year’s file rather than retagging from scratch. Two constraints. First, only files complying with ACRA’s XBRL taxonomy from the 2022 version onwards can be imported. Anything older will not load.
Second, and more dangerous, the taxonomy has changed materially since version 4.1. An import from an older file will not bring everything across. Elements that no longer exist are dropped, redefined elements may map differently, and the gaps are silent. If you import, you own the comparatives: check every prior year figure against the signed accounts before you validate.
If you do not have last year’s file, authorised company personnel can ask ACRA for a copy of what was previously filed, by email to ACRA’s XBRL application address.
Making the XBRL agree with the signed accounts
The rule that catches most people is simple: the figures and the format in the XBRL file must match the AGM financial statements. Where an item does not map cleanly to a taxonomy concept, use the closest fit. Reserve “others” for items that genuinely have no home in the taxonomy, because overusing it makes a filing look careless to anyone who reads it later.
The recurring mismatches are worth setting out plainly.
| Mismatch | What it looks like | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Rounding level | The XBRL says thousands, the accounts are in whole dollars | Set the same rounding level throughout, matching the accounts |
| Currency | SGD selected, accounts presented in USD | Match the presentation currency of the signed accounts |
| Presentation format | Template layout does not follow the accounts | Choose the presentation format the accounts actually use |
| Net cash flows | Cash flow fields left partly blank | Complete every required cash flow field |
| Discontinued operations | Omitted from the highlights template | Include profit or loss from discontinued operations |
| Accounting standard | Wrong framework selected | Select the framework the accounts were prepared under |
| First-time consolidation | Prior year group column filled with zeros | Leave it blank instead. Zero asserts a fact that is not true |
That last row deserves emphasis. If this is your first set of consolidated accounts and there are no prior year group figures, leave the column empty. Do not enter zero, and do not apply for an exemption.
The income statement template collects expenses by nature
This catches companies presenting their income statement by function. The XBRL template asks for expenses by nature, because the accounting standards require that breakdown to appear somewhere, either on the face of the income statement or in the notes.
So if your accounts present cost of sales, distribution costs and administrative expenses, you cannot tag those three lines and stop. Go to the note that breaks expenses down by nature, and map from there on a best-fit basis.
The other field people miss is the attribution of profit. Under FRS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements, profit or loss for the period is attributed between owners of the company and non-controlling interests. The arithmetic expected is straightforward:
Total profit or loss, net of taxation, for the year = the amount attributable to owners of the company + the amount attributable to non-controlling interests.
If the signed accounts do not make that attribution at all, do not guess. Ask the company’s accountant whether the whole amount should be attributed to the owners, and get the answer in writing before you tag it.
The text block, and the error that comes with it
The “disclosure of complete set of financial statements” text block has to contain the whole set of accounts, legible and identical to what was laid before members: the statement by directors, the auditor’s report, all four primary statements and the notes.
To populate it, open the text editor by double-clicking the text block cell and paste the complete set in from your source document. If that document contains embedded Excel objects, use the Embedded Excel Conversion Utility that installs alongside the BizFinx preparation tool, which turns them into properly structured tables rather than a block of unreadable text. If the tool itself is misbehaving, see our notes on the BizFinx preparation tool and what to do when it will not work. ACRA publishes user guides and training materials as well.
Three error codes attach to this.
Misc_005 is a reminder rather than a verdict. It asks you to confirm that the full set of accounts is in there. Confirm it honestly and move on.
Misc_041 fires when the text block fails a test based on keywords and character count. If you are confident the full set of accounts really is present, this is the classic candidate for an XBRL exemption request. If you are not confident, check the text block before writing to anyone.
BR32 is about the cover page. Its date must be in long date format, day then month then year, for example 31 December 2025. A cover page reading 31/12/2025 trips this rule. It is a formatting fix in the source document, not a tagging fix.
The arithmetic errors
Totals that do not equal their parts
Correlated_070 and Misc_040 point at the same underlying problem: a parent field does not equal the sum of its child fields. Use the auto-calculate function in the totals column rather than typing totals by hand, and check the areas where this goes wrong most often.
| Total | What must add up to it |
|---|---|
| Total land and building | Freehold land, plus leasehold land and building |
| Total vehicles | Ships, aircraft, motor vehicles and other vehicles |
| Total assets | All individual asset classes disclosed, without double counting a subtotal already entered |
| Carrying value at period start or end | Gross carrying amount, less accumulated depreciation, amortisation and impairment |
The third row is the common trap. If you have entered “total land and building” and “total vehicles” as subtotals, do not add their components again when you build total assets.
Net book value by measurement basis
Misc_040 and Misc_102 also appear when the analysis of net book value by measurement basis has not been completed. Fill in the “at cost” field, the “at valuation” field, or both, and make sure the two together equal the net book value at the end of the period shown elsewhere in the same template. Whether an asset sits at cost or at valuation is a question for the accounts, not for you: the notes will say, and if they do not, the company’s accountant will.
Crossstatement_046 and crossstatement_047 mean the property, plant and equipment template has gaps. Complete it. This is usually somebody filling in the movements for the classes that matter and leaving the rest empty.
Right-of-use assets go where the accounts put them
Leases produce right-of-use assets, and preparers regularly leave them out entirely because there is no obviously named field for them.
Follow the accounts. If the right-of-use assets are accounted for as property, plant and equipment, include them in the non-current property, plant and equipment balance in the statement of financial position template, and in the movements shown in the property, plant and equipment note template, on a best-fit basis. If they are accounted for as intangible assets, do the same in the intangible assets balance and note template.
Functions in the preparation tool worth knowing about
Auto-tagging populates current year data for elements tagged last year. It will not handle elements appearing in more than one place, for example trade and other receivables split between current and non-current. Check those manually.
Company labels, including combined labels, carry over from the prior year automatically when you load your data.
Footnotes explain a figure where it needs explaining. If you imported last year’s file, read last year’s footnotes before you submit. One that was accurate a year ago and is now wrong is worse than none.
Custom date options deal with an unusual column structure, for example a third column shown because of a restatement. The template’s dates should mirror the accounts. The company function adds or removes the company column in consolidated accounts.
What goes wrong in practice
Hunting for a delete button. You do not need to delete an incorrect uploaded file. Upload the corrected one and it supersedes the earlier version.
Forgetting the 14-day retention. Uploaded XBRL files are held for 14 days from the date of upload. If the annual return is not filed inside that window, the file is gone and the upload has to be repeated. Uploading early and then losing a month to an audit query is how a filing quietly resets itself.
Treating the XBRL upload as the filing. It is not. The filing is the annual return, lodged under section 197 of the Companies Act 1967. A perfectly valid XBRL file sitting on ACRA’s server does nothing for your compliance position, and late lodgement penalties apply to the return, not the file. Our note on annual return filing under section 197 covers the deadline itself.
Validating once, at the end. Validation is cheap and repeatable. Run it against a near-final draft weeks before the deadline, so anything needing an exemption is found while there is time to seek one.
Assuming the comparatives imported correctly. They often do not, particularly from older taxonomy versions. Tie every prior year figure back to the signed accounts.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import last year’s XBRL file into this year’s return?
Yes, if it complies with ACRA’s XBRL taxonomy from the 2022 version or later. Expect an incomplete import from older versions, because elements have been added, removed and redefined since version 4.1. Check every comparative figure against the signed prior year accounts before validating.
What does a BR32 error mean?
The date on the cover page of your financial statements is not in long date format. ACRA expects day, month then year written out, for example 31 December 2025. Numeric formats such as 31/12/2025 trigger the error. Fix the date in the source document and reload the text block.
My income statement is presented by function. Do I have to restate it?
No. Leave the accounts as they are. The XBRL template collects expenses by nature, so go to the note that breaks expenses down by nature and map from there on a best-fit basis. The accounting standards require that note, so it should already exist.
Do I need to delete a wrong XBRL file before uploading a corrected one?
No. Upload the new file and it replaces the earlier one. Remember that uploaded files are held for only 14 days, so if the annual return will not be filed inside that window you will need to upload again.
I have an error I genuinely cannot fix. What now?
If the rule cannot be satisfied without misstating correct accounts, that is a genuine error and you can apply to ACRA for a waiver of the rule. The process is free, decided by email, and set out in our guide to applying for an XBRL exemption.
The version of this that does not eat your December
Tagging a set of accounts into XBRL is a half-day job done calmly and a three-day job done in a panic, and the difference is almost entirely whether validation was run early. Registered foreign companies avoid the exercise altogether: their route is set out in filing financial statements for a foreign company.
Raffles Corporate Services prepares XBRL financial statements, validates them early enough for problems to be solved rather than escalated, and files the annual return inside the statutory window. If your last filing was a scramble, the next one does not have to be.
You can reach us through Raffles Corporate Services, or read more on Singapore corporate secretarial practice at Singapore Secretary Services.
— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services
Need help with accounting or bookkeeping?
If you would like accounting, bookkeeping or financial reporting support for your business, email [email protected] or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133.
Our accounting and tax advisers can assist. Where legal advice is needed, advisers from our associated law firms can also assist.