For Energy Companies, Tagging Regulations Require a New Approach

Energy companies will soon start reporting quarterly and annual financial and operational knowledge in XBRL format to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The XBRL format isn’t new for public companies that have been submitting reviews with XBRL tags to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for years, but the taxonomy for tagging FERC forms shall be different.
TIME TO EVALUATE diaphragm seal

In many respects, the burden ought to be lighter for FERC filers than SEC filers. pressure gauge 10 bar will depend on the XBRL 2.1 Specification (which defines the fundamental constructing blocks of XBRL implementation in enterprise reporting) and the Arelle open-source XBRL validation engine. And a “fact” in each reports is represented by a price (numeric or non-numeric), elements, date, unit, and accuracy.
But, as we element below, you’ll notice quite a few variations with FERC’s XBRL necessities.
SIMPLIFIED ELEMENT SELECTION

Standard schedules allow for highly prescriptive tag assignments. That means no extra tagging from scratch. For example, the Workiva resolution for FERC reporting offers users with pre-tagged types. These standardized pre-tagged forms not solely cut back preparation efforts considerably, they also reduce tagging inconsistencies—you can obtain larger data quality with less effort.
Also, you are not required to tag every quantity. Notes to financial 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 would be tagged with a single text block for FERC. A bonus for users of the Workiva solution for SEC reporting and the Workiva solution for FERC reporting: You will be capable of link info in your 10-K to your pre-tagged Form 1 for consistency and effectivity.
If no relevant XBRL concept is out there, the data 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 may be reported within footnotes for schedules.
Additionally, no extensions are allowed. Besides ideas, axes and members are additionally for use as provided. So, how do you report company-specific information, such as officer names? In order to assist reporting of company-specific info, FERC uses the typed dimension.
The bonus for Workiva users? Although FERC uses a special technical specification, you will see the Workiva FERC reporting solution presents the identical feel and appear as axis/member application in the Workiva answer for SEC reporting.
pressure gauge OR CUSTOM DATES

For FERC reporting, no customized labels or label roles are needed. Labels are auto-assigned by the official FERC renderer primarily based on kind locations. Also, there are no calculation to outline. In fact, custom calculations aren’t permitted. Validation rules will deal with consistency checks.
Since FERC taxonomy assigns particular hypercube to every schedule, there is not a define construction to construct. For users of Workiva for FERC reporting, this is routinely managed by the Workiva platform.
Plus, truth ordering isn’t controlled by the define and is not required. FERC uses a numeric component “OrderNumber” to control sequencing of company-specific data. Users of the Workiva answer for FERC reporting can easily assign row numbers within the kind schedules as “OrderNumber” within the Workiva platform. Lastly, there aren’t any customized dates as you’re limited to a small listing of allowable values.
SUBMISSION OF DATA AS INSTANCE DOCUMENT ONLY

Going forward, there isn’t a digital form to submit. Machine-readable data is the necessary thing focus. Although not in iXBRL format, FERC’s official kind renderer will provide standardized viewing for the submitted XBRL data.
SUPPORTS REQUEST FOR CONFIDENTIAL DATA

Since most filing data to the SEC is public record, the SEC doesn’t provide this, however FERC does. Whether FERC will really approve a request for confidential data is one other question! If you might have an XBRL vendor for SEC reporting, make certain your vendor additionally helps FERC compliance, for the rationale that FERC taxonomy is not going to be the same as 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 answer for FERC compliance, understanding the similarities and differences between XBRL filings for FERC and for the SEC shall be essential when evaluating your choices.
FOR MORE INFORMATION

Percy Hung is director of structured data initiatives and Peter Larison is supervisor of structured data initiatives at Workiva. Workiva, Inc. is a worldwide software-as-a-service firm. It offers a cloud-based linked and reporting compliance platform that allows the use of related information and automation of reporting across finance, accounting, danger, and compliance. For more data, go to www.workiva.com