MBRS in a Nutshell
The Companies Commission of Malaysia, or Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM), recently announced a new submission filing system called the Malaysian Business Reporting System (MBRS).
Based on the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format, it allows for the submission of the following:
- Annual returns (AR)
- Financial statements and reports (FS)
- Related exemption applications (EA)
Before going into detail, let’s simplify what XBRL is, because understanding it is key to understanding the MBRS. XBRL is the open international standard software for digital business reporting, managed by a global, non-profit association, XBRL International. It improves the process of financial data communication, making it easy to collect and share this data. XBRL allows for simplified data transmission between businesses and for swift exchange of reporting information precisely and digitally. XBRL is a primary choice for about 50 countries around the globe. Each year, numerous XBRL documents are created, replacing older, paper-based reports with more efficient and accurate digital versions.
Who should use MBRS – the new system?
The system is ideal for accountants, auditors, business owners, company secretaries, directors, finance professionals, and anyone else in commerce or interested in or affected by the new system. Remember that the Malaysian Business Reporting System is a compulsory update that all Malaysian companies should know about and abide by. This digital financial reporting standard is set to become the required basis for the submission filing of financial statements and annual reports.
Why the shift from the existing SSM system to MBRS?
Submission filing is a huge and complicated task. Certain challenges might seem trivial to an outsider, but they affect the efficiency of the entire process. Several of these are being addressed through process automation and replacing age-old manual systems with technology-driven automated systems.
The most vital feature of the MBRS is the filing process for annual returns and financial statements via the preparation tool (mTool). This tool is easy, even for a beginner, and provides a good example of how the entire process can be streamlined and trouble-free. It’s a good idea for those who are responsible for filing of the company or organization information to undergo a basic course before using the tool. This will ensure a smooth and error-free operation. The system steps through the filing submission process, from downloading and installing the preparation tool, to completing the submission on to adding a digital signature to the filing payment. A single platform for the submission of information reduces the risk of distortion of the data as it passes through multiple levels, sub-levels and stakeholders, thus maintaining a good level of consistency.
Apart from the standardization of data, which reduces the chances of errors, miscalculations and manual sorting, the tool also helps to eliminate redundancy in the filing process. By using such a route, companies can expect optimum usage of their resources, contributing to a better outcome for the entire economy.
Get in touch with MBRS experts for more information.