iXBRL errors - how we help

The HMRC and Companies House gateways for iXBRL filings use validation software which provides error messages on problems with filings which are very technical in content and format. Typically, only an XBRL expert can interpret them, making it hard for preparers of iXBRL filings to understand a problem and correct it. Filers may waste difficult and troubling hours trying to fix an issue, often getting bogged down in lengthy exchanges with software vendors or HMRC help desks.

SureFile Accounts alleviates these problems by translating error data into meaningful, plain English and by offering guidance on where a problem may have originated and how it can be fixed. Surefile may be able to point to where an error has occurred in an accounts file, in some cases providing a ‘location’ button which highlights the position of the error in the accounts.

SureFile also enables accounts to be tested independently of the full Corporation Tax filing package. This enables early testing of accounts so that any problems are identified and fixed long before accounts are combined into a full CT package and sent to HMRC or the Irish Revenue as filing deadlines loom. It also allows elimination of the accounts as a source of problems, so that if a CT filing is rejected, filers will know this relates either to the CT component or inconsistencies between the accounts and CT content.

The following is an example of a UK government gateway rejection message:

cvc-complex-type.2.2: Element 'full:monetaryItem' must have no element [children], and the value must be valid.

Here is the SureFile information on the same problem:

Invalid content within a tagged value. This is usually an indication that a garble, or possibly HTML formatting, has been included in a value that has been tagged. (This information is followed by advice on how to locate the line item and correct the problem.)

Here is another gateway rejection message:

A dimensional processor MUST raise an error xbrldie:PrimaryItemDimensionallyInvalidError if the hypercube combinations found in all base sets are invalid. The item '{http://www.xbrl.org/dim/conf/primary}xyz' is not dimensionally valid in any xlink:role. It was validated against hypercubes in the following roles:'http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/link.'

The SureFile translation:

A line item is attached to an invalid combination of dimension tags. For example, it may be missing a required dimension tag or attached to an illegal dimension tag. (This information is followed by advice on how to locate the line item and correct the problem.)

These are just a very small sample of the large number of error messages which may occur. They show how SureFile Accounts make sense of validation problems, saving preparers huge amounts of time and trouble.