Accountants Unprepared For Move To Compulsory E-filing

Tue, 29 Jun 2010

Accountants in the UK are not ready to switchover to the new online filing system that will be introduced by HMRC next year, new research has found.

From 1 April 2011 all corporation tax filing must be done in a new computer tagging language known as iXBRL (in-line eXtensible Business Reporting Language), which HMRC hopes will make it easier to compare financial information.

But a survey conducted by accountancy technology firm CCH found that only 8 per cent of accountants have decided how they will convert data into the new iXBRL format to file corporation tax returns .

David Routley, technical product manager at CCH, said: "What the CCH research has shown is that accountants are still not geared up for the move to compulsory e-filing next year."

"Two critical areas, converting data into iXBRL format which can be time consuming, and a lack of clear formalised relationship agreements, will mean that they could be faced with unplanned additional costs and a resource drain next year."

Routley added: "Accountants will need to spell out to clients and third parties who will be responsible for ensuring the tagging of data, otherwise they will be left with a much larger volume of work than they expected."
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