Malaysian Business Reporting System

In 2018, the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) introduced the Malaysian Business Reporting System (MBRS). It allows for the submission of:

• Annual Return (AR)

• Financial Statements and Report (FS), and

• Exemption Applications (EA) related to the FS and AR.

The MBRS is a digital submission platform based on the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format. XBRL is by definition, an open international standard for digital business reporting. Foreign regulators, SEC (in USA), HMRC (in UK), ACRA (in Singapore) and CIPC (in South Africa), have mandated registered or publicly listed companies to report their financial information in XBRL. SSM is one of the latest adopters.

Its primary aim is to improve financial and business reporting and simplify ways for stakeholders to use, share, analyse and add value to data. SSM, in its FAQs, states that its reasons for XBRL adoption includes making the collection of financial and non-financial information more efficient, facilitating the analysis of financial reports for decision making and providing  SSM and other regulators with detailed data which can be aggregated, as well as aiding investigative efforts and other compliance.

MBRS is made of three main components:

• SSM Taxonomy - dictionary of financial and non-financial reporting element of AR, FS and EA embedded in the MBRS Preparation Tool. The taxonomy for FS and AR has been established based on the disclosure requirements for MFRS, MPERS and Companies Act 2016.

• MBRS Preparation Tool - preparation tools based on Microsoft Excel that allow companies to prepare documents online and offline and generated AR, FS and EA in XBRL.

• MBRS Portal - submission platform to lodge FS, AR and EA to SSM.

All companies which follow MFRS and MPERS, except for companies that are regulated by the Bank Negara Malaysia, can file their financial statements via MBRS.

The key measures include ensuring that the XBRL tagging is done correctly during the implementation stage and ironing out any compatibility issues as early as possible.

Wolters Kluwer’s An Overview of the Malaysian Business Reporting System (MBRS) and eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) workshop aims to provide participants with an understanding of the following:

• The scope and requirements under the MBRS

• How to use the platform to file and submit the FS, AR and EA, and

• How to effectively use XBRL.

Are you maximising the use of your Intelliconnect resources?

While we at Wolters Kluwer are obviously happy when you agree to purchase one of our high quality online subscriptions (whether it's for tax, GST, accounting or human resources), we would be even more happier if you make full use of all the features that we've developed to help you in your work!

As such, I'd just like to take a short while to remind you of a few of the many features that Intelliconnect has which you should take full advantage of:

Predictive Intelligence - A New Era

In today's business environment of intense competition, every professional accounting firm is always angling for an advantage over rival firms. If you're one of the top personnel of such a firm, that means you're always on the lookout for new business opportunities.

For every external event that pops up, whether it's new tax legislation, new guidelines on financial reporting standards, the results of a court case, or new listed company requirements, you'll want to see how you can make use of these events to find opportunities to serve both existing and potential clients.

Such a process could take ages, because, let's face it, every customer is different. You'd have to go through your client database to determine whether any of them are impacted from these latest developments and decide how best you can help your client. It's a time-consuming task.

Credit: aboutmodafinil.com 

Wouldn't it be great if there was a way that you could simplify that decision-making? Where you could have a system that could match those events to the customers impacted from the events and help narrow down those options?

CCH Integrator, your solution for compliance and reporting!

In this era of rapid evolution, businesses need to continuously adapt to changing circumstances to stay relevant. Trends that are hot today may be stone cold tomorrow. At the same time, compliance and reporting requirements continue to increase as the need for transparency becomes more important than ever. How does an organisation keep up? 

That's where Wolters Kluwer comes in. If you're a company that has multiple layers of businesses that report to a wide range of jurisdictions, we have the solution for you.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

Scenes from the Malaysia GST Compliance Conference at Prince Hotel (8-9 July 2015)

Our library of books at the sales booth

Some of our Wolters Kluwer Sales staff, always ready to help!

Michael Hendroff of KPMG discusses the grey areas

Indonesia considers tax amnesty to boost tax revenue?

It was recently reported in the press that the Indonesian tax office is considering a tax amnesty in an effort to bring back overseas funds to Indonesia. The proposal is to allow the perpetrators of financial crimes to pay 10 to 15 percent of tax on the assets they bring back into Indonesia in return for pardon from criminal prosecution. A significant amount of the Indonesian assets are believed to be ‘parked’ in Singapore.

According to Wikipedia, a tax amnesty refers to ‘a limited-time opportunity for a specified group of taxpayers to pay a defined amount, in exchange for forgiveness of a tax liability (including interest and penalties) relating to a previous tax period or periods and without fear of criminal prosecution’. There have been instances of tax amnesty granted by other governments such as Italy, Spain and the United States.

Increase in demand for women technology professionals in Singapore

Based on a report published by specialist recruitment firm Robert Half on 18 June 2015, their survey found that 49% of companies have recruited more women professionals into technology related positions during the last five years.

The major contributor in appointing women professionals in technological roles are the mid-sized firms with between 150 and 499 employees, with 62% of firms increasing the number of women in technology roles. Around 44% of small organisations with around 50 to 150 employees have recruited more women professionals in positions related to technology while 40% of large companies with more than 500 workers have cited an increase in female technology professionals within their ranks.

The Wolters Kluwer Malaysia GST Compliance Conference

We are just over a week away from arguably the most important conference on GST post-implementation. The Malaysia GST Compliance Conference, aptly subtitled Unraveling Post-Implementation Complexities is on the horizon!

Three months into GST, your company is probably facing real life GST challenges that you may not have thought you'd encounter pre-implementation, with many grey areas and the need to understand the differences between theory and practice. New issues continue to turn up, but are you sure the way you're tackling them is the best way?

EU's new tax blacklist: Hong Kong's displeasure

A statement has been issued by the Government of Hong Kong on 18 June 2015 expressing disappointment on being included in the European Union’s tax blacklist. It claimed that Hong Kong has always been supportive of international efforts to enhance tax transparency and they are bewildered that the EU has regarded the territory as non-tax cooperative.

The European Commission's new Corporate Tax Reform Action Plan included the EU tax blacklist which features those territories that are included on 10 or more EU member state blacklists.

Need Intelliconnect training?

How's it going, valued subscribers? It's been about a month since our Intelliconnect portal was given a stylish refresh. I'm sure most of you welcomed the new look in our efforts to have a cleaner, clearer and easier to use interface.

However, we acknowledge that even with these improvements, some of you would still appreciate some assistance in learning how to make the most out of our Intelliconnect services. It's important to us that you are able to make optimal use of Intelliconnect to fulfill your research needs and assist you in your decision-making.

While we have the online support such as those shown above, we would like to highlight that web-based training with an actual Wolters Kluwer trainer is also available not just for our new subscribers, but existing ones too. Some of you might just need a refresher, or maybe your company has hired new employees that will be using Intelliconnect significantly.

Ramadan Mubarak!

To all our Muslim customers and friends in Malaysia and Singapore, Wolters Kluwer South East Asia wishes you a blessed and sparkling Ramadan!

Editor's Review – MyKira GST App

With the implementation of GST, most of us are afraid that we might be overcharged by unscrupulous traders. Fear not!  The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry is here to help! (well, sort of). The Ministry has introduced a phone app that enables consumers to check the price of goods before they purchase, the app is called MyKira and it is available in Google Play.

Here’s the low-down of the app after trying it out myself.

The home screen is pretty straightforward, you have to key in compulsory information such as product name, weight or unit numbers, price and store name. There is an option to key in the old price of the item, which is optional. There is another option for location, which automatically detects your location. Finally, there's also a mostly unnecessary map.

The app’s home screen

Malaysia Master GST Guide 2015 2nd edition hot off the press!

The eagerly anticipated second edition of the Malaysia Master GST Guide 2015 is finally here!

As one of the first books in the market to be published post-GST implementation, this book has been extensively revised and updated for the 2^nd edition as a result of significant changes and developments to the law, guidelines and announcements that have occurred since the 1^st edition was published.

GST in Malaysia : So How?

An article by: Dr Veerinderjeet Singh, Chairman of Taxand Malaysia Sdn Bhd

(Chairman for the upcoming WK Malaysia GST Compliance Conferences held in both Malaysia and Singapore)

So we saw that the introduction of the GST on 1 April 2015 was not an April Fool’s joke after all. It is here and as usual, there were some hiccups and uncertainty that some businesses faced and that was to be expected.

The few silver linings of GST

One of the best positives to come out of the GST implementation in Malaysia is that Malaysians are more aware of their consumer rights than ever before. When you have sites set up like http://check-service-charge.herokuapp.com/, which was mentioned in a previous post, it goes to show the amount of effort that Malaysians will now go to to ensure their consumer rights are protected.

WK Malaysia GST Compliance Conference in Singapore

Ever since the Malaysia Goods and Services Tax Act 2014 was gazetted in June 2014, there has been a lot of hype, both in Singapore and Malaysia, over the implementation of GST in Malaysia.

Now that the implementation date of 1 April 2015 is over, your business should already have a proper system in place to manage Malaysia GST. However, you may continue to face questions in the following areas:

• are your Malaysian business partners charging you GST correctly? what recourse is available to you if your Malaysian business partners use GST to profiteer through indiscriminate price hikes?
• when you enter into a new business contract, when do you need to charge GST and when should you exempt the transaction? what if the transaction is a composite or mixed supply?
• have you prepared your GST return correctly? what are the potential areas for errors? when and how do you make adjustments to your GST return for debit notes and credit notes?
• what types of records do you need to maintain for audit trail?
• are there any GST schemes that you can take advantage of to improve your business' cash flow? should you consider GST group registration? can you apply for a ruling for your business supplies?

Good news for social service professionals

Are you a new social worker looking to enter the workforce, or advance your career?

Guess what, social service professionals can now look forward to a pay increase of between three and 19% depending on their level of professional competency and skill levels, making it a more feasible career option!

Veerinder on Malaysian Tax Theory and Practice launched!

The 3rd Edition of the WK book Veerinder on Malaysian Tax Theory and Practice is now available for purchase!

  

This latest 3rd Edition includes all the relevant legislative and administrative changes since the previous edition, up to 1 May 2015. It also includes a new chapter on Indirect Taxation, which details the pertinent aspects of the newly implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST), as well as an expanded collection of worked examples throughout the commentary.

Be met with a stylish new platform of smart, clean design, intuitive functionality and the same powerful results.

Work faster with the new, updated IntelliConnect^® interface.

Get what you need, when you need it in style – will all the same customisation and functionality, without new structural amendments.

THE UPSHOT: Increased efficiency through easier, more intuitive and instant access to reliable and accurate content developed by subject-matter experts.

LOGIN NOW: www.cch.com.sg or www.cch.com.my