The regulation of electricity, natural gas, oil, and the entire hydropower industry in the US is governed by FERC or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
As the commission has launched a mandate for all these companies to submit their quarterly and annual accounts and operations information in XBRL format, the companies are leveraging the adoption of a new format to also evaluate existing processes, mitigate risk, and drive efficiencies and control within their FERC form filing processes
At first, the effort and investment for conversion may seem quite high, but it is supposed to reduce as filings progress over the years.
Non-compliance with this mandate will lead to higher penalties in the long run. By December 2021, the companies are expected to submit their first forms that include XBRL tagging, online to the commission.
Now, in order to be compliant with the FERC XBRL mandate, you as a company should have a clear idea of what process needs to be followed. To help you understand better, here we have compiled everything you need to know about the FERC XBRL mandate. All you need to do is initiate them early and stay updated with every detail of your business projects.
The XBRL Mandated Forms
As mentioned earlier, the XBRL mandate requires submitting specific forms quarterly and annually. These forms are related to electric and public utilities, oil, natural gas, and centralized service companies. FERC has adopted the XBRL standard for all filers submitting Forms 1, 1-F, 2, 2-A, 3-Q (Electric) & 3-Q (Natural Gas), 6, 6-Q, 60, and 714, in 2021.
Planning: How and When?
The planning has to start early. Now, the main task of collecting, compiling, and assembling data for all accounting and operational information still remains. The specific milestones for XBRL completion and robust data quality review should be incorporated into filing calendar timelines.
Nowadays, you will come across plenty of options when it comes to choosing software for smart and accurate work and XBRL is no exception. You can choose your solutions to partner among a plethora of options available. After all, the planning of resources, time and budget mainly depend upon the software and service provider you choose.
What is Tagging?
It is basically the allocation of your specific and unique business data within a preset term, known as taxonomy. The reporting information within the forms will be required to be mapped to an element included in FERC’s standard XBRL taxonomy
Now, here you need to know that almost all the energy companies in the US are taking serious preparations on how to file their annual returns by following the procedure of tagging. Here is how you can be compliant with the FERC XBRL mandate.
- In-House: You will have to identify and assemble an internal XBRL reporting team and allocate key responsibilities. Additionally, the in-house team needs to learn and familiarize themselves with the FERC taxonomy, including its elements and definitions This is the first step and will require an ample amount of learning time & resources. Next step, you will need to assess the current technology environment for tagging and creating the XBRL instance document in-house either by developing your own XBRL tagging solution or licensing a readily available SaaS solution from the existing XBRL tool vendors. All mandated forms have to be ready to be processed in XBRL and submitted to FERC online before the filing deadline.
- Outsource: Partnering with a company that provides the FERC XBRL compliance services can be beneficial and can make your journey stress-free in the very first year. The partnering company comes equipped with XBRL expertise along with an industry-specific experience that can help the timely filing of your forms to FERC online. In any mandated compliance, meeting the deadline is as important as providing correct information that has been captured and submitted during the XBRL filings. Your XBRL partner company will ensure the same and they will guide you through till the end.
Also important to note here, FERC in order to provide the additional time necessary to manage and complete the transition to an XBRL based system, the deadlines for the third quarter filings of the FERC Form Nos. 3-Q (electric), 3-Q (natural gas), and 6-Q (oil) are hereby extended. The deadlines for submitting the third quarter 2021 filings of FERC Form Nos. 3-Q (electric), 3-Q (natural gas), and 6-Q (oil) are now extended until December 31, 2021.
Take advantage of the granted extension to file your FERC forms.
Are you looking for a company to provide you with professional services to comply with the FERC XBRL mandate?
If yes, then you can feel free to get in touch with us. Ez-XBRL Solutions Inc.,
is a global provider of XBRL solutions and services. We are one of the acknowledged leaders in XBRL known to provide solutions and services for analytics, regulatory compliance, and business reporting to customers across the globe. Our dynamic team has created mission-critical, best-in-class products, filed for several patents, and continues to push the envelope in several areas of computer science including NLP, machine learning, and semantic web technologies.
Explore our website for further information or you can call us to know anything related to FERC XBRL compliance. So, why wait anymore? Contact us now to avail of our FERC XBRL services and comply at your end.
