1st time lucky

I ATTENDED THE ICAEW “Implementing XBRL” roadshow today. It was presented by Paul Booth and Richard Anning, both from the IT faculty.

The event showcased HMRC’s, Twinfield’s, and Sage’s, iXBRL products which most accountants will have to come to terms with if they file corporation tax. It was an opportunity for software vendors (and me) to learn, how prepared accountants are for the upcoming switchover on 1 April 2011.

And, for accountants, to find out what software is available.

Twinfield’s founder Andre Kwakernaat raised the obvious and interesting question: Who, of the 80 or so accountants in the room, is planning to conduct a dry run and submit in iXBRL, ahead of the mandatory deadline.

Two people tentatively put their hand up, before thinking better of it.

So we may have a lot of iXBRL virgins next year.

Let’s hope HMRC will stick to their promise of taking a “sympathetic” approach to fines for the first two years of implementation.