Since November 2012, all companies in the Republic of Ireland have the option to file iXBRL financial statements with the Revenue. Importantly, the submission of iXBRL financial statements is now mandatory for all companies dealt with by the Large Cases Division of the Revenue in respect of tax returns filed on, or after, 1 October 2013, with respect to accounting periods ending on, or after, 31 December 2012.

So, what is iXBRL? iXBRL combines human-readable information and computer-readable data, with the output being a document, i.e. financial statements, that looks like a Word or Excel document, but which has electronic tags embedded within it. The implications of these new requirements may be far-reaching, and could include: impact on organisational structure; timing of the audit; the statutory account production process; software and I.T. policy; and tax compliance.

KPMG in Ireland has significant experience helping businesses in every sector easily and cost-effectively manage their iXBRL transition, We spoke to Jon D'Arcy of KPMG in Ireland, and asked him about the iXBRL experience in the U.K., and why getting iXBRL right first time is so important for Irish businesses.

"The Revenue in the U.K. introduced XBRL two years ago, and the Revenue in the U.K. just made an announcement to say anybody who submits accounts in the U.K. with incorrect tags, or not a great effort at tagging, that they're more susceptible to get their accounts audited by the Revenue, so it's definitely a point for people to think about, that OK, this may be a burden, but it's an important burden to make sure you get right."

It all sounds quite complex, and doing it yourself potentially costly and time-consuming, so what choices are open to Irish-based businesses, and how can KPMG help?

"There's two main approaches really; you can adopt what's called an accounts preparation