How Corporate Reporting Automation Improves the Entire Reporting Cycle

Key Takeaways on Corporate Reporting Automation

• Corporate reporting automation creates a shared working and publishing foundation that is carried forward from one reporting period to the next. Existing structures, content and language versions can be reused, allowing work to focus on new or modified data and content.
• Responsibilities, work statuses, versions, and review and approval steps remain traceable throughout the report preparation process.
• A PDF report, an online report and, where required, a machine-readable publication with XBRL tagging can be prepared and made available from the approved data and content base.
• XBRL tagging takes place during report preparation and can be carried forward to the next reporting period. Adjustments are required where tagged report content or the applicable XBRL taxonomy has changed.
• A suitable corporate reporting solution preserves proven working methods, reduces clearly identifiable manual tasks and meets the company’s security and operational requirements. Contractually agreed support ensures that assistance is available during publication-critical phases.

What Does Corporate Reporting Automation Mean?

Corporate reporting automation means setting up a report once as a shared working and publishing foundation and carrying it forward from one reporting period to the next. Existing structures and content can be reused, while new or modified data and content are updated. A PDF report, an online report and, where required, a machine-readable publication with XBRL tagging can be prepared and made available from the approved data and content base. This approved foundation also serves as the starting point for the next reporting period.

Why Is Automated Corporate Reporting Gaining Relevance in Switzerland and beyond?

In addition to financial data, corporate reporting increasingly encompasses non-financial information, multiple language versions and different forms of publication. Data, narrative content and tables must be prepared, reviewed and approved across different departments. At the same time, structured and machine-readable corporate information is becoming increasingly relevant in Switzerland. This increases both the coordination effort involved in report preparation and the requirements for the technical preparation of information.

Under Swiss climate-reporting requirements, companies covered by the provisions on non-financial reporting must publish their climate-related information electronically in at least one human-readable and one machine-readable format in common international use. The explanatory materials for the Ordinance identify XBRL as one way of technically implementing machine readability.

A separate development concerns accounting data under the Swiss Code of Obligations. The CH Taxonomy 2025 provides an XBRL-based structure for this purpose. It covers the financial statements of companies limited by shares, limited liability companies and cooperatives, as well as associations and foundations subject to accounting requirements under Swiss law. This provides a standardizeddised basis for the electronic processing and transmission of such accounting data.

These developments increase the need for a reporting process that brings together subject-matter, organizational and technical requirements. Automated reporting processes connect data and content with responsibilities, reviews and approvals. Work statuses and versions remain traceable. At the same time, the report can be prepared and reviewed within the same process for both human-readable and machine-readable delivery. This reduces the effort required for repeated transfers and reconciliations. Subject-matter review and approval remain the responsibility of the relevant persons.

How Does Corporate Reporting Automation Work in Practice?

In practice, corporate reporting automation brings data, content, responsibilities, review and approval steps together in one coordinated process. Existing publications, source files, data sources and workflows are reviewed during implementation and used to configure the report structure, content, tables, language versions, design specifications, and review and approval steps on the MDD Platform. This setup allows recurring tasks to be coordinated within an integrated reporting process.

Texts and tables are primarily edited in Microsoft Word and Excel. Data from financial, consolidation or ERP systems can be incorporated through suitable data transfers or agreed interfaces. The specific setup depends on the requirements and technical conditions of the individual project.

Once approved, a PDF report, an online report and, where required, a machine-readable publication with XBRL tagging can be prepared and made available from the same data and content base. The next reporting period builds on the approved working version from the previous period. Existing structures and unchanged content are retained, while new or modified data and content are updated.  

What Benefits Can You Expect from Corporate Reporting Automation?

Fewer Recurring Tasks

The next reporting period builds on the approved structures, content and language versions from the previous period. Unchanged elements therefore do not need to be set up or processed again.

Traceable Collaboration

Responsibilities, work statuses, versions, and review and approval steps are managed within the reporting process. This makes it possible to identify which content is still being processed and which content has already been reviewed or approved.

Consistent Publications

A PDF report, an online report and, where required, a machine-readable publication with XBRL tagging can be prepared and made available from the same approved data and content base. Changes therefore do not need to be incorporated into separately maintained reports.

What Should Companies Consider When Evaluating a Corporate Reporting Solution?

A suitable corporate reporting solution should not simply replicate the existing process in a technical environment. The provider must understand which working methods, systems and responsibilities have proven effective, where unnecessary handovers or duplicated work occur and which requirements will need to be met in the future. Only then can a company assess whether the solution fits its existing process and addresses the identified need for improvement.

Preserve What Works and Address Weaknesses in a Targeted Manner

The solution should integrate existing systems, working methods and responsibilities where they function effectively. Changes are required where data is transferred multiple times, content is maintained in parallel or reviews are coordinated outside the controlled process. This ensures that implementation is guided by the actual need for improvement rather than by a rigid standard process.

Achieve a Real Reduction in Recurring Tasks

What matters is not the number of features, but which tasks will no longer be required. These may include setting up report structures again, maintaining identical content multiple times or updating different publications separately. The provider should be able to demonstrate specifically what can be reused, updated centrally or generated automatically, and which tasks will continue to require manual work.

Retain Control Over Content and Publications

The solution should make it clear who has edited, reviewed and approved each item of content. For PDFs, online reports and machine-readable publications, it must also be clear which common basis is used and which format-specific checks remain necessary. Automation must not replace subject-matter review and approval with technical processing.

Be Able to Rely on the Provider Under Time Pressure

During publication-critical phases, it must be clear who is available to address subject-matter, technical or production-related issues, how requests are escalated and what support has been contractually agreed. Personal contacts, defined deputies and support channels, together with reliable response times, provide a verifiable basis for trust.

Ensure Appropriate Operations and Information Security

Companies should assess whether the operating model, responsibilities and protective measures meet their requirements. Certifications and, once the required confidentiality has been ensured, further security evidence enables an informed assessment.

How Is XBRL Integrated into Automated Corporate Reporting?

XBRL adds structured, machine-readable information to a corporate report. Report content is tagged with concepts from the applicable XBRL taxonomy and supplemented with the required context information. This allows software systems to identify the information being reported and the reporting entity, reporting period, unit and, where applicable, additional dimensions to which it relates. Inline XBRL embeds the XBRL mark-up in an XHTML document that can be displayed as a report in a web browser while also being processed by software. This format is used, among other purposes, for annual financial reports within the scope of ESEF.

In an integrated reporting process, XBRL tagging takes place during report preparation rather than through the subsequent conversion of the completed report. The MDD Platform, accredited as XBRL Certified Software under the XBRL International Software Certification Program, provides the project-specific taxonomy prepared for tagging and supports technical validation. Based on the prepared report and the existing tagging, an XBRL Report Package can be generated through the MDD Platform. It combines the XBRL or Inline XBRL report and its associated components in a package structure that complies with the applicable specification. The package is then made available for subsequent quality assurance and publication.

When the report is rolled forward to a new reporting period, the existing XBRL tagging is carried forward and adjusted where the tagged report content or the applicable XBRL taxonomy has changed. Unchanged content therefore does not need to be tagged again.

FAQs About Corporate Reporting Automation

What is the main advantage of automated corporate reporting?

The main advantage is a consistent and controlled data and content base throughout the reporting cycle. The MDD Platform brings together data, content, responsibilities, reviews and approvals within this shared reporting process. Centrally managed data and content can be used consistently across the report and updated in a controlled manner when changes occur. Recurring content and existing report structures can be carried forward to the next reporting period and updated where required. This reduces the effort involved in making the same changes more than once, reconciling different parts of the report and rebuilding the report for each period.

How does automation support XBRL reporting?

On the MDD Platform, the existing XBRL tagging can be carried forward with the report to the next reporting period. This means that a substantial part of the work completed during the initial XBRL implementation can be reused. The carried-forward tagging is reviewed and adjusted or supplemented where the report content or applicable XBRL taxonomy has changed. Unchanged content does not need to be tagged again.

Can Word, Excel and existing data sources be integrated into the corporate reporting process?

Yes. Texts and tables are primarily edited in Microsoft Word and Excel, while the MDD Platform manages the report structure, work statuses, reviews and approvals. Data from financial, consolidation or ERP systems can be incorporated into the reporting process through structured imports, periodic data transfers or agreed interfaces and assigned to the relevant report content. The appropriate integration method is assessed based on the existing systems, data structures and update requirements.

How much time can you save with automated corporate reporting?

The potential time savings depend on the existing reporting process, the scope of the report, the number of language versions and publications, and the proportion of manual work involved. They must therefore be assessed for each specific application. The MDD Platform can reduce fragmented handovers and repeated coordination by bringing content, responsibilities, work statuses, reviews and approvals together within the reporting process. Existing report structures and recurring  content that has changed since the previous period. 

Is corporate reporting automation secure for sensitive data?

Yes. The MDD Platform uses technical and organizational security measures to protect sensitive reporting data. These include multi-factor authentication, role-based access rights, encryption of data in transit and at rest, and traceable logging of editing and approval processes. MDD operates an information security management system certified to ISO 27001:2022 and has the platform regularly assessed for technical vulnerabilities through independent external penetration tests. Platform operations and data hosting are located in Switzerland.

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