How do I approach new reporting periods?

When taxonomies are published by regulatory authorities, they are based on a reference period which indicates the reporting period(s) that the taxonomy is relevant for. This must be considered before choosing to reuse a document as the taxonomy may not be relevant for a subsequent reporting period. 

There are several options to retain as much automation, calculations and mappings as possible between reporting periods but this will be determined by which taxonomy is relevant to the new reporting period.

When approaching a new reporting period you will need to consider the following steps:

1. Determine which taxonomy must be used.
   
   (Please see selecting a taxonomy for more information).
2. If the same taxonomy used in the previous reporting period is still applicable, you can re-use the previous period's Report Authority document (and Excel Import Templates if applicable) by changing the reference date.
   
   A document from a previous reporting period can be reused by utilising the roll forward functionality which will allow you to update the reference date for the document. (Please see roll forward for more information).
3. If a new taxonomy is to be used for the first time, a new Report Authority document must be created. 
   
   Even though a new document must be created for each new taxonomy, the Excel Import Templates of the previous taxonomy can be updated to match the structure of the new taxonomy. This will allow you to retain any automation and calculations within the Excel Import Template. (Please see updating Excel Import Templates for more information).