Limited company accounts
Preparing and filing limited company accounts
This page explains the basic rules on filing limited company accounts. It applies
to all limited company accounts irrespective of whether any filing exemptions
apply to the
content
of
the limited company accounts.
1. Do all companies have to keep accounting records?
Yes. All limited and unlimited companies, whether or not they are
trading, must keep accounting records.
2. What does a set of limited company accounts include?
Generally, limited company accounts must include:
(a) a profit and loss account (or income and expenditure account if the company
is not trading for profit);
(b) a balance sheet signed by a director;
(c) an auditors' report signed by the auditor (if appropriate);
(d) a directors' report signed by a director or the secretary of the company;
notes to the limited company accounts; and
(e) group limited company accounts (if appropriate).
This guidance note cannot go into the detailed information that these documents
must contain - for this see the Companies Act. Certain information may be omitted
from the limited company accounts of medium-sized and small (including very
small and dormant) companies prepared under the special provisions of part
VII of the Act. These companies may further abbreviate the limited company
accounts they file at Companies House 3. Very small companies and dormant companies
may also be exempt from audit.
3. Do all companies have to deliver their limited company accounts
to Companies House?
All limited and public limited companies must send their limited company
accounts to Companies House. If they are eligible and wish to, medium-sized,
small, very small and dormant companies may prepare and file 'abbreviated limited
company accounts'.
Unlimited companies need only deliver limited company accounts to the Registrar
if, during the period covered by the limited company accounts, the company
was:
(a) a subsidiary or a parent of a limited undertaking; or
(b) a banking or insurance company (or the parent company of a banking or
insurance company); or
(c) a 'qualifying company' within the meaning of the Partnerships and Unlimited
Companies (limited company accounts) Regulations 1993
(d) operating a trading stamp scheme.
4. What period must the limited company accounts cover?
A company's first limited company accounts cover the period starting
on the date of incorporation, not the first day of trading. They end on the
accounting reference date (ARD) or up to 7 days either side of that date.
Subsequent limited company accounts start on the day after the previous limited
company accounts ended. They finish on the accounting reference date or up
to 7 days either side of it.
5. How long do I have to file my company's first limited company accounts?
If you are filing your company's first limited company accounts and
they cover a period of more than 12 months, they must be delivered to the Registrar
within 22 months of the date of incorporation for private companies and 19
months for public companies or 3 months from the accounting reference date,
whichever is longer. The definition of a period of months in connection with
filing the limited company accounts also applies to the first limited company
accounts. For example, a private company incorporated on 1 January with an
Accounting Reference Date of 31 January has until midnight on 1 November (22
months from the date of incorporation) to deliver its limited company accounts,
not 30 November.
6. How long do I normally have to file my limited
company accounts?
Unless you are filing you company's first limited
company accounts the time normally allowed for delivering
limited company accounts to Companies House is:
(a) for a private company, 10 months from the accounting reference date;
(b) for a public company, 7 months from the accounting reference date.
However, if the accounting reference period has been shortened, the time allowed
for filing the limited company accounts is the longer of:
(a) for a private company 10 months (or for a public company 7 months) from
the accounting reference date; or
3 months from the date of the notice (Form 225).
Please be aware of the definition of a period of months in connection with
filing limited company accounts.
A period of months after a given date ends on the corresponding date in the
appropriate month. For example a private company with an accounting reference
date of 30 September has until midnight on 30 July of the following year to
deliver its limited company accounts, not 31 July.
If there is no corresponding date, the last day of the month will apply. For
example, a private company with an accounting reference date of 30 April has
until midnight on 28 February the following year to deliver its limited company
accounts.
7. Can the time allowed for delivering limited company accounts be
extended?
If a company carries on business or has interests overseas, a 3-month
extension to the normal filing period can be claimed by delivering Form 244
to Companies House. This form must be delivered before the normal filing deadline
and this must be done for every year that the company wishes to claim the extension.
It does not automatically apply from one year to the next.
An application may also be made to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
to extend the time for laying and delivering limited company accounts if there
is a special reason for doing so. For example, if there has been an unforeseen
event which was outside the control of the company and its auditors. The application
must be made in writing, be delivered before the normal filing deadline, and
must contain a full explanation of the reasons for the extension and the length
of the extension needed.
8. What if the limited company accounts are delivered late?
There is an automatic civil penalty for late filing. The amount depends
on how late the limited company accounts arrive and whether the company is
private or public. The fixed penalties are as follows:
Length of delay Public company Private company
(a) 3 months or less £ 500 £100
(b) 3 months one day to 6 months £1000 £250
(c) 6 months one day to 12 months £2000 £500
(d) More than 12 months £5000 £1000
Failing to deliver limited company accounts on time is also a criminal offence
for which company directors may be prosecuted.
Please note: if a filing deadline expires on a Sunday or Bank Holiday the
law still requires limited company accounts to be filed by that date. So you
should ensure that they are posted in time to arrive before such a deadline.
9. Who can approve and sign limited company accounts?
The limited company accounts must be approved by the company's board
of directors and signed before they are sent to Companies House. The balance
sheet must be signed by a director, with any statements about accounting or
filing exemptions appearing above the director's signature.
The directors' report, if one is required, must be signed by a director or
the company secretary. If an auditors' report, special auditors' report or
accountants' report is attached to the limited company accounts, then it must
state the names of the auditors or accountants and be signed by them. You do
not have to lay the limited company accounts before a general meeting of the
company, or have them agreed by the Inland Revenue, before sending them to
Companies House.
10. What happens to documents sent to Companies House?
The documents and forms you deliver to Companies House are scanned
to produce an electronic image. The original documents are then stored, and
the electronic image is used as the working document.
When your business contacts view the company record, they see the electronic
image reproduced on-line or on microfilm. So it is important not only that
the original is legible, but that it can also produce a clear copy.
11. What happens if my documents do not meet the guidelines? Section
706 of the Act allows Companies House to reject documents that cannot be captured
electronically, giving a notice saying why they are unacceptable. An acceptable
copy must be delivered within 14 days of the notice (otherwise we treat the
original as not having been delivered).
12. How should documents be set out?
Every document delivered to the Registrar must state prominently the registered
number of the company, and must comply with any requirements specified by
the Registrar relating to the legibility of that document.
Briefly, documents should be on A4 size, plain white paper between 80gsm and
100gsm in weight with a matt finish. Text should be black, clear, legible,
and of uniform density.
When you prepare a document:
(a) use black ink or black type;
(b) use bold lettering (some elegant thin typefaces and pens give poor quality
copies);
(c) don't send a carbon copy;
(d) don't use a dot matrix printer;
remember - photocopies can result in a grey shade that will not scan well;
use A4 size paper with a good margin; and include the company number in the
top right-hand corner of the first page.
Glossy limited company accounts - If you are producing colour-printed glossy
limited company accounts, please save them for your shareholders and others
who will appreciate them. Companies House requires black on white with a matt
finish. A typed, unbound version of a printer's proof is ideal, provided it
has the necessary signatures.
Limited Company accounts are also know as
company_accounts
limited_company_accounts
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