Change in accounts filing for small companies

Small companies are required to file a copy of their end of year accounts with Companies House. In the past, it has been possible to file abbreviated accounts – basically, a few notes and a Balance Sheet with very little data regarding profitability – for smaller companies this has restricted the amount of financial information available in the public domain, and thus, their exposure to competitors.

For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016, the format of accounts that will need to be filed has changed. An announcement posted to the gov.uk website is reproduced below:

If you’re a small company, you have 4 options for filing your accounts:

Micro-entity accounts

You must meet at least 2 of the following:

• turnover is no more than £632,000
• balance sheet total is no more than £316,000
• average number of employees is no more than 10

Abridged accounts

You must meet at least 2 of the following:

• turnover is no more than £10.2 million
• balance sheet total is no more than £5.1 million
• average number of employees is no more than 50

Full accounts with us and HMRC

These joint accounts are suitable for small companies who are audit exempt and need to file full accounts to us and HMRC. You can also file your tax return with HMRC at the same time.

Dormant company accounts

These accounts are suitable for companies limited by shares or by guarantee that have never traded and can be filed using our WebFiling Service.

We will be considering these options in the coming months and making recommendations to clients based on their available options.