To File or Not To File.

Sometimes the information you want is just not available.

Frustrating, I know but when it comes to a company’s annual accounts, we’re only as good as the information supplied to Companies House. (The fact that our website is easier to use is a handy side benefit.)

So what are the filing requirements for UK Ltd companies? First off, under the Companies Act, all companies, even if they are not trading, must file accounts at Companies House each year. The only exceptions to this are small, medium sized or dormant companies, who can if they want, file abbreviated accounts. However, there are no exemptions for public companies (PLC), banking, insurance or shipping companies and their subsidiaries regardless of size.

The next logical question is what are the criteria that define a small, medium or large company? This varies depending on when your company’s financial year started. For those with financial years before 6^th April 2008, two of the following three criteria have to be met:

	Small Company	Medium Company	Large Company
Annual Turnover	Not exceeding £5.6m	Not exceeding £22.8m	More than £22.8m
Balance Sheet Total	Not Exceeding £2.8M	Not Exceeding £11.4m	More than £11.4
Employee Numbers	No more than 50	No more than 250	250 or more

For those with financial years after 6^th April 2008, the definitions change slight, but there is still a requirement to meet two of three following criteria:

	Small Company	Medium Company	Large Company
Annual Turnover	Not exceeding £6.5m	Not exceeding £25.9m	More than £25.9m
Balance Sheet Total	Not Exceeding £3.26M	Not Exceeding £12.9m	More than £12.9
Employee Numbers	No more than 50	No more than 250	250 or more

Having sorted the definitions of small, medium and large companies, the following table gives you the filing obligations:

	Small Company	Medium Company	Large Company
Balance Sheet	Abbreviated Balance Sheet	Full Balance Sheet	Full Balance Sheet signed by a Director
Profit and Loss	Not Required	Abbreviated Profit and Loss Account	Full Profit and Loss Account.
Turnover	Not Required	Not Required	Yes
Auditor Report	Not Required	Special Auditor Report	Yes and signed by the auditor
Director Report	Not Required	Yes	Yes and signed by an officer of the company
Notes to the Accounts	Not Required	Yes	Yes and group accounts if appropriate

Hopefully this helps. As an information provider, we’d like all companies to supply all the information but as this is unlikely to happen, we’re just work with what we have.