Prepare For Software-Only Filing Of Company Accounts
Companies House has announced it a move towards software-only filing of annual accounts, using its enhanced powers under the forthcoming Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (ECCTB). Software-only filing will become a legal requirement and all other filing routes will be removed.
Presently, companies can file their accounts via the online service WebFiling or the joint filing services with HM Revenue & Customs. In an effort to keep up with advances in technology and increasingly complexity of company accounts, CH has announced the creation of “a single, cost-effective, sustainable way of filing accounts, which will be secure, transparent, and traceable”.
Why the change? It’s all about corporate transparency and comes against the background of the ECCTB (which is now in its final stages). The Bill includes reforms to CH, including handing it greater powers, in a bid to improve transparency and “improving the financial information on the register so that the register is more reliable, complete and accurate, reflects the latest advancements in digital technology, and enables better business decisions”.
CH says it also wants to enable much wider electronic tagging of accounts data; and categorised to a specialist accounts taxonomy. This, is says, will make it easier for users to access, analyse and search for data.
What will it mean in practice?
It is expected that CH will set out a timetable to roll out the changes. In the meantime, it suggests that directors prepare ahead of the changes as appropriate, saying that the software is not only already available – but more than 65% of companies are already using it.
For instance, a director who files annual accounts via an accountant might consider discussing with them the upcoming changes to make sure you are compliant with the new filing requirement. Remember that it is the director/s who are ultimately responsible for complying with the rules – not their accountants.
If you would like us to cover an issue in the next NGM Tax Law Newsletter, we would be pleased to hear from you