{"id":7252,"date":"2020-02-16T10:49:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-16T10:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qualitycompanyformations.co.uk\/blog\/?p=7252"},"modified":"2024-04-12T16:21:48","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T15:21:48","slug":"preparing-annual-accounts-limited-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qualitycompanyformations.co.uk\/blog\/preparing-annual-accounts-limited-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing annual accounts for your limited company"},"content":{"rendered":"
All limited companies registered in the UK have a legal obligation to prepare annual accounts every year. Depending on the size of your company and the complexity of its financial activity, you may be able to take care of all bookkeeping and accounting duties yourself. Most companies, however, hire accountants.<\/p>\n Save time and money - file your Dormant Company Accounts here<\/span><\/a>\n \n Whatever you decide, it is important to fully understand your company\u2019s accounting obligations. This ensures that your business is compliant and that you’re fulfilling your director\u2019s duties and responsibilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Annual accounts<\/a> are often referred to as \u2019financial accounts\u2019, \u2018statutory accounts\u2019, or \u2018company accounts\u2019. Providing a summary of an organisation\u2019s financial activity over a set period of time (usually 12 months), annual accounts are made up of financial statements and records that contain comprehensive information about a company\u2019s transactions, operating performance, and financial position at the end of its financial year.<\/p>\n Limited companies must deliver their annual accounts to:<\/p>\n The financial data required to prepare accounts comprises income, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity. Full annual accounts, which all active companies must prepare for members and HMRC, should generally include:<\/p>\n However, small companies and micro entities are not usually required to prepare full accounts for Companies House. Instead, they may be permitted to file simpler accounts.<\/p>\n Dormant companies do not need to prepare any accounts for HMRC until they start trading. Whilst dormant, they need only prepare dormant accounts<\/a> for Companies House.<\/p>\n The balance sheet is a financial statement that provides a snapshot of assets, liabilities, and shareholders\u2019 equity at the end of a company\u2019s financial year. This shows how much the business owns, owes, and is owed, which gives an indication of the value and financial health of the company at the time of preparing the accounts.<\/p>\n Assets are things of value that the company owns, including land, buildings, vehicles, plant, machinery, IT equipment, furniture, materials, stock, petty cash, money in the bank, and accounts receivables (money owed to the company by customers).<\/p>\n The largest range of company formation packages in the UK<\/span><\/a>\n \n Liabilities are obligations and money owed by the company, including mortgages, loans, accounts payable, tax obligations, pension payments, accrued payroll and expenses, dividends payable, customer deposits, and any other short-term (\u2018current\u2019) and long-term liabilities.<\/p>\n The balance sheet is a good indicator of a company\u2019s value, liquidity, borrowing commitments, and financial stability. If the company\u2019s assets are greater than its liabilities, that usually indicates that the business is doing well. Conversely, if the company\u2019s liabilities exceed its assets, the business owes more than it owns, which is not good news.<\/p>\n The Profit and Loss Statement includes all transactions that took place over a set period (usually 12 months), showing whether the company made a profit or loss during that time. It will include the company\u2019s turnover (income) minus the cost of sales and all other business expenses, including mortgages or rent, utilities, loan repayments and interest, wages, pensions, and Corporation Tax and VAT.<\/p>\n At the end of this statement, the remaining figure will show how much profit or loss a company has made over the financial year. If the company has made a profit, dividends can be issued to shareholders. Any retained profit remaining after the payment of dividends can then be reinvested in the business.<\/p>\n Notes to the accounts simply refers to any supplementary information provided to support the accounts. Some notes are required by law or are a stipulation of the accounting principles being followed, whilst other notes may help to understand the company\u2019s current financial position, clarify specific entries in the balance sheet or profit & loss account, or support future performance estimates.<\/p>\n Prepared by a company\u2019s board of directors, a directors\u2019 report is a financial document that larger companies must include in their annual accounts. Small companies and micro-entities are normally exempt from this requirement.<\/p>\n The purpose of a directors\u2019 report is to summarise and contextualise the performance and current financial position of the company, as well as future prospects and proposed strategies. This information helps company members and other users of the accounting information to better understand the overall financial health and viability of the business.<\/p>\n How to appeal a filing penalty for late company accounts<\/span><\/a>\n \n Generally, a directors\u2019 report will include some or all of the following:<\/p>\n Providing greater corporate transparency, the directors\u2019 report is a valuable resource that enables company members to make informed decisions, assess the performance of the directors, and ensure that the business is being managed responsibly.<\/p>\n Carried out by an external qualified auditor or chartered accountant, an auditor\u2019s report is a document that provides an independent evaluation and clear expression of opinion on the \u2018truth and fairness\u2019 of a company\u2019s annual accounts. Generally, an auditor’s report should state:<\/p>\n Private limited companies must include an auditor’s report in their annual accounts unless they are \u2018small\u2019 and qualify for audit exemption<\/a>. Even if a private limited company meets the criteria for audit exemption, the annual accounts must still be audited if shareholders who own at least 10% of the company\u2019s shares request an audit, or if the company\u2019s articles of association state that the accounts must be audited.<\/p>\n Small companies and micro-entities (very small companies) can usually prepare simpler accounts for Companies House. This means that less financial information is disclosed on the public register. Full statutory accounts must still be sent to company members and delivered to HMRC as part of the Company Tax Return.<\/p>\n To qualify as \u2018small\u2019, a company must satisfy any two of the following conditions:<\/p>\n Small companies can prepare \u2018abridged\u2019 accounts, which contain:<\/p>\n Abridged accounts can only be prepared upon the authorisation of company members. Small companies are not required to send a copy of the profit and loss account or the directors\u2019 report to Companies House – these need only be provided to members. If a company chooses not to send a copy of the profit and loss account, this must be stated on the balance sheet<\/p>\n To qualify as a micro-entity, a company must satisfy any two of the following conditions:<\/p>\n Micro-entity accounts contain:<\/p>\n Micro-entities do not have to deliver the profit and loss account or directors\u2019 report to Companies House, but these should be sent to members.<\/p>\n Dormant companies are those which are not trading and no not receive any income. In such instances, dormant company accounts should be delivered to Companies House, but there is no requirement to send accounts to HMRC.<\/p>\n Dormant Company Accounts Service<\/span><\/a>\n \n Dormant companies can prepare abridged or simpler accounts. There is no need to include a profit & loss account or directors\u2019 report, nor is there usually any requirement to provide an auditor\u2019s report.<\/p>\n Annual accounts can be delivered online. They must be filed after the end of your company\u2019s financial year, which is a 12-month period that ends on the \u2018accounting reference date\u2019 (ARD). You will initially get different deadlines for sending your first annual accounts to Companies House and HMRC. It is possible (and beneficial), however, to file subsequent accounts at the same time.<\/p>\n Your first annual accounts should be delivered to Companies House no later than 21 months after the date of company formation. The period covered in your first accounts will probably be longer than 12 months because your first financial year will:<\/p>\n After your company\u2019s first year, the deadline for delivering annual accounts to Companies House is 9 months after the accounting reference date.<\/p>\n Annual accounts should be delivered to HMRC as part of your Company Tax Return<\/u><\/a> no later than 12 months after the end of your \u2018accounting period\u2019 for Corporation Tax. This accounting period must not be longer than 12 months.<\/p>\n The benefits of VAT registration<\/span><\/a>\n \n Normally, the accounting period for Corporation Tax will correspond with the financial year covered in your annual accounts, but it may be different during the first year. As a result, you might have to file two tax returns to cover the longer period in your company\u2019s first annual account – one tax return for the first 12 months, and another tax return for the extra time covered in your first annual accounts.<\/p>\nWhat are annual accounts?<\/h3>\n
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1. The Balance Sheet<\/h4>\n
2. The Profit and Loss Statement<\/h4>\n
3. Notes to the accounts<\/h4>\n
4. The Directors\u2019 Report<\/h4>\n
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5. An Auditor\u2019s Report<\/h4>\n
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Small company, micro-entity, and dormant company accounts<\/h3>\n
Small company abridged accounts<\/h4>\n
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Micro-entity accounts<\/h4>\n
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Dormant company accounts<\/h4>\n
How to file your annual accounts<\/h3>\n
Sending annual accounts to Companies House<\/h4>\n
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Example:<\/h4>\n
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Example:<\/h4>\n
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Sending annual accounts to HMRC<\/h4>\n
Example:<\/strong><\/h4>\n