Companies House rejects 1 in 10 accounts

News Article - 13 September 2010
Category: Business

Companies House has issued a plea to UK companies after 1 in 10 accounts were rejected due to basic formatting errors. The body, which holds records for all UK registered businesses, urged companies to have their accounts in order or risk hefty financial penalties as a result.

Between January and June, almost 91,000 accounts were rejected, a third of which because of incorrect statutory statements being filed. Accounts for periods before 6th April 2008 require different statements, causing confusion amongst many organisations. Companies House rejected 33,349 accounts for attaching a statutory statement that didn't relate to the correct financial period.

Other common errors that caused rejection included conflicting duplicate accounts and missing signatures from balance sheets.

Accounts that are submitted close to the deadline and then rejected are subject to an automatic late filing penalty of between £150 and £1,500 for private companies. Organisations with rejected accounts will also need to correct any errors before re-submission, which could get costly if an auditor is required to solve complicated issues. This is in addition to the reputational damage that can result from being seen as non-compliant with financial regulations.

Ian Little, FD at Access, comments, "Ensuring full compliance at every stage of the audit process is essential if companies wish to stay away from the financial fallout associated with account rejection. Accounts should be submitted in good time to adhere to the required timescales."

Access' business software can help ensure company accounts are compliant by providing accurate data at the audit stage. Clear audit trails and drill-down to source documents and information helps auditors to carry out their work efficiently.

And because the solution is regularly updated when new compliance regulations are released, companies can help avoid account rejection due to formatting errors.

For more information on accounting software from Access, please call us on 0845 345 3300.

Article keywords: Ian little, companies house, business news, tax reporting, financial accounts, finance director, business software, company accounts

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