Held To Account

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Beth Lunn is a licensed accountant working with a range of clients on their tax and accounting needs for Paul Beare Ltd. She explains the process of preparing UK Statutory accounts and Corporation Tax (CT) returns and why it’s important to get it right.

If you’re a business setting up in the UK, then there are some basic accounting and compliance regulations that you must follow. As it stands, all UK companies are required to file with Companies House annually and a corporation tax return to the UK’s tax authority, HMRC.

These are due no later than 9 months after your year-end. That means companies with a 30 June 2022 year end will see their accounts due by 31st March 2023. It’s important to know that for companies that don’t file on time a penalty is applied. Failing to comply with this can lead to the business eventually being struck off the register of companies.

It’s a date

Companies must also confirm their Accounting Reference Date. The ARD is the date in each year to which a company’s financial accounts are prepared. This date is usually the last month from the company’s incorporation date. For example, a company incorporated on 12 May, the ARD will be 31 May the following year.

It’s important to note that the ARD shouldn’t be confused with a company’s annual accounts due date – that is the deadline for when the annual financial accounts should be delivered to Companies House.

An expert eye

At Paul Beare Ltd statutory accounts are prepared and approved by qualified accountants. That means myself and the team must be confident the accounts give a true and fair view of the company’s financial position. We ensure these meet all the compliance regulations of The Companies Act 2006, as well as UK accounting standards and taxation laws.

Once the accounts have been approved by the directors/board they are filed in the required iXBRL format from our accounting software; they are then available to be viewed within the public domain. The Corporation Tax return is then prepared and the tax is due on profits if necessary. The current CT rate is 19% (2023) and the accountants here at Paul Beare will also make sure all available tax reliefs are claimed in order that your business receives the correct tax treatment.

The statutory accounts are a chargeable item and clients will be billed once they are prepared. A growing number of our clients are now using accounting software that is compatible with UK regulations. Increasingly they find working in this way represents a benefit because the amount of work for the accountants is reduced. And a reduced amount of work will be reflected in the chargeable fees.

Adding value

The service that we offer in preparing and filing statutory accounts gives us the opportunity to ensure that not only our clients are compliant but also allows us to provide piece of mind that experts are managing their UK entity financials.

The UK remains a vibrant place to grow a business, and that growth can be supported by working with the right partners. At Paul Beare Ltd, we’re here for all your needs, and you can contact us for help and support in a number of areas, from tax and payroll to accounting and banking.