A private company has nine months from its year end to file accounts at Companies House, and normally twelve months to file its CT600, with corporation tax due nine months and one day after the year end for most small companies. Those deadlines are generous on paper. In practice the bookkeeping close, the accountant’s review and the directors’ approval all compete for the same few weeks.
Working back from the deadline
For a company with a 31 March year end (accounts due 31 December, tax payable 1 January):
| Step | Target | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping closed, bank and control accounts reconciled | end of May | bookkeeper |
| Year-end adjustments, stock, accruals, fixed assets | mid June | bookkeeper and accountant |
| Draft accounts and tax computation | end of July | accountant |
| Directors’ review and questions | August | directors |
| Board approval and signature | early September | board |
| Corporation tax paid | by 1 January | finance |
| Accounts filed at Companies House and CT600 submitted | September to December | accountant or director |
Building in a two-month margin before the Companies House deadline covers late information and gives time to file through software once web filing closes for accounts.
The directors’ approval
The Companies Act requires the board to approve the annual accounts. A director then signs the balance sheet on behalf of the board. For a small company that is often a sole director signing a board minute, but where there are several directors the approval should be minuted at a meeting or by written resolution.
What the directors are approving:
- the balance sheet, profit and loss account and notes (whatever is later filed in filleted or abridged form);
- the directors’ report, if one is prepared;
- the claim to audit exemption and the statements that go with it.
Approval is a real responsibility. Directors confirm the accounts give a true and fair view, so they should see the reconciliations behind major balances and understand any estimate that changed profit materially.
What the balance sheet must say
The copy delivered to Companies House must state the name of the director who signed it and the date of approval. Depending on the accounts, the balance sheet also carries:
- the audit exemption statements (members have not required an audit; directors acknowledge their responsibilities for records and accounts);
- a statement that the accounts are prepared under the small companies regime, or the micro-entity provisions;
- where the profit and loss account is not filed, a statement that it has been omitted;
- for abridged accounts, a statement that all members have consented.
From 1 April 2028 the audit exemption statement becomes more detailed, and accounts must be filed through software.
The filing pack
Keep one folder per year containing:
- the signed accounts as approved, plus the version filed;
- the board minute or resolution and, for abridged accounts, the members’ consent;
- the trial balance and the mapping to the accounts headings;
- reconciliations and schedules for each balance sheet line;
- the CT600, computation and iXBRL files submitted to HMRC;
- Companies House and HMRC submission receipts.
This is what a buyer, lender, new accountant or HMRC enquiry will ask for, often years later.
Common slips
- The approval date on the balance sheet falls before the accounts were finished.
- Changes made after approval without re-approval.
- The signing director’s name missing from the filed copy, which causes rejection.
Deadlines are summarised in key filing deadlines; the steps before approval are in the year-end close checklist.