What are statutory accounts?
Statutory accounts (commonly known as annual accounts) are financial reports that must be prepared and filed at the end of each financial year. For UK private limited companies statutory accounts are a compulsory part of the tax year.
Statutory accounts are used to report financial activity and the performance of limited companies; as well as being used to calculate corporation tax.
Once your Statutory accounts have been prepared they should be sent to shareholders, Companies House and the HMRC.
Limited companies must produce their annual accounts in line with either IFRS Standards or the New UK GAAP. Therefore they must include a balance sheet, a profit and loss statement and notes about the accounts.
Depending on the size of your company, you may also need to include a directors’ report and/or an auditors report.
I’m a small business owner. Do I need to file statutory accounts?
If you are the owner of a small business you may not be required to file full statutory accounts or supply chain reports.
Dormant companies, micro-entities and small companies are subject to different rules when it comes to statutory accounts.
Dormant companies and statutory accounts
If you are the owner of a dormant company you are not required to audit your company nor submit an audit report.
Micro-entities and statutory accounts
If you are the owner of a micro-entity, Companies House will accept simpler statutory accounts and balance sheets.
Small Companies and statutory accounts
If you are the owner of a small company Companies House will accept ‘abridged’ accounts. These contain much simpler balance sheets and make less information about your company publicly.