Reporting changes on horizon

by Jon Lacey

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the corporate reporting reforms under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA), there has been an important update.

Companies House has announced that the implementation date for the new accounts filing requirements have been pushed back from 1 April 2027 to 1 April 2028, giving Companies an extra year to get ready for the changes.

The Purpose of the Reforms and the Current Framework

Under the current UK system, small businesses and micro-entities can file abridged or filleted accounts. This allows them to submit only their balance sheet to the public register, keeping their profit and loss (P&L) statements private.

While this protects commercial data, it has been decided that it limits the completeness of the public register. Companies House is introducing these updates to improve corporate transparency, reduce fraudulent activity, and modernise the UK’s financial reporting infrastructure by shifting entirely to digital formats.

Key Changes From 1 April 2028

When the new regulations take effect, the following requirements will become mandatory for all UK corporate filings:

• Mandatory Profit and Loss Filing: Small companies and micro-entities will be required to submit their profit and loss accounts to Companies House. However, to address concerns regarding commercial privacy, businesses will have the option to opt out of publishing this P&L information on the public register.
• Software-Only Filing (iXBRL format): WebFiling and paper submissions for accounts will be phased out. All companies must file their annual accounts using approved accounting or accounts production software which digitally ‘tags’ specific data.
• Removal of Abridged Accounts: The option for small businesses to file abridged accounts will be removed to standardise reporting methods.
• Strengthened Audit Exemption Statements: Directors claiming audit exemption must provide a more detailed statement on their balance sheet, confirming the specific legal exemption they qualify for and are relying on.
• Unified Submissions: Companies will no longer be able to submit their accounts as separate files, they must be filed together as a single submission.
• Restrictions on Changing Accounting Deadlines: Companies receive extra time to file their accounts whenever the year-end date is changed.  To prevent abuse of this, Companies House will only allow a company to shorten its accounting reference period once every five years (to match the existing restriction for year-end extensions).
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Next Steps for Businesses

Companies House has confirmed it will release specific technical guidance closer to the implementation date regarding how small and micro-entities can apply for the public register P&L opt-out.

If you already use accounting software or your accounts are prepared by an accountant, you may not need to take any action, as these systems generally use the approved data tagging method.

If you are unsure how these reforms will affect your company, please get in touch with the team at Optimum Professional Service.

We can explain how the new rules apply to your business, review your current filing arrangements and help to ensure you are fully prepared before the 2028 deadline.