Companies house: major reforms in the pipeline

The Government has recently published a White Paper on proposed major Companies House (CH) reforms – being introduced to combat crime and Money Laundering.

Currently CH are required by law to accept all information ‘properly delivered’- with limited powers to correct or query. The ease with which companies and other entities can be incorporated and maintained is thought to have provided a ‘veneer of legitimacy’ that has facilitated crime, money-laundering and fraud.

Significant points for everyone to note are:

• Companies House will be given new powers to query, seek evidence on, reject, remove or amend information received
• All directors, LLP Members and PSCs (new and existing) will need to verify their identity
• Abridged and Filleted accounts options will be withdrawn – all companies will need to file a P&L account
• Filing deadlines for accounts (and available options to extend them) may be reduced
• When incorporating a company (or appointing a new director to an existing company), all individuals would need to be pre-verified
• Companies House can raise a ‘risk flag’ and query or reject other filings – which may mean the backdating of transactions is no longer possible
• Companies must record the full name of all their shareholders and will be asked to provide a one-off full list of shareholders to
• Companies House

Full details and timings are still to be confirmed. Once these are published, we will contact all clients about any actions they need to take.

For any further advise on the upcoming CH reforms, and how to manage the changes on your business, contact our expert Company Secretarial team today, who will be happy to assist.