Amending Accounts
There are many reasons why companies may want to amend their company returns to Companies House, for example incorrect financial information may be displayed in the submission, which could be incorrect figures or missing disclosures. This information could be anything that does not comply with the Companies Act 2006 or an oversight whilst preparing your company accounts. In order to change these important details, companies can submit amended filings for said accounting period.
Rules for Amending Accounts
There is a list of definitive criteria that Companies House will require for amending company accounts returns. These rules affect the preparation and display of the documents and will typically cause a Companies House rejection if not followed properly. These rules include the following:
- The word 'amended' must be clearly visible on the company accounts document to differentiate from the original submission (so Companies House will know they are not duplicates).
- The amended accounts must clearly state that this document replaces the original accounts submitted and that the report is now the statutory accounts for said accounting period.
- The amendment must be prepared as at the date of the original accounts.
- The amended accounts must be signed by a company director.
- If only one part of your accounts is being amended, a note must be sent disclosing what has been changed. This must be signed by the director and filed with the accounts.
Editing accounting period dates:
Another important rule for Companies House amendments is that the amended company accounts will be expected to be made up to the original period submitted. On the amendment, the period start date and end date must match those of the original submission, otherwise Companies House will reject the filing.
Submitting the amendment
Companies House may take longer to process an amendment compared to it's original submission before it's accepted. Companies House will usually have to manually review the submission to check for proper compliance.
Once accepted, you will be able to view the new submission on the Companies house website. Please note that once you have filed the amended accounts, the original submission will remain in your Filing History on the website.
Submitting Amendments Through Our Software
If you require, you can easily submit company accounts amendments to Companies House online, through our software. Please check out our knowledge base article for filing amendments to Companies House here .This will cover the process of resubmitting for previously file periods.
Previously Submitted Through Us
If you would like to amend filings to Companies House that were previously submitted through us, then please find our easy-to-follow process for this below:
Firstly, you will need to click the orange ‘Unlock and Amend’ button located within your previously submitted Company IXBRL Accounts template. This will then allow you to edit and amend the information you require. Remember the accounts data is in the accounts filing not the Companies House Submission filing.
Once you have updated the company accounts with the correct information, you will need to add a new ‘Companies House Submission’ template, which you can select and add by heading to the ‘Add Filing’ button found in the ‘Filings View’ page.
Within the new ‘Companies House Submission’ template, please switch box 710 “Amended Accounts” to ‘YES’. This will return both the ‘Person declaring amended accounts’ and ‘Amended date’ boxes that you will need to fill out before resubmission.
Since a new Companies House Submission template is required, you may need to contact one of our support team to reassign the credits to the new template(resubmissions are included in your initial purchase). Please feel free to contact our support team by calling 0203 051 9990 or giving us a message in the 'Chat With Us' section of your account.
Now you're ready to file your amended company accounts to Companies House! Please select the 'Ready to File' button within both the Company IXBRL and Companies House Submission templates and you can now resubmit. Please note that all amendments for previously submitted filings through our software come at no extra cost.
Note on Confirmation Statements
The other annually expected filing required to be submitted to Companies House is the confirmation statement. The nature of this filing is different and does not require an amendment for an accounting period.
If there is information that you would like to amend that is part of the statement, you can submit a new statement whenever you would like. Typically Confirmation Statements are due annually, however you can move the date closer and submit and update the information that is no longer valid.
This article is information only and has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute legal, accounting, tax, investment or other professional advice or services. You should not act upon the information contained in this article without obtaining specific professional or legal advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this article, and, to the extent permitted by law, Comdal Limited, its members, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this publication or for any decision based on it.
