Year-End Financial Statements
Each business will have its own financial year, with the year starting on the company’s ‘birthday’, aka the date it was registered with Companies House.
Creating financial year end reports is a legal requirement for most companies. Year end financial statements are statutory documents that are a necessary part of a company’s compliance duties. In plain English, this means they have to be prepared every year and filed with the relevant authorities on time.
The objective of these documents is to ascertain how much tax the business owes. A Corporation Tax Return (CT600) is prepared based on the information stated in the financial statements.
A recent study showed that year end account preparation to be the most stressful time of year for a business, with more than 80% of companies leaving such tasks until the last minute. When working with Cadre, a very different approach will be taken.
As your accountants, we will manage your accounts and get them in order not just in the weeks leading to your filing deadline, but all year round. We are of the mindset that if management information is kept accurate and up to date within a cloud accounting platform, the year end should be a straightforward process.
So, why wait until 9 months after your year end to prepare and submit, when it can be done within 3 months?
Important Deadlines for Companies Accounts
Ensure your company is never at fault and avoids a fine at all costs. Deadlines for Tax are a key way of ensuring your accounts are always up to date.
Company Tax Returns
The deadline for filing your Company Tax Return (CT600) with HMRC is customarily 12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers. But, it pays to submit the return as early as you can. That’s because if the deadline is missed, your business may be issued with a penalty.
Deadline for paying Corporation Tax
While the deadline for filing your tax return is 12 months after the year end, the deadline for paying your Corporation Tax (or telling HMRC that you don’t owe any) is 9 months and 1 day after your year end.
Companies House Deadline
The deadline for Companies House is slightly different, and it’s important that you file your annual accounts before the deadline to avoid a fine. If it’s your first account filed with Companies House, this will be due 21 months after the day you registered with them. For your regular annual accounts, these will be due 9 months after your company’s year end.
It is often human nature to leave things until the last minute, especially if they are important or brain-heavy tasks such as filing company accounts.
At Cadre, we take a different approach to traditional accountants. The year-end accounts are the main focus for many firms who just carry out the year-end compliance work in the weeks leading up to the deadline. We view the yearend as another task that simply has to be completed. Instead of it being the only time you understand what financial shape your business is in, it forms part of the year round reporting in which we can deliver. This means no surprise bills or tasks!
If you utilise our full service offering, we can operate as your very own finance department. When it comes to the year end process, it should be a quick and efficient process. No more will you be asked questions about a transaction that happened 12 months ago!
Contact us today to discuss using Cadre as your partner accountants.
