Company Accounts: Amending Regulations

New regulations came into force on 6 April 2015 to implement in the UK Chapters 1 to 9 of the EU Accounting Directive.  The Directive provides an updated EU-wide accounting framework for statutory accounts.  The new regulations apply to accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2016, though early adoption is possible.

A significant change is to reduce the financial reporting burden for small companies. In particular:

• The regulations adopt the maximum turnover and balance sheet limits for small companies allowed by the Accounting Directive, enabling a larger number of companies to access the lighter touch small companies regime.  The maximum permissible turnover limit is £10.2 million (up from £6.5 million) and the maximum permissible balance sheet total is £5.1 million (up from £3.26 million).  There is no change to the maximum number of employees (50).  There are equivalent increases to the limits for small groups.