If you are limited company owner, once a year you will get a letter from Companies House – headed “URGENT –ANNUAL RETURN DUE”.  This will throw you into complete panic as you think it means your accounts and you’ll be on the phone to your accountant in a hot sweat as your accounts are still in the pile of things to do.  Your accountant will (hopefully!) calm you down, tell you it’s just a simple online form that needs doing, and you won’t end up in jail if it’s late, as suggested by the letter!

From 30 June 2016 the Confirmation Statement replaces the Annual Return and hopefully the name change may reduce the moment of panic when it lands on your doorstep!  The purpose of the Confirmation Statement is to provide up to date information about your company for inclusion on the public register – so anyone who looks up your company gets accurate information.

To complete the Statement, you need to check and confirm the information already held at Companies House – about who the directors of the company are, where the Registered Office is, and who holds the shares.  A new addition to the Register is the “People with Significant Control” (PSC) register.  For most small companies, this is a bit of duplication – as it will be the shareholders; but for larger companies you could have minority shareholders who actually have a lot of say in the company, and this register is meant to draw that fact to your attention.  It only needs completing once, and then confirming each year.

The form can be completed online and there is a filing fee of £13 to pay.  Don’t be drawn into one of the websites offering to do it for you for an “often not insignificant fee” – you really can do it yourself very easily.  Alternatively your accountant will do it for you for a nominal sum (or at least – I do for my clients!!)  You will need to be registered with Companies House to be able to file – which means more passwords being sent to you in the post!

For further information about the Confirmation Statement, here is the link:

https://companieshouse.blog.gov.uk/2016/05/27/changes-that-affect-you-confirmation-statement