Is it still a legal requirement to have the accounts of a LTD company prepared by an accountant?
March 92010
Do you have to have a accountant if you have a limited company or can you do the accounts yourself. I thought it was a legal requirement that a accountant prepared the accounts
If the company is small then you don’t need an auditor, so can i submit the accounts without an accountant?
It never was a requirement to have an Auditor prepare the accounts. Not even for a PLC. The functions of audit and preparation being separate. The accounts of a public limited company must be audited by an appropriately qualified person.
A limited company which has a turnover of less than one million and/or gross assets of less than 1.4 million, need no longer have an audit carried out. There is a simplified accounts format for the purpose of submitting accounts to the Registrar of Companies in such cases. Request details from them, because there are one or two additional requirements
The inspector of Taxes will scrutinise the tax computations and accounts more thoroughly, however, when they have not been audited.
Qualified Accountant.
March 9th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
You can do the accounts yourself, but should have a qualified accountant as ‘auditor’ to ’sign them off’- which can take less than half a day a year, if you keep your accounts in good order yourself.
References :
Self-employment and very small ’small business’.
March 9th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
It never was a requirement to have an Auditor prepare the accounts. Not even for a PLC. The functions of audit and preparation being separate. The accounts of a public limited company must be audited by an appropriately qualified person.
A limited company which has a turnover of less than one million and/or gross assets of less than 1.4 million, need no longer have an audit carried out. There is a simplified accounts format for the purpose of submitting accounts to the Registrar of Companies in such cases. Request details from them, because there are one or two additional requirements
The inspector of Taxes will scrutinise the tax computations and accounts more thoroughly, however, when they have not been audited.
Qualified Accountant.
References :
March 9th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
You can submit them yourself without them being prepared by an accountant or audited. If the shareholders and the Directors are the same or if there are other shareholders they are satisfied that they have been properly prepared it is acceptable. Be prepared to answer questions about matters which are not clear to the Inspector. They will give you all the help that you may require. If the accounts are complicated e.g. tax allowances on various items, or they become very large it would be advisable to have them looked at by a qualified accountant. In these circumstances he could save you money
References :
I am a Chartered Secretary and I have been submitting accounts for years and saving lots of fees!