ECCTA 2023 - New Companies House account filing measures from April 2028

Accounts filings reform

Following consultation with stakeholders, the government announced on 9 June 2026 that accounts filing reforms under ECCTA will become mandatory from April 2028.

Profit and loss accounts for small companies and micro-entities

Small companies and micro-entities will no longer be able to file abridged accounts. Instead, they will need to file profit and loss accounts with Companies House.

Companies may opt out of making this information publicly available. However, even where this option is chosen, Companies House, HMRC and law enforcement agencies will continue to have access to the information to support efforts to tackle fraud, economic crime and tax evasion.

Claiming exemption from audit requirements

Directors claiming an audit exemption will be required to provide a formal statement confirming the company’s eligibility. This strengthened requirement will allow the Registrar to take more robust enforcement action against a company in the event of incorrect or false exemption claims.

Mandatory software-only accounts filing

Companies House’s web and paper-based filing systems will no longer be available.  Instead, all companies will be required to file accounts using commercial software, in Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) format, whether filing directly or through an agent or accountant.

GOV.UK provides a list of providers of approved software for filing accounts.

In addition, the components of the accounts and reports must also be submitted together as a single filing.

Comment

The reforms were originally expected to take effect in April 2027. Following feedback from businesses, implementation has been deferred to April 2028 to allow additional time to prepare, particularly in relation to systems and software.

Companies may also be happy to learn that the government has dropped its proposal to require all companies to produce a Director’s Report within their annual accounts.

What this means in practice

Businesses, particularly small companies and micro-entities, should begin preparing now by:

• reviewing how their accounts are prepared and filed;
• assessing software requirements and internal processes; and
• ensuring directors understand the new compliance obligations.

Early preparation will help minimise disruption and reduce the risk of non-compliance once the new regime comes into force.

Additional resources

For more insight into the reforms that have come into force and for those expected to be introduced, our previous articles can be found here:

• Identity Verification Reform
• Proposed civil and criminal sanctions for breach of the Companies Act
• Proposed introduction of discrepancy reporting requirements for all businesses
• Expanding the role of the Registrar
• The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 receives Royal Assent
• Measures in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act come into force
• Tackling the new Failure to Prevent Fraud Offence: What the Sport Industry Needs to Know
• The ECCTA 2023 – Get ready for identity verification and corporate director restrictions