Companies House Getting Its House In Order....

"No checks, no oversight and almost anything can be filed..
2
In the last year, 810,316 companies were incorporated in 2020-21.

Unbelievably 99% of applications were processed and granted approval within 24 hours.

But incredibly the names of some of the directors were a deliberate snub to the system. 
Names like Jesus Christ, Donald Duck and “Adolf Tooth Fairy Hitler” have all been directors of UK firms, according to Companies House data.

This has all come to a head now and HMRC need better information for the Digital Tax Regime. 

Digitisation, powers and identity verification

(This is the techy bit..)

It is incredibly simple to set up a new company in the UK and there is no requirement to verify the directors’ identities. It is also incredibly simple to file almost anything, including micro-entity accounts, whether entitled to do so or not.

In order to identify suspicious activity we need to know more about these companies. 

Because Companies House aims to become fully digital, directors or their agents will have to file digitally tagged accounts, using iXBRL.

Once information is tagged it can be easily searched and cross-referencing with data held by HMRC. (This is the Secret Ingredient.....)

The registrar will have greater powers that will help in the fight against economic crime. Their role will be to promote and maintain the integrity of the register and they will have new powers to query information and share data with other authorities. The registrar can also apply fines when company directors or secretaries fail to meet their responsibilities and to remove incorrect information from the register. 

If you are setting up a company or making filings, you will have to have a verified identity with Companies House (no more Donald Ducks listed as directors then!). There will also be restrictions on the use of corporate directors and officers, to maintain a direct link to natural persons. 

“All the talk on Companies House reform in the House of Commons misses the point that Companies House is not a regulator,” said Richard Murphy, Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University and tax campaigner. “It just registers data. We do not have an enforcement agency for company law in the UK - and we desperately need one now.”

Book A Meeting Now