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On 9 June 2026, the DBT issued a Written Statement to Parliament, outlining revised plans to implement changes to the Part 15 Companies Act 2006 regime for filing annual accounts introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. The package of reforms includes software-only accounts filing and removal of the option for small companies to file abridged accounts. Earlier this year, Companies House announced that the reforms were under review and would not come into force on 1 April 2027 as originally planned (see FC Feature 28 January 2026). The government has now decided to proceed with the reforms, delaying implementation by one year to 1 April 2028 to allow companies and software providers more time to prepare. In a further concession, small companies will be able to opt out of having their profit and loss accounts published on the public register. Companies House will be contacting all companies via their registered email addresses to inform them about the changes (Companies House News Story). The government will continue to engage with stakeholders as it prepares the necessary secondary legislation to implement the reforms.
The written statement confirms that the following changes to accounts filing requirements will take effect from April 2028.
- All companies will need to submit their accounts to Companies House using commercial software in iXBRL format. The current web and paper routes will close for accounts, although they will remain open for other filings.
- Small companies will no longer be able to prepare and file abridged accounts (s 58 ECCTA 2023). Instead, they will need to file annual accounts including the profit and loss account, which is currently optional. Although s 58 anticipates that small companies will be required to file a directors' report, the government intends to remove this requirement entirely for all companies as part of its Modernisation of Corporate Reporting programme (see FC Feature 21 October 2025). This aspect of s 58 will therefore not be implemented.
- When claiming an audit exemption, directors will be required to make a statement confirming the company qualifies for the exemption (s 57 ECCTA 2023).
- Companies will be required to file the component parts of their annual report and accounts together.
- Micro-entities (see Accounts and reports, Q&A here) will be required to file annual accounts, including a profit and loss account (s 53 ECCTA 2023).
- In response to concerns about potential commercial risks, small companies and micro-entities will be able to opt out of having their profit and loss accounts published on the public register. Companies House will confirm how this will operate in practice in due course.
The government also plans to bring forward secondary legislation to reduce the number of times a company can shorten its accounting reference period and provide for the register to be annotated where a company has not complied with accounts requirements under CA 2006.
Companies House has updated information on the accounts reforms on its Changes to UK company law website, as well as in related Guidance: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts and Using software to file your company's information.
First published on the Corporate News Service on 9 June 2026
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