Measures to be introduced to further enhance transparency at Companies House

One of the key objectives of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is to enhance corporate transparency at Companies House. This is particularly apparent in the additional information that small companies and micro entities will need to include going forward in their published accounts. This increased public financial transparency will mean customers, suppliers, lenders, investors and employees will have much greater visibility of company accounts going forward.

We have therefore this month added to the information already on our site in relation to identity verification by including some useful information for customers on:

• changes to company accounts;
• the new requirement for companies to maintain an email address;
• companies maintaining an appropriate registered office address;
• the new additional rules for company names;
• changes to the process of company formation; and
• changes to the keeping of company registers.

This is overview information only and as many of the precise details are still to be confirmed by secondary legislation, it is recommended that companies may wish to seek independent legal advice as regards what each of these changes mean for their company.