16 September 2026
By Demsey Slater, Audit and Accounts Director
Along with other professionals in accounting and business, I have watched the changes to Companies House with great fascination.
While most are positive steps towards greater regulatory compliance, the proposed changes to Profit and Loss (P&L) accounts for small businesses were concerning.
After a severe backlash, the Government has confirmed that the changes will go ahead, just not in their original form.
As such, it is worth understanding what the new obligations will be for small businesses and how they should prepare.
Will small businesses have to publish Profit and Loss accounts?
From 1 April 2028, small companies and micro-entities will be required to file a copy of their P&L accounts with Companies House. While this news is unlikely to be welcome, there has been some reprieve in how the obligations will be handled.
The original plan to require full accounts details to be published on Companies House has been dropped following sustained lobbying from businesses and accounting professionals.
As reviled as the public register was, it has not completely gone away.
Instead, the new proposal allows businesses to opt out of publication on the public register. Companies House has said that the change addresses “concerns from the business and investment community around the privacy and commercial risks for smaller companies of disclosing this information.”
Fears abounded that publicly registering details connected to accounts could risk competition, so businesses may wish to consider opting out of publication.
I, and the rest of our team, will be monitoring the situation for details about the opt-out process, as it is currently unknown how this will be managed.
Opting out of the public register will not affect your filing obligations. The information will still be available to Companies House, HMRC and law enforcement agencies where required.
Abridged account filing is ending and other changes are coming
Filing abridged accounts will no longer be an option under the new measures.
This may provide some slight relief for small businesses that were frustrated at the need to obtain formal shareholder approval before aggregating vital figures into broad, ambiguous categories, risking undue complications being added to the process.
All UK-registered companies will need to file annual accounts with Companies House using commercial software that utilises the Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) format.
Existing web and paper-based filing systems will be closing in April 2028, as these new measures affect all companies, including those that use third-party agents or accountants to file their annual accounts.
It was previously indicated that this change would take place in 2027, but the deferment means that the main reforms will occur simultaneously to avoid confusion.
Other Companies House web filing services will remain in use, including updates to director details and confirmation statements, as the changes only centre on the submission of annual accounts.
Companies claiming audit exemption will be required to provide a strengthened eligibility statement to demonstrate that they qualify for the exemption.
Alongside this, component parts of the filed accounts and reports will all need to be filed in unison to improve compliance.
The last major change announced for the moment affects accounting periods.
There will be a cap on the number of times a company can shorten its accounting reference period, though details of this will be confirmed in the secondary legislation required to enact the proposal.
What should small businesses be doing now?
It may seem as though 2028 is a long time away, but preparations should not be delayed.
For some businesses, there may only be one full accounting period between now and then, which should highlight the urgency of this matter. Our team can assist you in understanding and preparing for these changes before they become a compliance risk.
This means giving you an awareness of how your reporting obligations will shift and being here to answer any questions you may have.
Companies House compliance measures are likely to change as we progress over the next few months and years.
Rather than leaving you to risk getting caught out, our team can help you prepare proactively.
Get in touch with our team for expert support with upcoming Companies House changes.