Still In the Dark: Anticipating the new Companies House filing requirements

By Jacky Buchsbaum

The recent announcement of changes to Companies House filing requirements, for filings after 1 April 2028, has once again raised questions and concerns across the small and medium-sized business (SME) community. While the stated aim of these reforms is to improve transparency and strengthen the integrity of the UK’s corporate register, many business owners are left feeling uncertain about what this will mean in practice.

One of the initial fears expressed by SMEs was that full profit and loss accounts might become publicly available, exposing sensitive commercial information and potentially putting smaller businesses at a competitive disadvantage. For now, it appears that these concerns may be somewhat eased, as current indications suggest that detailed profit and loss figures will not become a matter of public record. This will be a welcome relief for many businesses that rely on maintaining confidentiality around margins, cost structures, and commercial performance.

However, despite this reassurance, significant ambiguity remains. Crucially, there is still a lack of clarity around exactly what financial information will ultimately be placed on the public register. Until definitive guidance is provided, SMEs are effectively operating in a vacuum, unable to fully assess the impact of these changes on their reporting processes and wider business strategy.

Adding to the concern is a more fundamental question: why is this additional reporting necessary at all? Much of the financial information that the government appears to be seeking through Companies House filings is already submitted to HMRC as part of routine tax compliance. HMRC has extensive powers to review, investigate, and challenge financial information where necessary. From the SME perspective, the duplication of reporting obligations raises questions about efficiency, cost, and administrative burden.

For smaller businesses in particular, compliance is not just a technical exercise – it has real implications in terms of time, resources, and cost. Any new requirements should therefore be clear, proportionate, and demonstrably necessary. Without this clarity, changes risk being perceived not as a step toward transparency, but as an additional layer of complexity imposed on already stretched businesses.

For now, SMEs remain, quite literally, still in the dark. Until further detail is provided, businesses and their advisers will need to carefully monitor developments and be prepared to adapt. What is clear, however, is that clarity, consistency, and justification will be key to ensuring that these changes achieve their intended goals without placing unnecessary strain on the very businesses that form the backbone of the UK economy.

Still In the Dark: Anticipating the new Companies House filing requirements

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