Company Secretarial Insights
The role of a Company Secretary is a very important position.
At J S White & Co Limited Amanda manages our Company Secretarial department. She is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to the ins and outs of the essential forms and filings that companies need to complete both before, during and after the setup of their business.
Making sure that a business’s relevant documents are registered, and recorded correctly, at the right time and in the right place can be a mammoth task. If done incorrectly or late, businesses will be struck off the register and your business bank account can be frozen.
There are several terms that you may have heard associated with Companies House.
Let’s have a look at a few of these in a bit more detail… Firstly, the Confirmation Statement.
What is a Confirmation Statement?
This is a question we get asked the most from our clients… So, what is it?
The Confirmation Statement is an annual filing requirement to Companies House. (The executive agency who incorporate and dissolve Limited Companies and registers company information in the UK.)
Formerly known as the Annual Return, this is an outline of general information about:
- The company name
- Company directors
- Company secretary
- Registered office address
- Shareholders
- Share capital
- People with significant control
All Limited Companies and LLP’s (Limited Liability Partnerships) registered in the UK are required, by law, to file a Confirmation Statement every 12 months. It is probably the most important part of your obligations, as a failure to do so can lead to you losing your company & prosecution.
Even if your company is dormant or not trading, you still need to submit your company accounts and verify that the data information stored with Companies House is correct and up to date. You must notify them of any company structure changes. If your company is no longer trading, you can also have it removed from the Companies House Register.
Who and What is a PSC?
A Person of Significant Control or PSC is the term used to identify key people within a company. They’re sometimes called ‘beneficial owners’.
There are four general categories that define a Person with Significant Control:
- A person, corporate entity or trust holding more than 25% of the issued shares.
- A person, corporate entity or trust holding more than 25% of the voting rights.
- A person, corporate entity or trust that holds the power to remove the majority of the board of directors from the company.
- Or otherwise has the right to exercise significant influence on a company’s decision making.
It is important to record your PSC. You must confirm certain details with your PSC, before you can record them in your PSC register. The details you’ll need are:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Nationality and country of residence
- Correspondence address – known as the ‘service address’
- Home address (this must not be disclosed)
- The date they became a PSC of the company
- The date you entered them into your PSC register
- All natures of control which apply
You must include the level of their shares and voting rights, within the following categories:
- over 25% up to (and including) 50%
- more than 50% and less than 75%
- 75% or more
Any changes to your PSC information in your company’s PSC register must be recorded, such as a change of personal details or nature of control. This must be done within 14 days of the change.
These changes must then be sent to Companies House within a further 14 days.
What is a company restructure check?
This is a process where we look to ensure if a company is correctly set up. This is done by investigating what shares the company has. Some companies are incorporated with just 1 or 2 ordinary shares. The company restructure service looks at allocating alphabet shares making companies more tax efficient. The main benefits of these shares are:
- They are non-voting.
- The holder can be paid a dividend where the first £2500 is tax free.
- It’s a good way of distribution of profit
- Dividends of different amounts can be paid to Alphabet shareholders.
What is a DS01 form?
The DS01 Form is the form you will have to submit if you want to dissolve or strike off an unwanted Limited Company. The form can be obtained from Companies House and can be completed by post/online. By completing a DS01 form it means your company name will be removed from the Companies House Register and will no longer legally exist.
If you are unsure about the Company Secretarial support your business needs, why not contact us for some advice? 0113 391 9990
