Course Talk: David Impey explains the impact of the Companies House reforms
Earlier this month, I attended the first presentation of our brand new course, Preparing for the Companies House Reforms. The course was presented by David Impey, an expert speaker on the subject and regular presenter of our company secretary courses. David has many years' experience advising on legal issues affecting company secretaries and directors and has been at the forefront of identifying the significance and impact of the Companies House reforms in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill.
This live online course was very easy to follow and there were plenty of opportunities to take part in discussions and ask questions. The host, David Smith, kept things moving along nicely, fielding the delegate questions and demonstrating an excellent rapport with our expert.
What are some of the key issues?
David began the course by explaining how organised criminal gangs use UK companies as a vehicle for laundering ill-gotten gains, which is a principal driver behind the Bill.
A massive issue for delegates was the new stringent requirements for all company directors and persons with significant control to provide documentary evidence of their identity to Companies House. One attendee in particular, who supports more than 50 separate companies is going to have a lot of work to do verifying the directors of each one. David emphasised the importance of acting early and warned that there will be lots of work for those with existing directors, as ID verification must be processed in a narrow time frame.
The new process of filing at Companies House raised many questions and there were concerns that in some cases, company secretaries who are not verified as directors would not be able to submit filings at all.
One of the most surprising aspects of the Bill for many people are the provisions regarding company accounts. The law will require full publishing of accounts including balance sheets and Profit & Loss statements – a big impact where detailed financial information will now be publicly available for small and micro entities.
The session rounded off with a general discussion about how the changes would work and what the effect on businesses would be, followed by plenty of questions from the delegates.
What did delegates say?
The feedback we received has been excellent, with many glowing comments from attendees...
"Excellent course that provided a clear overview of the likely changes that will take place"
"Great technology, personable presenters and it kept my interest throughout. Brilliant - thank you!"
"Great presentation and the complex content was presented in a way it was easy to understand."
If you are a company secretary, company director or a person with significant control (PSC), you will need to understand the impact these reforms will have on your business. We have a full schedule of this essential half-day course coming up – see here for more details.
What happens next?
The Bill is still going through Parliament and may well be subject to change before it receives Royal Assent and is implemented. However, the legislation is not contentious and we expect it will complete its progress through Parliament this spring.
Keep your eye on our news section of this website as we will be posting updates when Royal Assent is received.
Written by Paul Murphy
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http://www.uktraining.eu/news-article/companies-house-reforms-economic-crime-and-corporate-transparency-bill/149