Petition link to appeal Companies House plans to require P&L reporting for Small & Micro Companies in April 27

[Southerna]

Hi

As many of you know, the UK government plans to require all Small and Micro entities to file P&L reports from April 2027.

There's a petition created now (not by myself) at the link below. Although there is talk that this was paused in July 25, its still showing as a planned requirement on the government's website and any talk of it being paused appears to be unconfirmed.

Petition Link

Detail from the petition link "As an accountant working closely with small and owner-managed businesses, I am deeply concerned about the impact these changes will have on privacy, competitiveness, and entrepreneurial confidence. I believe the most contentious issue is the requirement to publish the P&L account on the public Companies House register. This could expose key financial metrics such as turnover, gross profit, and operating profit to anyone — including competitors, suppliers, and even opportunistic scammers".

 

[Mark T Jones]

I fully support the plan.

I'm bored of micro businesses trying to hide

 

[Ozzy]

I'm also supportive of the plan.
If someone wishes for complete privacy they have the option to trade as a Sole Trader or a Partnership, and in return for the privacy they accept the liability risks. If someone wishes to protect themselves of any liabilities then they give up their privacy in return, which I feel is a fair trade.

Everyone going into business is given a choice: they have privacy with liability, or no privacy and no liability.

 

[MikeJ]

If you're ever bored and in front of the PC, a peruse of the list of rejected petitions is always entertaining ...

View all petitions - Petitions

Official online petitions in response to issues of the day, listing the number that got a Government response, and those that have been debated in the House of Parliament

petition.parliament.uk

 

[fisicx]

I reject the petition. Why should a small business get to hide anything.

 

[DontAsk]

I reject the petition. Why should a small business get to hide anything.

+1

 

[Southerna]

Personally I support the petition. For one, its nobody else's business what you earn a year as a director of a small or micro business and making that information public to whoever wants to take a snoop is a massive invasion of privacy. I don't know or want to know what my friends, family or neighbours earn a year whilst being employed by a company, so why should I be forced to provide that information as a micro entity?

There should be no trade off for privacy vs limited liability, the two are not linked.

 

[fisicx]

Because some businesses commit fraud. Making them properly report their accounts will make things more transparent.

It’s a good thing. Just like the director ID requirements.

 

[MikeJ]

Personally I support the petition. For one, its nobody else's business what you earn a year as a director of a small or micro business and making that information public to whoever wants to take a snoop is a massive invasion of privacy. I don't know or want to know what my friends, family or neighbours earn a year whilst being employed by a company, so why should I be forced to provide that information as a micro entity?

There should be no trade off for privacy vs limited liability, the two are not linked.

Similarly, you and your limited company are not the same thing. Nobody's asking you to show your personal tax affairs.

 

[Southerna]

I have no issue with the director ID requirements - I do believe this is a good step in the right direction, but I do see the proposed changes as an invasion of privacy, for reasons already stated. Businesses already committing fraud and falsely reporting accounts will likely continue to do so in some form or another.

 

[Southerna]

Similarly, you and your limited company are not the same thing. Nobody's asking you to show your personal tax affairs.

Personal income can very easily be established from P&L accounts of a micro entity, or at the very least fairly accurately approximated. This is what I have an issue with.

 

[fisicx]

It’s not an invasion of privacy. You appear not to understand how a limited company works.

 

[Southerna]

It’s not an invasion of privacy. You appear not to understand how a limited company works.

I believe it is, I certainly do understand how a limited company works - I've been running one for over 25 years now.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Personal income can very easily be established from P&L accounts of a micro entity, or at the very least fairly accurately approximated. This is what I have an issue with.

Personal income from that business - often very different from actual personal income

Remember, your neighbour on a salary can't hide behind the veil of incorporation when they get into financial bother

 

[Ozzy]

There should be no trade off for privacy vs limited liability

I disagree. If a company places an order for £250,000 of equipment, it is not unreasonable to be able to check their financial status in detail.
At least with a Sole Trader I have the comfort of knowing I can go after their house, their car and their life savings to recover the money owed to my business if they default on the payment.

 

[Michael Loveridge]

I also support the Government's proposal. As someone who, as part of my business, collects commercial debt for a living I'm constantly frustrated by the absence of a P&L account from the published accounts. It's very easy to manipulate a balance sheet to show the company as having no or negligible assets, but manipulating a P&L account is more difficult, and often easy to spot.

It also needs to be borne in mind that the default position was always that a limited company must publish its P&L account, so that this is simply a return to the situation that was originally envisaged when limited liability companies were first permitted to exist.

 

[glengraving]

Will this impact the 6 confectionary/vape shops operating in my very near vicinity (and countless city-wide) who sell little except illegal cigarettes etc stored behind trap-doors and such? I sometimes get my late-night Caramel Freddo on the way home from one of them who for some reason thinks it's makes sense to open be 24 hours on a quiet street. Be a shame if they packed up.

A lot of different businesses don't make a lot of sense to me. Is that what this is all about?