What is the Accounting Reference Date?

The accounting reference date pinpoints when a company’s financial year ends. As well as this, it also acts as a reference point for when annual accounts need to be delivered to Companies House.

For example, if a company were formed in January 2014, the accounting reference date would be 31/01 (the date automatically falls on the last day of the month that the company was formed in) – the first set of accounts should then cover from the company formation date up to 31/01/15. The following set of accounts should cover from 31/01/15 up to 31/01/16 and so on.

Can I change the Accounting Reference Date?

Yes, but with restrictions:

• You can’t change a period for which accounts are already overdue
• You can’t extend a period beyond 18 months unless the company is in administration
• You can’t change the period more than once in five years

If you formed your company with us, you can use our system to change the accounting reference date:

1. Login to your Companies Made Simple account
2. Select “My Companies” and click on the relevant company name
3. Select “Change Date” next to “Accounting Reference Date”
4. Enter the necessary information and then select “Send” – the request is then sent to Companies House who normally respond within 3 working hours (we’ll email when this happens)

Do you have any questions? Leave a comment and we will be in touch.

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This post was by Mathew Aitken at MadeSimple – Find Mathew on Google+