The government has postponed plans to require all organisations registered with Companies House, including many charities, to file accounts in a digital format from next year.
This week, Companies House announced that “changes to accounts filing won’t be introduced in April 2027” due to reforms still being “under review”.
The measures, revealed in a policy paper and confirmed on 1 July 2025, form part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and aim to help prevent economic crime.
Companies House said a final decision will be announced shortly and that companies will receive at least 21 months’ notice to prepare.
The Charity Finance Group (CFG) and accountancy firm Buzzacott both said the delay could benefit some charities, which might currently struggle to meet the requirements.
‘Burden of dual regulation for charities’
Buzzacott associate director Katherine Peacock said the delay “will have a significant impact on the charity sector”.
“This is good news for the charity sector as the current position is that charities which are also limited companies cannot file accounts with Companies House online,” she told Civil Society.
“Software filing solutions that work well for charity accounts are still under development.”
Peacock said the changes will likely take place in 2028, given that “the policy review has only just started”.
“Long term, this would be a positive development, providing that the software available is fit for purpose and doesn’t have a disproportionate cost, especially for smaller charities,” she said.
Richard Sagar, head of policy at CFG, said delaying the reforms requiring small charities to file profit and loss information will come as “relief” to many organisations.
“For those charities already filing other information with Companies House, a quicker and more secure filing system will be a welcome improvement,” he told Civil Society.
Sagar said that although organisations will have at least 21 months to get ready for the change, CFG would welcome clarity on when it can be expected.
“Ideally, we’d like to see one, streamlined system of filing to both Companies House and the Charity Commission,” he said. “This would reduce the administrative burden of dual regulation for charities.”
The government said the changes aim to improve transparency by making more financial information available to the public.
“As part of our journey to modernise and digitise our filing routes, in the future, all accounts will need to be filed using commercial software,” it said in a statement.
“This change will allow more efficient and secure filings for companies, and will be a critical step towards improving the quality of the data on the register.
“Software-only accounts filing will create a single, cost-effective, sustainable and traceable way to file.”
Charities asked to share views on CC26 guidance
Separately, this week, CFG announced that the Charity Commission had launched a survey on its plans to refresh its risk management guidance for trustees.
Speaking last June at CFG’s annual conference in London, David Holdsworth, the regulator’s chief executive, admitted that the CC26 guidance needs updating.
In a recent LinkedIn post, Caron Bradshaw, growth and sector solutions lead at CFG, said: “I’m so thrilled that what started as a brave question to the CEO of the Charity Commission, at last year’s CFG annual conference, has turned into positive action from a regulator working hard to be a great regulator.
“When David Holdsworth was perhaps cheekily asked about whether CC26, the guidance on risk management for the sector, was out of date, he didn’t duck the question or the suggestion that the sector wanted to review it.
“He leant in and announced the Charity Commission were exploring with CFG whether they could take a look with fresh eyes.
“This week our regulator has made live a survey that will help us understand the issues.”
Bradshaw added that CFG is working with the regulator to look at the guidance and how “we can best support the sector in not just minimising harm but maximising opportunity”.
