The Government has published a summary of responses to the 'Non-financial reporting review: simpler corporate reporting' consultation held earlier this year.

Companies 1

The original consultation, which closed on 27 June 2024, concentrated on medium-sized companies. Views were sought on proposals to: 

  • Uplift the medium-sized company employee threshold from 250 to 500.
  • Exempt medium-sized companies from the requirement to produce a strategic report.

The majority of respondents supported the proposed changes, with 65.9% (27 out of 41) agreeing to increase the employee threshold and 64.9% (24 out of 37) in favour of a strategic report exemption. 

  • Those in agreement primarily considered that the proposals would reduce reporting burdens.
    • It was felt that companies on the smaller end of the existing large company threshold are disproportionately affected by the current thresholds.
  • There was support for the proposals to be introduced or considered as part of a wider package of changes and not in isolation.
    • Concerns were raised that measures implemented in isolation could create further complexity. 
  • Where respondents were opposed to the proposals, the risk of poor corporate governance practices, particularly surrounding risk management, was raised. 

The Government has confirmed that the proposals will not be taken forward at this time, but will be considered as part of the broader non-financial reporting review.

Useful guides on this topic

What is a small or medium-sized company?
What is an SME? What size is a small company under the Companies Act? What size is a micro company? What size are Medium and Large companies? 

Small Company accounts: Companies House requirements
These filing obligations are due to change in 2024 under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Up until then, the 2016 filing obligations for small and micro-entities apply. They have existed since 2016 and the withdrawal of the FRSSE and introduction of new reporting standards FRS101, FRS102 and FRS105. 

External link

Consultation outcome: Non-financial reporting review: simpler corporate reporting

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