Memorandum submitted by Business Law Committee
of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
The Business Law Committee is the Institute's
committee which monitors developments in the rules and regulations
affecting businesses generally and considers legislative and other
proposals deriving from bodies such as the BERR, the FRC, the
FSA and the European Commission. The Committee is broadly based,
with members representing different sizes of accountancy practice,
industry, the investment community, and the legal profession.
The following memorandum has been prepared by
the Institute's Business Law Committee in relation to the enquiry
into Companies House.
GENERAL POINTS
In general the Institute receives little feedback
from its members regarding the functions and processes provided
by Companies House and, therefore, we assume that the majority
of our members are relatively content with the services provided.
Members have expressed concerns, however, about
the staggered implementation of the Companies Act 2006. Virtually
all company law has been rewritten and, although there are not
many fundamental changes, there is considerable revision of the
detail. As Companies House has found out, it is expensive and
time consuming to become fully functional with the detailed changes.
Each practitioner also needs to undertake the appropriate training
but costs are considerably increased when implementation is staggered
over a number of years. Exposure to mistakes is also increased
when dual systems operate and the change-over is done piecemeal.
The Institute participates in a Users' Group
that is hosted by Companies House and we find this a useful forum
in which to discuss any issues that emerge, to discuss ongoing
developments, and to receive information from Companies House.
We are also members of a consultative team for the e-accounts
project.
SPECIFIC AREAS
OF ENQUIRY
How Companies House performs its statutory functions
The main point of liaison between our members
and Companies House is with the filing of accounts and the accessing
of accounts, and the feedback from our members would suggest that
this statutory function appears to operate effectively. We are
currently working with both Companies House and the Professional
Oversight Board of the Financial Reporting Council to assist with
the development of e-filing of accounts.
Satisfaction with the services provided by Companies
House
The administrative process is not always as
helpful as one might hope and this is particularly so with billing
procedures. Some bills consist of itemised, tiny amounts which
is inefficient for both parties: customer and Companies House.
We recommend that the billing system should be reconsidered with
the possibility of rebalancing the charges between filing and
accessing of information.
The causes, consequences and cost of delays to
the Companies House Information Processing System
Whilst we have concerns about the delay in implementation
of the Companies Act 2006 we believe it is preferable to recognise
the processing difficulties that may arise and allow sufficient
time to properly develop the new processes, rather than continuing
with a timetable that is too tight.
March 2008
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