Drawing Back The Veil: A Summary Of Upcoming Companies House Transparency Reforms – January 2020

The UK's registrar of companies, Companies House, is undergoing a transformation. While transparency and ease of doing business have always underpinned UK policy, Companies House is now addressing growing concerns that the UK's framework is open to misuse. The main areas of focus are:

accuracy of information held at Companies House; abuse of personal publicly available information; and misuse of UK registered entities as vehicles for crime. The catalyst for the corporate transparency and register reforms is a public consultation conducted by The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Companies House. Its outcomes include proposals to:

enhance the role of Companies House by extending the information required to be publicly disclosed; increase checks on the accuracy and provenance of information; and improve the exchange of intelligence between Companies House and law enforcement agencies. 1. Who is in control of the company?

In a bid to prevent UK companies being used as vehicles for crime, Companies House is proposing to strengthen its verification of directors, people with significant control (PSCs) and presenters (e.g. lawyers) during the incorporation and filing processes. The proposals may subsequently be extended to shareholders. This represents a significant change from the position today, where Companies House largely accepts information filed against a company (and the presenter's authority to submit it) on "good faith".

In the future, filings may not be accepted if a presenter fails to evidence its identity, and shareholders will have to provide more detailed information such as home/registered address and (in the case of individuals) date of birth. PSCs will be required to provide identity verification documentation to Companies House, and face sanctions for non-compliance.

It is proposed that these checks will apply not only to new companies and their directors, but also to existing entities.

2. Improving the accuracy and usability of public information

   It is proposed that Companies House's powers will be extended to allow it to check, and challenge, information before updating the register, with authority to require further evidence of that information's accuracy.

   The presentation and accessibility of company accounts data is also set to be improved. The consultation envisages standardised data tagging within company accounts in order to make key financial information easier to extract. Perceived...