The accounting reference date is the date a company's financial year ends, set by default to the anniversary of the end of the month of incorporation.
It drives the accounts deadline. It can be changed, but a period can be shortened more freely than it can be extended, and there are limits on how often it can be lengthened.
Related terms
- Annual accounts — Annual accounts are the yearly financial statements a company files at Companies House and, in a fuller form, with HMRC.
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Statutory rules, then the Companies House register. Free, and no email required.
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