Companies Act 1985

226 Duty to prepare individual company accounts. E+W+S

(1) The directors of every company shall prepare for each financial year of the company—

(a) a balance sheet as at the last day of the year, and

(b) a profit and loss account.

Those accounts are referred to in this Part as the company’s “individual accounts”.

(2) The balance sheet shall give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year; and the profit and loss account shall give a true and fair view of the profit or loss of the company for the financial year.

(3) A company’s individual accounts shall comply with the provisions of Schedule 4 as to the form and content of the balance sheet and profit and loss account and additional information to be provided by way of notes to the accounts.

(4) Where compliance with the provisions of that Schedule, and the other provisions of this Act as to the matters to be included in a company’s individual accounts or in notes to those accounts, would not be sufficient to give a true and fair view, the necessary additional information shall be given in the accounts or in a note to them.

(5) If in special circumstances compliance with any of those provisions is inconsistent with the requirement to give a true and fair view, the directors shall depart from that provision to the extent necessary to give a true and fair view.

Particulars of any such departure, the reasons for it and its effect shall be given in a note to the accounts.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 226 modified (temp.) (in force in accordance with s. 3 of the amending Act) by 1999 c. iv, ss. 3, 7(6)

C2 Ss. 226-237 extended (with modifications) (19.12.1993) by S.I. 1993/3245, reg.3

C3 S. 226(2) applied with modifications by S.I. 1990/2570, regs. 3(2), 16(1)