Annual accounts

226 Duty to prepare individual company accounts.

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.