By Guy Zarins
Wilson Browne Solicitors
THE start of a new year provides a good opportunity to reflect on the last 12 months and set out a list of resolutions for the year ahead. If you are struggling to come up with any original ideas this time around, however, perhaps consider the following, targeted at improving the running of your company:
1. Review your articles of association – companies are typically incorporated with standard ‘model’ articles of association that govern various aspects as to how the company must be run. It is important that you conduct a review of these in order to ensure that the provisions align with how your company is currently operating.
If a company’s actions have not complied with the articles (for instance, the correct procedure has not been followed on a transfer of shares), such actions may be deemed void which can, in turn, have knock-on effects for the business as a whole. Articles of association can be amended where necessary, although professional legal advice should first be taken.
2. Ensure that company filings are up to date – company directors are legally required to keep up-to-date accounts and records, and to notify Companies House of any changes. Failure to do so within the timeframes required by law can result in financial penalties on the company directors. Companies House will, as an example, need to be notified where the company appoints new directors. There are also annual accounts that will need to be filed on an annual basis and are prepared at the end of the company’s financial year.
3. Update your statutory books – a company’s statutory books are registers that it is required to maintain by law, setting out core information relating to it. Statutory books include registers of the company’s shareholders, directors, directors’ residential addresses and persons with significant control. Prudent companies that keep their Companies Houses records up to date may nevertheless still overlook the importance of doing likewise with its statutory books, and directors and/or secretaries in default may face subsequent fines.
Keeping on top of these points on a regular basis is an effective way to ensure that a number of the key essentials for your company are appropriately covered off, helping you to start the new year properly.
For more information on the above, contact Wilson Browne Solicitors on 0800 088 6004.
