“Government gets it right – finally some common sense on red tape for small businesses,” says FFT Chartered Accountants
Sam Bacall, partner at FFT Chartered Accountants, has welcomed the government’s decision to pause “burdensome” Companies House filing changes, calling the original plans “yet another example of punishing small businesses for the crimes of a few fraudsters.”
“The idea that every honest small business in Britain should be forced to file full profit and loss accounts, just to make Companies House look like it is doing something about fraud, is lazy policymaking,” said Bacall.
“It is easier to push more admin onto SMEs than to properly police the fraudsters. Thankfully, someone in government has finally seen sense.”
Under previous proposals, small firms with turnover under £10.2m would have been forced to ditch abridged accounts and publish detailed financial statements for all to see – a move Bacall argues would have done nothing to tackle economic crime.
“Companies House has barely scratched the surface of tackling real fraud. Yet instead of improving enforcement, it wanted small businesses to buy expensive new software and spend time filling out pointless forms,” Bacall said.
“This would have hit the smallest employers hardest – the very firms creating jobs and driving growth within their local communities.”
Bacall praised the new government for recognising that regulation should support, not stifle, small business growth.
“This is exactly what we need to see more of – practical decisions that help small businesses get on with running their companies, rather than drowning them in red tape to solve problems they did not create.”
However, Bacall warned this pause should not be temporary.
“If the government is serious about cutting red tape, this pause needs to turn into a permanent rethink. Small businesses should be encouraged to grow, not dragged down by compliance for compliance’s sake.”