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Getting related party disclosures right

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20th Sep 2011
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My recent article about 10 things you might not know about FRSSE prompted a wave of questions relating to various disclosure requirements, explains Steve Collings.

In this article I will cover some of the typical issues concerning related party disclosures and incorporate some of the more commonly asked questions.

Related parties and related party transactions

Most of us know what constitutes a related party and FRSSE states that two or more parties are related when, at any time during the financial period:

  • one party has direct or indirect control of the other party
  • the parties are subject to common control from the same source
  • one party has significant influence over the financial and operating policies of the other party, to an extent that the other party might be inhibited from pursuing its own separate interests

FRS 8 defines a ‘related party transaction’ as:

‘the transfer of assets or liabilities or the performance of services by, to or for a related party irrespective of whether a price is charged.’ [FRS 8 paragraph 2.6]

FRSSE states that related parties of a reporting entity including the following:

  • parent undertakings, subsidiary and fellow subsidiary undertakings
  • associates and joint ventures
  • investors with significant influence and their close families
  • directors of the reporting entity and of its parent undertakings

Disclosures required

When related parties enter into transactions, disclosures must include:

  • the names of the transacting related parties
  • a description of the relationship between the parties
  • a description of the transactions
  • the amounts involved
  • any other elements of the transactions necessary for an understanding of the accounts
  • amounts due to or from related parties at the balance sheet date and provisions for doubtful debts due from such parties at that date
  • amounts written off in the period in respect of debts due to or from related parties

FAQ 1

My client reports under FRSSE and has entered into a related party transaction. The related party transaction is also material to the other related party. Do I have to consider the significance of the transaction in relation to the other party as well as to my client?

Under FRSSE, you only need to judge the materiality of a related party transaction only in terms of how material it is to the reporting entity and not how material it is in relation to the other related party. In contrast, FRS 8 at paragraph 20 states:

‘The materiality of related party transactions is to be judged, not only in terms of their significance to the reporting entity, but also in relation to their significance to the other related party when that party is:

(a)          a director, key manager or other individual in a position to influence, or accountable for stewardship of, the reporting entity; or

(b)          a member of the close family of any individual mentioned in (a) above; or

(c)           an entity controlled by any individual mentioned in (a) or (b) above.

So FRSSE takes a slightly more relaxed approach to judging the materiality of related party transactions.

Materiality

When the term ‘materiality’ is mentioned, it is quite common for accountants to go into autopilot and judge items in relation to percentages of turnover, profit before tax and gross assets (audit materiality). However, FRS 8 defines the term ‘material’ in the following way:

‘Transactions are material when their disclosure might reasonably be expected to influence decisions made by the users of general purpose financial statements.’ [FRS 8 paragraph 20]

This definition does appear to exempt those transactions which clearly would be of no interest to users of the financial statements.

FAQ 2

I work for a large company which provides canteen facilities to its staff. The director purchased a sandwich from the canteen. I have heard that all directors transactions are material in nature, so surely this needs disclosure?

The definition of ‘material’ in FRS 8 clearly states that transactions are only material when their disclosure might reasonably be expected to influence the decisions of users. The purchase of such ‘trivial’ items from the company by a director would be of absolutely no interest to anyone. On the other hand, if the director were to purchase a property from the company at a price less than fair value, this transaction would be considered material and would require disclosure.

It is fair to say that judging materiality can be somewhat problematic for practitioners. In FAQ 2 it was fairly obvious what is and what is not material. However, there are many occasions when such transactions are not as clear cut and become ‘borderline’. FRS 8 does not provide prescriptive benchmarks for materiality and the facts of each case needs to be considered in isolation. In some instances, key management personnel could well enter into several small transactions and these transactions will all need to be aggregated to see if they are material from the individual’s point of view when applying FRS 8 requirements. Should the items become material when aggregated, then disclosure will be required.

When considering the definition of materiality, you do so having regard to the users’ needs of general purpose financial statements. If you look to Chapter 1 of the ASBs Statement of Principles, this details various users including investors, employees, banks and financiers, trade creditors and such like. It also sets out their various needs as well as acknowledging that general purpose financial statements cannot meet the information needs of all types of users mentioned in Chapter 1 of the Statement of Principles, but does acknowledge that there are needs that are common to all users. Therefore, when considering whether disclosure of a particular related party is material you should consider the needs of the users.

Transactions with directors: disclosures

I have covered the issue about transactions with directors in previous articles, but it still seems to rear its head within the profession, hence it seemed sensible to incorporate it in this article. FRSSE (effective April 2008) is now based on the disclosure requirements contained in Section 413 Companies Act 2006. This particular section requires disclosure of information relating to directors’ benefits which include advances, credits and guarantees. For the purposes of this particular section, you must make disclosure in the notes to the financial statements of:

  • Advances and credits which have been made to the director
  • Guarantees of any kind entered into on behalf of the directors

In respect of advances and credits, disclosure needs to be made concerning:

  • The amount
  • An indication of the interest rate
  • The main conditions
  • Any amounts repaid

In respect of guarantees, disclosure is to be made concerning:

  • The main terms
  • The amount of the maximum liability that may be incurred by the company (or its subsidiary)
  • Any amount paid and any liability incurred by the company (or its subsidiary) for the purpose of fulfilling the guarantee

It is fair to say that the disclosures in Section 413 concerning directors advances and credits has caused a bit of unrest because of how it could be defined, but professional bodies have acknowledged that there has to be some degree of common sense in this approach, as opposed to producing what would otherwise look like a shopping list in the notes to the financial statements. A suggested disclosure approach is as follows:

  • Balance b/fwd
  • Advances in the year
  • Private transactions
  • Amounts repaid
  • Undrawn remuneration
  • Dividends
  • Balance c/fwd

Any individual advances or repayments considered material should be disclosed separately. It is also worth pointing out that auditors may well challenge the disclosures if they consider them inadequate for the purposes of giving a true and fair view.

FAQ 3

A fellow director has asked if the company will make a loan to him in the sum of £20,000 for a deposit on a new house which will be paid back on the successful sale of his old house. Is there anything that we need to consider before the company makes the loan?

Section 197 of Companies Act 2006 makes a general prohibition on loans to directors (and also related guarantees or provisions of security for loans) without the approval of the members, so members’ approval will need to be sought before the advance is given as the value of the advance is more than £10,000. It is worth mentioning that members’ approval need not be obtained if the aggregate value of the transaction(s) does not exceed £10,000.

Controlling parties

Companies are invariably controlled by another party. This can either be the shareholders or another company. Where the company is controlled by another party, disclosure must be made of:

  • the name of the controlling party
  • if different, the name of the ultimate controlling party

It is also worth pointing out that these disclosures are required regardless of whether there have been any transactions between the parties. In situations when the controlling party of the reporting entity is unknown, you must disclose that fact. You need only make disclosure, however, when there is control, not when there is merely significant influence.

Case 1

Company A Limited is an owner-managed business with an issued share capital of 100 £1 ordinary shares split equally between Mr and Mrs Smith. Both Mr and Mrs Smith have hands on day-to-day running of the company and are both involved in the decision-making and have control over the company’s operational and financial policies.

In this case both Mr and Mrs Smith are the controlling parties because they act ‘in concert’ and therefore disclosure can be as follows:

The directors are considered to be the ultimate controlling party by virtue of their ability to act in concert in respect of the operational and financial policies of the company.

It is worth noting that this could also be the case when, for example, a company has four shareholders who own (say) 25% of the voting rights. 

Case 2

Company B Limited is, again, an owner-managed business with an issued share capital of 100 £1 ordinary shares split as follows:

  • Mr Smith                             51%
  • Mrs Smith                           49%

In this instance Mr Smith has control over the company because he owns the majority of the shares. Disclosure in this respect can be as follows:

The company is under the ultimate control of Mr Smith by virtue of his controlling shareholding in the company.

There is no need to make reference to the actual percentage shareholding.

Case 3

A group is structured as follows:

Who is/are the ultimate controlling party(ies) in the above group?

Mr Director indirectly owns ((100% x 49%) + (20% x 51%)) 59.2% of Company C. However, it is Company B that has ultimate control of Company C. Mr Director is also not the ultimate controlling party of Company C because he cannot exercise control over that company, nor does he control Company B (he only owns 20%) which controls Company C. 

Mr Director does control Company A, but Company A cannot exercise control over Company C.  Despite this, Mr Director is still a related party of Company C because his 100% ownership of the share capital in Company A gives him significant influence over Company C. He also has significant influence over Company B which controls Company C. As a result, if transactions have occurred between Mr Director and Company C, these transactions should be disclosed as related party transactions in Company C’s financial statements.

When transactions don’t need to be disclosed as related party transactions

There is no need to make disclosure of:

  • pension contributions paid into a pension fund
  • payroll costs in respect of services as an employee of the reporting entity

There are also exemptions from disclosing the relationship and transactions between the reporting entity and:

  • providers of finance in the ordinary course of their business
  • utility companies
  • government departments and their sponsored bodies
  • a customer, supplier, franchiser, distributor or general agent

Companies Act 2006 disclosures

There are many disclosures which are required under FRSSE and FRS 8 which are not required under Companies Act and hence can be ignored for the purposes of abbreviated financial statements. 

Here is a summary of the main disclosure requirements under Companies Act 2006:

Disclosure in:

Disclosure required:

Section of Companies Act 2006

Directors’ report

Names of the directors

S416

Notes

Details of directors remuneration

S412

Notes

Directors benefits, pensions and compensation

SI2008/410 Sch 5 Part I

Notes

Highest paid directors’ remuneration

SI2008/410 Sch 5 Part II

Notes

Advances, credits and guarantees by the company to the director(s)

S413

Notes

Details of guarantees entered into by the company or subsidiary by the director(s)

S413

Notes

Ultimate parent company for subsidiaries

SI2008/410 4 Sch 9

For group companies the disclosure requirements in the notes under Companies Act 2006 are as follows:

Disclosure

Section of Companies Act 2006

Information about related undertakings

S409

Disclosure by parent the name and financial information for each subsidiary

SI2008/410 4 Sch 1-3, 15-17

Names of, and information about, joint ventures

SI2008/410 4 Sch 18

Names of, and information on, significant holdings of company or group in investees

SI2008/410 4 Sch 4-6, 20-23

Alternative disclosure if compliance with S409 (above) would result in information of excessive length

S410

Disclosure by subsidiary of ultimate parent company

SI2008/410 Sch 9

Disclosure of details of investments of consolidated undertakings in, and names of, associated undertakings (i.e. between 20-50% of voting rights)

SI2008/410 4 Sch 19

Steve Collings is the audit and technical partner at Leavitt Walmsley Associates and author of ‘The Interpretation and Application of International Standards on Auditing’ (Wiley March 2011). He is also the author of the ‘AccountingWEB Guide to IFRS’ (Sift Media May 2011) and lectures on financial reporting and auditing issues.

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Replies (33)

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By ThornyIssues
20th Sep 2011 13:57

And I thought HMRC could create vague and woolly rules!

KISS

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By DMGbus
20th Sep 2011 18:45

DLA in credit yet disclosed in Abbreviated Accounts at CH

I have seen instances where Directors Loan Accounts (DLA) have been disclosed in Abbreviated Accounts  (as filed at Companies House [CH]) - even where in credit throughout an asccounting period.

Then I see that most Abbreviated Accounts seem to lack this data.

So, we have a minority of accounts preparers breaching client confidentiality by disclosing this data

OR alternatively

we have the majority of accountants (myself included) being non-compliant.

 

Personally I have no issues with shareholder / directors copy accounts disclosing the DLA balance in credit (it's commonsense to disclose this data in my opinion and in my book commonsense override is a very sensible principle), but I've never seen a convincing legal requirement to disclose a credit balance DLA in Abbreviated Accounts.

 

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By stevedpearce
21st Sep 2011 09:00

Dividends to director shareholders

Am I correct in thinking dividends paid to director shareholders require disclosure as part of related party transactions? Or is this not correct?

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Euan's picture
By Euan MacLennan
21st Sep 2011 10:05

Yes - Dividends must be disclosed

Dividends paid to shareholding directors are transactions with related parties which must be disclosed as they do not come under the exemptions in the FRSSE for remuneration and pension contributions.

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Euan's picture
By Euan MacLennan
21st Sep 2011 10:10

DLA in credit

Yes - DLAs in credit must be disclosed as related party transactions/balances with directors in the full statutory accounts prepared in accordance with the FRSSE.

No - they should not be disclosed in small company abbreviated accounts to which the FRSSE does not apply.  The CA requirement, which does apply to abbreviated accounts, is only to disclose loans to directors.

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By Ayesha Bham
21st Sep 2011 10:33

Not sure I agree about dividends
I cannot see anywhere in the FRSSE where it explicitly says dividends have to be disclosed therefore I am not sure it is right that disclosure has to be made. Is it right to disclose if FRSSE doesn't specifically mention dividends. I'm not sure it is.

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By Tony Nabarro
21st Sep 2011 12:38

Advances and credits which have been made to the director

Does this cover something other than loan(s)?

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By jndavs
21st Sep 2011 12:52

Dividends
I think you will find that dividends to related parties generally should be disclosed, not just directors - tempered by materiality of course.

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By Huw Williams
21st Sep 2011 12:49

Not sure about dividends

As I understand it the FRSSE does not have an explicit requirement because it has a general requirement to disclose related party transactions.  Are shareholders related to the company - almost certainly yes in a small company.  Are dividends transactions - yes.

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Replying to earlsfield:
Locutus of Borg
By Locutus
21st Sep 2011 15:04

Dividends paid to directors

I think requirement to specifically mention dividends paid to director shareholders within the related party transactions note arose following the Companies Act 2006.

Under the old 1985 Act, the director's report listed each director's shareholding, so it was easy to calculate the dividend each director received (assuming there were no dividend waivers in force).

When the 2006 Act dropped the requirement to list directors' shareholdings, then this information had to effectively be disclosed in the related party transactions note, which appear in the full statutory accounts, but not the abbreviated accounts.

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By derrickporter
21st Sep 2011 16:30

Dividends paid to directors

You can of course still disclose the director's shareholdings in the directors report so you would not have to disclose the dividends as part of the related party note.

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By Tonykelly
21st Sep 2011 16:48

basically, the goalposts have been moved by various parties

the changes to the directors report requirements is a red herring.

The requirements were (in the past) that the directors beneficial interests in the share capital of the company should be disclosed.

Example, husband (director)  5 shares

wife - non director 95 shares

disclosure  - husband 100 shares.

So, the disclosure in the directors report didn't really help with regard to dividends.

Some people choose to disclose, others don't.

My question is to Steve Collings and others: why is it now correct to disclose dividends to related parties when it was correct not to disclose them in the past. Please don't answer the question by citing the changes to the directors report, as this is clearly not the answer, as illustrated by my example above.

 

 

 

 

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By DMGbus
21st Aug 2013 09:33

Shareholdings in directors report = excellent

I favour what DerrickPorter says, as not only does it reduce the number of notes (*) in a set of accounts but under the commonsense override principle makes useful information instantly available in the Directors Report (as in shareholdings).

I tend to supplement the shareholdings details in the Directors Report with a sentence along the lines "All dividends paid are to the directors and their spouses" (or similar) - and out goes another note (directors interests) from the accounts (*).

With owner managed Ltd Companies it makes a lot of sense to have really useful information readily available, even if technically there's an "over disclosure" in this instance in the directors report which can cause no harm as only the owner managers see this document.

(*) Less notes = more meaningful accounts, hence show dividends (described as "Dividends paid in the accounting period" instead of "Reserve Movements") on the statutory P&L then this enables the Reserves Movement note (which typically unhelpfully omits comparatives) to be removed from the accounts.   The closing balance on the Statutory P&L then gives a logical flow through the accounts as it appears on the next page (the Balance Sheet) rather than appearing in a note several pages later that then refers back to the Balance Sheet.  Accounts thus become more user friendly. 

 

 

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collings
By Steven Collings
21st Sep 2011 20:18

Dividends to Directors

Hi,

The question relating to the disclosure of dividends to director-shareholders is one of the most commonly asked questions - particularly in lectures.  Before the requirement to disclose the shareholding of the director(s) in the director)s) report was repealed, it was generally accepted within the profession that the FRS 8 / FRSSE requirements were met because it was fairly easy to calculate the amount of dividend each director had received in their capacity of shareholder.  However, when the requirement was repealed it was found that the related party implications were no longer covered, hence disclosure had to be made in another form i.e. in the notes as a related party transaction.  Tonykelly, I understand this isn't what you wanted to see as an answer, but that was the reason.  It was considered that the user of the accounts could take the dividend in the accounts and work out the value of the dividend to the director-shareholder by reference to their shareholding in the director(s) report (if they wanted to, that is).

Now some firms do a similar sort of thing to what DMGBUS is suggesting and tagging the dividends on to the end of the P&L, but you need to be careful with this and make sure you do it in the following order:

Profit for the year after tax

Profit and loss reserves b/f

Dividends

Profit and loss reserves c/f

As dividends are debited to equity (FRS 25 para 35), following the order of the above will ensure that the dividends are debited to equity - but be careful - this argument won't work if dividends appear directly after post-tax profit for the year because this is inconsistent with the accounting for equity dividends per FRS 25.35.

I have met some accountants in lectures that have expressed their (sheer) disagreement with the disclosure of dividends as a related party transaction but the fact is, the disclosure of dividends as a related party transaction is required in the related party notes.

Regards

Steve

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Replying to Mano Manoharan:
By Tonykelly
23rd Sep 2011 11:12

dividends again!

Steve Collings wrote:

 Before the requirement to disclose the shareholding of the director(s) in the director)s) report was repealed, it was generally accepted within the profession that the FRS 8 / FRSSE requirements were met because it was fairly easy to calculate the amount of dividend each director had received in their capacity of shareholder.

Unfortunately Steve, this is simply not true, despite what was generally accepted. This is a red herring, examples:

1. Disclosure requirements were to disclose directors' beneficial interest in the share capital of the company.

Husband (director) holds 60 shares -- wife (non-director) 40 shares. Dividends £100,000. Disclosure in directors' report was Director 100 shares. How can you calculate that the director was paid £60,000 in dividends from information in directors report? Answer: you can't.

2. Shareholdings of directors changes during the year.  How can you calculate dividends paid to directors. Fairly easy? no. Answer: you can't.

3. One director waives his entitlement to a dividend. How can you calculate the dividends paid to the directors. Fairly easy? no. Answer: you can't.

4. Dividend paid to related party. Not a director. How can you calculate the dividends paid to related party. Fairly easy? no. Answer you can't.

So my question remains unanswered. Why is it now correct to disclose dividends to related parties when it was correct not to disclose them in the past?

(by the way Steve, thanks for the excellent article).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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By Ayesha Bham
22nd Sep 2011 10:04

Hmmm
I still don't think it is right. The reasons seem so pointless. For small clients like ours is anyone really bothered? I tend to agree that the directors shareholding reason is not REALLY the answer. It's not a convincing argument in my opinion.

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collings
By Steven Collings
22nd Sep 2011 10:18

Don't shoot the messenger!

Hi Ayesha

You are not on your own with your frustrations regarding the disclosure of dividends - I have met lots of accountants who have vented their frustration (on me) about this disclosure!  In articles / books / lectures I can only convey information which is factually and technically correct.  As you can appreciate I cannot write statements such as "this is how X works, but if you don't agree with this then there is no need to bother" as this would be misleading and that's not how I operate.

The disclosure itself is not arduous and you can satisfy the requirements in as much as one line.  However, please understand that I don't make the rules, I merely write/lecture on them, so if you meet me in a lecture where this issue comes up, please don't make me wear my tin hat!!

All the best

Steve

 

 

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
22nd Sep 2011 11:46

Thanks Steve

Must admit the dividend issue had passed me by.  As you say, it's only one line in a note, so no probs.

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By hitheflag
22nd Sep 2011 13:25

Dividend disclosure and dividends waived

We have a situation with three shareholders two fo whom are directors.  One of these directors and the other shareholder have waived dividends leaving the other director/ shareholder, who incidentaly is the only one to actively work in the business, as the only one drawing a dividend.

We are re-writing the share structure using A and B shares but what dio we need to disclose in the abbreviated and full accounts in respect of dividends drawn??

 

HTF

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collings
By Steven Collings
23rd Sep 2011 12:05

@Tony Kelly

Thanks Tony.

The argument about dividend disclosure could go on for a lifetime and not everyone will agree with it.  Personally, I don't understand what the problem is relating to the disclosure.  If you look at the ICAEW guidance they are unambiguous in their requirements and confirm that dividends to directors DO meet the definition of a related party transaction and ARE disclosable as such.   However, pre 2007 it was the consensus of opinion that disclosure of shareholding in the directors report satisfied the FRS 8 / FRSSE disclosures.  Whether accountants view this as right, wrong or indifferent is not going to change the current position.  If you really do not want to make the disclosure about dividends then there's not really much else I can suggest - you'll need to thrash the argument out with the ASB.  As I have said in reply to Ayesha I can only write about what is factual/technically correct or generally accepted.  It was generally accepted that the shareholding disclosure satisfied the FRS 8 / FRSSE requirements.

I suppose to answer your question you should dissect FRS 8, but even then you're going to be hard-pressed to get a totally definitive (ie 100% satisfactory) answer to your question. 

Para 19 of FRS 8 gives examples of related party transactions, though does not specifically refer to the word 'dividend', hence some dissidents will cite this as a reason for non-disclosure.  But if you look to para 2.6 this this cites a transfer of assets or liabilities (dividends are paid in cash) and as cash is an asset presumably this catches a dividend as a disclosable related party transaction?  

It is clear from how a related party is defined in paragraph 2.5 that a director is a related party of an entity. Thus what is material in terms of directors?  Certainly a lot but if you look to paragraph 20 FRS 8, a transaction is material when its disclosure might reasonably be expected to influence the decisions of the users of the accounts.  FRS 8 requires disclosure of 'material' transactions - material being both in relation to the significance of the reporting entity as well as to the other related party (the director), though (as I discussed in the article), FRSSE only judges materiality from the viewpoint of the company, not the other related party.

Clearly the issue is controversial, but does the issue really warrant the attention from the profession it is getting?  As I mentioend in a previous comment, disclosing the dividends paid to director-shareholders in the full accounts (not abbreviated, as FRSSE doesn't apply to abbreviate accounts) is hardly moving mountains and takes less than a minute. 

The facts of the issue all boil down to the point that, no, FRS 8 and FRSSE do not specifically cite the word 'dividends' as requiring disclosure, BUT guidance from the professional bodies, DOES require the disclosure following the repealing of the directors' shareholdings disclosure in the directors report. 

Anyhow, it's Friday so let's forget about it now and move on to the weekend!!

All the best

Steve

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By Ayesha Bham
23rd Sep 2011 12:34

I'm with Tonykelly on this
Steve the whole issue is nonsensical and the facts are that the professional bodies are simply wrong. Dividends are not disclosable. If dividends don't appear in the accounting standards then they do not need disclosure. Accountancy bodies should look to the standards not make their own rules up.

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By DMGbus
23rd Sep 2011 13:49

Professional bodies making things more complex

As I understand it:

1. Companies Act 2006 defines the rules per UK / Wales Law

2. Companies Act 2006 does NOT require disclosure of dividends as a "Related Party" transaction

3. FRSSE 2008 is  MEANT TO to SIMPLIFY accounts by REDUCING DISCLOSURES / making accounts disclosures LESS ONEROUS.

4. Someone involved in developing the FRSSE has been mischevious or incompetent  by actually INCREASING disclosures under FRSSE as compared to the Companies Act - seriously breaching the whole concept of FRSSE.  Just maybe, the person responsible for this mischief / error / incompetence has a "Big" company background and was therefore out of touch with small company objectives and reality.

5. Thankfully FRSSE 2008 does NOT apply to Abbreviated Accounts so these burdens created by FRSSE are not applicable there.

My own approach is as follows:

Fewer notes = better accountsFewer pages = better accounts (Ditch the ridiciculous "Contents" and "Company Information" pages as not required by Law)Do NOT include a "Reserves Note" (avoided by having a proper Stautory P&L showing dividends)Do NOT include a "Related Parties" / "Directors Interest" note (instead Directors Report states shareholdings and the the fact that dividends are paid to the directors)

 

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
23rd Sep 2011 14:03

OCD or what?

I sometimes get hung up on detail but come on, there's coffee brewing.  Do what is OK for you, they won't take your practiucing cert away or deny you PI cover and clients clients will pay the fee, whatever, they don't give a whatsit.

I've often thought that, in it's purest sence OCD should be CDO because it's in aphpa order and, if this topic really is a problem, then it fits nicely with Clear Dividends Out.

 

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By Ayesha Bham
23rd Sep 2011 14:18

Apologies Steve
Well I've since rung the technical enquiry service and they have cited exactly the same reasons as Steve as to why disclosure of dividends is needed. They said that there is a possibility that if you don't disclose them you won't comply with the accounting standards and as the standards are required to give a true and fair view the accounts won't give this if we don't comply. Quite worrying really when you think of the implications. Apologies Steve for my confusion.

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By Tonykelly
26th Sep 2011 13:39

Thanks for update

Once again Steve, thanks for taking the time to answer the various queries. Many people post articles etc, but are then unavailable to answer any queries raised by the readers.

Just to clarify, I have no problem making any of the disclosures. In fact, I tend to over-disclose if anything, espeically the debtors and creditors.

I was just curious as to the reasons for the changes. Many thanks for taking the time to explain.

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Replying to GSPANESER:
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By ThornyIssues
26th Sep 2011 14:09

Comprehension

Tonykelly wrote:

Once again Steve, thanks for taking the time to answer the various queries. Many people post articles etc, but are then unavailable to answer any queries raised by the readers.

Just to clarify, I have no problem making any of the disclosures. In fact, I tend to over-disclose if anything, espeically the debtors and creditors.

I was just curious as to the reasons for the changes. Many thanks for taking the time to explain.

 

Why would you want to give information that you do not have to give! Do you not respect your client's right to restrict what information is placed in the public domain? Do you tell your client that you are disclosing information that you are not required to disclose? Could competitors of your client not use this information to jaundice the view of your client to potential customers?

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Replying to User deleted:
By Tonykelly
27th Sep 2011 21:21

I suggest you read what has been posted a little more carefully

ThornyIssues wrote:

Why would you want to give information that you do not have to give! Do you not respect your client's right to restrict what information is placed in the public domain? Do you tell your client that you are disclosing information that you are not required to disclose? Could competitors of your client not use this information to jaundice the view of your client to potential customers?

I guess you are a business owner whose accountant has done what you describe, and you are maybe feeling a little disgruntled.

However, this article by Steve Collings is primarily concerned with related party disclosures in the full accounts for directors and shareholders.

My postings have been related to this topic. What you are referring to are the accounts which are filed at Companies House. I am not going to explain the difference here. Please contact your accountant and he will explain it to you at your next meeting.

 

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collings
By Steven Collings
26th Sep 2011 13:52

Thanks Tony

No problem.  Sometimes I'm guilty of not replying to questions raised on my articles due to a lack of time but there are lots of others on here that provide good answers (thankfully).

Have a good week.

Steve

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By DMGbus
26th Sep 2011 19:09

Reasons to over-disclose?

Never, ever, ever over-disclose in Abbreviated Accounts as these are public record and without specific approval this, in my opinion, is a serious breach of client data confidentiality.

From time to time making company searches I am surprised to see full accounts filed by small companies which should qualify for Abbreviated Accounts.  A recent example (4th September 2011 search) being accounts prepared by a LLP firm of ACCA based in Sutton Coldfield for companies called The Norvil Motorcycle Co Ltd and Vals Classic Coaches Ltd.  (NB. I am NOT breaching any confidentiality here - this data is in the public domain at Companies House).

I speculate that one of three things applies in such cases:

Client wishes to have fuller financial information in the public domain and provides instructions to the accountant accordinglyThe accountant used is unaware or incapable of preparing Abbreviated AccountsThe accountant used offers Abbreviated Accounts but only as an optional extra (extra fee!) and the client is unwilling to pay the extra fee

However, turning to the full statutory accounts (that only get distributed to directors who are most likely only shareholders) quite a different discipline applies: the accounts should be as meaningful as possible, so in my view quite OK in these NOT FOR PUBLIC RECORD accounts to give analysis of debtors, creditors.  

 

 

 

 

 

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
27th Sep 2011 20:27

Never, ever ever??

Very (very) rare in the 21st century to find anything that certain.

A handful of my clients (with my blessing) use their accounts as part of their marketing providing the full accounts with over-disclosed & opinioned Directors' Report.  Large companies and Government agencies with whom they do business expect to see such confidence & pride in how & what they do and are prepared to offer them tender possibilities, that might not have been the case with a puny set of "awfully 'umble" Abbs.

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By loz999
05th Jan 2012 15:33

Husband's company trading with wife's company = RPT?

Hi Steve

I was wondering if significant trade between 2 companies one owned by the husband and one by the wife would need to be disclosed as a related party transaction

 

 

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By JMCarthy
13th Oct 2014 12:23

related parties disclosure

 

I wonder if someone might give some guidance in this example:

Company A is own the freehold of a block of flats and its sole shareholder and director is Mr X. Company B is the management company for the 20 flats and the leaseholders are the shareholders. Mr X is one of two directors of company B and as he also owns 3 long leases has 3 shares. During a period of two years, leaseholders have had disputes with directors of Company B, the management company, over alleged breaches in leases or sought permission for improvements to their flats and Mr X has employed his Company A (himself providing the "expertise") to deal with these. Company A has charged Company B exorbitant amounts for this work (as have the solicitors who also act for Company A) and the leaseholders involved have paid Company B to either get the alleged breaches settled or to get their permissions for improvements. Given his position of power, leaseholders are reluctant to take further issue with Mr X. After a long struggle detailed accounts of Company B have been produced which do not refer to the transactions and when asked, Mr X has stated that thee is no need as the expenditure incurred by Company B has been netted off against he receipts from the leaseholders. Furthermore, there is no requirement to disclose these transactions as related party transactions as regards the fees charged by his Company A to Company B even though he is a mutual shareholder and director of both companies. Are the accountants (who incidentally act for both companies) correct in going along with this state of affairs?

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By Red Pepper
29th Jun 2015 16:35

Transactions with sole Director's father

This is an unusual related party transaction.

The sole shareholding director paid about 30% of fees earned on an engineering design project to his father, who did the work on the design work on that project. The payment to father amounted to about £20,000, so it is a material amount.

Is this required to be disclosed in the Notes under FRSSE ?

 

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