Group company compliance calendars

A group can coordinate administration, but each company remains a separate legal entity with its own records and obligations. A group calendar should make those differences visible. Similar names, shared directors and one accountant are reasons to organise carefully, not reasons to assume one filing covers the whole group.

Build an entity-by-entity schedule

Record each company number, registered name, status, accounting reference date and confirmation statement date. Include the registered office and email monitoring arrangements. Identify dormant entities as well as trading subsidiaries, because inactivity does not remove every filing requirement. ^[1]

Use the company number in task names and document folders. This reduces the risk of filing the right information for the wrong company where several entities share a brand or address.

Separate statutory and internal reporting

A parent may require monthly management information, while Companies House and HMRC use different periods and deadlines. Show these as separate tasks with their own approvers. A group reporting pack does not automatically satisfy a subsidiary's statutory accounts or confirmation statement obligation.

Directors retain relevant responsibilities even where a central finance team or external accountant performs the work. Confirm which directors approve which entity's records and how questions are escalated. ^[2]

Assess year-end alignment carefully

Aligning accounting reference dates may simplify future reporting, but a change can affect first periods, filing dates and tax work. Check the restrictions and calculate the transition before making the filing. Do not change dates merely to make the spreadsheet look uniform. ^[3]

Where periods remain different, record the reason and the information needed to reconcile group reporting with local statutory accounts.

Design the calendar fields

• Entity and company number.
• Obligation and relevant period or event.
• Statutory deadline and internal preparation date.
• Preparer, approver and backup contact.
• Outstanding information and risk status.
• Submission reference and acceptance evidence.

Include event-driven changes

A group reorganisation may create director, shareholder, PSC, address or financing changes across several entities. Break the project into company-specific actions. Completion of the main transaction does not prove that every consequential filing has been made.

Review the calendar whenever an entity is acquired, sold, incorporated or proposed for dissolution. Remove completed responsibilities only after the handover or legal process is clear.

Use the company number as the calendar key

Create one entity record for each company and link every obligation to that record. Shared names, directors and office addresses make shorthand labels risky. An entry called holding company accounts can become ambiguous after a restructuring. The company number gives the team a stable way to connect the task with the correct legal entity.

Include status, accounting reference date, confirmation date and responsible contacts for each company. Record the source and last review date for deadlines. If a subsidiary is newly acquired, verify its existing calendar rather than replacing it immediately with the parent's standard dates. Historic obligations can remain outstanding after ownership changes.

Separate group dependencies from entity deadlines

A parent may require subsidiary figures early for consolidation, but that internal date is not the subsidiary's Companies House deadline. Show both. The calendar should explain which deliverable feeds another process and which legal obligation remains separately applicable. This helps finance prioritise work without misdescribing the statutory timetable.

For example, three subsidiaries share a year end but have different confirmation statement dates. A combined management accounts pack does not complete any of those statements. Each entity needs its own review of officers, ownership and verification requirements, even if much of the preparation is coordinated centrally.

Avoid spreading one person's completion status across roles

A director serving several group companies may have completed identity verification while role-related submissions remain outstanding for particular appointments or PSC positions. Keep the sensitive personal code separately and record completion against the relevant entity and role. One green status against the director's name can otherwise conceal an incomplete company filing.

Similarly, a shared registered office provider or accountant may serve only specified group companies under its engagement. Record which entities and tasks are covered. Ask about acquired or newly formed companies explicitly rather than assuming that the existing service automatically expands whenever the group structure changes.

Review the calendar after structural changes

An acquisition, disposal, new subsidiary or dormant entity can affect records, advisers and reporting dependencies. Assign a calendar review as part of completion. For disposals, identify which historic information the group must retain and which future tasks pass to the new owner. Do not delete a sold entity's record before preserving necessary evidence.

Use Filing a change of accounting reference date when considering year-end alignment. Companies House filing review can help review company filing schedules and responsibilities, while consolidation, tax-group questions and transaction-specific obligations may need separately agreed work.

For example, selling a subsidiary may leave an obligation to supply historic accounting information. A transition note should identify who retains records, who handles outstanding filings and where official correspondence will go. That prevents the entity from disappearing from the calendar before its remaining tasks are resolved.