Company Law

Start with the entity and the event

First identify whether the business is a company or an LLP, its reporting period and the decision being made. An annual filing, appointment, borrowing and share issue need different supporting records. A form name is the end of that assessment, not the starting point.

Build a timeline from the underlying event: when the decision was taken, when money moved, when an appointment took effect and when the accounts were approved. This makes it easier to identify missing evidence before preparing a filing.

Keep annual work separate from changes during the year

Annual accounts and returns describe the entity over a reporting period. Ownership, management, capital and registered-office changes can create separate work during that same year. Maintain an event register alongside the annual calendar so that these changes do not disappear into year-end preparation.

Prepare a consistent corporate record

• Incorporation documents and the latest constitutional documents or LLP agreement.
• Current ownership, partner and director records, with a history of changes.
• Minutes, resolutions, notices and evidence of the decisions actually taken.
• Accounts, auditor correspondence and prior filing acknowledgements.
• Agreements and payment evidence supporting capital or financing transactions.

Use the guides to answer a defined question

Compare structures before choosing an entity. Use annual-filing guidance when organising the reporting cycle, and transaction-specific guidance before changing capital or ownership. For a live assignment, the corporate services pages explain scope and deliverables; these guides explain the decisions and records behind the work.