Quick summary
A confirmation statement and a set of annual accounts are two separate filings with Companies House, on two separate deadlines, and being current on one says nothing about the other. Looking across companies overdue on their confirmation statement, roughly one in ten are also overdue on accounts, a distinct compliance failure that a confirmation-statement-only checklist won't catch.
Filing the confirmation statement feels, understandably, like the big annual task done. It isn't the only one. Annual accounts are a separate filing, on a separate deadline, and it's entirely possible for a board to keep one on track for years while quietly falling behind on the other.
Two different filings, two different jobs
The confirmation statement confirms who runs and owns the company: directors, people with significant control, the registered office, the member register. Annual accounts report the company's finances for the year, even when, as for most self-managed freehold and Right to Manage companies, that means a short, simple statement showing little more than service charge funds held on trust. They're reviewed by different teams inside Companies House, filed through different routes, and missing one doesn't excuse missing the other.
Why accounts get missed even when the confirmation statement doesn't
Looking across companies currently overdue on their confirmation statement, around one in ten are also overdue on accounts. The two deadlines don't share a date, so a board that's built a habit around "the Companies House thing" every year around the same time can genuinely believe they're square while accounts quietly slip past their own, separate cutoff. It's also easy to assume a dormant or barely-active company doesn't need to file accounts at all, which isn't the case: the requirement to file something is separate from the question of whether there's meaningful activity to report.
What your accounts filing actually needs
Most self-managed freehold and Right to Manage companies qualify as small or micro-entity companies, and many file accounts that are genuinely simple: little more than a balance sheet, since there's rarely trading activity beyond holding service charge funds. The deadline is nine months after the company's financial year end, entirely independent of when the confirmation statement falls due. Filing consistently late, or not at all, is its own route to strike-off, running alongside, not instead of, the one triggered by a missed confirmation statement.
Catching up if you're behind
If accounts have slipped, the fix is the same as for any overdue filing: get them done rather than waiting for a Gazette notice to force the issue. An accountant familiar with small management companies can usually turn a simple set of accounts around quickly, and it's worth checking your company's current status at Companies House at the same time, in case more than one filing has quietly drifted.
If your building's paperwork still calls it an annual return, that name was retired in 2016: confirmation statement or annual return.
Frequently asked questions
Do Resident Management Companies need to file full statutory accounts?
Most qualify for the simplified small or micro-entity accounts regime, which is considerably lighter than full statutory accounts. An accountant familiar with management companies can confirm which category yours falls into.
What's the deadline for filing accounts?
Nine months after the company's financial year end, a completely separate date from the confirmation statement's 14-day window after its own review period.
Can filing accounts late get the company struck off, same as confirmation statements?
Yes. Persistent failure to file accounts is its own route to strike-off action, independent of confirmation statement compliance. Being current on one filing doesn't protect you from the other.