The future of digital reporting in the UK

The FRC and Companies House are working towards a digital future for reports and accounts filings. Compulsory filing via software using iXBRL tagging with Companies House may be a few years away, but companies and their advisers need to be preparing for change.

Opportunities for future digital reporting

Last year the FRC published a discussion paper Opportunities for digital reporting for comment. The consultation closed on 1 November 2024.

The FRC has developed and maintained UK taxonomies for over ten years. In recognition of the importance of taxonomies and digital reporting to UK business, the FRC is focusing resources on these topics.

The discussion paper covered structured digital reporting post the UK’s exit from the EU and post the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) 2023.

The UK’s exit from the EU impacts on companies with securities admitted to UK-regulated markets who are required, under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s Disclosure and Transparency Rules, to prepare, publish, and file in the FCA’s National Storage Mechanism their annual report and accounts in a ‘structured digital format’.

Companies House intends to require all businesses to file via software using Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) tagging under powers acquired under ECCTA 2023. This expected change will apply to both narrative reports and accounts and was the focus of the second part of the discussion paper.

The FRC prepared the discussion paper to support discussions with its stakeholders about how it continues to develop taxonomies, and it may result in future consultations from specific regulators or agencies, including Companies House, on the implementation of digital reporting requirements. No specific decisions are expected as a result of the discussion paper itself.

Future changes to Companies House reports and accounts filing requirements

Digital filing requirements for Companies House will be formalised through secondary legislation and the creation of Registrar's Rules.

The FRC’s discussion paper highlights that the Registrar is to require all accounts to be filed digitally and “fully tagged” using iXBRL and all component parts of a filing are to be delivered together to facilitate the digital filing of more complex accounts.

Companies House will also remove the paper filing option for most companies. This suggests that some companies may be permitted to continue with paper filings, but no further details are provided in the discussion paper.

Our response to the discussion paper

We responded to the discussion paper highlighting concerns about the potential pace of change and the impact on companies, including charitable companies with dual filing requirements, and LLPs.

We suggested that more work is needed before determining how to move forward, including: 

•    How Companies House will use “fully tagged” data to meet its regulatory responsibilities.
•    The substantiation of claims about how the tagged data may be used by other regulators and stakeholders who aren’t regulators.
•    Understanding and evaluating the risks that tagging agents may be exposed to by the use of tagged data.

We questioned whether the costs of “full tagging” would outweigh the benefits to businesses not already required to file iXBRL tagged annual reports and accounts with the FCA. We believe it’s vital that any additional compliance burdens placed on companies are proportionate and don’t run counter to the UK government’s ambition to kickstart economic growth. We also highlighted that accounts preparation applications and tagging applications currently available may not support the ambition for digital reporting articulated in the discussion paper.

Digital reporting developments announced in Q1 of 2025

Public beta digital tool launched by the FRC

Subsequent to the FRC’s digital reporting consultation, in March this year, the FRC launched a digital reporting Viewer: a new tool in beta form to improve free access to structured company reporting data.

The Viewer is designed to enable users of annual reports and accounts to easily view and analyse iXBRL files by displaying tagged data. The aim of the Viewer is to make company financial information more accessible and transparent to stakeholders.

The Viewer is accessible here, along with an introductory video.

The FRC would welcome feedback from users during this public beta phase to inform further developments and improvements. Details about how to share feedback with the FRC are included in it accompanying press release.

Closure of the Companies House/ HRMC joint filing service

Companies House and HMRC made an unexpected announcement on 6 March 2025 about the closure of their joint filing service for accounts and Company Tax Returns.

The joint filing service will close in under 12 months’ time on 31 March 2026.

From 1 April 2026, companies and will need to file their annual accounts separately with Companies House using third party software, Companies House web services or paper filing. From this date companies will be required to use software to file their Company Tax Return with HMRC.

In the press statement about the closure, Companies House stated that:

“The service is closing because it’s now outdated. It no longer aligns to modern digital standards, enhanced corporation tax requirements or changes to UK company law under the ECCTA 2023.

Closing the service also reinforces the big changes taking place at Companies House, as we implement further measures set out in the ECCTA and introduce new processes such as Identity Verification.”

Companies House recommends that companies download and save at least 3 years of accounts filings. It won’t be possible to access any previous filings made using the joint online filing service after 1 April 2026.

Further related guidance issued by HMRC also states that previous Company Tax Returns companies wish to download must be downloaded from the joint online filing service on or before 31 March 2026.

Companies House recommends that companies start considering their software filing options for both Companies House and HMRC filings.

While filing using Companies House web filing services or filing using paper will remain possible for the moment, this recommendation by Companies House is a restatement of its plan to move exclusively to filing via software using iXBRL tagging.

When will digital filing via software be introduced by Companies House? 

The transition to digital filing by software will take place over the next two to three years. While no implementation timetable has been published, Companies House intends to give businesses at least 21 months’ notice.

In the meantime, Companies House has published an updated version of its software look-up tool to help companies compare and choose a suitable software product.