ABSTRACT
This chapter examines that the periodic filings businesses are legally obliged to submit to the public registry at Companies House, with ad hoc filings being considered in the next one. It indicates the sort of changes being proposed concerning corporate disclosure. Business in Britain can be carried on under legal forms. The form chosen has implications both for the business and for anyone trying to research it. The changes proposed in the review of company law would end the present openness. Under the changes to disclosure proposed by the Government, small-sized private limited companies, while retaining the right to file abbreviated accounts, would have to reveal their annual turnover. The annual return also gives details of the issued share capital, showing the number and nominal value of each class of share in issue. The extent of information that has to be disclosed varies according to the legal form assumed by an enterprise, its size and whether its shares are publicly traded.
