Oliver Stanley
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Published: 11 November 2026 11:14 am Author: Oliver Stanley
Companies House data accuracy: where register errors really start
Almost four in 10 large UK businesses have found discrepancies between what Companies House holds and their own records, according to new research reported in the Financial Times this week. The survey, carried out by management software group Board Intelligence, asked 200 general counsel and company secretaries at businesses with revenue of £50m or more
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Published: 29 October 2026 11:25 am Author: Oliver Stanley
Business Continuity Strategies: How to Protect Your Company
Ask most businesses about their continuity plan and you’ll hear about server backups, remote working, and what happens if the office floods. All sensible. But there’s a quieter set of risks that rarely makes it into the plan: what happens if the only director is suddenly unavailable, if nobody can find the latest share register,
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Published: 28 October 2026 3:40 pm Author: Oliver Stanley
Company Secretarial Software: A Buyer’s Guide for Law Firms, Accountants and CSPs
Company secretarial work is invisible until it goes wrong. A confirmation statement slips past its deadline. A cap table nobody quite trusts turns up in due diligence. A director’s identity verification wasn’t done in time and a filing is rejected. Since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) came in, there’s more of this
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Published: 15 October 2026 11:15 am Author: Oliver Stanley
Parent Companies and Subsidiaries: How They Work
Most growing businesses reach a point where one company stops being enough. A new product line needs ring-fencing, an investor wants a clean vehicle, a property needs holding separately, or an acquisition brings another company into the fold. The usual answer is a group: a parent company at the top, and one or more subsidiaries
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Published: 17 September 2026 3:44 pm Author: Oliver Stanley
What Is a SIC Code? A Complete UK Guide
Every UK company on the register has at least one, most people only ever think about theirs twice: once at incorporation, when a dropdown box asks for it, and once a year later when a confirmation statement asks whether it’s still right. In between, the SIC code sits quietly in the background, doing a job
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Published: 16 September 2026 4:11 pm Author: Oliver Stanley
How to File a Confirmation Statement at Companies House
Every UK limited company and LLP has to file a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months, no exceptions for small companies, dormant companies, or companies that haven’t traded. It’s one of the most routine filings a company makes, and also one of the easiest to let slip past its deadline, especially if you’re
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Published: 3 September 2026 2:19 pm Author: Oliver Stanley
Umbrella Company vs Limited Company: Which Is Right for You?
If you’re starting contract work in the UK, one of the first decisions you’ll face has nothing to do with the job itself: how do you actually get paid? Most contractors end up choosing between two routes, working through an umbrella company or setting up your own limited company, and the answer isn’t the same
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Published: 12 August 2026 9:26 am Author: Oliver Stanley
Presenter Verification and ACSP Registration: Companies House Confirms No Sooner Than November 2027
Companies House has confirmed a new timetable for one of the remaining pieces of the identity verification puzzle: the requirement for presenters to be verified/ registered as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) registration will not be introduced before November 2027, and even then, Companies House will give at least six months’ notice before it
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Published: 9:22 am Author: Oliver Stanley
What Is Compliance Monitoring? A Plain-English Guide
If you work in a law firm, accountancy practice, or corporate services team, you’ve probably heard “compliance monitoring” used in a dozen different ways: sometimes it means checking a client’s PSC register is up to date, sometimes it means an annual review of AML procedures, and sometimes it’s just shorthand for “please make sure nothing’s
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Published: 6 August 2026 10:48 am Author: Oliver Stanley
The UK is scrapping Stamp Duty on shares. Here’s what’s replacing it.
If you’ve ever filled in a stock transfer form, worked out whether a transaction fell under the £1,000 stamping threshold, or waited on HMRC to physically stamp a document before a share transfer could complete, you’ll know that UK stamp taxes on shares have not exactly kept pace with how business gets done in 2026.
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