Accounting, Reporting & Statutory Compliance across borders

Sources for the worked example

Each statement is numbered to the source it was checked against. We use official sources where we can, and each statement says whether it was checked against an official or a secondary source. Sources last checked on 19 October 2026. None of it has been professionally reviewed yet: it is research checked against official and secondary sources by WONE Global, not legal or tax advice.

1. Statutory accounts must be prepared under either International Financial Reporting Standards or UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. UK companies' statutory accounts.

   GOV.UK — Prepare annual accounts for a private limited company · Overview · Checked 18 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

2. A private company must file annual accounts with Companies House within 9 months of its financial year end (first accounts within 21 months of incorporation), pay corporation tax within 9 months and 1 day of the end of its accounting period, and file its Company Tax Return within 12 months. Private limited companies. Different payment dates apply to large and very large companies.

   GOV.UK — Accounts and tax returns for private limited companies · Deadlines table · Checked 18 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

3. Companies House charges an automatic civil penalty for late accounts: for a private company £150 if up to one month late, £375 up to three months, £750 up to six months and £1,500 beyond six months; for a public company £750, £1,500, £3,000 and £7,500. UK companies. Failure to deliver acceptable accounts on time is also a criminal offence for which directors can be prosecuted.

   Companies House (GOV.UK) — Life of a company: annual requirements, Part 1 accounts · Late filing penalties · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

4. UK company law requires accounting records to be kept at the registered office or another place the directors think fit; if they are kept outside the UK, accounts and returns must be sent to and kept in the UK, and the records must be preserved for three years (private companies) or six years (public companies). Companies Act 2006, subject to insolvency rules. The tax retention period of 6 years (ars-bookkeeping-rules-001) is longer for private companies.

   legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives) — Companies Act 2006, section 388 · Section 388(1)-(4) · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

5. For tax purposes a UK limited company must keep its records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, and longer in some cases. Longer where records cover more than one accounting period, relate to assets expected to last more than 6 years, the Company Tax Return was late, or HMRC has started a compliance check.

   GOV.UK — Running a limited company: company and accounting records · How long to keep records · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

6. German annual financial statements must be prepared in the German language and in euros. Every merchant (Kaufmann) preparing annual accounts under the HGB, including German subsidiaries and GmbHs of foreign groups.

   Bundesministerium der Justiz / Bundesamt für Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) — § 244 HGB – Sprache. Währungseinheit · § 244 HGB · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

7. The legal representatives of a German corporation must prepare the annual accounts and management report for the previous year within the first three months of the financial year; small corporations need no management report and may take up to six months. Kapitalgesellschaften including GmbH; small as defined in § 267 Abs. 1 HGB. The six-month period applies only where consistent with proper business practice.

   Bundesministerium der Justiz / Bundesamt für Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) — § 264 HGB – Pflicht zur Aufstellung; Befreiung · § 264 Abs. 1 HGB · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

8. Annual accounts must be transmitted electronically to the body operating the company register (Unternehmensregister) no later than one year after the balance sheet date. Disclosure duty of corporations; scope of documents depends on size class.

   Bundesministerium der Justiz / Bundesamt für Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) — § 325 HGB – Offenlegung · § 325 Abs. 1 and 1a HGB · Checked 18 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

9. German merchants must keep books, inventories, annual and consolidated accounts and management reports for 10 years, accounting vouchers (Buchungsbelege) for 8 years, and business letters received and sent for 6 years. HGB; credit institutions, insurers and certain securities institutions keep vouchers for 10 years. Tax law (§ 147 AO) has its own periods, not checked here.

   Bundesministerium der Justiz / Bundesamt für Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) — § 257 HGB – Aufbewahrung von Unterlagen. Aufbewahrungsfristen · § 257 Abs. 1 and 4 HGB · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

10. Singapore companies must hold their annual general meeting within four to six months of their financial year end. Companies Act 1967; the ACRA overview page does not separate listed and non-listed deadlines, and private companies can in some cases dispense with an AGM.

    Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) — Holding annual general meetings · Overview · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

    The ACRA due-dates subpage, which separates listed and non-listed companies, could not yet be checked.

11. Singapore-incorporated companies file their financial statements with ACRA in XBRL: full XBRL as the default, and simplified XBRL with a PDF copy for smaller non-publicly accountable companies whose revenue and total assets each do not exceed S$500,000. Banks, finance and insurance companies regulated by MAS file financial statements highlights; companies limited by guarantee file PDF only. Consolidated figures are used where the company has subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures.

    Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) — Filing financial statements in XBRL format: requirements and exemptions · Who must file · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

12. A solvent exempt private company in Singapore need not file financial statements with ACRA, although it may file voluntarily. Exempt private company: fewer than 20 members and no corporation holding a beneficial interest in its shares (or a gazetted government-owned company). A company wholly owned by a foreign parent company is therefore not an exempt private company. Solvency is declared when filing the annual return.

    Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) — Filing financial statements in XBRL format: requirements and exemptions · Exemptions · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

13. Singapore companies must maintain proper records and accounts of business transactions for at least 5 years from the relevant year of assessment. Income tax record-keeping; Companies Act retention and language rules could not yet be checked.

    Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) — Record keeping requirements · Page description · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

    Only the page summary rendered; the detailed guidance could not yet be checked.

14. UAE corporate tax is computed from financial statements prepared for financial reporting purposes in accordance with accounting standards accepted in the State. Federal corporate tax, mainland and free zones. The accepted standards are set by Ministerial Decision.

    Ministry of Finance — Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses and its amendments · Article 20(1) · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

15. For UAE corporate tax purposes, financial statements must apply IFRS, while taxpayers with revenue not exceeding AED 3 million, or in exceptional circumstances on application to the Federal Tax Authority, may use the cash basis. Federal corporate tax. Whether IFRS for SMEs may be used below a revenue threshold was not confirmed.

    PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — United Arab Emirates – Corporate – Tax administration · Financial statements · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against a secondary source · Not yet professionally reviewed

    Secondary source used because the Ministerial Decision on accounting standards (understood to be No. 114 of 2023) could not yet be checked.

16. Every taxable person must register for corporate tax and file a corporate tax return no later than nine months after the end of the relevant tax period. Federal. The Minister may prescribe registration exceptions. Registration is required even where the business is already VAT-registered.

    Ministry of Finance — Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses and its amendments · Articles 51 and 53 · Checked 18 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

    The FTA Corporate Tax page carries a news item that returns and payment for financial years ended 31 December 2025 were due by 30 September 2026.

17. A UAE taxable person must keep all records and documents for seven years following the end of the tax period to which they relate. Federal corporate tax, mainland and free zones; overrides the Tax Procedures Law period. Exempt persons must keep records that show their exempt status for the same period.

    Ministry of Finance — Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses and its amendments · Article 56 · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

18. Under German tax law books and records must be kept in Germany; electronic books may be kept in one or more other EU Member States, and in a non-EU country only with the prior approval of the competent tax office on written or electronic application. Approval outside the EU requires disclosure of the system location or service provider, compliance with filing and cooperation duties, full data access for the authority, and no impairment of taxation; it must be revoked if taxation is impaired.

    Bundesministerium der Justiz / Bundesamt für Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) — § 146 AO – Ordnungsvorschriften für die Buchführung und für Aufzeichnungen · § 146 Abs. 2, 2a and 2b AO · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed

19. From 1 April 2028 accounts must be filed with Companies House using commercial software in iXBRL, WebFiling and paper filing end, small and micro-entity companies must file a profit and loss account, and abridged accounts are abolished. Announced changes, not yet in force on 19 October 2026. Small and micro companies may opt out of publishing the profit and loss account on the register. Audit exemption claims will require an enhanced directors' statement.

    Companies House (GOV.UK) — Life of a company: annual requirements, Part 1 accounts · Changes to accounts filing · In force from 1 April 2028 · Checked 19 October 2026 · Checked against an official source · Not yet professionally reviewed