Reading filleted accounts for what they say about the owner: a 2026 guide
A filleted set of accounts withholds the profit and loss and keeps the balance sheet. Read in the right order, and joined to the register of control, it says a good deal about an owner's company and rather less about the owner.
A filleted set of accounts is a company declining to tell you how its year went. It will still tell you, if asked in the right order, what it has kept. I have found that the more interesting of the two.
In short
Reading filleted accounts, as at 8 November 2026, means working through the balance sheet a small company must still file under section 444 of the Companies Act 2006: net assets, cash, reserves, directors' loans, then the PSC register for control. The reading shows the company's money and the owner's band of control. It never shows the owner's net worth.
Key takeaways
- Section 444 of the Companies Act 2006, read on 8 November 2026, requires a small company's directors to deliver the balance sheet and leaves the profit and loss account and directors' report optional.
- Of the 3,588,536 electronically filed accounts for periods ending in calendar 2025 that the house held on 2 November 2026, dormant companies included, 1.8 per cent stated turnover and 98.9 per cent stated net assets, so for most companies the balance sheet is the reading.
- The PSC register reports shares and voting rights in three bands as at 8 November 2026, over 25 and up to 50 per cent, more than 50 and less than 75 per cent, and 75 per cent or more, so it gives a range, never an exact stake.
- A private company has nine months after its year end to file under section 442, read on 8 November 2026, so the balance sheet of a company filing on time can be 21 months old when the next one lands.
- The median last-filed net assets of companies behind solvent liquidation notices in the 90 days to 8 November 2026 was £273,910, across 1,528 companies with accounts, which is a measure of companies and says nothing about any owner's total wealth.
What do filleted accounts leave out?
Filleted accounts leave out the profit and loss account and, usually, the directors' report. Section 444 of the Companies Act 2006 says the directors "must deliver" the balance sheet, and section 444(5A) says that where the profit and loss account is not delivered, the balance sheet "must disclose that fact". That statement is how to recognise a filleted set on the page.
Filleting removes a statement; it does not shorten the balance sheet. Abridging does that, under paragraph 1A of Schedule 1 to SI 2008/409 and with all the members' consent, and a small company may do both. The small company filing guide compares the forms and covers the pause announced on 23 October 2026.
| Omitted from a filleted set | Any trace left, as at 8 November 2026 |
|---|---|
| Turnover and gross margin | None |
| Profit for the year | The change in reserves, read with care |
| Dividends paid | Inferred only, from reserves against profit, which is itself unseen |
| Directors' pay and pensions | None |
What does a filleted balance sheet still show?
A filleted balance sheet still shows, for a non-micro small company on Section B of Schedule 1 to SI 2008/409, the assets, the debts and how the difference is held.
| Line | What it says | What it does not say |
|---|---|---|
| Net assets | Book value of what the shareholders own | Market value of the business |
| Cash at bank and in hand | The most liquid money at the balance sheet date | Today's balance, or whose money it will become |
| Profit and loss reserve | Accumulated profit not yet paid out | The exact sum that can be distributed |
| Revaluation or fair value reserve | Gains on assets carried above cost | Cash; such gains are generally unrealised |
| Advances to directors (notes) | Money the company has lent to directors, with terms | Why it was lent |
| Investment property | Property held for rent or growth, at fair value | A professional valuation, unless the notes say so |
Section 830 of the Companies Act 2006, read on 8 November 2026, limits distributions to "accumulated, realised profits" less accumulated, realised losses, so a reserve is a guide to what can be paid out and not the answer. Paragraph 16.7 of FRS 102 (September 2024) says investment property "shall be measured at fair value at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognised in profit or loss", so that line moves with a judgement and not with a sale, and the gain counts as profit. And section 413, with paragraph 1AC.36 of FRS 102, read on 8 November 2026, requires the notes to show advances and credits granted to directors, with the amount, interest rate, main conditions and repayments.
Money a director has lent to the company is outside section 413. It sits in other creditors, and paragraph A3.11F of FRS 102 (September 2024) requires a note only for a material related-party transaction not concluded under normal market conditions, so it may or may not be named.
A micro-entity is a thinner read, because Section C of the same Schedule has one line for current assets and no separate cash line, as read on 8 November 2026. Section 472(1A) puts the directors' advances at the foot of that balance sheet.
How do you read filleted accounts, step by step?
Read filleted accounts in seven steps, with two years' columns in view.
- Date it. Note the balance sheet date and the filing date before any figure.
- Take net assets. Compare both years. A rise is retained value or a revaluation, and step 4 separates them.
- Set cash against creditors. Compare cash with creditors due within one year, then with all creditors. Cash beyond all of them is money the business does not obviously need on that date.
- Split the reserves. Separate the profit and loss reserve from any revaluation or fair value reserve, which comes from a change in an asset's carrying value. Paragraph 16.7 of FRS 102 (September 2024) does not require an investment property gain to be moved out, so the profit and loss reserve may hold one too.
- Read the change in the profit and loss reserve. It is broadly profit after tax less dividends, and any fair value gain left in it. A filleted set offers no closer sight of profit, and one figure cannot say how much of each.
- Read the notes for directors. Look for advances to directors, repayments and any named sum owed to a director. A director owed money by the company can take it back as a repayment of the loan.
- Join control, then date the join. Read the PSC register, and check that the band held at the balance sheet date is the band showing now.
What the house sees: the pattern the house looks for is cash building over several years with no bank charge on the register. Stated dividends are better evidence, but a filleted set often leaves them out. The pattern that can mislead is large net assets at a holding or property company, which can be mostly subsidiaries, or revalued property with a lender behind it. This is the house's view and not a measurement.
How do you join a filleted balance sheet to the PSC register?
Join a filleted balance sheet to the register of people with significant control by reading each entry's nature of control, its dates, and any entity standing in the chain. Companies House guidance read on 8 November 2026 records shares and voting rights in three bands: "over 25% up to (and including) 50%", "more than 50% and less than 75%" and "75% or more". Schedule 1A of the Companies Act 2006 sets five conditions: more than 25 per cent of the shares, more than 25 per cent of the votes, the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board, significant influence or control, or those same tests met through a trust or a firm that is not a legal person.
| What the register shows | What it means for the reading |
|---|---|
| One individual at 75% or more | The nearest thing to a sole owner, though up to a quarter may sit elsewhere |
| Two individuals at over 25% up to 50% | A shared company; the rest may be held by others below the threshold |
| An individual by board or influence only | Control without a stated shareholding, so no share of book value follows |
| A company as the registered controller | A relevant legal entity under section 790C; follow the chain to its own register |
| All trustees of a trust | Control held through a trust, which is not the same as beneficial entitlement |
| No registrable person, or protected details | Holders may each sit at or under the threshold, or details may be withheld |
A holder at or below the threshold does not appear in the PSC register at all, so a spouse with a quarter of the shares is invisible there. The confirmation statement is the next stop: section 853F of the Companies Act 2006, read on 8 November 2026, requires a non-traded company to deliver its members' names and the number of shares of each class they hold, where that information has changed. From the shares held and the shares in issue, a reader can often replace the band with a percentage, as at the confirmation date.
What does a worked reading of filleted accounts look like?
The company below is invented. It is a composite with round illustrative numbers, built to show the reading, and it resembles no real company. Its two balance sheets are dated 31 March 2025 and 31 March 2026, and the set is filleted, with a note naming a sum owed to a director, which a set need not do.
| Line, invented composite | 31 March 2025 | 31 March 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Tangible fixed assets | £100,000 | £100,000 |
| Investment property | £900,000 | £1,000,000 |
| Debtors | £200,000 | £200,000 |
| Advance to a director (note) | £50,000 | nil |
| Cash at bank and in hand | £500,000 | £800,000 |
| Creditors due within one year | (£300,000) | (£300,000) |
| Bank loan, after one year | (£300,000) | (£300,000) |
| Owed to a director, after one year (note) | (£100,000) | (£100,000) |
| Net assets | £1,050,000 | £1,400,000 |
| Called-up share capital | £100 | £100 |
| Fair value reserve | £200,000 | £300,000 |
| Profit and loss reserve | £849,900 | £1,099,900 |
Net assets and reserves. Net assets rose by £350,000 in the year to 31 March 2026, of which £100,000 is the investment property's carrying value moving, and £250,000 went to the profit and loss reserve. So the composite's profit after tax, leaving out the gain moved to the fair value reserve, less any dividends for the year to 31 March 2026 was about £250,000, and the filing does not split the two.
Cash. At 31 March 2026 the composite's £800,000 of cash exceeded all £700,000 of its creditors, and the bank debt is unchanged. Cash rose by £300,000 in the year to 31 March 2026, which included the £50,000 advance the note shows as repaid.
Control. Suppose the register shows one individual in the 75% or more band at 31 March 2026 and today. That person's share of book value lies between £1,050,000 and £1,400,000 at 31 March 2026, of which a good part is a property at fair value. Had the band at 31 March 2026 been over 25% up to 50%, the same sum would run from just above £350,000 to £700,000.
The honest sentence the reading supports is this: at 31 March 2026, the company this person controls held £800,000 of cash and owed all its creditors less than that, and the company owed a director £100,000. It does not say the person had £1,400,000 on 31 March 2026 or has it now.
The verb to watch in any reading of a balance sheet is "has". The company has. The owner has a claim on the company, which is a different and more patient thing.
What can you honestly infer about the owner, and what can you not?
A reader can honestly infer the company's position on a date, the owner's band of control over it, and a book-value range for that stake. A reader cannot infer the owner's net worth, because company assets belong to the company and the filing is silent on everything the owner holds outside it.
| Can be said, with its date | Cannot be said from the filing |
|---|---|
| The company held this cash at the balance sheet date | The owner has this cash |
| The person's control sits in this band | The person's exact stake, unless the confirmation statement supports it |
| The stake's book value lies in this range | The business is worth this sum in a sale |
| The company's reserves grew by this sum | The company made this profit, or paid this dividend |
| The notes show this advance to a director | The owner is short of money, or is drawing income |
| The company carries this bank debt | Whether the owner has guaranteed it |
Four things stay out of sight in every filing: personal debt, tax due on any extraction, other companies and assets, and family arrangements. Tax alone means that a pound of company cash is not a pound in the owner's hands, and how much reaches them turns on the route taken. The other companies can partly be checked by reading the same person's other PSC entries, each with its own date.
The balance sheet also shows where money has gathered, and not when it will move. In the 90 days to 8 November 2026 the median last-filed net assets across 1,528 companies behind solvent liquidation notices was £273,910, and the median sworn surplus across 1,099 declarations was £270,750. The groups overlap but are not paired, so neither figure predicts the other for any one company. The MVL guide reads that later moment.
When a balance sheet reading is all you hold, the house advises saying something true about the business and why you are writing. Never quote a figure or tell an owner what you think they are worth. The filed figure is the company's and not the owner's wealth, and it is only your preparation.
How stale can filleted accounts be?
A company that files on time can, on the law read on 8 November 2026, leave a position up to 21 months old on the record, and a late filer an older one. Section 442 of the Companies Act 2006, read on 8 November 2026, allows a private company "nine months after the end of the relevant accounting reference period" to file, so a balance sheet dated 31 March 2026 may arrive as late as 31 December 2026, and it stays the latest public view until the next one, potentially 31 December 2027.
The cash line ages fastest. A dividend, a property purchase or a sale of the business can all have happened since the date on the page. The PSC register runs on a different clock, because Companies House guidance read on 8 November 2026 requires changes to be reported within 14 days of confirming them, so the register can show a controller who did not hold that band on the balance sheet date. Before relying on any line, read the filing history for anything filed since the balance sheet date.
The house advises using a balance sheet for the shape of a company while it is under about two years old, always with its date stated. Older than that, treat it as history, check first for a newer filing, and never lean on it for a figure.
Frequently asked questions
Can you work out someone's net worth from Companies House accounts?
No. Companies House accounts describe a company, and its assets belong to the company rather than to any shareholder. A filleted balance sheet and a PSC band support a book-value range for a stake on a date, and nothing about the person's other assets, debts or tax.
Do filleted accounts show directors' loans?
Filleted accounts show advances and credits the company has granted to its directors, because section 413 of the Companies Act 2006 requires them in the notes. Money a director has lent to the company is outside that section, so it sits within creditors and appears by name only if the company chooses or a related-party rule requires it. In micro-entity accounts the advances sit at the foot of the balance sheet.
How can you tell profit from filleted accounts?
A filleted set shows no profit figure, so the nearest sign is the year-on-year change in the profit and loss reserve. That change is broadly profit after tax less dividends, and it can hide a large profit paid out in full. A change in a revaluation or fair value reserve comes from an asset's carrying value and not from trading, and an investment property gain may sit in the profit and loss reserve instead.
How do you find out who owns a small company?
Start with the PSC register, which shows anyone above the threshold in a band, with the date they became a controller. The confirmation statement then lists members and their shares for a non-traded company, which often gives an exact percentage at the confirmation date.
Is high cash in a small company's accounts a sign the owner is wealthy?
High cash is a sign the company is liquid on its balance sheet date, not a measure of the owner's wealth. The money stays the company's until it moves by salary, dividend, loan repayment or a liquidation, each with its own tax treatment.
Method
The statute, SI 2008/409 and Companies House guidance were read on legislation.gov.uk and gov.uk, and FRS 102 on the Financial Reporting Council's site, on 8 November 2026. The house's 90-day figures were measured on 8 November 2026 with measure-report-figures.ts; the shares of filed accounts are those in the small company filing guide, measured on 2 November 2026 with measure-research-counts.ts. Net assets and sworn surpluses are medians over the trailing 90 days, on overlapping but unpaired groups. No individual is named and no figure is summed across companies. This is reading guidance for advisers, not accounting, tax or legal advice.
Sources
All read on 8 November 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006, section 413, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/413.
- legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006, section 442, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/442.
- legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006, section 444, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/444.
- legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006, section 472, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/472.
- legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006, section 790C, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/790C.
- legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006, section 830, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/830.
- legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006, section 853F, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/853F.
- legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006, Schedule 1A, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/schedule/1A.
- legislation.gov.uk, The Small Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors' Report) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/409), Schedule 1, Part 1, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/409/schedule/1/part/1.
- Companies House, People with significant control (PSCs), https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-significant-control-pscs.
- Financial Reporting Council, FRS 102, September 2024, paragraphs 1AC.36, 16.7 and A3.11F, https://media.frc.org.uk/documents/FRS_102_September_2024_tmKYWO6.pdf.
- Declarations of solvency (form LIQ01) filed at Companies House and notices in The Gazette, code 2431, measured by Windfall Intelligence on 8 November 2026.
Winny is the house’s pen name. This page is written by Windfall Intelligence Ltd from the UK public record, every figure re-measured on the date it carries, and checked by a person before publication. How these pages are made. Corrections to hello@joinwindfall.com.
Related reading
Small companies will still not file a profit and loss account: the 23 October 2026 pause, and what the balance sheet still tells you
What the 23 October 2026 announcement says, what each small-company filing option puts on the public record, and how to read net assets, cash, reserves and director's loans with care.
What a members' voluntary liquidation tells you about the shareholder
The most under-read liquidity signal on the UK public record, read from the adviser's side of the table, with the flow and the money measured.