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Companydirectorsgate.co.uk offer a comprehensive and easy to use source of company director information, providing online company director reports to both businesses and individuals, including a free company director search.

1. Can any person be a company director?
Normally it is up to the shareholders to appoint the company directors they believe will run the business well on their behalf. However, there are some clear restrictions that prevent anyone becoming a company director.

- The proposed director must not have been formally disqualified by a court of law from acting as a company director.
- The person must not be an undischarged bankrupt.
- For a PLC or their subsidiaries, the proposed company director cannot be over the age of 70 unless specifically approved to be a company director by a general meeting.

2. What responsibilities does a company director have towards Companies House?
Every company director must ensure that statutory documents are delivered to Companies House as and when required by the Companies Act 2006. In particular:

- annual accounts;
- annual returns (Form AR01);
- notice of change of company director or secretary (Forms CH01/CH02/AP01); and
- notice of change of registered office (Form AD01).

3. What happens if the annual accounts or annual returns are not filed by a company director?
Each company director could be prosecuted. Failure to deliver statutory documents on time is a criminal offence. On conviction, a company director could receive a criminal record and a fine of up to £5,000 for each offence committed.

4. Do company directors really get prosecuted?
Yes. On average more than 1,000 company directors are prosecuted each year for failing to deliver accounts and returns to Companies House on time. Persistent failure to deliver statutory documents on time may also lead to a company director being disqualified from taking part in the management of a business for a specified period of time.

5. When are accounts delivered late by a company director?
A company director normally has a maximum of 9 months from the accounting reference date in which to deliver their accounts. As a company director of a PLC, a company director normally has a maximum of 6 months from the accounting reference date in which to deliver their accounts.

6. How can penalties and possible prosecution be avoided?
A company director should make sure their business complies with all its filing obligations, not only in connection with its accounts and annual returns, but in connection with all other documents required under the Act.

7. My accountant is supposed to do all this?

Your accountant's responsibilities depend on the agreement you have with them. However, the responsibility to deliver accounts and other statutory documents entirely rest with the company directors.