Companies Act 2014 section 340

Requirements in relation to publication of financial statements

Section 340 sets out the rules a company must follow when publishing its statutory financial statements, abridged financial statements, or non-statutory financial statements, including what accompanying documents and disclosures are required in each case.

• When publishing statutory financial statements, the company must also publish the directors' report and the statutory auditors' report alongside them.
• Where group financial statements are required, entity financial statements cannot be published separately — they must be combined with the group statements and presented together.
• Non-statutory financial statements must be accompanied by a statement explaining why they were prepared, confirming they are not the statutory accounts, and disclosing the status of the audit and any qualifications or emphases in the auditors' report.
• Failure to comply with any of these publication requirements is a category 3 offence for the company and any officer in default, including shadow directors and de facto directors.