The vast majority of companies and other analogous organisations are required to make initial, annual and periodical filings to principal Registries within the jurisdiction they operate; in England & Wales, for example, this is Companies House.
This is so that the public and other organisations who deals with them can access a public record of relevant information relating to them.
Up until a few years ago these Registries were not online, but now filings can be made online and information accessed there accordingly by a simple search on name or company number.
This enables anyone (free of charge) to see behind the mask of the organisations they are dealing with, or propose to deal with, online; and this ought to be an up to date basis, because fines are levied for failures to comply with filing rules.
Basic searches can disclose important information, which by way of example includes:-
● the date of incorporation of the company
● its registered office
● any name changes of the company
● who are the current & past directors
● who are the current & past shareholders
● how many shares are issued and available for issue
● copies of annual accounts
● any person or organisation exercising substantial control over the organisation but who may not be registered a director.
It also crucially shows whether an organisation has entered liquidation.
As such, online Registries such as Companies House Beta should be a first "go to" facility if and when any concerns emerge about an organisation or its directors, or when exploring the appropriateness of using or working with an organisation.
It is also vital to keep your own records up to date, not only for the avoidance of fines, but because if, for example, a company address is not kept up to date by way of an amended filing and third party legal proceedings are thus issued to the outdated address incorrectly registered at Companies House, you may run out of time to defend the legal proceedings and suffer what is called a "judgement in default" for not having replied to the proceedings, which could cause a serious if not existential threat to your business.
If you can relate to the contents of this post and would like the further value of our extensive expertise in this area, please reach out to us in confidence via our "Contact" page or by emailing us at connect@stresstips4u.com
For further information in this regard, please consult our "Legal Notices" page.