Abridged Accounts Ireland: Is Your Company's Turnover Public?

What can people see on the CRO record?

CRO provides public access to registered company information and filed documents through its search services. Think of the accounts attachment as a public filing, not a private upload to your accountant. Review the final filing copy before it is delivered.

A filed balance sheet may reveal assets, liabilities and equity, with further information in its notes. A reader may learn something about the business without seeing a turnover line. Equally, a historic filing is not a live report of cash, current orders or today's profitability.

Ask the preparer which information is legally required, which information arises from the reporting framework and whether any extra material has been included voluntarily. Never delete a required disclosure simply because it feels commercially sensitive.

• CRO: accessing company records and filings
• Companies Act 2014, section 353: required abridged contents

Abridged accounts are a filing extract, not the underlying bookkeeping

Section 353 says abridged financial statements are extracted from the company's statutory financial statements. The process is not to download a balance-sheet template, enter the bank balance and stop there. Proper accounts must exist behind the shorter filing.

CRO's accounting-record guidance describes records that explain transactions and support the company's financial position and annual financial statements. Customer invoices, costs, director transactions and year-end adjustments still need to be understood.

Keep three deliverables distinct when discussing a quote: the accounting records, the statutory accounts for the company, and the copy prepared for public filing. Some of the same figures appear in all three, but one document does not automatically do every job.

• Companies Act 2014, section 353: required abridged contents
• CRO: adequate records and annual financial statements

Who can use the abridgement exemption?

Section 352 makes the route available to a company qualifying for the small or micro companies regime that has not elected to prepare group financial statements under section 293. Incorporation as an LTD does not itself establish eligibility.

For an ordinary company assessed under section 280A, the small-company size tests are turnover not exceeding EUR15 million, balance sheet total not exceeding EUR7.5 million and average employees not exceeding 50. At least two tests must be met, with exclusions and year-to-year rules also relevant.

Holding companies and ineligible entities need separate analysis. Do not assess an investment or regulated business solely by its revenue, or assume a new foreign-owned subsidiary qualifies because it has few employees. Give the accountant the actual ownership structure.

• Companies Act 2014, section 352: abridged filing eligibility
• Companies Act 2014, section 280A: small-company size tests

Micro-company accounts: check the period and structure, not just sales

Under section 280D, micro qualification requires the small companies regime and at least two of the following size conditions. The employee figure is an average, and the balance sheet test concerns assets rather than simply net assets after deducting debts.

The first financial year is assessed on its own conditions. Later years have continuity rules involving the preceding year's figures and qualification; one year's growth does not always switch the category immediately. Turnover limits are proportionately adjusted for a financial year that is not twelve months.

There are exclusions, including investment undertakings, financial holding undertakings, holding companies preparing group accounts and subsidiaries included in a higher holding undertaking's consolidated accounts. This does not mean every subsidiary is excluded. Micro treatment needs a documented assessment, not a tick based only on headcount.

• Companies Act 2014, section 280D: micro-company tests and exclusions
• CRO: micro-company accounts and filing requirements

Does abridgement mean that turnover and profit are always hidden?

No. The separate profit and loss account is generally outside the abridged filing set, but section 353 still requires relevant notes, including applicable income-statement information and specified profit-appropriation information. The exact contents depend on the company and the accounts prepared.

Do not promise a co-founder that competitors can never learn a financial figure. A balance sheet and notes are disclosures in their own right. They should accurately reflect the applicable requirements, not be engineered around a desired impression.

Before signing, ask for a plain explanation of the filing copy: what is included, why it is included, and how it reconciles to the complete accounts. A properly prepared shorter set is different from a complete set with pages manually removed.

• Companies Act 2014, section 353: required abridged contents

Audit exemption and abridgement answer different questions

Audit exemption concerns whether a statutory audit is required. Abridgement concerns the extent of the accounts information filed. A company can qualify for one without necessarily qualifying for the other; CRO explicitly treats them as separate exemptions.

Audit eligibility involves more than size, including relevant company exclusions, filing history and member rights. If an audit is required, do not remove the applicable reports from an abridged filing on the assumption that short accounts must be unaudited.

Our separate audit-exemption checklist covers the records to assemble for that assessment. Here the practical point is to ask two questions in the engagement letter: who assesses audit eligibility, and who determines the public filing contents? Record both decisions before the B1 deadline.

• CRO: audit exemption is separate from abridgement

A micro company still needs the right notes and approvals

CRO describes reduced disclosures for qualifying micro companies, not a universal exemption from all notes. It also describes the directors' report exemption subject to the relevant own-share acquisition or disposal information being provided in a note or balance-sheet footnote.

Have the accountant select the appropriate framework, statements and disclosure wording for the year. Do not copy a certification paragraph from another company's filing or assume an old software template reflects current requirements.

Section 355 requires board approval and signatures on behalf of the board: two directors where there are two or more, or the sole director where applicable. That accounts approval is distinct from certification of the filing copy and the B1 submission. Agree the complete signing process with the presenter.

• CRO: micro-company accounts and filing requirements
• Companies Act 2014, section 355: approval and signatures

The first six-month B1 does not settle future accounts requirements

CRO says the first annual return, made up to six months after incorporation, has no financial statements attached. That particular exception is not proof that a new company is permanently exempt from filing accounts.

Plan the first accounts period, the later annual return and the applicable filing dates with the accountant well before the deadline. If you registered before trading, explain the transactions that still occurred: share subscriptions, incorporation costs, bank charges or director funding may matter.

Keep accounts production and B1 filing on one timetable, with a named owner for each. A reminder from a filing provider is useful, but it cannot create missing financial statements in the final days. Use our first-return guide for the broader timetable rather than treating the six-month B1 as an accounts package.

• CRO: first annual return and accounts attachments

Your CRO filing is not your Corporation Tax return

Revenue's iXBRL guidance explains that electronic financial statements are part of the CT1 process through ROS where the relevant filing route applies. Its current manual states that abridged company-law accounts are not a valid substitute for the financial statements required by Revenue.

A company not required to submit iXBRL still needs its applicable CT1 accounts information completed. Do not assume that small or micro status at CRO automatically determines Revenue's electronic filing requirements; those assessments are separate.

Ask which provider prepares the tax computation, CT1 and any required iXBRL file, and how the figures reconcile to the statutory accounts. A successfully filed B1 does not confirm the tax return is complete. Likewise, sending figures to Revenue does not complete the CRO annual return.

• Revenue: iXBRL financial statements and CT1 overview
• Revenue: current iXBRL manual, including abridged accounts limits

A worked example: the founder wants a shorter public filing

Consider a fictional independent consultancy in its first twelve-month financial year. Its turnover is EUR120,000, assets total EUR35,000 and average employee count is one. It is not part of a group. Those figures fall below the micro size limits, but the accountant must still check the regime, exclusions and actual accounts.

The director supplies sales and expense records, bank reconciliations, director balances and year-end information. The accountant prepares the applicable statutory accounts, assesses audit exemption and derives the correct abridged set. The director reviews both sets, not only the shorter PDF.

The filing may omit the separate profit and loss account, but required notes remain. A lender can still request additional accounts under its own process. This example illustrates a workflow, not a determination of any real company's eligibility or a promise of confidential financing information.

What to send when requesting an accounting quote

A clear brief lets an accountant distinguish ordinary preparation from bookkeeping cleanup, group work or correction of previous filings. Start with the company number, incorporation date, financial year-end, recorded annual-return date and a description of the activity.

Use secure channels for detailed records. For the initial enquiry, a summary of the work and deadlines is normally more useful than sending unrequested bank statements or identity documents. Ask the provider what it needs next.

• Explain ownership, subsidiaries and any consolidated group accounts.
• Provide current and comparative turnover, total assets and average employee figures.
• Describe the bookkeeping system, reconciliations and outstanding records.
• Identify director loans, dividends, unusual transactions and earlier errors.
• Confirm who prepares statutory accounts, the abridged copy and any audit work.
• Confirm who files B1, CT1 and any required iXBRL accounts, and when.
• Ask for the total payable for the agreed scope and any separately charged work.

Arrange accounts preparation and filing support separately where needed

StartCompany.ie connects companies with accounting support. Request a quote explaining that you need the statutory accounts and an assessment of the appropriate CRO filing copy. Confirm which accountant will undertake the work, what you must supply and the total payable before proceeding.

The annual-return service supports B1 preparation and filing, including attachment of financial statements where required. Do not assume that attaching accounts includes preparing the accounts, carrying out an audit or completing a tax return. Agree those deliverables explicitly.

The useful outcome is not the shortest possible document. It is a compliant public filing derived from reliable accounts, with the company retaining the information it needs to operate and meet its other obligations.