You download your Irish company's CRO filing and notice an error: a missing disclosure, a wrong figure or an attachment that does not match the approved accounts. The annual return may already be registered. At that point, editing the PDF on your computer is not the same as correcting the statutory statements or the public record.
This guide is for directors who need to organise a review of accounts already delivered to the CRO. It explains the voluntary revision process and Form B1X, rather than the different process for a B1 that has been sent back before registration. Official sources were checked on 19 October 2026. It is a practical preparation guide, not a decision that your particular error qualifies for a specific correction route.
First establish the filing status and the document that is wrong
Save the actual CRO submission reference, status and filed attachment. Compare that copy with the approved statutory accounts, the version sent to members and the accountant's final working file. Separate a defective set of accounts from a mistaken upload, missing page, wrong company attachment or inaccurate B1 detail. The same description, wrong accounts, can hide different problems.
If the return is still being reviewed or has been sent back, follow the notice and the linked sent-back B1 guide. Do not substitute the revision process for a live correction deadline. If it is registered, ask the presenter and accountant to confirm the appropriate route with the CRO. B1X is not a universal edit button for every annual-return or public-register error.
Preserve originals instead of overwriting them while investigating. Give the review team an issue list naming the year, document, affected page, suspected error and supporting evidence. A concise explanation is more useful than several attachments all labelled final.
A statutory revision is not a rewrite using later results
Section 366 provides for directors to prepare revised statements or a revised directors' report where the originals did not comply with the applicable requirements. After copies have been laid before the company or delivered to the Registrar, the revisions are confined to correcting non-compliance and necessary consequential alterations. It is not a general opportunity to improve the story told by an earlier year's accounts.
Section 367 treats the revised content by reference to the original statements' date. Distinguish correcting that reporting position from adding later trading results or events simply because they are now known. Let the accountant assess the relevant reporting framework and evidence. A director should not backdate a new approval or alter accounting entries merely to match a preferred public figure.
Supplementary note or replacement statements?
For an omitted, incorrect or incomplete note, section 366 permits a supplementary note only where the amounts and presentation of the required statements are unaffected. Otherwise revised financial statements are required. The directors' report has its own corresponding distinction: a supplementary note is possible where the added information does not affect other information in that report.
Do not equate a small-looking error with eligibility for a short note. A correction can affect several balances, disclosures or comparative figures. Ask the preparer to map the consequences before choosing a route. The table is a triage aid, not approval for a particular filing.
| Issue to assess | Question for the preparer |
|---|---|
| Missing account note | Are figures and presentation unaffected? |
| Changed balances | What replacement pack is required? |
| Directors' report | Does other report information change? |
| Wrong attachment | Are the approved accounts defective? |
| Wrong B1 detail | Which separate correction route applies? |
Record proper approval, signatures and revision statements
Section 368 applies the approval and signing requirements to revised financial statements. Where revision is by supplementary note, the relevant signatures go on that note. For the circumstances covered by the section, the revised document must also prominently explain its status and the original reporting date; the directors must state the actual approval date.
For replacement statements, the required explanations include the year being replaced, the fact that these are now the statutory statements, the defects and significant consequential changes. A supplementary note must explain that it revises and forms part of the original statements. Have the accountant prepare the exact required wording and the directors review the final document before approval.
Keep the original reporting date, actual revision approval and filing date distinct in the control sheet. They perform different jobs. Do not reuse an earlier signed page for a changed document or copy another company's revision explanation. Separate approval requirements apply where the directors' report is revised.
Check auditor involvement before fixing a filing date
Where the original statements were audited, involve the statutory auditor rather than editing an auditor's signed report yourself. Section 370 sets out reporting on revised financial statements and includes conditions for the original auditor to report where the current auditor is different. Agree responsibilities between the directors, accountant and relevant auditor early.
A revision does not automatically require every audit-exempt company to obtain an audit. The exemption position must be reassessed. If a company entitled to and using audit exemption becomes ineligible because of the revisions, section 371 requires an auditor's report on the revised statements, delivered within two months after revision. That specific report deadline is not a general extension of the separate 28-day delivery obligations.
Ask for a written assessment of the applicable exemption and reports. Financial-statement preparation, statutory audit and electronic presentation are different roles. Do not assume an accountant-matching service or a filing fee includes an audit appointment, revised audit opinion or all work arising from a lost exemption.
Understand the 28-day clock and what stays public
Where the original statements or report have been delivered with an annual return, section 376 requires delivery of the relevant revised documents within 28 days after the date of revision. Confirm the applicable documents and reports, including any exemption modifications, with the adviser. This is not a fresh 28 days starting whenever a director next opens an email.
Record the revision date and obtain a clear delivery plan promptly. Do not postpone professional review or invent an approval date to create more time. If a deadline may already have passed, explain that immediately when seeking help. An enquiry or payment does not pause a statutory requirement.
If the originals were registered, section 376 says they remain on the register alongside the revised documents. Although section 373 gives the approved revised statements their statutory effect, that does not delete public history. B1X is not a way to remove previously disclosed figures or turn a public filing into a private document.
Abridged accounts need a separate public-filing assessment
Do not assume the public abridged copy can be left untouched because the error was found in the full statutory accounts. Section 377 addresses revisions where abridged statements were previously delivered. The revised information can affect eligibility for abridgement, the contents of that copy or the relevant accompanying explanation.
Even where a revision has no bearing on the abridged statements already delivered, the section provides for a notification note and applicable reporting requirements. Have the accountant identify the correct pack and deadline for the actual circumstances. Audit exemption and the right to file abridged information are different assessments; satisfying one does not decide the other.
Keep both versions in the handover file: the full statutory statements and what was delivered publicly. Ask which documents need replacement, which remain as part of the record and how the effect of the revisions should be explained. Do not simply upload the full accounts without checking the applicable disclosure route.
Remember members and the next accounts, not only CORE
Section 374 deals with sending revised material to relevant recipients, including people who received the original statements under the statutory circulation provisions, and specified other entitled persons. It contains a 28-day period after revision. Ask the adviser to identify the recipient list, applicable documents and evidence of dispatch instead of treating CRO delivery as the whole job.
Where financial statements have been revised, section 366 requires the next statutory financial statements prepared afterwards to explain the revision, its effect and reasons in a note. Put that requirement into the next accounts handover now. Do not assume a new bookkeeper will infer the history from a folder of old PDFs.
Separately review who else received the incorrect figures, such as a lender or investor, and obtain advice on appropriate communication. Have the tax agent assess whether any related tax work is needed. Filing a CRO revision is not a substitute for reviewing those other responsibilities; avoid sending inconsistent documents to different recipients.
Two fictional examples that call for different reviews
In the first example, a consultancy identifies omitted information in a note after its accounts were filed. The accountant checks whether correcting it leaves the amounts and presentation unaffected, as well as whether any other disclosure changes. Only after that assessment do the directors consider the supplementary-note route and the required approvals, circulation and delivery.
In the second example, an omitted customer invoice changes the figures in the financial statements. The director cannot treat the missing transaction as merely a spelling correction. The accountant traces its effect through the accounts and related disclosures, checks audit and abridgement eligibility, and plans the appropriate revised pack with the directors and auditor where needed.
Neither example guarantees a route for a real company. The useful distinction is between diagnosing the reporting defect and choosing a filing form. Starting with a preferred form, then trying to make the accounts fit it, reverses the process.
Prepare a review brief before requesting help
StartCompany.ie connects Irish companies with qualified accountants and works with authorised partners to provide its services. Explain that the accounts have already been filed and ask whether the relevant revision review can be undertaken. Provide the company number, financial year, status and a concise description of the suspected defect, then agree a secure handover of records.
Ask for a quote separating diagnosis, revised statements, director documentation, auditor work if applicable, circulation and CRO presentation. Confirm the scope, responsibilities and total payable before instruction. Routine annual-return support does not automatically include B1X revisions, accounting reconstruction, audit services or legal advice. Do not order a standard filing expecting it to resolve an already registered error.
- Preserve the approved originals and the actual CRO-filed copy.
- Identify each defect and its supporting records.
- Confirm whether the accounts, directors' report or B1 particulars are affected.
- Agree the revision route, actual approval date and required signatures.
- Review audit exemption, abridgement and applicable reports separately.
- Track delivery, recipient circulation and the next-accounts disclosure.
- Retain the submitted pack and check the final registered documents.
StartCompany.ie service
Accountant Services in Ireland
Official information and next steps
Official sources checked on 19 October 2026. Read the CRO's current revision guidance alongside the applicable Companies Act provisions. The correct documents, exemptions, approvals and delivery obligations depend on the actual filing and defect; obtain professional advice before proceeding.
- CRO: revision of financial statements and Form B1X
- CRO: forms and submission purposes
- Companies Act 2014, Section 366: revision and later disclosure
- Companies Act 2014, Section 367: revised content
- Companies Act 2014, Section 368: approval and signature
- Companies Act 2014, Section 370: auditor's report
- Companies Act 2014, Section 371: audit-exemption cases
- Companies Act 2014, Section 373: effect of revision
- Companies Act 2014, Section 374: circulation
- Companies Act 2014, Section 376: delivery and original filings
- Companies Act 2014, Section 377: abridged filings