What your accountant needs to know about the closure plan
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- 2 minutes
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Your accountant may know the last set of accounts well and still lack important facts about the proposed closure. Explain what you intend to stop, what might continue and what you hope to do with the remaining assets.
A short briefing sheet can make the first discussion more useful. Send it through the accountant's appropriate channel and ask which supporting records they need, rather than attaching every business document.
Prepare the facts under four headings
Activity. Describe the current trade and the proposed change. Include any work you might continue personally, through another business or from another site. Do not assume a small continuing activity is irrelevant to the advice.
Dates. Distinguish the intended last order, final delivery, premises change and proposed asset disposal. State which dates are provisional and where any external deadline came from.
Assets and obligations. Identify the main asset groups, finance or lease questions, known amounts owed and unresolved claims. Mark ownership uncertainty. Include proposed personal retention or transfers to connected people as questions requiring advice.
Records. Say what is current, what is incomplete and who can obtain missing evidence. A recent management figure and an old account balance should not appear equally current without explanation.
The closure budget provides assumptions to examine, while cash timing shows why expected receipts need separate treatment from confirmed bills.
Ask for advice on the actual proposal
For a limited company, GOV.UK explains that the closure route depends on the circumstances, including whether it can pay its bills. Ask the accountant which questions fall within their scope and whether legal or insolvency advice is also needed. Do not select a formal route from a general checklist.
Bring proposed transactions into the discussion before treating them as agreed. For example, keeping a machine personally should be described with its ownership history, intended future use and proposed timing. Personal retention questions need tax and legal consideration, not just a note excluding the item from a sale.
Agree the next output from the accountant: perhaps an information request, an assessment or advice on a defined question. Record the facts on which it depends and who will supply them.
Discuss the equipment-disposal assumptions with UK Auction Group, then pass relevant information to the accountant in its proper form. An indicative sale view is not a guaranteed receipt or a tax conclusion. Keeping that distinction in the brief helps the accountant assess the closure on evidence that matches the decision you are trying to make.
Explore advisers and sale authority.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Closing a limited company Checked
- UK Auction Group: business closure Checked
This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.