Can AI keep my company’s statutory record? What an AI company secretary does

What a company secretary does in a small company

Most UK private companies no longer have to appoint a company secretary, but the work still has to be done by someone, usually a director. It means keeping the statutory record straight: knowing when the confirmation statement and annual accounts are due, keeping the company’s details at Companies House correct, and recording board decisions properly, such as a dividend.

None of this is difficult. It is just easy to forget, because it comes round once a year.

What Nella’s Company Secretary does

• Keeps the statutory timeline: annual accounts, the confirmation statement and identity verification, each with its date, period and whether it has been recorded as done.
• Says what it does not hold. If a date has passed and Nella has no record of the filing, it says the status is not held. It does not call the filing late.
• Compares your books with the public register. Where share capital, the financial year end, the SIC code or an overdue filing disagree between your books and Companies House, it puts that on the team board and says which record shows what.
• Records filings you tell it about, with the date you give. That record is the business’s own statement inside Nella; it files nothing with Companies House.
• Papers a dividend the directors have decided. For UK companies, it prepares the board minute and a dividend voucher for each shareholder.

How a dividend is recorded

1. The directors give the facts: the amount per share and the payable date. Nella suggests no amount.
2. Nella prepares a working paper: the supporting figures with their sources, the allocation to each shareholder from the register Nella holds, and anything outstanding.
3. A financial check is shown, not a verdict. A pass means only that the supported check on distributable profits passes. It does not mean the dividend is lawful, affordable or approved.
4. Each director confirms the exact draft from their own Nella sign-in. Nobody confirms on another’s behalf.
5. Nella issues the minute and vouchers. Signing the minute, paying the shareholders and recording the dividend in the books stay with the directors.

Nella papers dividend decisions only. Appointing a director, approving the accounts, issuing shares or moving the registered office are recorded by the directors themselves, with their accountant where they need help.

UK statutory dates

From GOV.UK, for private limited companies:

• Confirmation statement: at least once every 12 months, filed up to 14 days after the review period ends. It costs £50 online or £110 by post. GOV.UK
• Annual accounts: due at Companies House 9 months after the financial year ends; first accounts are due 21 months after the company registered. GOV.UK
• Identity verification: before filing a confirmation statement, directors may need to verify their identity with GOV.UK One Login and give their personal code. GOV.UK
• Dividends: declared at a directors’ meeting with minutes kept, with a voucher for each payment, and never more than the available profits. GOV.UK

What it does not do

Nella files nothing with Companies House, changes nothing on the public register, pays nobody and posts nothing to your books. Correcting the register is a filing; correcting the books is a posting. It does not decide whether a dividend should be paid or how much, and personal tax on dividends is a question for your accountant.

Example · illustrative figures

A company’s team board shows two Company Secretary items. The confirmation statement review period ends in 3 weeks, with no filing recorded. And the share capital in the books is £100 while Companies House shows £1,000; the card shows both figures and leaves the correction to the directors. Later the directors decide a £5,000 dividend. Nella prepares the working paper, both directors confirm it from their own sign-ins, and Nella issues the minute and a voucher for each of the two shareholders.

Related: What can an AI finance director do? and What is an AI finance team?

Sources

• GOV.UK: Confirmation statement
• GOV.UK: Accounts and tax returns for private limited companies
• GOV.UK: Taking money out of a limited company

Nella provides financial information and education, not accounting or tax advice. Nella shows you the numbers. When a question needs professional judgement, such as a filing or a tax decision, Nella says so and points you to a qualified accountant.