Glossary of company terms
Three words cause more confusion than all the others together. If you read nothing else here, read these.
British and Irish company law uses terms that have near-equivalents on the continent — and the near part is where the trouble starts.
A director is not a Geschäftsführer. The job looks the same and the duties are not. A director owes the company a set of statutory duties under the Companies Act; a German or Austrian managing director answers to a different framework. Treating one as the other underestimates both.
A confirmation statement is not a set of accounts. It confirms once a year that the registered details are still correct — address, officers, shareholders. The accounts are a second, separate filing with its own deadline. Missing one because you filed the other is the most common avoidable penalty.
A registered office is not where you work. It is the address at which the company officially receives post from the register and the tax authority. It can be, and usually is, different from the place the business actually operates.
Terms are listed below in alphabetical order. The page is meant for looking things up rather than reading through.
Missing a term, or does the explanation not fit your case? Questions and answers covers the practical side, and you can always write to us.
Related: company types compared · the UK Limited in detail · the Irish Limited
Annual Return
Annual Return
Der Annual Return ist ein jährlicher Statusbericht, der an das Companies House übermittelt werden muss und als eine Aktualisierung betrachtet werden kann. Er gibt eine Momentaufnahme der Firma und beinhaltet Informationen über das Unternehmen, die Direktoren, die Schriftführer, den Firmensitz, die Gesellschafter und das Grundkapital.