ACCOUNTING AND STATUTORY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Annual Accounts Ireland

Prepare the full accounts, protect the audit exemption and file the right public version

Every Irish limited company must prepare statutory financial statements for each financial year. Small and micro companies may file a reduced version with the CRO, but the full accounts still need to be prepared, approved and kept for the members.

Forti reconciles the bookkeeping, prepares the annual accounts, checks the company’s size and audit position, and coordinates the figures with the CT1, iXBRL and CRO Annual Return.

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  • Dublin-Based Team
  • Audit Exemption Reviewed
  • CRO & Revenue Coordinated

Full statutory accounts

The complete financial statements are prepared for the company and its members, not only for the public CRO filing.

Reduced public filing

A qualifying small or micro company can file abridged financial statements that omit some commercially sensitive detail.

Audit exemption review

Size, company type, shareholder notices, filing history and group status are checked each year.

CT1 and iXBRL coordination

The final accounts support the Corporation Tax computation and the Revenue filing format that applies.

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We will confirm the financial year, company size, audit position and filings required.
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This Service Is for You If

  • Your company's year-end is approaching and the bookkeeping needs to be finalised.
  • You need annual accounts, a CT1 and the CRO filing coordinated.
  • You are not sure whether the company is small, micro, medium or part of a small group.
  • You want to keep the profit and loss account off the public record where the company qualifies.
  • A shareholder has requested an audit or is considering doing so.
  • A group company filed late and you need the audit position checked quickly.

Annual Accounts, the B1 and the CT1 Are Different

Statutory financial statements

The company-law accounts approved by the directors and prepared for the members. These show the company's financial position and performance.

CRO Annual Return, Form B1

The annual company-information filing. Financial statements are attached after the first return, subject to the applicable filing exemptions.

Corporation Tax return, CT1

The Revenue tax return. It starts from the accounts but includes tax adjustments, losses, gains and relief claims.

One set of accurate books feeds all three. The documents remain legally separate and follow different rules and deadlines.

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What Full Statutory Accounts Include

Profit and loss account

Income, direct costs, overheads, payroll, finance costs and the profit or loss for the financial year.

Balance sheet

Assets, liabilities and shareholders' funds at the year-end date.

Notes to the financial statements

Accounting policies and the disclosures required for the company type, size and transactions.

Statement of changes in equity

Movements in share capital, reserves, dividends and retained earnings where required.

Directors' report

The company information and directors' disclosures required by the Companies Act, subject to available exemptions.

Approval and signatures

The board approves the accounts and the required directors sign the balance sheet before filing.

Full Accounts and the Public CRO Filing

Position Prepared For The Company Normally Filed Publicly
Qualifying Micro Company Full micro-company statutory financial statements Abridged balance sheet and limited notes, with the required exemption statements.
Qualifying Small Company Full small-company statutory financial statements Abridged financial statements extracted from the full accounts, with required notes and statements.
Medium Or Large Company Full statutory financial statements Full financial statements, subject to the rules applying to the company type.
Audit Required Full accounts and a statutory audit The relevant audited or abridged filing, including the auditor reports required by law.

A reduced public filing does not mean reduced internal accounting. The abridged statements must be extracted from properly prepared statutory accounts.

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Small and Micro Company Thresholds

Company Size Turnover Balance Sheet Total Average Employees
Micro Not more than €900,000 Not more than €450,000 Not more than 10
Small Not more than €15 million Not more than €7.5 million Not more than 50

The company normally needs to satisfy at least two of the three limits in the current financial year and the preceding financial year. A first financial year is assessed without a preceding-year comparison.

One year outside the limits does not normally change the classification immediately

The current and preceding-year test creates a two-year buffer. The classification can change after the company fails the relevant two-of-three test in consecutive financial years.
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Audit Exemption Is Checked Every Year

Company size and type

The company must qualify as small or micro and must not fall within an excluded company category.

Annual Return history

The filing history must satisfy the late-return rules that apply to a standalone company or group company.

Shareholder notice

Audit exemption is unavailable where qualifying members serve a valid written notice requiring an audit.

Adequate accounting records

The directors remain responsible for proper accounting records and financial statements that give a true and fair view.

Exemption statements

The prescribed statements must appear on the balance sheet and match the exemption being claimed.

Third-party requirements

A bank, investor, grant body or contract may require audited accounts even where company law allows an exemption.

Late Filing Rules Differ for Standalone and Group Companies

01

Standalone small or micro company

From 16 July 2025, one late Annual Return does not by itself remove audit exemption. A second late filing within five years removes the exemption for the following two years.

02
Small group company

The group exemption has a stricter filing condition. The holding company and the other group members must meet the relevant on-time Annual Return requirements. A late filing by a group member can put the group exemption at risk.

Late fees still apply to every late B1. The standalone five-year rule is not a permission to file late.

Shareholders Can Require
a Statutory Audit

One or more shareholders holding at least 10% of the voting rights can require an audit for a specified financial year, even where the company otherwise qualifies for exemption.
The notice must be in writing and served during the immediately preceding financial year or during the financial year concerned, no later than one month before that year ends.
Forti confirms whether the notice is valid, prepares the accounts and audit schedules, and coordinates with an independent statutory auditor.

Annual Accounts and Filing Timeline

Stage Timing What Happens
Bookkeeping Close Immediately after year-end Bank, VAT, payroll, debtors, creditors, stock, assets and director balances are reconciled.
Accounts Preparation Before the CT1 and B1 deadlines Year-end adjustments, disclosures, exemption checks and the tax computation are completed.
CT1 And Tax Balance 23rd of month 9 after period-end The Corporation Tax return, iXBRL where required, and balancing payment are submitted through ROS.
CRO Annual Return Within 56 days of the B1 effective date The B1 and the required financial statements are filed through CORE.
Financial-Statement Date No more than 9 months before the ARD The year-end and Annual Return Date must be aligned so the accounts remain within the statutory filing window.

The first financial year can be up to 18 months from incorporation. Later financial years are normally 12 months, with the limited statutory tolerance that applies.

iXBRL and the Corporation Tax Filing

iXBRL is the tagged financial-statement format submitted through ROS as part of the CT1 process. It is separate from the PDF accounts filed with the CRO.
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Revenue size exemption

A company can fall outside mandatory iXBRL where total assets are below €4.4 million, turnover is below €8.8 million and average employees are 50 or fewer.

All three conditions apply

The Revenue iXBRL test is not the same as the CRO small-company test. The company must satisfy every listed iXBRL limit.

Final accounts only

From 1 January 2026, Revenue no longer accepts draft financial statements in iXBRL format.

Tax and accounting must agree

The tagged accounts, CT1 extracts and tax computation need to reconcile before submission.

How Forti Prepares Your Annual Accounts

Year-end and filing review

We confirm the financial year, ARD, CT1 date, company size, group status and audit position.

Bookkeeping reconciled

Bank, VAT, payroll, sales, costs, loans, fixed assets and director balances are checked and corrected.

Financial statements prepared

Forti prepares the full statutory accounts, disclosures and exemption statements that apply.

Directors review and approve

You receive the accounts and tax summary, answer final queries and approve the documents for signature.

Revenue and CRO filings coordinated

The CT1, iXBRL and B1 work included in the engagement is filed in the correct sequence.

Next-year issues recorded

Threshold changes, audit risks, bookkeeping improvements and the next deadlines are added to the compliance calendar.

What Is Included

  • Financial-year and deadline review.
  • Bookkeeping and balance-sheet reconciliation within the agreed scope.
  • Full statutory financial statements.
  • Small or micro company classification review.
  • Audit exemption and shareholder-notice review.
  • Abridged CRO filing strategy where available.
  • Corporation Tax computation and CT1 where included.
  • iXBRL tagging where required and included.
  • CRO Annual Return coordination where included.
  • Year-end meeting and next-year action list.

What We Need From You

Accounting records

Bank and card statements, invoices, receipts, bookkeeping exports and reconciliations.

Year-end balances

Debtors, creditors, stock, work in progress, loans, assets and accrual information.

Payroll and tax records

Payroll reports, VAT returns, Revenue statements and preliminary Corporation Tax paid.

Company & group information

Shareholdings, related companies, director changes, shareholder notices and previous financial statements.

Annual Accounts Pricing

Annual financial statements, CT1 and B1 are included in Forti’s current limited-company accounting plans. Accounts-only, catch-up, group and audit-support work is quoted after the records are reviewed.

LTD Starter

From

€195

+ VAT / month
Monthly bookkeeping, annual financial statements, CT1, B1 and VAT support within plan limits.
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LTD Growth
From

€295

+ VAT / month

Adds a dedicated accountant, monthly or quarterly reviews and management accounts.
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Accounts-Only or Complex Work

Exact quote

For historical records, groups, audit support, iXBRL corrections or companies outside the monthly plan limits.

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All Forti fees are quoted excluding VAT unless stated otherwise. A statutory auditor’s fee is separate where an audit is required.

View Packages & Pricing

Get an Exact Annual Accounts Quote

Send the company number, year-end and current bookkeeping position. We will confirm the scope and fee.
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Related Forti Services and Guides

Year-End Accounts

Forti's live service for financial statements, CT1 and CRO coordination.

View Year-End Accounts
Limited Company Accounting

Monthly bookkeeping and annual company compliance under one plan.

View Company Accounting
Annual Compliance

Coordinate annual accounts, Corporation Tax and the CRO Annual Return.

View Annual Compliance
Online Bookkeeping

Keep the records reconciled throughout the year so the accounts are ready on time.

View Online Bookkeeping
Company Secretarial

Annual Return deadlines, company registers, resolutions and officer updates.

View Company Secretarial
CRO Annual Return Guide

Review the B1 process, filing windows and late-return risks.

Read the Annual Return Guide

Common Annual Accounts Mistakes

Preparing only the public filing

A qualifying company can file abridged accounts, but it still needs full statutory accounts for the members.

Confusing the size buffer with late-filing rules

The two-year size comparison and the five-year standalone late-filing rule are separate tests.

Ignoring a shareholder audit notice

A valid notice from members holding at least 10% of voting rights removes the audit exemption for that year.

Using CRO thresholds for iXBRL

Revenue's iXBRL exemption uses different figures and requires all three conditions to be met.

Checking only one size threshold

Small and micro status normally requires two of the three limits, not all three and not only turnover.

Applying the standalone rule to a group

Small group audit exemption has stricter on-time filing conditions across the group.

Treating the CT1 as the annual accounts

The CT1 is a tax return. It does not replace the company's statutory financial statements.

Starting after the B1 deadline is close

The bookkeeping, accounts, signatures, CT1 and public filing need enough time for review and correction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions About Annual Accounts

What are annual statutory accounts?
They are the financial statements an Irish company prepares for each financial year under company law. They show the company’s performance, assets, liabilities and financial position.
A qualifying small company can file abridged financial statements. The full profit and loss account is still prepared internally even where it is not included in the public CRO filing.
Turnover must be no more than €15 million, the balance sheet total no more than €7.5 million and average employees no more than 50. The company normally needs to meet at least two of the three limits.
Turnover must be no more than €900,000, the balance sheet total no more than €450,000 and average employees no more than 10. The company normally needs to meet at least two of the three limits.
The current and preceding-year test usually prevents an immediate classification change. Two consecutive years outside the relevant two-of-three limits can change the company’s status.
No. Company type, filing history, group status, shareholder notices and other statutory conditions must also be satisfied.
From 16 July 2025, a standalone small or micro company generally loses audit exemption after a second late Annual Return within five years, not after the first late return.
No. The small group exemption has separate on-time filing conditions across the holding company and group members. A late filing within the group can put the group exemption at risk.
Yes. Members holding at least 10% of voting rights can serve a written notice requiring an audit, provided the statutory notice timing is met.
Annual accounts are company-law financial statements. The CT1 is the Corporation Tax return prepared from those accounts after tax adjustments.
The accounts report the company’s financial results. Form B1 reports statutory company information and is the filing used to deliver the relevant financial statements to the CRO.
They must be completed in time for the CT1 and the Annual Return. The CT1 is generally due by the 23rd of month nine after the accounting period ends, while the B1 is filed within 56 days of its effective date.
iXBRL is the tagged format used to submit financial statements to Revenue with the CT1. It is separate from the PDF accounts filed with the CRO.
No. The Revenue exemption uses separate limits. Assets must be below €4.4 million, turnover below €8.8 million and average employees 50 or fewer, with all three conditions satisfied.
Prepare the Full Accounts Before Choosing the Public Filing

The company needs accurate statutory accounts first. Audit exemption, abridgement, CT1 and iXBRL decisions follow from those numbers and the filing history.

Get a Free Accounts and Audit Exemption Review

Typical response within one business day.
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Company size, abridgement, audit exemption, group treatment, iXBRL and filing deadlines depend on the company type, financial years, group structure and filing history. Forti confirms the treatment after reviewing the records.

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