Financial year meaning

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer being maintained. Structural banking reform and ring-fencing The global financial crisis underscored the necessity for international structural reform of banking. In the UK, the Government brought forward a suite of measures to bolster the resilience of the UK financial system and to avoid taxpayers carrying the burden when banks fail. The Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013 (FS(BR)A 2013) inserted fresh measures into the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000), obliging the largest UK banks to segregate, within their groups, essential retail banking services from other activities, such as investment and international banking. This separation is termed ring-fencing. Its objective is to shield UK retail banking from shocks arising elsewhere in a banking group, which could otherwise adversely affect global financial markets. Ring-fencing legislation applies only to UK banks with a three-year average of more than £25bn in ‘core deposits’—broadly from individuals and small to medium-sized businesses...

STOP PRESS: On 24 March 2025, the government released a comprehensively revised and updated version of its statutory guidance on the transparency in supply chains provisions in section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This document is being reviewed in light of the new guidance. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA 2015) requires any commercial organisation operating in the UK with an annual turnover over £36m to publish a yearly transparency statement explaining the actions taken during the financial year to prevent slavery and human trafficking within its supply chains and across its business. The statement may cover: Organisational structure Policies Due diligence Risk assessment and management Training Effectiveness in keeping the supply chain free from modern slavery and human trafficking Our Flowchart: Does section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 apply to my business? can help you determine whether MSA 2015, s 54 applies to your organisation. This Checklist is designed...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to UK transfer pricing legislation Finance Bill 2026 (as introduced) outlines a suite of amendments to the UK’s transfer pricing framework. Once enacted, and applying to accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2026, the package will, amongst other measures, switch off UK‑to‑UK transfer pricing—subject to defined exclusions designed to prevent tax arbitrage—adjust the participation condition, confirm that the OECD Model Tax Convention and the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines function as interpretative aids, and recast aspects of the rules for financial transactions so that the UK approach is brought into closer alignment with the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. In parallel, the government announced at Budget 2025 that it will move ahead with a new obligation for in‑scope multinational groups to report, each year, information on cross‑border related party dealings. This reporting applies for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, and the detailed technical rules for the ‘International Controlled Transactions Schedule’ (ICTS) are expected to be released in spring 2026...

In this issue: Horizon scanning Directors Status and worker categories Cross-border, international and jurisdictional issues Recruitment Protected characteristics Prohibited Conduct (discrimination etc) Diversity and gender pay gap Maternity, parents and carers Financial services and banking: employment issues Data protection and employee information Bribery, modern slavery, tax evasion and fraud Employment Tribunals Scotland Ireland LexTalk®Employment: a Lexis®Nexis community Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Employment resources on Lexis+® Daily and weekly news alerts Horizon scanning BTC launches call for evidence on Employment Rights Bill The Business and Trade Committee (BTC) has opened its first request for evidence for a new inquiry into the Employment Rights Bill (ERB). The inquiry will collect written and oral submissions to steer the Bill’s subsequent passage through Parliament and to gauge whether it is set to meet its stated aims. Written evidence should be submitted by Friday...

In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Criminal procedure and evidence Proceeds of crime Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Consumer protection and cartels Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Insolvency offences and Companies Act offences Money laundering International Other corporate crime news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Investigating criminal conduct Standards of candour in closed hearings, and corporate witness statements (Attorney General v BBC; R (‘Beth’) v IPT) When scrutinising MI5’s actions across two High Court cases, the court addressed the grave consequences of presenting inaccurate material within closed hearings. It outlined the tightly confined situations that can justify a departure from open justice under section 6 of the Justice and Security Act 2013 (JSA 2013). The court further...

In this issue: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round-up Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 Football Governance Bill LIBOR and benchmarks Sustainable finance Debt capital markets Derivatives Regulation for derivatives lawyers Technology in banking & finance transactions Structured products and securitisation Regulation for banking lawyers Banking & Finance Highlights 2024/2025 Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round-up For this week’s coverage of Sustainable finance and ESG developments, please see: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up—19 December 2024. Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 (Commencement) Regulations 2024 SSI 2024/378: From 1 April 2025, the outstanding provisions of the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 (the Act) will come into effect. See: LNB News 17/12/2024 9. Moveable Transactions (Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 SSI 2024/379: These prescribe the forms to be used for the purposes set out...

Term Meaning Accounting reference date On incorporation, a company is typically assigned an accounting reference date, being the final day of the month that contains the anniversary of its incorporation. Directors can alter this by submitting the relevant form to the Registrar of Companies. It denotes the end of the annual accounting period and is also called the balance sheet date. Accounts payable Sums a business or individual owes to others for goods or services already received. Accounts receivable Sums due to a business or individual from others for goods or services supplied. Accrual In company accounts, recognition of income earned or costs incurred during a reporting period, even though the cash has not yet been received or paid. Adjusted earnings Where reported earnings are affected, positively or negatively, by exceptional one-off events in the year, directors may present adjusted earnings to clarify performance. These are earnings with exceptional items excluded, which they believe better indicate the underlying results...

The determination of a company’s financial year Setting a company’s financial year involves identifying its accounting reference date (ARD) and accounting reference period (ARP). The financial year aligns with the ARP, although the directors may resolve that it should finish on a day up to seven days either side of the ARP’s end. The ARP itself is fixed by the ARD, concluding on that date. Certain statutory rules about a financial year may equally extend to other companies, for example overseas companies, and to other entities; nevertheless, consideration of those applications falls outside the scope of this Practice Note...

The Budget The Budget is a Parliamentary occasion where the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers key statements on the national economy. It sets out the government’s tax intentions for the next year, and at times for later periods. Most measures due in the following tax year will already have been announced and consulted on in advance. Fresh announcements may arrive on Budget day—some, mainly anti-avoidance steps, take effect immediately. Others are scheduled to commence from a future date. The Budget also precedes the presentation of the Finance Bill to Parliament. In most years there is a single Finance Bill, though in some—such as those featuring a general election—there have been two or even three, as outlined below. Income tax and corporation tax are annual charges, so they can only be levied for a year (a tax year for income tax, or a financial year for corporation tax) where an Act of Parliament provides for them. Consequently, the government’s power to charge...

This Agreement is entered into on [ insert date ] of [ insert month ] [ insert year ] by and between: [ insert name ], of [ insert address ] (' Council '); [ insert name ], of [ insert address ] (' County Council '); [ insert name ], a company duly incorporated and registered in [ insert details ] under number [ insert details ], whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (' Developer '); [ Additional parties as necessary eg owner, landlord, mortgagee, option holder etc. ] (' [ insert additional parties as necessary eg owner, landlord, mortgagee, option holder etc ] '). Recitals The Council is the local planning authority for the purposes of section 106 of the 1990 Act for the area within which the Land is situated and is the body by whom the obligations contained in this Deed are enforceable. The County Council is the local highway...

A: Gut feel Comments or observations Instinctive income forecast B: Trends Data Year Fee income £ % uplift on prior year Indicators that the % change is not part of the wider trend [ 2025 ] [ 2024 ] [ 2023 ] [ 2022 ] [ 2021 ] Conclusions Comments or observations Trend analysis fee income prediction C: Capacity No. of fee earners Expected chargeable hours per fee earner Average hourly rate Expected gross income % of recorded time billed in previous years Capacity income prediction D: WIP (work in progress) levels Data Value of WIP at year end [ 2024 ] Value of WIP at year end [ 2025 ] Number of open files at year end [ 2024 ] Number of open files at year...

This note offers broad guidance on financial support for children. Your family solicitor can give tailored advice to suit your particular circumstances and needs. Child maintenance Under the law relating to child maintenance (also called child support), the court is generally unable to make a child maintenance order other than by the parties’ consent (agreement), except where certain exceptions apply. Any consent order for a child’s maintenance binds for only one year, after which either parent may seek a calculation from the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), if they wish to do so. Where you and the other parent cannot settle the level of maintenance, either party can apply to the CMS for a formal assessment...

Dormant company—exemption from audit A dormant company can be either a public or a private company. It is also set up and operated in the same general manner as any other company. That said, the obligations concerning accounts and audit that generally apply to companies are relaxed for a dormant entity. The annual accounts of a dormant company for a financial year require an audit unless the company benefits from an exemption from audit...

statutory sick pay (SSP) For general guidance on SSP, see Practice Note: Sick pay. Under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA), an employer must not take deductions from a worker’s wages unless one of the following applies: the deduction is required or authorised by a statutory provision, or by a relevant term in the worker’s contract; or the worker has previously given written agreement or consent to the deduction (eg in respect of pension contributions) See also Practice Note: Deductions from wages—When deductions are lawful. In addition, ERA 1996, s 14 identifies certain ‘excepted deductions’ to which section 13 does not apply. These excepted deductions under ERA 1996, s 14 include situations where the deduction is made to reimburse the employer for an overpayment of wages, or for an overpayment of expenses incurred by the worker in the course of their employment...