What are the trends for filing annual accounts?

Recent studies show that the confidentiality option is increasingly favored by French companies. This growing trend towards "discretion" on the part of SME managers, which already existed before the health crisis, is therefore confirmed.

This lack of accounting transparency can be interpreted as an attempt to conceal a difficult financial situation for the company. However, it could also lead to distressed companies being overlooked by prevention tools, thus reducing their chances of survival.

Source : Ellisphere

However, the poor economic health of the companies concerned is not the only justification for using the confidentiality option. Many companies also want to hide their results, which may be satisfactory, from their competitors or suppliers. The income statement reflects many aspects of a company's life (such as payroll, industrial or investment strategy, etc.) that it is not always desirable to share; confidentiality can sometimes be seen as justified, or even necessary at a given moment in the long-term development of a company.

What is account privacy?

Account confidentiality for businesses refers to the protection of a company's sensitive financial and business information, as well as limited access to that information. Company accounts can include information such as financial statements, transaction details, employee salaries, bank account information and other confidential business data.

Account confidentiality is essential to protect business integrity, avoid fraud and data breaches, and ensure regulatory compliance. It is typically ensured through the implementation of information security policies, access protocols and authorization restrictions, and employee training on data security practices.

In addition, it is important to note that account privacy is not limited to financial information. Companies must also protect the personal information of their customers and employees in accordance with data protection laws.

 

Focus on the regulations in force

Who is concerned by the filing of accounts?

The filing of the annual accounts with the clerk's office is a legal formality that must be carried out each year at the clerk's office of the company's headquarters. The types of companies that must file annual accounts are the following:

  • SARL (limited liability companies), EURL (one-man limited liability companies), SA (joint stock companies), SAS (simplified joint stock companies), SCA (limited partnership with shares), SELARL (limited liability companies), SELAFA (limited partnership with shares), SELCA (limited partnership with shares), SELAS (simplified partnership with shares).
  • Partnerships where all partners are LLCs or corporations.
  • Commercial companies whose headquarters are located abroad and which have opened one or more establishments in France.
  • Agricultural cooperative societies and unions of agricultural cooperatives, under certain conditions.

 

Who can benefit from the confidentiality or simplified publication option?

It is possible for most companies to benefit from reduced accounting disclosure requirements based on certain thresholds such as balance sheet total, turnover excluding VAT and average number of employees. Here are the options of confidentiality or simplified publication for companies:

  • Microenterprises may request complete confidentiality of their accounting records.
  • Small businesses can request confidentiality for their income statement.
  • Medium-sized companies can request publication of a simplified presentation of their balance sheet and notes.

In all cases, the accounting documents must be accompanied by a declaration of confidentiality of the annual accounts.

 

Intercompany credit is based on transparency and trust between partners

Inter-company credit is a crucial source of short-term financing for companies, estimated at around 700 billion euros in France each year.

It is generated by commercial exchanges between companies. It is composed of credits granted and credits received in the context of business relationships, thus reflecting payment delays. In this context, the trust that results from transparency is essential because late payments, or even non-payments, can jeopardize the viability of companies in the short or medium term.

The purpose of filing and publishing corporate accounts is to inform the business partners of a company. Thus, choosing the confidentiality option can be directly detrimental to business relationships.