Businesses are at risk of having black marks against their credit profile because of Companies House delays in processing filed documents and accounts, according to accountancy firm Bishop Fleming.
The firm, which has its largest office in Bristol, is warning that a backlog of up to a fortnight in processing documents could adversely affect the credit status of companies. 
Bishop Fleming’s Bristol-based managing partner Matthew Lee, pictured, said: “Companies House should get its act together and ensure that processing delays are reduced as a matter of urgency to give companies certainty that they have correctly filed their documents.
He said this is always a busy time of year for Companies House, as many companies have a March 31 year end.
“The department is fully aware of this and should therefore be calling in extra staff to cover the peak demand,” he said.
While the department claims it is processing accounts within two weeks, it is taking longer to deal with the annual Confirmation Statement, the replacement for the Annual Return.
Mr Lee added: “As the information held by Companies House is used by credit agencies in assessing the creditworthiness of a business, the delayed processing of accounts and other documents can lead to a lowering of a credit rating.
“A listing which shows information is overdue will be regarded as a sign that there are serious financial problems, and the company is delaying publication of its information for that reason.”
He said this could be a disaster for a company, as it may then find that it cannot obtain finance, or it suffers a withdrawal of a line of credit by a supplier.
The Companies House website makes it clear that documents are registered on the date they are received, provided they are in “an acceptable format”.
But Mr Lee said there remained a danger that with the slow processing, a document could be rejected if not in an acceptable format, raising the prospect of a late filing penalty.
Bishop Fleming is advising companies to submit documents to Companies House in good time and where possible make submissions online, where they are usually processed within 24 hours.
Bishop Fleming’s Bristol office is one of seven across the South West and Midlands.
