Ireland · The accounting Schedules
The micro companies regime: Schedule 3B formats, accounting principles, value adjustments and notes
the Companies Act 2014 · Schedule 3B
Micro companies must still use the Schedule 3B formats and directors must defend their accounting choices
The micro regime is the shortest set of statements the Act allows, and companies assume that means there is nothing to check. Subject to the provisions of the Schedule, every balance sheet of a company must show the items listed in the format Schedule 3B paragraph 2(1) prescribes, and the profit and loss account must follow the corresponding prescribed format. A micro company that files a trial balance has not filed financial statements.
Where the Schedule leaves the directors a choice, that choice is a decision they must be able to defend. The method chosen must be one which appears to the directors to be appropriate in the circumstances of the company (Schedule 3B paragraph 30(2)). A method carried over from a previous adviser is not a method the directors have chosen.
Schedule 3B applies only while a company meets the Part 6 micro qualifying conditions
Schedule 3B sets the formats, accounting principles, value adjustments and notes for a company qualifying for the micro companies regime. The regime is available only to a company that meets the qualifying conditions set under Part 6, and a company that ceases to meet them moves to the small companies regime or to the full Schedule 3 requirements.
Because the micro regime carries the fewest notes, the accuracy of the figures on the face of the statements carries more weight. The accounting records duty in section 281 and the retention duty in section 285 apply in exactly the same terms as for any other company.
The system generates your ComplianceSME company passport and then walks you through the working files
Working files 212 and 213 of the IE-COMPANY agent toolkit cover this situation. Working file 212 works through the Schedule 3B formats and accounting principles. Working file 213 works through value adjustments and the notes, including the basis on which the directors chose each method the Schedule leaves open. Both files first confirm, from the passport, that the company qualifies for the micro companies regime.
- Working file 212 · Schedule 3B: the micro companies regime, formats and accounting principles
- Working file 213 · Schedule 3B: the micro companies regime, value adjustments and the notes
Free, with a free account
The working files above open from your ComplianceSME account at no charge, and so does the rest of the Companies Act 2014 toolkit: 215 working files across the 75 situations a company registered in Ireland can be in. Working file 1 runs first and builds the company passport; after that you open each working file as its situation arises.
A working file runs in Claude. You ask the ComplianceSME connector for it in a dedicated premium seat on the Claude Team plan. It asks one question at a time, then returns the document the Companies Act 2014 names, citing the Act's section at every step. Nothing is downloaded and nothing is installed.
The report stays yours, ready for a bank, an insurer, a customer or an inspector. Your dashboard shows every working file and its state.
Open this working fileComplianceSME tracks the Companies Act 2014 and updates the toolkit on your account through the Compliance Complete account, so that you are never working from a superseded version. Compliance Complete