What is accounting reference date (ARD)?
Accounting reference date is the financial year-end. It is also the date that determines when the accounts are due for delivery to Companies House. For all new companies, the first accounting reference period is automatically set as the first anniversary of the last day in the month in which the company was incorporated. For example, if the company was incorporated on 10 June 2003 its ARD would be set at 30 June, and the first accounts would cover a period from 10 June 2003 to 30 June 2004 – or up to seven days either side of that date. Although the ARD is set on company incorporation, you can change it using form 225.
