Ten practical tips for societies filing their annual returns

Filing your annual return

Co-operatives and community benefit societies registered under the 2014 Act must file their combined annual accounts and return with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (the societies’ registrar) within seven months of their financial year end using the Mutual Societies Annual Return Form, which is more commonly referred to as the AR30.

Whether you are a new society filing the AR30 for the first time, or an established society it is important to complete the AR30 correctly and in full to avoid rejection and queries from the registrar. 

Tips for submitting a successful annual return

Here are ten simple tips to aid your society’s successful submission:

1. Ensure that the society’s full registered name (including the word 'limited’ if not exempt) and the correct registration number is included on the form. If you are unsure of your society’s correct registered details perform a quick check using the Mutuals Public Register.
2. ‘Committee of management’ means the governing body of the society. Enter the details of the society’s current governing body in the relevant section of the form.
3. Ensure that you know whether your society is a bona fide co-operative society or a community benefit society in order to complete pages six to eight.*
4. Answer the correct questions for your society type in full. Many societies will be answering the questions asked on pages six to eight of the form for the first time. It is difficult to provide model answers for each question. Often societies themselves are better placed to provide examples to answer each question. However, societies may find chapters four and five of the FCA’s registration guidance useful when completing these questions.
5. Double check that the figures in your society’s accounts are correctly replicated in section two of the form. At the very least, a society must produce a revenue account and a balance sheet that gives a true and fair view of the state of the society’s affairs.
6. Does your society have subsidiary company? You must - unless the FCA has given permission to the contrary - include details of each subsidiary on the form. Download our guide to creating a subsidiary. 
7. Be clear on your society’s audit requirements. If you are unsure of the type of audit your society needs to carry out see our finance toolkit.
8. Remember to sign the accounts. The secretary, plus two committee members, must sign the accounts (and the auditor if the accounts are required to be audited).
9. The society secretary must complete their details and sign the AR30. Ensure that the whole signature fits inside the box in section 4.3 of the form.
10. File on time! Societies must file their accounts within seven months of the financial year end. It is an offence not to do so.

* Prior to 1 August 2014 a society was registered as an ‘industrial and provident society’ but was required to specify on application to register whether it was to operate as a co-operative or as a community benefit society. From 1 August 2014 societies must choose to be registered as either a co-operative society OR a community benefit society.