WHAT WE DO / BUSINESS & FINANCE / COMPANIES ACT 2006
The Companies Act 2006 is the largest piece of legislation ever enacted in the UK. It consists of some 1,300 sections, 16 schedules and 200 plus pages of explanatory notes. The process by which it reached the statute books took more than eight years. The Act finally became law in late 2006. It has been phased in over three years with the final parts of the legislation becoming effective in October 2009.
Among its aims were to bring company legislation into line with best current practice and to respond to today’s business needs. The Act was drafted on the basis that the vast majority of companies in the UK are small, private and/or family run companies and should not be subject to the mass of burdensome and extremely complex legislation perhaps more appropriate to larger publicly quoted companies.
There are, however, a range of new measures which affect every company operating in the UK. The Act has also attempted to remove various outdated requirements and introduced a number of measures enabling those who own companies, to run them more effectively.
Ince & Co’s Corporate Group has an in-depth knowledge of this legislation. We have advised numerous clients ranging from small private companies to large corporations on the impact of the Act. We continue to advise on a regular basis.
We are regular speakers on the implementation of the Act and its potential impacts. In particular, we have given many lectures on the area of the Act relating to directors’ duties both here and abroad.
We have also prepared a number of commentaries and summaries of various aspects of the Act. To review these documents, please refer to the list in the right hand panel.