Teifi Valley Railway

Accounts for the Teifi Valley Railway Ltd have reached Companies House. Not for the year ending December 2020 of course - for the year ending December 2019 .

 

Are company accounts submitted for calendar years rather than financial years? Not something I know a great deal about.

Simon

 

A financial year can start whenever the company wishes. It can be changed too.

 

Thank you!

 

That's fair 35B, it is all really quite a shame. Not sure what the solution is, feels like the whole railway, the trust and the company need a hard reboot with fresh individuals in across the board

 

It's one of those things that can happen when you can't find enough individual people for the company and trust boards. You end up with a lot of the same people on both boards and then lose all the checks and balances of having to justify actions and proposals to others with differing viewpoints. Once they are in that situation you often find them congratulating themselves on what a fine job they are doing and how they must be good because the trust keeps agreeing with the company... So good in fact they obviously don't have to listen to anyone with a differing opinion because they all agree so they must be right...

 

A lot of financial years used to run Match to the following year broadly in line with the tax year. US influence has seen many adopt the more US approach of fiscal year matching the calendar year. But a fair number run 12 months from date of incorporation, although it's possible to have a first year which runs for more or less than 12 months so the second year terminates when the directors/shareholders wish. As has been said, companies can subsequently decide to change their year end. I know of one that move their year end so that they could submit their returns 3 months later than previously required.

 

Generally speaking all company accounts end on the last date of the twelfth month of the date the company was formed. So if the company was formed on the 1st June then the company accounts would end on the 30th June each year. The company then has 9 months to submit the accounts following the end of the 12 months. Providing the accounts are not overdue you can extend the period up to 18 months but there is a limit on the frequency and you have to notify Companies House of the change. Not sure of the times you can do this but you certainly can’t do it every year. You can shorten the period as many times as you want but not sure why you would do this as it just creates more accountancy fees!

 

Still no sign of any cafe Accounts - nothing since December 2017. Mrs Cox set up her own company, Razzle Rugs, at the Railway address at the same time as she set up the cafe company. The rugs company is now threatened with strikeoff even though it has never traded. It couldn't be easier to do dormant company accounts online it takes literally 2 minutes!

 

Members should perhaps be concerned that the Directors don’t seem to be on top of basic financial accounting or, if they need assistance, that the Directors haven’t used an accountant (or a former company Secretary!).

 

It seems to be a case of remarkable obstinacy. Nobody else is going to do the Accounts! Tough on the Company ...

 

As a society member, I do find all this very disappointing

 

As a Society member, you have certain rights under Company law. One of them is to demand a full audit of the Accounts. But so far nobody has been brave enough ...

 

I expect that shareholders have the right to receive accounts, not that they have received any for a few years.

 

I'm not sure an audit is what is called for. I believe the railway accounts have been submitted for 2019, and the 2020 accounts, whilst they could be submitted, are presumably not due until the end of 21. I don't want to cause unnecessary work or stress for the little team at Henllan- they've got enough on their plate, and are making progress on re-restoring the line.
I know the situation is not ideal, and there would be simple ways of making it rather better if only people would leave the past behind, but alas we have the situation and people that we have. We just have to hope that they keep moving forward, and possibly the successful submission of the 2019 accounts will give the book-keeper the confidence to get on with the 2020 stuff

 

The cafe accounts haven't been submitted? Arrrrrgghhhh I will not sleep now until I can see what the depreciation is on that three year old Mr Kipling cherry Bakewell is, or what value the is of the intangible assets of the PG Tips division are.

Life is so cruel

 

I thought the café was part of the railway, run by the volunteers and profits simply fed into the railways accounts.

Not sure what's happening now since someone (was it the GM?) started a new company called the Busy Bee Café which has two directors and shareholders and was set up to pay dividends etc. to them. Something I'd not expect to see if it was concerned with raising funds for the railway. Nothing in recent railway accounts about any assets being transferred to the new Co. or rent being paid to the railway or income from the café listed as the small company accounts never have that amount of detail so I'm not sure if it is anything to do with the railway at all.

So why was the new company started? Does it have anything to do with the railway? The cafe's company's previous accounts do show some income but not sure where that comes from.

 

The ownership, management & commercial affairs of the cafe are unclear, other than the cafe & railway managements include the same people who seem to be struggling with basic accounting. Previous Directors abused their positions and / or were guilty of lapses of commercial judgement so I think Teifi supporters ought to be curious about the cafe (which should be a money spinner for the railway) including its Mr Kiplings and PG Tips…My pet railway in Derbys also suffers from a lack of commercial transparency because of the behaviour and vice like grip of the MD, which I could (almost) accept if they were actually any good at their job…

 

Companies House will commence strikeoff proceedings against the cafe Compamy tomorrow (13th). Mrs Cox has 2 years worth of Accounts to do in the next 8 weeks.