Confidentiality of annual accounts

Filing accounts (and related documents) makes them publicly available.

Accordingly, any interested party can, in principle, consult them freely online.

However, certain companies have the option to request that their annual accounts not be made public.

Eligible companies:

Micro-enterprises

Micro-enterprises are those which do not exceed two of the following three thresholds:

• Total balance sheet: €350,000

• Net turnover: €700,000

• Employees: 10

Micro-enterprises can keep confidential:

• the balance sheet

• the profit and loss account

• the notes to the accounts

Small enterprises

Small enterprises are those which do not exceed two of the following three thresholds:

• Total balance sheet: €6 million

• Net turnover: €12 million

• Employees: 50

Small enterprises can keep confidential:

• the profit and loss account

Small enterprises cannot keep confidential

• the balance sheet

• the notes to the accounts

Medium-sized enterprises

Medium-sized enterprises are those which do not exceed two of the following three thresholds:

• Total balance sheet: €20 million

• Net turnover: €40 million

• Employees: 250

Medium-sized enterprises have the option to publish a balance sheet and notes to the accounts in 'simplified' form. This allows a more limited number of items to be made public. Thus, financial and exceptional income and expenses are presented as aggregated figures in the abridged format.

Excluded companies:

The following cannot benefit from the confidentiality option for annual accounts:

• credit institutions and finance companies

• insurance and reinsurance undertakings

• companies whose business consists of managing equity interests and securities

• (holding companies)

• Companies belonging to a group publishing consolidated accounts

• credit institutions and finance companies

• insurance and reinsurance undertakings

The confidentiality option is exercised by filing a confidentiality declaration with the commercial court registry

Following receipt of the confidentiality declaration, the clerk informs third parties by inserting a notice in the announcement published in the BODACC

A certificate is then issued by the clerk to the company filing the annual accounts, certifying that the accounts have been filed and are not available to third parties

Note that Alex systematically requests the confidentiality option when filing accounts