accounting reference date (ARD; reporting date)
Definition
The official year-end date of a company’s financial year, registered with the Registrar of Companies and typically falling on the last day of the month the company was incorporated.
Example
Example 1:
A Lagos logistics company incorporated in March 2020 notifies the CAC that its ARD falls on the 31st of March every year, meaning all its annual financial statements must be prepared and filed up to that date.
Example 2:
A tech startup incorporated in London in June 2021 automatically has its ARD set as 30th June each year, requiring all annual accounts to be prepared and filed with Companies House up to that date every financial year.