Online signing could save firms €29m

IRISH limited companies can save a collective €29 million by filing annual accounts online by availing of new procedures permitting company directors to sign the documents electronically.

By law, firms must file an annual return to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) with a set of accounts attached and signed by two directors. This was normally done using only hard-copy accounts with hand-written signatures could be filed. Now, an electronic system for filing annual returns with signed accounts is available for the first time at the CRO.

“A PDF set of accounts can now be appended in a way that is as simple as adding an attachment to an email. Company directors can sign these accounts using their Revenue Online Service digital signature, so this is now an entirely paperless filing transaction,” said Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe who approved the new procedure.