Accounts

CDC code in force: 31 July 2026

1. Audited accounts provide us with a source of information about the financial health of the scheme proprietor. Unless an exception applies, the scheme proprietor must have had individual accounts prepared and audited at the time when it entered into the relationship or arrangement with the scheme of which it is the scheme proprietor¹.
2. These accounts must be prepared and audited in accordance with the requirements applicable to them (for example, under the Companies Act 2006).
3. Any provision of law that relates to the preparation or audit of group accounts or that provides for accounts to be prepared or audited differently (or not at all) due to the scheme proprietor not exceeding a certain size or because it is a subsidiary of another entity should be ignored².
4. If a scheme proprietor is not subject to any such requirements, accounts must be prepared and audited under the Companies Act 2006³.
5. The scheme proprietor (and if applicable any relevant undertaking fully or partly funding it) must send us their annual accounts no later than nine months after the end of the financial year to which they relate. If an item 4A or 7A triggering event⁴ occurs and we give notice to the scheme proprietor requiring that accounts be sent early, the accounts must be sent within the period specified in the notice. We may request the most recent accounts of the scheme proprietor in the scheme’s supervisory return, or at any other time.
6. We can take action against those who do not comply with these requirements, which could result in a monetary penalty.
7. The scheme proprietor is required to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis. We would expect the auditor to comment if the scheme proprietor is not a going concern or is receiving financial support from another party. Where a scheme proprietor’s accounts are qualified or are subject to an emphasis on a matter we consider significant or relevant, we will consider whether we are satisfied that the scheme proprietor is able to support the scheme.
8. In addition, if a scheme proprietor is fully or partially funded by a third party, the accounts of the third party (unless it is an unincorporated association) must be submitted to us. These accounts must be prepared and audited as individual accounts⁵.
9. There may be a number of reasons why a scheme proprietor is unable to provide audited accounts for consideration at authorisation. In this situation, the scheme proprietor should set aside cash or near cash assets equivalent to the value of the financial reserves identified in the costs, assets and liquidity plan (CALP). The amount set aside should be held in a separate trustee deposit account with a deposit taker or within the scheme itself as unallocated assets⁶.
10. The sum set aside must be deposited within three months of the scheme proprietor taking on their role and held in the trustee deposit account, unless required for meeting the costs of setting up and running the scheme or a triggering event, until such a point as the scheme proprietor can provide audited accounts.
11. The intent for the above requirement is to ensure the costs of setting up, authorising, and running the scheme, as well as those that would be required for a triggering event are available from the outset via an identifiable source, and that the prospective scheme proprietor has made adequate provision within their business planning for the cost eventualities that may arise.

Legal references

¹ Section 14C(4) of the Pension Schemes Act 2021

² Section 8(3A)of the Pension Schemes Act 2021

³ Section 8(3B) of the Pension Schemes Act 2021

⁴ Section 31 of the Pension Schemes Act 2021

⁵ Section 8(3)(aa)(iv) of the Pension Schemes Act 2021

⁶ Section 14C(5) of the Pension Schemes Act 2021

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