Financial statement redaction is the removal of personal data from a balance sheet, profit-and-loss account, or the notes. Companies Act 2006 s.393 bars directors from approving accounts unless they give a true and fair view. Section 414 then requires board approval and a named director's signature on the balance sheet. The notes carry more: s.412 covers directors' remuneration and s.413 covers advances, credit, and guarantees granted to a director. anonym.plus marks each identifier on your own machine, so the figures stay whole while personal fields go.
When this applies
A set filed under s.441 becomes a public record at Companies House, and the directors are named on it. A director's usual residential address is not: s.240 makes it protected information and s.1087 keeps it off public inspection. Your working pack usually holds far more than the filed version — signatory details, account numbers, and draft notes. You clear those before the pack reaches an external reviewer or a partner firm.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the statement pack in anonym.plus on your workstation.
- Built-in OCR reads any scanned schedule or signed note.
- The app marks names, references, and account details.
- Confirm each marking and leave the totals intact.
- Swap each identifier for a label, or black it out.
- Save the clean copy. It never leaves your machine.
What you need to provide
- The statement pack (PDF, XLSX, or DOCX).
- An operator: Replace, Redact, or Mask.
- Optional alias map if you must re-link a signatory later.
PII & financial identifiers detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | director Imogen Hartley → [DIRECTOR] |
| Tax reference | NATIONAL_ID | company UTR → [UTR] |
| Financial | UK_BANK_NUMBER | acct 4412 9087 → [ACCOUNT] |
| Org | ORGANIZATION | North Mill Ltd → [ENTITY] |
| Money | MONEY | bonus £84,200 → [AMOUNT] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | period 03/2026 → [DATE] |
Compliance achieved
- Keeps the figures the true and fair view in Companies Act 2006 s.393 depends on, while personal fields go.
- Recognises that a named director signs the balance sheet under CA 2006 s.414, and that CA 2006 s.412 and CA 2006 s.413 put remuneration and directors' loans in the notes.
- A set filed under CA 2006 s.441 is public, yet a director's residential address stays protected information under CA 2006 s.240 and is withheld under CA 2006 s.1087.
- Supports data minimisation under UK GDPR Art. 5(1)(c); runs offline with AES-256-GCM on working copies at rest.
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Limitations & cautions
The app marks named items. It cannot judge when an unusual figure or a small segment re-identifies a person. A s.413 note on a director's loan names one individual by design, and redacting your pack does not change the filed accounts. Read the notes yourself before you share.
Frequently asked questions
Will the totals still tie out after the swap?
Yes. The Replace operator drops a steady label in place of each name or reference. Figures and subtotals are untouched, so the sheet still balances and the true and fair view required by Companies Act 2006 s.393 is unaffected.
Which parts of a filed set are already public?
Accounts delivered to the registrar under Companies Act 2006 s.441 are open to inspection, and the directors are named. A director's usual residential address is not: s.240 makes it protected information and s.1087 keeps it off the public record. Your working pack normally carries far more than the filed version.
Can it read a scanned, signed note?
Yes. On-device OCR reads the image first, then marks any name or account on the page so you can clear it.