Who is Mr Big??

[Crispy_Beef]

Just to chip in, I own and run my own company in the UK.  The company has been incorporated and is owned by me (i.e. I'm the only share holder ;-) ).

Even though this is a private company, by UK law I have to do a number of things each year.  These are:

File Annual Return (Affirming Details of Company etc.)
File Rendered Accounts (Viewable by public)
Have an annual meeting (with myself apparently... ahem)

There are a few other things, but the point is in the UK this is necessary, and I'm gussing that there would by a similar system in the US (don't quote me on that though).

Here any person can go to Companies House and request to see filed accounts, I think there is a nominal charge for the servies but anybody can do it.  This is so people can see the history of a company before they do something with it.  i.e. invest.

Bloody companies, have to sort my accounts out this week too...   :-(

[Crispy_Beef]

You are quiet correct, the US and UK (along with NZ and Australia) all tend to have fairly similar accounting and regulatory systems.

But one thing I did find interesting is that you state your accounts are viewable by the public? I didn't know that this is the case with a private company (ie not listed on an exchange). Oh well, I have forgotten the majority of accounting knowledge imparted upon me during my undergrad years :-P.

Maybe ASIC (Australian Securites and Exchange Commission, similar to your Companies House) allows this...

Time to open the Coporations Law book...

Here's an interesting link.  It's a US site that helps companies set-up branches in the UK and details some of the things they need to do.  However the wording does suggest that US company records aren't subjected to the same scrutiny that UK companies are.

Click Here

The bit to look for says:

"All documents filed are open to public inspection."