AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
A UK company must identify its people with significant control, broadly anyone holding more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, able to appoint or remove a majority of the board, or otherwise exercising significant influence or control. Changes must be recorded and filed with Companies House within set time limits, and the information is confirmed each year in the confirmation statement. An AI agent can watch for events that change control, but the legal analysis of who is a PSC belongs with a person.
The five conditions
GOV.UK guidance sets out the conditions. A person is a PSC if they meet one or more of them.
- Holds more than 25% of the company's shares.
- Holds more than 25% of the voting rights.
- Holds the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors.
- Has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over the company.
- Has that right or influence over a trust or firm that itself meets one of the other conditions.
Control can be held indirectly, through another company or jointly with others. If a company is owned by another UK company that keeps its own PSC information, that parent may be a relevant legal entity to record rather than the individuals behind it.
When the record changes
The obligations are triggered by events, not by the calendar, which is why small companies fall behind. A share transfer, a new investor, a shareholders' agreement giving someone a veto, a death or a divorce settlement can all change who has control.
| Event | Likely PSC question |
|---|---|
| Founder sells shares to a co-founder | Does either cross, or fall below, 25%? |
| Angel investment with board appointment rights | Does the investor now control the board? |
| New share class with enhanced voting | Have voting percentages shifted away from shareholdings? |
| Shares placed in a family trust | Who controls the trust? |
| Holding company inserted above the business | Is the holding company a relevant legal entity? |
When a change happens, the company must update its information and notify Companies House within the time limits in the guidance, generally 14 days for each step. PSCs are also brought into Companies House identity verification, so confirm current verification rules on GOV.UK. Failing to comply is a criminal offence for the company and its officers.
What an AI agent can watch for
- Holding the current PSC details, the date they were confirmed and the source document.
- Reading board minutes, share transfer forms and investment documents it is given, and flagging anything that may change control.
- Starting the clock when a change is flagged, with the due dates for the update and the filing.
- Drafting the notice to the person concerned and the filing information for a director to check.
- Reminding the board ahead of the confirmation statement that PSC details must be confirmed.
- Keeping the history, so the company can show what it knew and when.
What a person must decide
Whether someone exercises significant influence or control is a judgement, often a legal one, especially with trusts, nominee holdings or side agreements. An agent can surface the facts; it should not conclude that someone is not a PSC. Directors sign off the filing and remain responsible for it, as they do for every Companies House return.
Worked example
Example only. Two founders each own 50% of a design studio. An investor puts in £150,000 for 20% of new shares and the right to appoint one of three directors. After the round, each founder holds 40%. The agent reads the subscription agreement, notes that no one else crosses 25% and no one controls a board majority, and flags one clause giving the investor a veto over the annual budget. It asks the directors whether that amounts to significant influence or control, attaches the clause, and starts a 14-day reminder. The directors ask their lawyer, who advises that the investor is not a PSC on these facts. The record shows the question, the advice and the decision.
Where small companies get it wrong
- Recording founders at incorporation and never updating after a funding round or a share transfer.
- Treating a spouse or nominee shareholder as the PSC when the real control sits with someone else.
- Missing a shareholders' agreement that gives one person rights over the board.
- Confirming PSC details in the confirmation statement without checking whether anything changed in the year.
- Overlooking a holding company structure, so the wrong entity or individual is recorded.
Banks and investors also read PSC information. A mismatch between what Companies House shows and what a bank's due diligence finds can delay an account opening or a payment. That makes keeping it right a commercial matter as well as a legal one. An agent that holds the company's ownership documents in one place, and checks them against the public record before each confirmation statement, gives directors a simple annual review: here is what we file, here is what our documents say, do they match.
Where Pryme fits
The Pryme Compliance agent keeps an obligations register with a clock for each filing and checks events against the policy set you load. It stops where its mandate ends, and directors decide. The Chief of Staff puts the decision in the morning brief. Every action is recorded with its source, as described in audit trails for AI agents.
Questions people ask
What percentage makes someone a PSC?
More than 25% of shares or voting rights is one test. The right to appoint or remove a majority of the board, or significant influence or control, are others.
Can a company have no PSC?
Yes, if no one meets the conditions, but the company must still record that and keep checking.
How quickly must changes be filed?
GOV.UK guidance sets time limits, generally 14 days to update the information and 14 days to tell Companies House. Check the current guidance.
Can an AI agent file the PSC change?
It can draft the information, but a director should check and submit it, because directors are responsible for accurate filings.
Sources
- GOV.UK: People with significant control (PSCs) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: File your confirmation statement with Companies House · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Verifying your identity for Companies House · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.