UK companies are struggling to meet their deadlines for filing accounts to Companies House. According to figures obtained by the Financial Times, there was a 25% increase in late filings over the four years to the end of March 2008 as companies struggle to balance their books. A total of 238,699 companies filed their accounts late last year. Credit insurer Coface told the paper late accounts can mean automatic withdrawal of trade credit insurance for a company if there is other information that casts doubt on its ability to operate as a going concern. Chief executive Xavier Deneker said: 'This is a very important indicator of a company struggling.' Richard Bennison, head of UK audit at KPMG, said: 'Companies are having to work harder to show they have sufficient cash and sources of funding for the coming year to stay within their facilities and covenants.' Companies House has seen a 30% rise in revenues from fines levied for such late filings over the past four years and last year collected more than £53m.