Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be gobsmacked that an interviewee openly told dh that he had looked at our accounts…

989 replies

ChampagneWorries · 24/05/2021 18:40

On companies house?

Dh did an interview today via zoom and the interviewee openly told him that they had looked at our company accounts on companies house to see if we were a healthy company!

Our dividends are on there and I'm really shocked that he basically admitted to being so nosey.

I know they are public information (which i disagree with) but they do show the company income, how much cash was in the bank and our salary etc.

Dh wants to offer him the job as he had some good qualities, but this has really put me off him.

I know people do look at peoples companies on the companies house, but you don't bloody tell them surely?!

Would you still offer him the job?

OP posts:
ClaudiaWankleman · 25/05/2021 11:09

I asked a guy i know who has a limited company (smaller than ours) and he agreed with me.

And approximately 600 posts here have said the exact opposite.

Cheshiresun · 25/05/2021 11:10

It shows common sense. I'm looking at the financial viability of private schools at the moment in a similar way, it's good to know what financial position a company is in, if available, to secure and protect yourself!

DaphneDuBois · 25/05/2021 11:11

Also, people correcting your grammar / spelling etc need to get a life. Condescending. I teach English and I still manage not to be a dickhead about it. We all make errors on our phones / in a rush.

saraclara · 25/05/2021 11:11

You've taken this pretty well, OP. I'm a very private person myself, and now you've explained the background, I can see why you reacted as you did, even though it was irrational.

Definitely get the amount of detail changed on CH if you can. I checked my own details on there and there's absolutely nothing about me, as opposed to the company on there, apart from name and DOB.

saraclara · 25/05/2021 11:12

@DaphneDuBois

Also, people correcting your grammar / spelling etc need to get a life. Condescending. I teach English and I still manage not to be a dickhead about it. We all make errors on our phones / in a rush.
Yep, that. And given the detail about her upbringing, it's probably that OP didn't get the educational opportunities that some MNers did.
StormzyinaTCup · 25/05/2021 11:15

As PPs have said, if filing accounts online at Companies House you only need balance sheet figures, so total assets/liabilities/total no of employees etc. You yourself would obviously receive a full set of accounts with a breakdown of those figures. I can only think your accountant maybe doesn’t do online filing and so sends a full paper copy to CH in which case they will scan in the full copy.

HeronLanyon · 25/05/2021 11:16

It’s been said before but applying to a small firm I think it shows complete common amende to look at how healthy the company is before applying or making any decisions. I’d see this as a hugely positive feature of this applicant and also that he raised it in interview. Why not !?

Good luck op.

Spidey66 · 25/05/2021 11:20

@vivainsomnia

YoP just doesn’t want people to see how much she is paying herself. She says it’s embarrassing. It’s not hard to deduct why it might be.
She has posted elsewhere she spends £750 per month on clothes for her children. I don't spend that much a year on clothes for myself, which unless I lose or (more likely!) gain weight I'm not going to grow out of in 5 minutes.
Whippet · 25/05/2021 11:20

YABVVU
Shows initiative and a financial mindset, with an ability to research and find key data.

daisychain01 · 25/05/2021 11:21

The Receptionist/Sales Ledger Clerk at our firm paid to have access to the owner's will as she wanted to know how much money their sons had been left! That information really should be private.

Whilst in one sense that's a very vile and inappropriate thing to do - not least of all (presumably) shooting her mouth off telling all and sundry what she'd done, the core tenets of our democratic society is transparency and ability to scrutinise.

Wills are, and should be, a matter for public scrutiny, because it gives the opportunity for people to flag concerns if they suspect wrong-doing. The only way that can be achieved is to make records available for a modest fee. It stops nefarious greedy family members from blocking access to a will they don't want people to see etc. It is also important to see what death duties/taxes are due to the Government.

WaltzForDebbie · 25/05/2021 11:22

I would think that it's a very good thing to show he has researched the company. In a finance role it would be sloppy if someone going for the interview didn't look at the accounts.

JosephineDeBeauharnais · 25/05/2021 11:22

@Booksaremylife

This is why, OP, I try to avoid working for the owners of SMEs. IMHO they're all a bit odd in someway, and you'd think every penny spent was coming right out of their pocket there and then.
Agree with this.
Ginuwine · 25/05/2021 11:23

@DaphneDuBois

Also, people correcting your grammar / spelling etc need to get a life. Condescending. I teach English and I still manage not to be a dickhead about it. We all make errors on our phones / in a rush.

The irony is that all the grammar fiends may or may not be earning less than what OP has managed to generate with her business acumen.

Still, let's not let the facts get the way of seizing on any perceived flaw in order to give out a good old fashioned AIBU kicking. Hmm

purplefoxglove · 25/05/2021 11:23

I get that you don't want people knowing how much your company makes - I'd rather people didn't know too! But we also encourage a spirit of openness - I don't think it's an inappropriate thing to admit at an interview - it shows a keen interest and thoroughness - a quality we don't seem to see enough of at interviews because they make it clear you are one of many and they can't even be arsed reading the about us section of our website before an interview! So while I understand your concern over your privacy I think you are getting a bit heated over something that is a positive indication of candidate rather than negative.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 25/05/2021 11:24

@blobby10, how on earth can you reason that wills should be private?

Ok, the person you quote was just being nosy, in which case she should have kept her mouth shut about it, in which case nobody would have known.

Wills are made public for a reason. Otherwise a less than honest executor could distribute an estate as s/he wished, rather than according to the wishes of the deceased. S/he could easily leave out someone they disliked, or a sibling they were estranged from, or someone who perhaps had not seen the deceased for some years and would never have expected anything.

I dare say some of these happen anyway - no sense in making it that much easier.

Devlesko · 25/05/2021 11:25

@WaltzForDebbie

I would think that it's a very good thing to show he has researched the company. In a finance role it would be sloppy if someone going for the interview didn't look at the accounts.
Not sure if you'll see this. Fab username Grin Hope I'm right with Bill Evens, the legend.
Devlesko · 25/05/2021 11:26

Evans. Blush

purplefoxglove · 25/05/2021 11:26

@Whippet

YABVVU Shows initiative and a financial mindset, with an ability to research and find key data.
It's really not that impressive - anyone who can google can do it.
abonae · 25/05/2021 11:28

I've always considered this sensible due diligence, whether I was interviewing or applying. I am, frankly, amazed by your attitude to this.

Jaxhog · 25/05/2021 11:28

I've done this every time. I do it for new customers as well, and invite my customers to check on my details. It's part of open and fair business.

You should really be commending your new guy for being so thorough.

purplefoxglove · 25/05/2021 11:30

The Receptionist/Sales Ledger Clerk at our firm paid to have access to the owner's will as she wanted to know how much money their sons had been left! Shock That's very nosy!

Scottishskifun · 25/05/2021 11:32

He sounds very sensible and checked out that it was a place he wished to work and was relatively stable. In this economic situation especially when so many businesses are going under its a good idea to check the company that you interview for is in a reasonable position.

I get your own personal feelings on this but look at in reverse. If you were leaving a job for something else surely you would want to know it wasn't going to fold and leave you unemployed and also if there was potential to grow within the role.

BertramLacey · 25/05/2021 11:36

It's really not that impressive - anyone who can google can do it.

If they're aware that Companies House exists and know the information it's likely to contain they will. Not everybody has those facts at their fingertips.

It's fairly standard OP. I look at people's Linked In profiles before an interview to get an idea about who's interviewing me. I also look places up on Companies House. I have a good read of their annual reports. To me it's fairly standard research for an interview. It would never occur to me that it would upset someone and if it did, to be honest I wouldn't want to work for them. It's not like I hack into their social media. Interviews are a two-way process. I might not be a good fit with the company and the people, and I'd rather know that before accepting a position.

KellyanneConway · 25/05/2021 11:39

Assuming this will be his only job, he will be depending on this role to keep a roof over his head, feed dependents, plan for the future etc. Why shouldn’t he have been upfront with your DH about checking the company’s financial situation out? Are you one of those employers who think employees should know their place and walk on eggshells around the bosses so they don’t offend? Should he be breathlessly grateful that he’s even got an interview? I don’t understand your reaction.

purplefoxglove · 25/05/2021 11:41

@BertramLacey

It's really not that impressive - anyone who can google can do it.

If they're aware that Companies House exists and know the information it's likely to contain they will. Not everybody has those facts at their fingertips.

It's fairly standard OP. I look at people's Linked In profiles before an interview to get an idea about who's interviewing me. I also look places up on Companies House. I have a good read of their annual reports. To me it's fairly standard research for an interview. It would never occur to me that it would upset someone and if it did, to be honest I wouldn't want to work for them. It's not like I hack into their social media. Interviews are a two-way process. I might not be a good fit with the company and the people, and I'd rather know that before accepting a position.

Yet it's fairly standard you say? Which would equate with not that impressive?