An erupting volcano and a paper-eating goat are just two of the unusual explanations provided by directors for their inability to file their company accounts on time, according to this year’s analysis by Companies House of the most unusual excuses it received.

Other reasons given for not meeting the deadline included the filer finding his wife in the bath with his accountant; the distraction of Valentine’s Day; and theft of documents by pirates. Also featuring in the Companies House top ten was a claim that slugs had eaten the accounts, a director who said the accounts had been delivered ‘to the betting office next door to Companies House’ and the boss who said ‘my company was more successful than I thought that it would be, so I was too busy to file.’

The companies which gave these excuses all received a late filing penalty and unsuccessfully appealed. Penalties increase depending on how late the accounts are filed and the status of the company and are doubled if accounts are filed late for two years in a row.