The Companies Act requires public limited companies and their large private subsidiaries to state in days the average time taken to pay their suppliers and to publish this figure in their Directors report. This information provides small suppliers with a broad indication of when they can expect to be paid. In addition, the Federation of Small Businesses league tables of the average payment times of public companies and their large private subsidiaries. This will allow small suppliers, over time, to monitor and compare the payment times of these companies.