This is my last annual report after 10 years as chair, I will be stepping down and passing on the custody of the Community Alliance to my successor. I would like to thank all current and former staff, volunteers and trustees for a rewarding and enjoyable decade.
I would like to pay tribute to our board of trustees, who give their time and expertise to develop, monitor and scrutinise our plans, to our staff who continue to develop new ideas and skills, enable us to support our local community through our local hubs and projects, and our volunteers, who give their time to support our various activities.
This past year has been a consolidation of our new business plan, new branding, website and increase of our staff base, to support the different pillars which represent who we are, what we do, and guided us forward with confidence as the Community Alliance for Broxbourne and East Herts. We have continued to build new networks fit for today’s challenges, which have been welcomed by our colleagues, partners, and funders. We have also taken on new projects and transitioned familiar ones.
Our grateful thanks are due to all our funders and partners, East Herts Council, Broxbourne Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Network Homes, Hertfordshire Community Foundation, Community Help Hertfordshire, Local Trust and many more.
I would like to finish by thanking Ian for his continued leadership and motivation, supported by his leadership team. Thank you to our staff and volunteers for their professionalism and dedication to their work, and my board of trustees for their support, ideas, commitment, and contribution to our success this year.
The next year will be a bigger challenge as issues of the past few years will not disappear and new problems begin to hit the most vulnerable. You can rest assured the Community Alliance for Broxbourne and East Herts will be there when needed!
Jan Wing
The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)".
When deciding on activities and programmes, the Trustees of Community Alliance Broxbourne and East Herts (CA BEH) pay due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit.
The description under the headings "Achievements and performance" and "Financial review" meet the company law requirements for the Trustees to present a strategic report.
The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Gowers Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The Trustees, who are also the directors of Community Alliance Broxbourne and East Herts for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Community Alliance Broxbourne and East Herts (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Trustees' report; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees' responsibilities, the Trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below:
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:
considering the nature of the charitable sector, the charity’s control environment and performance,
results of our enquiries of management and representatives of the trustees about their own identification and assessment of irregularities;
any matters we identified having reviewed the charity’s procedures relating to identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and the internal systems established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations.
the matters considered by the engagement team, including tax, regarding where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.
As a result of the above, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in management override of controls. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override. We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework in which the charity operates, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements in this case, specifically in this context, Charities Act 2011, Companies Act 2006, and tax legislation. In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the charity’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty.
Having performed the above, we did not identify any key audit matters related to the potential risk of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations. In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:
reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations discussed above;
enquiring of management and trustees, concerning actual and potential litigation and claims;
review of minutes of trustees’ meetings;
performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud; and
in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, reviewing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members, and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Gowers Limited is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
Donations and voluntary income
Promotion of charitable purposes in Broxbourne and East Herts
Commercial activities and fundraising
Investment income
Promotion of charitable purposes in Broxbourne and East Herts
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Donations and voluntary income
Promotion of charitable purposes in Broxbourne and East Herts
Commercial activities and fundraising
Investment income
Promotion of charitable purposes in Broxbourne and East Herts
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Community Alliance Broxbourne and East Herts is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Nigel Copping Community Building, Sanville Gardens, Stanstead Abbotts, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 8GA.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, [modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value]. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the Trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Resources expended are included in the SOFA on an accruals basis inclusive of VAT.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Creditors and provisions
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Donations and voluntary income
Grants for core activities and Covid-19 support
Promotion of charitable purposes in Broxbourne and East Herts
Commercial activities and fundraising
Other Earned Income
Investment income
Promotion of charitable purposes in Broxbourne and East Herts
Training and information costs
Direct project costs
Premises costs
Insurance
Office costs
Computer costs
Repairs and maintenance
Travel and subsistence costs
General expenses
Professional costs
Bank charges
Governance costs
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Contributions totalling £6,538 were made to defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of employees whose emoluments exceed £60,000.
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
Transfers represent fund transfers from unrestricted funds to restricted funds.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
Big Local Trust is part of a wider initiative run by the local trust providing neighbourhoods with financial support to undertake projects which benefit their area. The charity is the "Trusted Local Organisation" for the Wormley & Turnford, Bountagu, Chinbrook, Worlds End and Lots Road, Wembley Central, Hackney, Broad Green, Elthorne Pride and Noel Park Big Local projects and as such holds the funds for the projects.
Foodbanks represents a series of grants from Public Health England to fund foodbank provision in East Hertfordshire.
Building Better Opportunities is is a project to tackle poverty and promote social inclusion by tackling barriers into employment through mentoring.
Community Transport is a project to provide transport for the community.
Job Smart is an employability project aimed at light touch support for unemployed residents of Broxbourne and East Hertfordshire.
Heritage Lottery Fund is a project profiling and celebrating the voluntary sector in Broxbourne over the last 50 years through an exhibition and website to be developed over the 2020/21 financial year. The project has several partners including Broxbourne Council and Hertford Regional College.
HAFLS Community Learning is CVSBEH delivery of short non-accredited courses and workshops for local residents through an annual contract with HAFLS. The contract for 2019/20 was for approximately 200 unique learners.
Fuel poverty is a project working with East Herts Council to provide grants to local residents that are referred to us as requiring financial support to meet rising fuel costs.
Kickstart is funding from the government's KickStart scheme to provide financial support towards the employment of young people 16-24 for a period of 6 months. We employed two members of staff through this scheme.
Southern Maltings is providing support and administration to the project.
Waltham Cross Allotment is a Community Allotment project linked to the Healthy Hub based in Waltham Cross.
Volunteering Programme is towards employing a Volunteer Coordinator.
Multiply is a project run in conjunction with Hertfordshire County Council Step 2 Skills to run workshops and courses to bring a wealth of opportunities to beat number anxiety, remove confusion around sums.
Lowewood Museum is providing support and administration to the project.
Healthy Hubs is a project working in partnership with the Borough of Broxbourne Council to deliver the Healthy Hub Broxbourne, a free one-stop shop for health and wellbeing information, advice and support.
Other are miscellaneous smaller restricted funds.
The Contingency Fund has been established to set aside an amount equal to three months running costs to cover temporary shortfalls in funding.
The Business Development Fund has been established to build capacity and put into action the business plan.
Future Sustainability Reserve - The Trustees have a concern that it has become increasingly more challenging to generate income to obtain funding. The Future Sustainability Reserve has been created as a buffer for future funding shortfalls.
Employment Fund is to assist with the costs of Human Resources compliance.
The charity has an operating lease commitment in respect of premises at the Nigel Copping Community Building. The lease is due to expire on 31 March 2024 and the annual rent is increasing incrementally from £11,000 in 2019/20 to £17,000 in 2023/24.
The charity had an operating lease commitment in respect of the Waltham Cross Community Skills Hub premises at 59 High Street, Waltham Cross. The lease expired on 30 November 2022 and is currently on a rolling basis pending agreement of a new lease, the rent is at a cost of £24,000 including VAT per annum plus a service charge of approximately £16,000 including VAT per annum.
The charity has a lease for 67 Fore Street, Hertford. The current lease is due to expire on 30 June 2024, the rent is at a cost of £25,000 per annum (no VAT).
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).
The charity had no debt during the year.