The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The charity was incorporated on 29 January 2016. Charitable status was accepted on 12 February 2016.
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 Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2019).
The charity's core objectives are:
the advancement of religion and education through the promotion of the Christian gospel both in the UK and overseas;
the advancement of education, health and citizenship and community development; and
the relief of poverty
Without prejudice to the generality of the above, the charity may seek to fulfil its objectives through the disbursement of charitable grants to organisations and individuals involved in the pursuit of those same objectives.
The Trustees have absolute discretion in selecting beneficiaries who qualify within the terms of charity's objectives.
The Trustees continue to seek to identify projects to support that fall within the charitable purposes of the charity.
The total charitable grants made in the year, as detailed in note 5, amounted to £1,924,902 (2022 - £2,351,209) and these were paid to 76 (2022 - 69) beneficiaries. All beneficiaries are required to acknowledge all gifts received. The trustees monitor the organisations and individuals it supports in a variety of ways including:
receiving accounts and reports;
visiting and meeting beneficiaries throughout the year; and
quarterly reports, disseminating such information, are prepared and distributed to the trustees.
Not only do such visits and reports enable the trustees to fulfil their legal duties but they also assist them in understanding in greater measure the nature of the different beneficiaries who are supported. The net income for the year was £48.
Total income is distributed in line with the charity's charitable objectives. In order to meet its objectives, the charity aims to maintain an appropriate amount of the total fund in liquid reserves at all times in order to be able to respond to suitable applications as and when they arise. The reserves carried forward from 2022 were £59,573.
All funds of the charity are restricted.
The principal funding source is donations from Balmoral Group Holdings Limited and related companies.
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association and recognised as a charity by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator in accordance with the provisions of The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.
The charity is managed by the Board of Trustees, which may exercise all the powers of the charity, and do on behalf of the charity, all such acts as may be exercised and done by the charity. The Board of Trustees meet quarterly when the governance and affairs of the company are discussed and detailed reports are presented on its various activities.
As Chief Executive, Kevin W Binnie is responsible for overseeing the charity's development, control environment and the running of its day to day operations. Mr Binnie is an employee and director of Balmoral Group Holdings Limited through which he is remunerated. The charity is run out of Balmoral Group's offices and Balmoral Group finance staff carry out the day-to-day book-keeping, cash management and financial reporting activities of the charity. All these costs are covered by Balmoral Group Holdings Limited.
Any person who is willing to act as a Trustee, and is permitted by law to do so, may be appointed to be a Trustee:
by ordinary resolution of the Members; or
by a decision of the Board of Trustees.
Any member may stand for election as a Trustee at a general meeting of the charity.
The maximum number of Trustees on the Board of Trustees is ten.
None of the Trustees have any beneficial interest in the charity.
Membership is open to persons who apply for membership and are approved as such in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association. No person shall be admitted a Member of the charity unless their membership is approved by the Board of Trustees. The liability of each Member is limited to £1, being the maximum amount which each Member of the charity undertakes to contribute if the charity is wound up whilst they are a Member or within one year after they cease to be a Member, for payment of its debts and liabilities contracted before they ceased to be a Member, and of the costs, charges and expenses of winding up. All of the Trustees are Members of the charity and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The Board of Trustees may delegate any of its functions to any committee consisting of one or more Trustees, one or more Member, and such other persons (if any) as the Trustees may determine. A secretary may also be appointed by the Board of Trustees.
Any new Trustees will be provided with a background to the work of the charity and a detailed briefing from an existing Trustee on the aims, objectives and activities of the charity.
No benefit (whether in money or in kind) is given by the charity to any Member or Trustee except:
repayment of out-of-pocket expenses to Trustees, including travelling and other expenses properly incurred by them in connection with the discharge of their duties and approved in advance by the Trustees; or
reasonable remuneration to any Member or Trustee in return for specific services actually rendered to the charity (not being part of a management nature normally carried out by a director of a company); or
payment of interest at a rate not exceeding the commercial rate on money lent to the charity by any Member or Trustees; or
use of and involvement in the charity's property, facilities and activities, provided it is on the same basis as is available to the other Members and/or the general public.
The charity is connected to Balmoral Group Holdings Limited and its related companies through their association with Sir James S Milne and William E Main.
The charity is also connected to Gillespie Macandrew LLP through its association with John McArthur.
The charity is also connected to Friends of Anchor charity through their association with Sir James S Milne, William E Main and Sarah-Jane Hogg.
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:
The Trustees, who are also the directors of The Milne Family Foundation 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;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 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 Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and 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.
On 1 October 2023, our auditors Meston Reid & Co merged with MacIntyre Hudson LLP, trading under the name MHA. In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that MHA be reappointed as auditor of the company was put at a general meeting. MHA has expressed their willingness to continue in office.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The Milne Family Foundation (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities including income and expenditure account, 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, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, 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.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the Trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the Trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the Trustees' report.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees' report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate and proper accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the Trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the Trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
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.
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 does.
Misstatements can arise from fraud and error and are considered material if, individually or in 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 specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
- Enquiry of management, those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims as well as actual, suspected and alleged fraud.
- Agreement of the financial statement disclosure to underlying supporting documentation, review of correspondence and enquiries of management and those charged with governance.
- Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.
- Auditing the risk of management override of controls, and evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions is reasonable.
- Reviewing grant documentation and re-calculating management's calculation of grant expenditure committed pre year-end, in order to gain assurance that said amounts have not been misstated.
Our audit procedures were designed to respond to the risk of material misstatements in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting a misstatement resulting from error, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed as fraud can involve intentional concealment, collusion, misrepresentation, intentional omission, or the override of internal controls which can increase the risk of non-detection.
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 charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members and 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 charitable company, the charitable company’s members as a body,and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Investments
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure was derived from continuing activities.
The Milne Family Foundation is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is Balmoral Park, Loirston, Aberdeen, AB12 3GY.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements have departed from the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn.
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. 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.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors 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.
Donated services and facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified. The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included in these financial statements.
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes VAT which cannot be recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates.
Costs of generating funds incorporates the costs associated with attracting voluntary income and investment management costs.
Costs of charitable activities comprises the costs associated with the charity's principal activities and are accounted for when payable. In addition, governance costs which represent expenditure associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity, and include audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity, are included in the costs of charitable activities.
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 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.
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.
Investments
Legal and professional fees
Travel costs
Bank interest and charges
Legal and professional fees includes Auditor's remuneration of £3,900 (2022 - £2,880).
None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year and are not paid any expenses for attending Board meetings. Trustees may reclaim repayment of out-of-pocket expenses, including travelling and other expenses, properly incurred by them in connection with the discharge of their duties and approved in advance by the Trustees.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of the chief executive officer is met in full by Balmoral Group Holdings Limited.
Included within Other beneficiary is a grant made to one organisation of £24,000 for the purpose of the advancement of religion in a currently volatile part of the world. The Trustees have reserved the right to apply the exemption available on the grounds of serious prejudice and have not disclosed details of the recipient.
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.
The charity is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee having no share capital and, in accordance with the Memorandum of Association, every member is liable to contribute a sum of £1 in the event of the charity being wound up. At 31 December 2023 there were 5 members.
The only fund administered by the charity is the restricted fund which is disclosed in full in the Statement of Financial Activities.
The relevant circumstances requiring disclosure in accordance with the requirements of APB Ethical Standard - Provisions Available for Small Entities are that, in common with many charities of our size and nature we use our auditors to assist with the preparation of the financial statements.
The charity received donations in both cash and kind of £1,936,686 (2022 - £2,382,553) from Balmoral Group Holdings Limited during the year of which £173,447 (2022 - £450,000), was outstanding at the year end.
Charity expenditure of £14,239 (2022 - £3,553) was met by Balmoral Group Holdings and is included in the donations figure above.
Sir James S Milne and William E Main, Trustees, are directors of Balmoral Group Holdings Limited. Sir James S Milne holds an 80% shareholding in Balmoral Group Holdings Limited.