The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024.
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), 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 company's objects are to provide within Scotland ("the Operating Area") facilities for recreation and leisure time occupation available to the public at large with the view to improving their conditions of life.
To relieve poverty, further health and advance the education of the people resident in the Operating Area, in particular through:
Developing community recycling services;
Recycling glass, white goods, non-ferrous metal, aluminium cans and bicycle components for the benefit of the environment;
Repairing and refurbishing bicycles at affordable prices;
Encouraging the healthy pursuit of cycling and providing training in cycling;
Providing volunteering, education and training opportunities in the delivery of the charity services.
2023/24 has been a year of continued growth and development for the charity, building on the successes of the previous year. However, as with any period of growth, there have also been challenges that we have had to navigate along the way.
As our projects expanded and new programmes were added to meet demand we’ve added more staff to our team, becoming a larger and more diverse team of skilled and passionate workers.
In 2023/24, we saw sustained demand for bike sales in our shop. Our workshop and shop team once again worked hard to maintain a steady supply of affordable, quality reused bikes. Additionally, we saw continued demand for repairs and servicing, further contributing to the overall success of the shop.
During 2023/24, we maintained our commitment to delivering many of the successful projects from the previous year while introducing new offerings. Our focus was on taking a more holistic approach, ensuring that we provided comprehensive support to our community and clients. By broadening the range of services and opportunities available, we aimed to meet the diverse needs of those we serve and maximise the positive impact of our outreach efforts. As a charity we are used to operating under tight deadlines and budgets, aspects of 2023/24 were challenging especially as we added new projects in but overall it was a successful year of growth and achievement.
Operationally
During the summer of 2023, the Active Elders sessions continued to be a valuable part of our offerings, specifically designed for people over 50. These sessions provided a supportive environment where participants could learn or improve their cycling skills, with a focus on building confidence on the bike. Whether they were complete beginners or returning to cycling after years away, the programme catered to all levels, helping older adults rediscover the joy of cycling while also promoting health, wellbeing, and social connections.
Our Active Travel project focused on engaging women, girls, and families from SIMD 1 and 2 areas, ensuring that cycling opportunities were accessible to those who need it most. The project offered a wide range of activities, including free bike maintenance sessions specifically for women, empowering them to take control of their bike care and gain confidence in their cycling independence. Family weekend rides took participants through scenic park routes across Stirling, providing a fun, healthy way for families to spend time together while discovering local cycling paths. We also organised bike giveaways, helping more families get access to bikes, and offered free learn to ride lessons for those new to cycling or returning after a long break. In addition, our Dr Bike sessions, held at community centres in Stirling and Clacks, allowed locals to bring in their bikes for free repairs, ensuring they had safe, working bikes to enjoy. Through these initiatives, the project helped break down barriers to cycling and encouraged active, sustainable travel.
We proudly supported all primary schools across Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire with Bikeability 2 classes, delivering essential on-road cycling skills to pupils. This comprehensive coverage meant that every school in both local authorities participated—an achievement that no other provider across the UK has matched. The programme teaches children how to cycle safely on the roads, equipping them with the confidence to navigate real-world cycling environments. In addition to Bikeability 2, we worked with many of these schools to offer Bikeability 1 sessions. These sessions focused on the basics of cycling, introducing children to the fundamentals through fun, interactive games and activities conducted within the safety of the school playground. This early exposure helps lay a solid foundation for future cycling adventures.
InspiRide, our 6 week Training and Employability course continued to grow from strength to strength. The participants involved are all 16+ and not in training, education or employment when on the course. By teaching them mechanic and bike riding skills as well as volunteering opportunities and personalised employability support, we hope that the participants felt better equipped to move onto positive destinations once their course ended. During the course participants also get to build and keep their own bike – enabling them to have access to free and environmentally sustainable transport once the course has ended. Participants regularly report that their self-esteem and confidence has vastly improved because of being a part of InspiRide. In post course surveys we noted that a substantial amount of the participants moved into employment or other training and volunteer opportunities once their course was completed.
Our volunteer programme provided valuable opportunities for skill development and hands-on experience. Volunteers gained skills in bike stripping, cleaning and maintaining parts, stock management, and bike building. They are an essential part of our community at Recyke-a-bike, and we’re deeply grateful for their commitment and hard work.
The Community Dr Bike and Maintenance classes continued to provide free bike repairs and free to access bike maintenance classes to various communities throughout the Forth Valley, with a focus on rural and SIMD locations when possible. We hope that by attending the classes the communities become more self-sustainable and are able to tackle minor bike repairs themselves. The Dr Bike repairs have enabled people to access free repairs and ensure that their bike is a safe mode of transportation for themselves or their family members.
We provided 32 free bike packages (recycled bike plus a new helmet, lights and lock) to adults living in the Forth Valley area who don’t have access to a bike, thanks to funding provided by Cycling UK. Many of the adults who were given a bike were New Scots or those seeking employment opportunities. We heard from those who referred the participants that the bike offered a lifeline to new opportunities, reduced isolation and helped provide a green and affordable mode of transport. FEL also supported funded a project to give away 6 bike packages to those wanting to use the bike to reduce their reliance on cars/buses, thus promoting environmental sustainability.
Cycling Scotland funded us to give away 100 recycled bikes (and new accessories) as well as 3 brand new trikes. The 100 bikes went to children within Stirling. Within this project we worked with Stirlingshire schools, Women’s Aid, Forth Valley Welcome, the Resettlement Team at Stirling Council, the NHS, Stirling Young Carers and other organisations to refer young people to us who would receive a bike. We had fantastic results with this project, with Wallace High School noting a vast improvement in attendance and behaviour of the children who received a bike. We are extremely proud of the life changing project as well as the adults free bike project.
A new project for 23/24 was our Bike Library, which was predominately made up of electric bikes and initially funded by Energy Savings Trust. The free to access Bike Library was a fantastic new project that we are particularly pleased with. It offers free bike loans to adults within the Forth Valley area for 1 month. We intentionally ensured that the bikes available within the library were as inclusive and accessible as possible and included trikes, recumbent bikes, cargo bikes and standard e-bikes within the project. Towards the end of 23/24 we secured funding from Cycling UK to expand the number of bikes available within the project and improve the storage of bikes within the library – our library fleet went from 8 bikes to 35, enabling us to give more people access to free bike loans.
With thanks to The People’s Postcode Trust we bought a Van Raam Fun2Go side-by-side electric bike. This bike enabled us to take out people who couldn’t ordinarily cycle on their own and included people with brain injuries, dementia, ASD and sight loss. Riders told us how much they loved being out on the bike, feeling the wind in their hair – some crying with laughter and singing songs whilst out on the bike. This amazing bike has the ability to change lives and has become a firm favourite within the fleet at Recyke-a-bike.
Stirling Council commissioned us to run a mini time-trial at the UCI Time Trial events in August 2023. We were based at the Activation Field and set up a route for all riders to complete, with prizes awarded for the fastest adults and children. We had 170 riders complete our free to access time trial route.
Continuing one of the trends from 22/23 we’ve again noticed another drop in bike donations, partly because more people are choosing to refurbish bikes for private sale and also due to challenges some customers face with transporting bikes to us. To address this, we’ve increased efforts to collect bikes directly from people’s homes and regularly highlight the importance of donations to our work. These steps help ensure we continue to receive the bikes needed to support our mission.
Processing:
798 bikes donated.
4258 bikes collected.
1630 bikes refurbished for sale in our shop.
865 bikes dismantled for parts re-use/wholesaled.
21.3 tonnes of bikes re-used via sales in our shop (based on an average weight of 12.5kg per bike on assumption that the bikes were 50% adult at 15kg and 50% children’s at 10kg – Furniture Recycling Network figures as specified by Zero Waste Scotland).
10.8 tonnes of bikes recycled for spare parts and/or metal recycling (weight assumptions as above).
Sales:
Bikes sold – 1704 bikes sold.
Bikes serviced or repaired in our shop - 430.
Transactions – 4300.
Refurbished bikes given away:
32 bikes and accessory packages given away to adults within the Forth Valley who ordinarily couldn’t afford a bike.
100 bikes and accessory packages given away to young people within Stirling who ordinarily couldn’t afford a bike.
3 fully accessible new trikes given away to young people with disabilities within Stirling.
Outreach:
Trained 26 participants on our Training and Employability project InspiRide. Over 6 week training courses trainees learnt bike mechanic skills, cycling skills, employability skills and have volunteering opportunities.
74 drivers trained on our PCAT and SUD courses.
320 bikes repaired at the partnered NHS Dr Bike sessions at Forth Valley Royal Hospital and Stirling Health and Care Village.
873 bikes repaired at Dr Bike sessions within the Forth Valley including at Stirling University, Schools, Community Centres and other partner organisations.
118 people trained in bike mechanics at our Community Bike Maintenance Classes based within the Forth Valley.
40 pupils from Coatbridge High School were supported with cycling skills sessions including young people who were disengaged within the curriculum – engaging with them via Mountain Biking and mechanics skills.
Continued to provide RaBelles Rides offering free local guided rides to women and non-binary people. Between April 23 and March 24 we ran 37 rides, with a total 217 riders over those rides. Many beneficiaries returned multiple times highlighting the positive impact these rides have had on building a welcoming and supportive cycling community.
Worked with 3 additional support needs departments/schools, Lochies Primary, New Struan School. These were cycling training sessions with children learning to balance and control bikes if possible. We worked with 27 children across the 48 sessions.
Clackmannanshire - 518 children receiving Level 1 Bikeability training, 507 received Level 2.
Stirlingshire - delivered Bikeability Level 1 training to 248 children and Level 2 to 953 children.
156 people engaged in our Active Travel program, including rides, lessons, repairs and classes.
170 people completed our time trial course at the Stirling UCI activation field.
24 children supported in learning how to ride bike within private lessons.
140 riders with additional needs (mobility, visual, cognitive) utilised our free to access cycling sessions on the Van Raam side-by-side bike.
30 Essential Cycling Skills adult lessons provided free of charge.
20 riders given access to a free electric bike/trike via our e-bike library between May and November 2023.
Placements/Volunteers:
30 people regularly volunteered in our workshop.
Volunteer days: 2706 hours of volunteering was completed over 51 weeks.
1 supported employment placement completed with employment continued into 24/25.
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Our accounts for this year show a surplus of £64,284. The board of directors recognises that Recyke-a-bike (like many organisations) is navigating a period of economic uncertainty, where external economic and political influences are impacting not only the organisation but also its customers and stakeholders. The charity will continue to operate mindfully with regards to the wider economic landscape.
It is the policy of the charity to maintain unrestricted funds which comprise the free reserves of the charity. These reserves are intended to be held to meet the working capital requirements of the charity. The target for the reserves is to build reserves to be at a level of three months’ worth of expenditure to ensure an orderly wind down of operations of the charity should circumstances in the future so dictate. The directors are only able to build up reserves on income generated by the activities of the charity and this can be difficult. The directors regularly review the level of available reserves. The charity also maintains restricted funds which represent those funds received by the charity for set purposes.
At the year end the charity had a net surplus in funds of £184,871. £100,502 of this was restricted funds and the balance of £84,369 being unrestricted funds.
The directors have reviewed the key risks facing the charity and are confident that measures are in place to minimise exposure to these risks.
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Moving forward, we remain focused on identifying opportunities to boost income generation while reducing our reliance on grants. We will continue to prioritise applying for grants that align with our operational plans and support our charitable objectives.
The 2023–2026 Recyke-a-bike Strategic Plan focuses on sustained growth and development. Our goal is to deliver outstanding programmes that promote the benefits of cycling. During 23/24 we successfully achieved many parts of our Strategic Plan through increased affordable bike sales, various expanded cycle training opportunities, and the successful creation of the free to access bike library. We continue to be committed to nurturing our staff by enhancing benefits and offering more professional development opportunities.
We also worked towards the goal of investing in the training of our volunteers, improving their skills in ways that align with our organisational needs. One of our aims is still to become more financially sustainable by building reserves, exploring new revenue streams that complement our charitable work, and strengthening our existing and new partnerships. Throughout, we remain dedicated to our vision, mission, and values.
In October 2024, we formally changed our organisation's legal name from Fallin Community Enterprises to Recyke-a-bike Ltd, aligning our registered identity with our operational name and community presence. While Fallin Community Enterprises is now no longer our official name our commitment to supporting the Fallin community and surrounding areas remains a key priority.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee, with no share capital. It was incorporated and recognised as a charity on 19 July 2005. The charity was incorporated under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. In the event of the charity being wound up, members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.
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The directors who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Appointment of directors is made on a skills/experience/geography basis. |
The governing body of the charity is its Board of Directors. The directors are also the trustees of the charity and are legally responsible for the governance and management. The Board meets regularly during the year.
During the year day-to-day operational matters of the Recyke-a-bike Project is delegated responsibility of the Operations Manager, Eloise Brakefield, who is directly responsible to the Board of Recyke-a-bike Ltd and who is not a Director or Trustee of the charity. Remuneration for the Operations Manager is approved by the Board of Directors.
The directors are already familiar with the work of the charity prior to their appointment to the Board. An induction is provided to all new Directors covering their legal responsibility under charity and company law, the contents of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, Board procedures and decisions making processes, the business plan, resourcing and recent financial performance, current issues and future plans. Training for directors is largely informal.
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The directors, who also act as trustees for the charitable activities of #cd2, are responsible for preparing the Directors 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 directors 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 directors 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 directors 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.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Thomson Cooper be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
We appreciate the dedicated support and meticulous work of our auditors, Thomson Cooper, throughout the audit process and in producing our statutory accounts. We look forward to collaborating with them again in the years to come.
The directors report was approved by the Board of Directors.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Recyke-a-bike Ltd (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 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 directors 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 directors 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 directors 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 (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) 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 directors report; or
proper 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 directors responsibilities, the directors 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 directors 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 directors 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 directors 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 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 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.
We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be the override of controls by management, existence and timing of recognition of income and posting of unusual journals. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included:
• Enquiries of management about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities.
• Sample testing on the posting of journals.
• Reviewing meeting minutes.
• Detailed substantive testing on the completeness of income.
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.
These inherent limitations are particularly significant in the case of misstatement resulting from fraud as this may involve sophisticated schemes designed to avoid detection, including deliberate failure to record transactions, collusion or the provision of intentional misrepresentations.
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 Section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). 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 auditors' 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.
Thomson Cooper 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.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Recyke-a-bike Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is Recyke-a-bike, Factory, Alloa Road, Stirling, Scotland, FK9 5LN.
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), the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "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. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the directors expect that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for a period of not less than 12 months. Thus the directors 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 directors 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.
Grants are recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it and specific performance conditions are met.
All shop sales and outreach work are recognised when goods an services have been delivered. The income is stated net of discounts and VAT.
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with the administration of the charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements and are included within charitable activity expenditure.
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include a number of staff and running costs and governance costs. The bases on which support costs have been allocated are set out in note 7.
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).
Stock is valued at the lower of cost or net realisable value. Donated items of stock are recognised on receipt at fair value which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay for the items on the open market.
All of the charity's stock compromises refurbished donated bikes for sale and goods for resale.
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.
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.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the directors 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.
The Directors are of the opinion that there are no significant estimates or judgements that would have a material impact on the financial statements.
Raising funds
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).
Management have carried out a review of the allocation of expenditure (primarily payroll costs) between restricted and unrestricted funds for the year ended 31 March 2023. This has resulted in a prior year adjustment and a reallocation between funds has been reflected in the Financial Statements. This has no impact on the reported surplus in the year ended 31 March 2023.
The charity had no material debt during the year.