The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 July 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 charitable company'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)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The main objective of the charitable company is the advancement of education for the public benefit. The charitable company aims to raise monies through various fundraising initiatives and donations for the purpose of granting and establishing bursaries, scholarships and prizes. These grants, bursaries and scholarships will be awarded to any charitable educational establishment approved by the trustees and to pupils and students studying at any of these approved educational establishments.
The charitable company continued to receive reasonable levels of donations, however these are lower than we have seen in recent years. The charitable company has still been able to make grant awards in line with its charitable objectives.
The surplus for the year amounted to £243 (2023: £6,583).
It is the Board's policy to aim to retain sufficient funds to allow timely granting of awards and expenses to appropriate persons. Total unrestricted reserves at the balance sheet date amounted to £144,928 (2023: £144,685).
Unrestricted general funds - these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees.
The charitable company has risk management policies and procedures through which risks arising from the existing operations and developments are identified and evaluated. The trustees are required to identify and analyse risks relevant to their scope of activities; assess them according to the impact on the charitable company and their likelihood of occurrence and report on the procedures which are in place, or are being developed or enhanced, to provide assurance that the risk is being managed.
The trustees have various projects underway to raise awareness and income in the coming year. This, together with the accumulated surplus, should allow the Foundation to continue to award grants, bursaries and hardship awards in the coming year.
The Albyn Foundation (a charitable company limited by guarantee) is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The company was incorporated on 18 September 2008 and it is a registered charity. In the event of the charitable company being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member.
The number of trustees of the charitable company is not less than 1 and not more than 20. The majority of trustees are required to be UK resident and each member of the charitable company shall also be a trustee. One third of the trustees retire by rotation every 3 years. Upon retiral by rotation a person may be re-appointed as a trustee if he/she consents to such re-appointment and such appointment has the unanimous approval of the remaining trustees.
A Co-Chair of Albyn School Limited, G Bell, is also a trustee of the Albyn Foundation.
Trustees advertise to attract candidates that could best meet the skills and experience required to further the aims and aspirations of the Foundation. Candidates will be considered and may then be appointed by the existing Directors following the receipt of a signed application form. Applications are invited from individuals who can bring knowledge and experience to one or more areas such as secondary education, legal, finance, charitable fundraising, or marketing. These applications are then considered alongside the existing trustees' skillset.
The charitable company's operations are overseen by the Board of Trustees who meet regularly to monitor progress and plan future initiatives. The day to day running of the charitable company is managed by Chris Simpson, Bursar. The accounting records are maintained by Chris Simpson.
The Board strives to ensure that the trustees are informed and educated on their role and responsibilities as a charity trustee.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Albyn School Limited and its pupils/potential pupils are to be the beneficiaries of funds raised by The Albyn Foundation. All expenses of The Albyn Foundation are met by Albyn School Limited. Albyn School Limited is the ultimate parent company of The Albyn Foundation.
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 Albyn 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 charitable company 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 charitable company 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 charitable company 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 charitable company 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 MHA be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The Albyn Foundation (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 July 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities including the 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 charitable company 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 charitable company’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 charitable company 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.
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 charitable company 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 charitable company’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 Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and report in accordance with the Acts 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.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the charitable company, 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. The most relevant frameworks we identified included: UK GAAP and the Charities SORP, the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
We gained an understanding of how the charitable company is complying with these laws and regulations by making enquiries of management and those charged with governance. We corroborated these enquiries through our review of submitted returns and board meeting minutes.
We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company's financial statements to material misstatement, including how fraud might occur, by meeting with management and those charged with governance to understand where it was considered there was susceptibility to fraud. This evaluation also considered how management and those charged with governance were remunerated and whether this provided an incentive for fraudulent activity. We considered the overall control environment and how management and those charged with governance oversee the implementation and operation of controls. In areas of the financial statements where the risks were considered to be higher, we performed procedures to address each identified risk.
The following procedures were performed to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements were free of material fraud or error:
Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance for reference to: breaches of laws and regulation or for any indication of any potential litigation and claims; and events or conditions that could indicate an incentive or pressure to commit fraud or provide an opportunity to commit fraud;
Reviewing the level of and reasoning behind the charitable company's procurement of legal and professional services;
Performing audit work procedures over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing judgements made by management in their calculation of accounting estimates for potential management bias;
Agreement of the financial statement disclosures to supporting documentation.
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 one resulting from error, as fraud may involve intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it.
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.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Albyn Foundation is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is 2 Marischal Square, Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1DQ. The principal place of business is 17-23 Queen's Road, Aberdeen, AB15 4PB.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), 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 charitable company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has availed itself of S396 of the Companies House Act 2006, as permitted in paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 1 of SI 2008 no.409, and adapted the Companies Act formats to reflect the special nature of the charity's activities.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charitable company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis and under the historical cost convention, modified for value as required. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The Albyn Foundation is controlled by Albyn School Limited and the results are included in the consolidated financial statements which are publicly available. See note 16 for details.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have identified no material uncertainties and have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least the next 12 months from the date on which these accounts have been approved. Thus, the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Funds held by the charitable company are unrestricted funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
All income is included on the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy, and it is probable that income will be received.
Income represents donations from individuals and groups, related gift aid, bank interest, dividends from listed investments and income from managed funds. Donated services, such as salary costs, and accountancy fees which are paid by Albyn School Limited, are included at the trustees' best estimate of the value or at actual value. The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included in these financial statements.
Expenditure is included on an accruals basis, inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered.
Charitable activities include all costs relating to activities where the primary aim is part of the objectives of the charitable company.
Governance costs are the costs relating to the governance arrangements of the charitable company. These costs are included within charitable activities.
Grants payable are included when approved by the trustees. The value of such grants unpaid at the year-end is accrued. Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year-end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.
Fixed asset investments comprise a managed portfolio and are measured at fair value, based on year-end market values provided by the fund manager. Changes in fair value are recognised in 'net gains/(losses) on investments' in the SOFA.
Cash and cash equivalents are basic financial assets and include cash in hand and deposits held at call with banks.
The charitable company 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 charitable company's balance sheet when the charitable company 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.
Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through income and expenditure, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting end date. Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected.
Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the charitable company transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charitable company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
In the application of the charitable company’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.
The trustees consider that there are no estimates or underlying assumptions which have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities.
Unrestricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Unrestricted funds
There was no remuneration or other benefits paid to trustees or anyone connected with them for the year ended 31 July 2024 nor for the year ended 31 July 2023.
Trustees'expenses
There were no expenses paid to trustees, anyone connected with them, nor paid directly on their behalf for the year ended 31 July 2024 nor for the year ended 31 July 2023.
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 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.
The transactions between the charitable company and its parent have been disclosed in note 16. No Trustees or key management personnel received any remuneration or reimbursement of expenses in the current or prior year.
There were no other related party transactions in the current or prior year.
The Albyn Foundation's ultimate parent company is Albyn School Limited, a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in Scotland (Company number SC026743, Charity number SC008392). The principal activities of the ultimate parent company continued to be that of the conduct of a school on a non-profit basis. The charitable company's results are included in the consolidated financial statements of Albyn School Limited. Copies of the consolidated financial statements can be obtained from Albyn School Limited registered office, 2 Marischal Square, Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1DQ.
During the year, audit and accountancy fees amounting to £3,000 (2023: £3,000) were paid by Albyn School Limited on behalf of the charitable company. Best estimates of the amounts involved have been included in the financial statements.
The Albyn Foundation paid £4,966 (2023: £8,702) of grants to Albyn School Limited during the year and received donations of £240 (2023: £11,800) from Albyn School during the year.
As the charitable company is limited by guarantee of the members, the charitable company has no issued share capital. Each member has undertaken to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards any deficit arising in the event of the charitable company being wound up.
The charitable company had no material debt during the year.