The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 October 2024.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The principal activities of the company are to advance UK organ transplantation through six strategic objectives:
to advance scientific and clinical research and innovation relevant to the practice of transplantation;
to promote excellent in professional standards and ethics across the multi-disciplinary transplant community;
to support transplant professional to sustain individual and workforce resilience;
to influence public opinion and operational strategy relevant to transplantation;
to contribute to the advancement of transplantation, from organ donation to long-term follow-up, to maximise patient and transplant outcomes for all organs; and
to collaborate with relevant groups and individuals to ensure that the professional transplant community maintains focus on health inequalities and what matters to patients to live well with a transplant
By being the voice of transplantation for all solid organ transplant communities within the UK, the Society aims to benefit the general public and patients by ensuring that up-to-date knowledge and best practice in transplantation is shared widely between all professional groups, that research that advances the understanding of transplantation is supported and encouraged and that the media is engaged to promote the benefits of organ donation and transplantation and to ensure accurate representation of topical news items.
Public benefit
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Moore Insight continued to provide support to the Society as the BTS Secretariat during 2023/24. On 5 November 2024 the Trustees met with the Secretariat and Brian Mahon, Director Moore Insight, to discuss the contract and review the services provided. This is an ongoing annual review meeting after the new contract was signed in 2023. In November 2024, the executive agreed to a five-year contract (with a 36-month fire break and continued annual contract reviews) renewal with Moore Insight. Events, membership, accounts, and media engagement were examined in turn and, where relevant, adjustments to hours were agreed.
The Society had an active year in 2023/24, consolidating activities in line with the strategic plan, originally published in 2015 and reviewed in June 2017.
The Society in 2024 had five affiliated organisations: The Herrick Society, Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacists Association, British Urology Transplant Society, British Association of Renal Transplant Anesthetists, and the British Transplant Physician Trainees (BTPT). The Chapter of Surgeons and the Chapter of Nurses & Allied Health Care Professionals sit fully within the structure of the BTS.
The Society continues to welcome applications from other potential affiliate organisations, in line with the policy agreed in 2016. In 2024 we welcomed BTPT as a further affiliate. The Herrick Society, BTPT and the BTS reached agreement on representation of BTPT at Council meeting – this will be shared with the Herrick Society on an alternating basis.
The Executive and Council continue to represent the Society’s views to a number of organisations including: NHS Blood and Transplant advisory and strategy groups and National Organ Donation Committee; The Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland; The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence; The Renal Association; The British Renal Society; the UK Renal Registry; the Renal Transplant Clinical Reference Group for NHS England; the Kidney Health Partnership and other professional organisations. Furthermore, the BTS has responded to a Coroner’s request via a Regulation 28 Prevent Future Deaths report. During the past four years, the BTS has also been invited to co-host an increasing number of joint sessions at other professional society meetings and Congresses, for example the Indian Society of Organ Transplantation (ISOT).
The BTS maintains an active public-facing website at bts.org.uk. The website provides updates on events of interest, a link to the Executive newsletters and links to minutes of relevant meetings. Moore Insight facilitates operational control of the website with more complex re-designs undertaken by Thumb Design.
The BTS has a Councillor for Social Media (Aimen Amer), who leads the Society’s presence on ‘X’ and is exploring other platforms such as LinkedIn and BlueSky. An Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) Councillor (Adnan Sharif) has been co-opted in 2024. A Sustainability Councillor (Hussein Khambalia) has also been co-opted in 2024 and they will work with NHS Blood and Transplant on the Environmental Sustainability in Transplantation (ESiT) project. We expect that all three positions will be converted into long-term Council posts after the upcoming Annual General Meeting in March 2025.
The Society continued its on-going work drafting and revising standards and guidelines either alone or in collaboration with other societies for the clinical management of various aspects of transplantation. The Guidelines and Standards produced by the Society are accredited by NICE and have developed a global reputation. A new Chair was appointed in 2024 (Stephen O’Neill), confirming our pledge to continue producing guidelines to NICE-accredited standards, which entails a commitment to commercial literature searches.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The AGM of the Society took place in person in Harrogate on 6 March 2024. The results of the 2023/24 elections to the Council and Sub-Committees were announced. The election was run on-line by Civica Election Services (formerly known as the Electoral Reform Services). 175 of eligible members voted, representing a turnout of 30%.
Seven council positions were included in the election, and five committee positions. The Treasurer election was won by Rommel Ravanan and Chris Callaghan won the election for General Secretary; both became Trustees of the Society.
Councillors appointed:
• Organ Retrieval: Elijah Ablorsu
• Liver Transplantation: Shahid Farid
• Transplant Nursing and Co-ordination: Clare Ecuyer
• Heart Transplantation: Marius Berman
• Lung Transplantation: Andrew Fisher (co-opted)
• Transplant hepatology: Douglas Thorburn
• Transplant Surgery: Rebeca Mateos (co-opted)
Training Committee election:
• Katie Morley
Ethics Committee election:
• Michael Ramage
• Ian Thomas (co-opted)
Clinical Trials and Research:
• Reza Motallebzadeh
• Helen Thomas
The next AGM will be held on Wednesday 12 March 2025 in Brighton.
Annual Congress
The Annual Congress of the Society was held at the Harrogate Convention Centre, 6-8 March 2024. The statistics are as follows:
• Number of Abstracts submitted 203
• Live Oral presentations 45
• Posters 159
• Moderated 47
• Registered paid attendees 416
The Roy Calne Award is made to the best clinical paper published in the academic literature. The prize was awarded to Jack Beadle for ‘Application of the Banff Human Organ Transplant Panel to kidney transplant biopsies with features suspicious for antibody-mediated rejection’.
The Medawar Medal for the best clinical abstract presented was awarded to Amarpreet Thind for her paper entitled “The Kidney Transplantation in Older People (KTOP) Study: Impact of frailty on outcomes” and the scientific paper to Hannah Copley for “HLA epitope electrostatics – a novel methodology to compare HLA epitope electrostatic potential and predict HLA-DQ immunogenicity”.
The BTS Nursing and Allied Health Professional Award for best abstract presentation from a nurse or allied health professional was won by Emma-Louise Kent for her paper on ‘Use of Uromune vaccine to prevent recurrent UTIs in kidney transplant recipients’.
The Calne-Williams Medal for the best presentation in the field of liver transplantation was won by Katie Connor for ‘Balancing access to liver transplantation whilst maintaining donor liver travel: a national allocation modelling study’.
The Society has an active bursary scheme, which supports a maximum of 10 non-consultant members up to £500 each to attend national and international meetings and educational events.
The next Congress will be held in Brighton between 12-14 March 2025.
BTS Andrew Paris Memorial Fellowship
In 2021, the British Transplantation Society was approached by Susan Paris, widow of the late Andrew Paris, who had been instrumental in setting up and running the St John Ambulance Airwing. This service, provided by the well-known charity, had been established in 1972 to provide a volunteer air service for the rapid transport of organs, drugs, blood supplies and patients when other means were not available.
Transplant healthcare professionals, and ultimately patients, benefit from the opportunity to travel and learn from best practice, establish new techniques and pass on lessons learned to their colleagues. This practice has been established and ingrained within the Society by the original St John Airwing Travelling Bursary. We now offer up to two travelling fellowships up to a maximum value of £2.5k per annum to members of the society who wishes to travel, for a short period of time, to another unit within the United Kingdom or abroad for a specific purpose. There is an open competition administered by the BTS Education committee and General Secretary and overseen by the BTS Executive.
The Education committee, with support from the General Secretary, will distribute and promote the Fellowship, collate the application forms and provide a shortlist for the Award committee to score and award. The Award committee will be chaired by the Society President and include the BTS Executive and the chair of the Education committee.
In 2024 the award was made to Pankaj Chandak and Valentina Giai, with a retrospective award to David Wallace to take up a fellowship that he was unable to fulfil due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The results for the year and the charity’s financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached accounts.
The statement of financial activities shows a net surplus for the year of £78,048 (2023: £77,292) and total reserves now stand at £435,378 (2023: £357,330).
Reserves policy
The Council reviews its reserves policy on a yearly basis.
The Council has established that the target level of general funds (being unrestricted and undesignated) in the Society is £220,000. These are required to: -
Protect against a fall in annual unrestricted income. The Society is particularly dependent upon its corporate members.
Accommodate the eventuality of a loss at the Society’s Annual Congress and other activities.
Permit continued funding of Society bursaries and fellowships.
Cover administration and support costs without which the charity could not function.
The current level of general funds remains above the reserve.
The reserves policy will continue to be monitored by the trustees.
Investment Powers and Policy
Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the charity has the power to invest in any lawful way the trustees wish.
Risk review
The trustees continually assess the major risks to which the Society is exposed, particularly those related to the operations and finances of the organisation and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate the Society’s exposure to the major risks.
The trustees regard the major risks to be the loss of one or more corporate sponsors, and having to cancel the Annual Congress requiring reimbursement of the income generated resulting in a deficit from costs that will have been incurred and which would not be recoverable.
The Society will continue to be the voice of solid organ transplantation in the United Kingdom and aim to deliver and review its strategic aims to reflect the views and requirements of the membership. It has committed to exploring the options for increasing patient and public engagement in its future activities. A further strategic ‘mini-review’ will be undertaken by the Trustees in January 2025 and discussed with Council.
It is recognised that the website is becoming outdated in design and layout and we hope to undertake a redesign process in the coming years. The EDI Councillor will be involved in a strategic review of EDI practices at the Society to ensure that they meet the highest standards. A Conflict of Interests policy will shortly be added to the BTS website. The bursary scheme will be reviewed and criteria for applications revised to improve awareness of the scheme and to ensure equitable allocation and representation across all sectors of the Society.
The charity is constituted as a company limited by guarantee and governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. There is no share capital and every member of the company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company while he/she is a member or within one year after he/she ceases to be a member, such amounts as may be required, not exceeding £1.00 in the event of winding up. The company is registered under the Charities Act 2011 (No. 1098584) and as such is not liable to income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax.
Trustees
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:
Appointment of trustees
The trustees of the Society are appointed at general meetings, each individual appointment being for a term of office not exceeding the number of successive years as specified in the Rules.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
Organisation
The business of the Society is managed by the Trustees, who may exercise all the powers of the Society. The Trustees of the Society shall be the President, Vice President, Treasurer and General Secretary.
The Council consists of the four Trustees together with elected councillors and other persons co-opted to Council for specific tasks or in support of the work of the Council. The Council has responsibility for the strategic direction of the Society and is the forum for discussion regarding specific issues, which may affect the Society or its members. The Council also has responsibility regarding the planning and management of the annual meeting of the Society. Some of the organisation of this meeting is delegated to the Congress Organising Committee but final decisions rest with the trustees.
The Society has established Committees to manage specified aspects of the Society’s activities. There is a minimum of Ethics, Education, Clinical Trials and Research and Standards Committees. Each Committee has a chairperson who is either co-opted by Council or elected by the members for a period of three years. The responsibilities of the Committees and the Committee chairpersons are set out in the rules of the Society. No Committee shall act independently of the Council and final authority, including overall financial matters of the Society, rests with the trustees.
Trustee induction and training
A standard induction procedure and training is provided to all new trustees taking up office.
The trustees, who are also the directors of The British Transplantation Society 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 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 Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put forward at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.
The trustees' report, including the strategic report, was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The British Transplantation Society (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 October 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of 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 and the strategic report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
the strategic report and the directors' report included within the trustees' report have 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 strategic report or 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 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate 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.
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 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.
Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud
We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Identifying and assessing potential risks related to irregularities
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following:
the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and business performance;
the charity's own assessment of the risks that irregularities may occur either as a result of fraud or error;
the results of our enquiries of management and members of the Board of Trustees of their own identification of and assessment of the risks of irregularities;
any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the charity’s documentation of their policies and procedures relating to:
identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and
the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
the matters discussed among the audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.
As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas:
(i) The presentation of the charity's Statement of Financial Activities, (ii) revenue recognition including the deferral of income, and (iii) the overstatement of Congress and other costs. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.
We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, 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 key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act and the Statement of Recommended Practice - 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities' issued by the joint SORP making body .
In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the charity’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. These included Data Protection Regulations.
Audit response to risks identified
As a result of performing the above, we identified the presentation of the charity's Statement of Financial Activities, revenue recognition and overstatement of Congress and other costs as the key audit matters related to the potential risk of fraud. The key audit matters section of our report explains the matters in more detail and also describes the specific procedures we performed in response to those key audit matters.
In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:
reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations described above as having a direct effect on the financial statements;
enquiring of management and members of the Board of Trustees concerning actual and potential litigation and claims;
performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud;
reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and reviewing correspondence with relevant authorities where matters identified were significant;
in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members 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 and the charitable company’s members 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 British Transplantation Society is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is St James House, Vicar Lane, Sheffield, S1 2EX. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The nature of the charity's operations and principal activities are described in the Trustees' Report on page 1 of these financial statements.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, 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 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.
Income from charitable activities incorporating membership fees is deferred until entitlement to the income has passed when received in advance.
No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP (FRS 102).
Investment income is earned through holding assets for investment purposes such as bank deposits and largely comprises interest. Interest income is recognised using the effective interest method.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:
Expenditure on charitable activities includes both direct costs and support costs relating to these activities.
Other expenditure represents those items not falling into the categories above.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.
Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs and administrative payroll costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include project management carried out at Headquarters. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a pro-rata basis consistent with the use of the resources.
Intangible assets acquired separately from a business are recognised at cost and are subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.
Amortisation 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:
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. Cost includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.
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.
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.
Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through income and expenditure, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting 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.
If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.
If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been, had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.
Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the charity 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 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 charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of Schedule 3 of the charity Act 2011 and is considered to pass the test set out in Paragraph 1, Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.
Grants payable
Congress & other meetings
Grants payable
Congress & other meetings
Annual Congress
Other meetings and events
Other expenditure
Grants payable
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year. Expenses totalling £2,607 were reimbursed to four trustees during the year (2023 £619 were reimbursed to three trustees).
No goods were sold to the trustees during the year (2023 £Nil).
There were no employees during the year.
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.
No bad debts were provided for during the year (2023 £Nil).
Deferred income comprises membership deferrals and income relating to the 2025 Annual Congress and other meetings.
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 Clinical Trials Fund represents income from the National Kidney Research Fund which is available for use by the Clinical Trials sub-committee.
The Hoffenberg Memorial Lecture Fund represents a donation to fund an annual lecture on transplantation in honour of the memory of Sir Raymond Hoffenberg.
The BTS Bursary Scheme balance represents monies previously provided by the pharmaceutical companies, Astellas and Novartis, for a bursary scheme to allow members to attend the American Transplantation Congress and the European Society for Organ Transplantation Congress. The schemes have not been renewed but the companies concerned have allowed the Society to retain the balance of monies to fund future bursaries for attendance at BTS's own meetings.
The charity received in 2022 two donations of £10,000, one from Warren's Wish, the other from Takeda for the development of guidelines in lung transplantation.
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.
Amounts contracted for but not provided in the financial statements:
There were no capital commitments at 31st October 2024 (2023 - £Nil).
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).
In the opinion of the trustees there is no ultimate controlling party.