REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: |
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: |
| Report of the Trustees and |
| Unaudited Financial Statements |
| for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
for |
| The Scottish Accreditation Board |
REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: |
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: |
| Report of the Trustees and |
| Unaudited Financial Statements |
| for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
for |
| The Scottish Accreditation Board |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
Contents of the Financial Statements |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
Page |
Report of the Trustees | 1 |
Independent Examiner's Report | 4 |
Statement of Financial Activities | 5 |
Balance Sheet | 6 |
Notes to the Financial Statements | 8 |
The Scottish Accreditation Board (Registered number: SC290305) |
Report of the Trustees |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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). |
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES |
Objectives and aims |
| To advance the education of prospective licensees in Home Office legislation relating to scientific biomedical research, by the provision of a service for the assessment and accreditation of training courses provided by various training organisations in accordance with relevant Home Office legislation. |
Public benefit |
| The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. |
Grantmaking |
| Grants are available to assist third parties providing accredited training courses and others to develop and share new and improved teaching, training and assessment materials. |
Volunteers |
| In accordance with FRS 102 and the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the economic contribution of general volunteers is not recognised in the financial statements as this cannot be reliably measured. |
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE |
Charitable activities |
| In the year, 1,075 SAB training certificates were awarded to trainees who successfully completed accredited courses. |
| The charity continued to liaise with its two counterparts in England, namely the Royal Society of Biology and the Universities Accreditation Group. All three accrediting bodies convene, correspond and converse on a regular basis to ensure that similar standards are applied in accrediting all UK training courses. |
| SAB meets regularly with the training providers whose courses are accredited by the charity; attends the Home Office liaison meetings; and has established a tripartite working group with the other two UK accrediting bodies, working with others to develop a single platform for education, training and assessment in the UK that meets Home Office requirements. |
| SAB regularly meets/liaises with training providers (in addition to attending courses) to discuss topical issues including changes to training as required by the UK training provisions. |
FINANCIAL REVIEW |
Financial position |
All income has been generated from occasional accreditation fees and fees for training certificates. During the year under review, total fees earned amounted to £23,518 (2024 - £24,254), investment income was £1,808 (2024 - £709), total costs were £17,350 (2024 - £21,420) including grants paid in the sum of £Nil (2024 - £63), resulting in a surplus for the year of £7,976 (2024 - deficit £3,543). |
Principal funding sources |
| The principal funding source for the charity is fees from SAB training certificates issued. |
Reserves policy |
| At 31 March 2025 the charity held unrestricted reserves of £64,032 (2024 - £56,056). These will be applied against future running costs and expenditure to promote the charity's stated objectives. |
FUTURE PLANS |
The charity plans to continue providing services for the assessment and accreditation of training courses provided by various training organisations in accordance with relevant Home Office legislation. |
The Scottish Accreditation Board (Registered number: SC290305) |
Report of the Trustees |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT |
Governing document |
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. The maximum amount due to be contributed by members in the event of winding up the company is £1 per member. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed by its Articles of Association. |
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees |
| Selection of trustees is by invitation from existing trustees to experienced people usually, but not exclusively, from, or with a background in, UK Further and Higher Education and other forms of education and training, Government research institutes, and public policy. |
Organisational structure |
| All decisions in connection with the Charity are made by the trustees. The trustees are responsible for assessing and providing quality assurance of courses. Administrative support is outsourced where necessary as the charity has no employees. |
Induction and training of new trustees |
| The Trustees are familiar with the Memorandum and Articles of Association and they have been made acquainted with the Charity's procedures. They consider that the induction process undertaken is sufficient and future training will be given when considered necessary and appropriate. |
Key management personnel |
The Trustees do not consider one party to be key management but manage the charity on a collective basis. |
Risk management |
| The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate our exposure to the major risks. Risk assessments are made on a regular basis. |
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS |
Registered Company number |
Registered Charity number |
Registered office |
Trustees |
The Scottish Accreditation Board (Registered number: SC290305) |
Report of the Trustees |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS |
Company Secretary |
Independent Examiner |
Alastair Stewart BA (Hons) CA |
Gillespie & Anderson |
Chartered Accountants |
147 Bath Street |
Glasgow |
G2 4SN |
Bankers |
Glasgow |
G12 8QP |
TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT |
| The trustees (who are also the directors of The Scottish Accreditation Board for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees 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 period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to |
| - | select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; |
| - | observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP; |
| - | make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; |
| - | prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business. |
| The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with 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. |
| Independent Examiner |
| The Independent Examiner, Alastair Stewart BA (Hons) CA of Gillespie & Anderson, Chartered Accountants, has expressed a willingness to continue in office. |
Approved by order of the board of trustees on |
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
I report on the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 set out on pages five to fourteen. |
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner |
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity's trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1)(a) to (c) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under Section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. |
Basis of the independent examiner's report |
My examination was carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. |
Independent examiner's statement |
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention : |
(1) | which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements |
- | to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1)(a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; and |
- | to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations |
have not been met; or |
(2) | to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. |
Alastair Stewart BA (Hons) CA |
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland |
Gillespie & Anderson |
Chartered Accountants |
147 Bath Street |
Glasgow |
G2 4SN |
9 June 2025 |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
Statement of Financial Activities |
(Incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account) |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
2025 | 2024 |
Unrestricted | Total |
fund | funds |
Notes | £ | £ |
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM |
Charitable activities | 3 |
Investment income | 2 |
Total |
EXPENDITURE ON |
Charitable activities | 4 |
NET INCOME |
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS |
Total funds brought forward |
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 56,056 |
The Scottish Accreditation Board (Registered number: SC290305) |
Balance Sheet |
31 March 2025 |
2025 | 2024 |
Unrestricted | Total |
fund | funds |
Notes | £ | £ |
FIXED ASSETS |
Tangible assets | 12 |
CURRENT ASSETS |
Debtors | 13 |
Cash at bank |
CREDITORS |
Amounts falling due within one year | 14 | ( | ) | ( | ) |
NET CURRENT ASSETS |
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES |
NET ASSETS |
FUNDS | 15 |
Unrestricted funds | 56,056 |
TOTAL FUNDS | 56,056 |
| The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2025. |
| The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. |
| The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for |
| (a) | ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and |
| (b) | preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company. |
The Scottish Accreditation Board (Registered number: SC290305) |
Balance Sheet - continued |
31 March 2025 |
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with and delivered in accordance with the special provisions applicable to small charitable companies subject to the small companies regime. |
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
Notes to the Financial Statements |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
1. | ACCOUNTING POLICIES |
Basis of preparing the financial statements |
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. |
Presentation currency |
The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity. |
Going concern |
The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. There are sufficient cash resources and reserves at the year end to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements. |
Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty |
| The Trustees have made judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported within the financial statements during the year. Actual results may differ from these estimates. Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. The Trustees estimates, assumptions and judgements that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the financial statements are addressed and detail is provided in the associated notes. |
Income |
Charitable activities income is received from the issue of training certificates and occasional accreditation fees. Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliability. |
Investment income is received from a savings bank account and is included when receipt is probable and the amount can be measured reliably. |
Expenditure |
Expenditure has been classified under the headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of the resources. |
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis when a legal liability is incurred, payment of the liability is probable and the amount can be measured reliably. The amount includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered. VAT is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates. |
Charitable activities comprise all resources expended undertaking work to meet the charity's charitable objectives. Such costs include the direct costs of charitable activities approved by the charity and all support costs relating to these activities. Governance costs include direct resources expended in the general running of the charity and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements. These costs are allocated entirely to charitable activities. |
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. |
Allocation and apportionment of costs |
| Support costs are allocated wholly to charitable activities. Whilst the Trustees recognise that a small part of some items of expenditure included in support costs do relate to indirect governance costs, they are of the opinion that the time and costs involved in performing such an analysis outweigh the potential benefits arising from any such work. |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
1. | ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued |
Tangible fixed assets |
| Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its estimated useful time, or if held under a finance lease, over the lease term, whichever is the shorter. |
| Computer equipment - 33% on cost |
| It is the policy of the charity to capitalise fixed assets at an initial cost of £500 or more. |
Taxation |
| The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities. |
Fund accounting |
| Funds are classified as unrestricted funds and defined as follows: |
| Unrestricted funds are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity. If parts of the unrestricted funds are earmarked at the discretion of the Trustees for a particular purpose, they are designated as a separate fund. This designation has an administrative purpose only and does not legally restrict the Trustees' discretion to apply the funds. |
Financial instruments |
| The charity has no complex financial instruments but does hold basic financial instruments of; cash at bank, debtors and creditors. |
| Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and on hand, demand deposits with banks and other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less and bank overdrafts. A bank overdraft would be shown within current liabilities. |
| Debtors are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less losses for bad debts except where the effect of discounting would be immaterial. In such cases, trade and other debtors are stated at cost less losses for bad debts. |
| Creditors are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate unless the effect of discounting would be immaterial. In such cases, trade and other creditors are stated at cost. |
| Volunteers |
| In accordance with FRS 102 and the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the economic contribution of general volunteers is not recognised in the financial statements as this cannot be reliably measured. |
| Provision for liabilities |
| A provision is initially recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as the result of a past event, it is probable that there will be the transfer of funds in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be estimated reliably. The provision is subsequently measured by placing a charge against the provision only for expenditure for which the provision was originally recognised. |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
2. | INVESTMENT INCOME |
2025 | 2024 |
£ | £ |
Deposit account interest |
3. | INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES |
2025 | 2024 |
Activity | £ | £ |
Fees | Main charitable activity | 23,518 | 24,254 |
4. | CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS |
Direct | Support |
Costs (see | costs (see |
note 5) | note 7) | Totals |
£ | £ | £ |
Main charitable activity | 15,898 | 1,452 | 17,350 |
5. | DIRECT COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES |
2025 | 2024 |
£ | £ |
Administration | 11,431 | 10,471 |
Sundries | 332 | 263 |
Computer expenses | 165 | 130 |
Honoraria | - | 4,350 |
Travel & subsistence | 3,772 | 4,505 |
Depreciation | 198 | 198 |
15,898 | 19,917 |
6. | GRANTS PAYABLE |
2025 | 2024 |
£ | £ |
Main charitable activity | - | 63 |
The total grants paid to institutions during the year was as follows: |
2025 | 2024 |
£ | £ |
Universities | - | 63 |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
7. | SUPPORT COSTS |
Governance |
costs |
£ |
Main charitable activity | 1,452 |
Support costs, included in the above, are as follows: |
Governance costs |
2025 | 2024 |
Main |
charitable | Total |
activity | activities |
£ | £ |
Examination fee | 1,452 | 1,440 |
8. | NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) |
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting): |
2025 | 2024 |
£ | £ |
Depreciation - owned assets |
9. | TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS |
| There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024. |
Trustees: Ms C A Godfrey, J Rooke, T Betts, Professor S Phillips each received £400 honoraria in the year to 31 March 2024. Trustees: Professor C Adams, Ms S McHugh, Dr C Duthie, Dr K Rutherford, Dr A Michie, Professor J F Turnbull, H Jiang each received £300 honoraria in the year to 31 March 2024. |
There were no honoraria in the year to 31 March 2025. |
Trustees' expenses |
In the year, 5 Trustees; Professor S Phillips, T Betts, Ms C A Godfrey, Ms S McHugh and J Rooke collectively received £3,772 for travel and subsistence expenses. (2024 - 7 - £3,402) |
10. | AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES |
The charity had no contracts of employment in place in this or the prior year. |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
11. | COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES |
Unrestricted |
fund |
£ |
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM |
Charitable activities |
Investment income |
Total |
EXPENDITURE ON |
Charitable activities |
NET INCOME |
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS |
Total funds brought forward |
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 56,056 |
12. | TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS |
Computer |
equipment |
£ |
COST |
At 1 April 2024 |
Additions |
At 31 March 2025 |
DEPRECIATION |
At 1 April 2024 |
Charge for year |
At 31 March 2025 |
NET BOOK VALUE |
At 31 March 2025 |
At 31 March 2024 |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
13. | DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR |
2025 | 2024 |
£ | £ |
Other debtors |
14. | CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR |
2025 | 2024 |
£ | £ |
Trade creditors |
Accrued expenses |
15. | MOVEMENT IN FUNDS |
Net |
movement | At |
At 1.4.24 | in funds | 31.3.25 |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 56,056 | 7,976 | 64,032 |
TOTAL FUNDS | 7,976 | 64,032 |
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: |
Incoming | Resources | Movement |
resources | expended | in funds |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 25,326 | (17,350 | ) | 7,976 |
TOTAL FUNDS | ( | ) | 7,976 |
Comparatives for movement in funds |
Net |
movement | At |
At 1.4.23 | in funds | 31.3.24 |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 52,513 | 3,543 | 56,056 |
TOTAL FUNDS | 52,513 | 3,543 | 56,056 |
The Scottish Accreditation Board |
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued |
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
15. | MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued |
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: |
Incoming | Resources | Movement |
resources | expended | in funds |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 24,963 | (21,420 | ) | 3,543 |
TOTAL FUNDS | 24,963 | (21,420 | ) | 3,543 |
A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows: |
Net |
movement | At |
At 1.4.23 | in funds | 31.3.25 |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 52,513 | 11,519 | 64,032 |
TOTAL FUNDS | 52,513 | 11,519 | 64,032 |
A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: |
Incoming | Resources | Movement |
resources | expended | in funds |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 50,289 | (38,770 | ) | 11,519 |
TOTAL FUNDS | 50,289 | (38,770 | ) | 11,519 |
Unrestricted |
General Fund - income and expenditure relating to the primary activities of the charity. |
16. | RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES |
| There were no related party transactions in the year. The only related party transactions in the year to 31 March 2024 were trustees' expenses as disclosed in note 9. |
| There were no Trustee donations made in the year nor in the year to 31 March 2024. |