The present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 September 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 's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" 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)".
Our aims/priorities were to
- attract more people to the area and
- deepen experiences for constituents,
- build up evidence of demand and a strong case for support which informs our strategic development and, in turn, strengthens our contribution to the community.
The have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the should undertake.
We achieved our aims through the programme which was in part enabled by funds from Argyll and Bute Council Supporting Communities Fund (income in last financial year) and we made 81 opportunities for 1,890 attenders who engaged in events including Pop Up Tearooms, exhibition-days, playgroup meet-ups, games clubs, fibre clubs (textile-crafts), creative workshops, home education group meetings, climate/enviro/place meetings/research, hire of premises, Hogmanay bashes, Craft fairs, green hub meetings, bonfire nights, cinema screenings, a wedding, a raffle, a community council meeting, a walk, a ferry crossing, and an AGM.
(Each ‘attendance’ we record is based on the total quantity of people who attend each event, therefore, 'Attenders' can be visits at multiple events by the same people. We have counted these ‘attendances' from estimates and actual head-counts.)
This range and quantity of activities has enabled us to make important progress as a committee/Board of Trustees by giving us certainty that there is demand for a wide range of activities, and that these activities can also attract people from outwith our immediate geographical area, such as neighbouring communities, returning family and friends and visitors to the area.
Our Ferry Crossing event was sold-out to people from near and far and also attracted MP Jenni Minto who travelled from Edinburgh to the historical event; all of this generated a strong sense of community and newly found information about the history of our area and the people who lived here, strengthening the basis of our work going forward as well as providing advice and links on how to generate new partners and contacts.
Our twice-monthly Pop Up Tearooms continue to attract people from the wider area, for example, Ardfern and Easdale to Fort William) and generate income which goes to our basic costs.
These events gradually attracted new people to The Ardchattan Centre, and from this, new activities have started including The Home Education Group and The Playgroup; as well as bringing people together to share resources, spend time and help each other, the major impact of this is that our building is again being used as an education-centre.
Event and Room-hire activity has also started as a result of word-of-mouth and we hosted our first wedding at The Ardchattan Centre, and also have 'tenants’ from the Balvicar (mid Argyll) area renting two of our rooms, with a waiting list for people from Oban to rent them next.
We worked with individual community members, Taynuilt Community Council, Ardchattan Community Council, North Argyll Home Education group, Ardchattan Playgroup, Phoenix Cinema Oban, Etive Boat Trips, Tyndrum Pottery, ArtMap Argyll, artist Kirsten Millar, MOWI and others.
One of the key partnerships is MOWI with whom we have started discussion about supporting the future development of The Ardchattan Centre, as an agency for the care of our places and communities.
In addition to this, we are developing our Strategic and Capital plans with our recently-refreshed Trustee group as well as specialist advisors which comprise people in our local community with specialist skills and networks.
We are now in more regular contact with Ardchattan Community Council and Taynuilt Community Council in order to maintain fluent levels of dialogue about issues affecting our area such as wind farms, fish farms, roads, housing-crisis and funding.
We have a long way to go to fulfil our intergenerational aims:
We need to reach people aged under 30 years of age ! The young people in our community are relatively few and occasionally attend our events but don't want to be the centre of attention so we find it challenging to provide for them. We asked three of our young community members to be the first passengers to cross Loch Etive in our historical ferry-crossing in August 2024 and in doing so, they crossed with MSP Jenni Minto and spent a long time talking to her which they directly fed back as having been interesting, fun and boosted their confidence.
We directly sent flyers to local people and used word of mouth in the community to invite them to as many events as possible and one of the outcomes of this is the creation of both the newly formed Ardchattan Playgroup and the Home Education Group where, as well as nurturing the next generation, the parents come together and support each other through positive action. In turn, we hope that they will use The Ardchattan Centre for their events and celebrations as well as other activities.
We need to invest time to develop the skills of our Trustees in managing Volunteers, and creating and supporting volunteer groups so that our activities run themselves
Even events which attract only a few people have value for the attendees and can provide opportunities for people in the community to get to know each other
We need to do more ‘community consultation’ events to make sure of two things: (1) that we are hearing what our community members want and need and (2) that our community members feel that they are being listened to, and can shape things; we have dates set for May and June 2025.
We have changed a lot of the wording on our website to state clearly that The Ardchattan Centre is owned by the community.
We need to return to our Strategic Plan to prioritise The Ardchattan Centre as working as a development Agency for the community, and not just a place for people to meet.
It is the policy of the that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure. The consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the ’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year.
The is a company limited by guarantee. The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by Companies Act 2026
The trustees who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and Endif Endif} who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
[Details of method of recruitment and appointment of trustees.]
None of the has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The company's current policy concerning the payment of trade creditors is to:
settle the terms of payment with suppliers when agreeing the terms of each transaction;
ensure that suppliers are made aware of the terms of payment by inclusion of the relevant terms in contracts; and
pay in accordance with the company's contractual and other legal obligations.
The report was approved by the Board of .
In order to assist you to fulfil your duties under the Companies Act 2006, we have prepared for your approval the financial statements of The Ardchattan Centre Ltd for the year ended 30 September 2024, which comprise the statement of financial activities and the related notes from the charity’s accounting records and from information and explanations you have given us.
As a practising member firm of the ICAS we are subject to its ethical and other professional requirements which are detailed at https://icas.com/icas-framework-preparation-of-accounts.
This report is made to the charity's , as a body, in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter dated .......................... Our work has been undertaken solely to prepare for your approval the financial statements of The Ardchattan Centre Ltd and state those matters that we have agreed to state to the charity's , as a body, in this report in accordance with the requirements of the ICAS as detailed at https://icas.com/icas-framework-preparation-of-accounts. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than The Ardchattan Centre Ltd and the charity's as a body, for our work or for this report.
It is your duty to ensure that The Ardchattan Centre Ltd has kept adequate accounting records and to prepare statutory financial statements that give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and deficit of The Ardchattan Centre Ltd. You consider that The Ardchattan Centre Ltd is exempt from the statutory audit requirement for the year, and is not required to obtain an independent examiner's report.
We have not been instructed to carry out an audit or a review of the financial statements of The Ardchattan Centre Ltd. For this reason, we have not verified the accuracy or completeness of the accounting records or information and explanations you have given to us and we do not, therefore, express any opinion on the statutory financial statements.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Ardchattan Centre Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is Th Ardchattan, Connel, Oban, PA37 1RH, Scotland.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the 's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" 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)". The is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a statement of cash flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the . Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, [modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value]. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the have a reasonable expectation that the has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the 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 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 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.
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.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
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.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the ’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
In the application of the ’s accounting policies, the 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 average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).