The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity's articles of association, the Companies Act 2006 the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and under the requirements 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 January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)).
Grid Iron co-produced, with the National Theatre of Scotland, June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me which sold out at Summerhall in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2024 . The show then continued with a sell-out tour of Scotland, winning a Scotsman Fringe First and nominated for two CATS Awards. Grid Iron also participated in and funded places at:
Project Development Workshops
ARMS (Arts Resource Management Scotland)
IETM Focus den Bosch and IETM Sophia
Support of Drama Training Providers
Alongside these activities, we also continued our relationship with drama training providers, especially Edinburgh College, Napier University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Training and Development
Grid Iron continued to support our sector by taking part in events and panel discussions with the Envelope Room, FST, IETM, ITC, Culture and Business Scotland, Carbon Literacy Project, Green Arts Initiative, Culture for Climate Scotland, Cultural Adaptations, Living Wage Scotland Foundation, and PiPA (Carers and Parents in the Performing Arts) among others.
We have continued to support our colleagues with Audience Development, First Aid, Disability Awareness, Environmental, Health and Safety, Mental Health and Oppression Training.
Environmental
Our Green Champion continues to participate on the Green Arts Initiative Steering Group of Culture for Climate Scotland (now a Green Arts Charter signatory), with Arts Resource Management Scotland (ARMS) continuing to develop the cross-arts circular arts economy. We have also committed to the principles in the Theatre Green Book in our productions and each production will now have a dedicated Sustainability Manager who will report to the Finance & Development Director and help to form and develop the onward plans towards achieving carbon neutrality. Climate adaption and mitigation are considered at all stages of production planning. Grid Iron are fully committed to reaching Net Zero in 2030.
Grid Iron continues to seek out new ways of international collaboration, while reducing our carbon footprint.
EDI and Fair Work
Grid Iron are firmly committed, as stated in our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy, to make our productions widely accessible.
Access is considered at the point of site selection for each production. We provide BSL integrated productions as well as having Front of House interpreter for our audience and strive to provide Audio Description and Captioning where possible. We also carefully consider ticket prices and availability for audiences and times of performances to make them as accessible as possible.
We have adopted casting and recruitment policies to allow for accessibility and extending our reach when auditioning and interviewing for colleagues. Grid Iron are committed to the five principles of the Scottish Government's Fair Work First and have a thorough Respect and Dignity at Work policy.
As a Multi-Year Funded Organisation we would like to thank Creative Scotland for their continued support, which has been granted in principle to 2028. We look forward to continuing to work with them in the future. We give special thanks to Emma Quinn Design; McFadden Associates and all the individuals whose good will and practical support make our work possible.
It is the policy of the Charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between 3- and 6-months core expenditure; £30,000 to £60,000. Grid Iron ended the year with general unrestricted funds of £33,902; and £60,000 in designated funds.
Future developments
We have five projects currently in development for 2025-2028 three year programme of work: along with a series of New Ideas Development Workshops with an eye towards 2028-2030.
Grid Iron currently has a six-member Board of Directors, with plans to expand in the next year. All the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up. The trustees meet quarterly to oversee the running of the charity. Day to day management is the responsibility of Chief Executive, Judith Doherty, who oversees the practical, financial and administrative running of the organisation and, with Theatre Director Ben Harrison, the ongoing artistic programme. The Board of Directors are asked to comment on the success of recent or current artistic activities and to assess the suitability of planned activities. If the Board deems an activity to be unsuitable, plans towards it will be redressed. Trustees will decide on major financial issues with day to day (administrative and production specific) finances overseen by the Chief Executive. All company policies are reviewed and updated regularly by the board.
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 November 2024, which are set out on pages 4 to 12.
The charity's trustees (who are also directors of the company for the purposes of company law) 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, and they 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 our attention.
My examination was carried out in accordance with the Statement of Standards for Reporting Accountants and 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 seeks explanations from the 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.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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 comply with the accounting requirements of Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities;
have not been met; or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Grid Iron Theatre Company Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is 19 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, EH1 2BB.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's [governing document], 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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
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, 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 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 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.
Expenditure is recognised when a liability is incurred.
Charitable activities include expenditure associated with the staging of productions and include both direct and support costs relating to these activities.
Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to the charitable activity on a basis consistent with their 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 net income/(expenditure) for the year.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the 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.
Grants receivable for core activities
Co-production income
Co-production income
Sales and fees
Production fees
Set Materials & Props
Technical Equipment
Theatre Hire
Marketing & Publicity
Travel & Transport
Administration Expenses
Health and Safety
Repairs & Maintenance
Telephone
Insurance
Bank Charges
Utilities
Judith Doherty and Mary Crewe, both directors, received salaries of £42,693 (2023 - £42,475) and £38,424 (2023 - £38,175) respectively for day-to-day management of the company. Ben Harrison, a director, received £22,535 (2023 - £15,035) for writing and directing fees in respect of the company's productions. None of the other trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
At the year end £60,000 has been designated as Grid Iron's contribution to future production to be produced in 2025/2026.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).
The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.