The Governing Committee present their annual report and financial statements for the Period ended 31 December 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 Association'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 objects are the advancement of health professional education practice and the support of health professional educators. We pursue this by:
working with other organisations, supporting educators and institutions in their current education activities and in the development and research of new approaches relating to curriculum planning, teaching and learning methods, assessment techniques, and educational management;
providing an international community of practice through its membership that facilitates networking of stakeholders in the health professions;
facilitating communication relating to health professional education through conferences, journals, and social media;
supporting scholarship and research in education, medicine and the other health professions and evidence-informed educational approaches;
promoting faculty development through courses, development of educational resources and just-in-time learning;
setting educational standards by defining best practice in health professions education and acknowledging educational excellence both in institutions and individuals; and
providing leadership in the changes taking place in health professions education in response to advances in health professional practice and new educational thinking to better serve the needs of patients and clients.
Mission: To promote and inspire excellence, collaboration and scholarship across the continuum of health professions education.
Vision: To transform healthcare for all through excellence in education and scholarship.
Guiding Principles:
Connect – Join and build global communities of practice together with AMEE.
Grow – Develop the capacity to learn, practice, teach, research and lead.
Inspire – Challenge assumptions and existing boundaries of established educational practices.
AMEE has existed as an unincorporated charity and was established as a charitable organisation in August 2000 albeit had been trading as an association since September 1992. At the 2023 General Assembly, it was agreed that AMEE would become an incorporated charity. As such, AMEE: The International Association for Health Professions Education Limited was incorporated on 28 February 2024, followed shortly by registration with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
Under its new guise, AMEE did not trade during 2024 with the exception of a few transactions uring December 2024 in preparation for commencing trade on 1 January 2025.
TO BE UPDATED
Reserves Policy
The reserves policy has been reviewed by the Risk and Finance Committee. Reserves are held for three purposes:
To enable to the charity to meet all its obligations in the event of dissolution;
To hold sufficient liquid reserves to cushion the impact of any financial issues related to the conference, for example in the event of the conference having to be cancelled; and
To hold designated or restricted reserves for particular purposes.
At 31 December 2024, £[X] was held in total unrestricted reserves. It is the view of the Risk and Finance Committee that the group should retain at least 18 months of operating costs (staff and overheads) and the net contribution from the annual conference, being around £1,950,000 in total. It is anticipated this will be met when the historical charity assets and liabilities are transferred over to the new entity.
Risk Management
AMEE’s Risk and Finance Committee is made up of the President, two trustees, the CEO and the Head of Business and Finance.
AMEE is financially secure however it does face a number of risks including:
The annual conference, being the major source of income, is a significant risk factor for AMEE. We have expanded to having both a face to face and online presence which means that we are able to reach a wider audience, particularly from those areas where it can be difficult and costly to travel from. However, there is continued debate about the future of online conferencing and, with regards to the in person element, there may be many events which may prevent participants from attending. Costs continue to increase and this has an impact on the delegate fees which can have an impact on attendance. Whilst it is not possible to anticipate all such eventualities when making decisions about a conference location, a number of steps can be taken to reduce risk as follows:
The location of the in person element is selected following a careful examination of cost, security and stability of the country, appropriate facilities, ease of access and attractiveness of the location for participants from around the world. It must be acknowledged, however, that we have limited options with regards to location due to the size of the conference.
Continuing to develop our digital platform which incorporates the conference registration system, conference hosting platform and AMEE systems.
Regular meetings with the Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) with regards to market developments which should be considered in the organising of a conference.
Insurance is taken out to cover a range of eventualities that may arise in relation to the annual conference.
AMEE has previously identified a need to diversify its income and reduce its reliance on the annual conference. Steps are being taken to address the need to diversify and this should progress in the coming years.
As a charity which works internationally, AMEE is at risk of currency fluctuations particularly with regards to the foreign currency bank accounts held. AMEE is currently reviewing the risks from this particular area in order to mitigate any impact it might have.
There has been significant global developments over the past 12 to 18 months that means our community has suffered from financial impacts. This in turn could lead to a sustained impact on AMEE in the next few years. We are working on how to mitigate this impact.
Plans For Future Periods
During 2025 it is anticipated the old AMEE charity will be wound down with all assets and liabilities transferred over to the new entity.
Our annual conference in 2025 will be held in Barcelona, Spain. This is a popular venue and we have had a huge number of submissions to take part in the programme. However, we do have to be cautious about our hopes for this conference – there have been significant changes in the world over the past 12 – 18 months and we have heard from our community about significant financial pressures. During 2025 we will take the opportunity to understand how this may impact AMEE and also how we may be able to support our community in future.
We will continue with Phase 3 of our partnership with Pfizer and Meducate. Several of the participants from the 2024 courses will undergo further training to allow them to facilitate the course in their own countries and they have received funding in order to set up their own cohorts.
We are also working to develop a Customer Relationship Management system which will allow us to improve our interaction with our community. This will involve months of work on behalf of AMEE and our suppliers and it is hoped we will go live with this in Autumn 2025.
The Association is a company limited by guarantee.
The Governing Committee, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the Period and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Appointment of Governing Committee members
A Nominations Committee, appointed by members of AMEE, are responsible for nominations to fill vacancies on the Governing Committee. Individual members may also bring forward a personal nomination. The election of Governing Committee members will take place at the annual General Assembly.
Governing Committee member induction and training
AMEE has developed an information pack for prospective new Governing Committee members to alert them to the duties of a Committee member and to familiarise them with the objectives of AMEE in order to assist them in carrying out their role.
The Governing Committee members report was approved by the Board of Governing Committee.
I report on the financial statements of the Association for the Period ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 6 to 12.
It is my responsibility to examine the financial statements as required under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
My examination is 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 financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking 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 financial statements.
In the course of 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 Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Regulation 4 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, and
to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006
have not been met, or
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the Period. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
AMEE: The International Association for Health Professions Education LTD is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is Unit 3.1, Flour Mill, 34 Commercial Street, Dundee, DD1 3EJ, Scotland.
AMEE: The International Association for Health Professions Education LTD incorporated on 28 February 2024 therefore the financial statements have been prepared for 10 months to the financial year end date 31 December 2024.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Association'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 Association is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The Association 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 Association. 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 Governing Committee have a reasonable expectation that the Association has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Governing Committee 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 Governing Committee 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 Association 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.
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 Association 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 Association's balance sheet when the Association 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 Association’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The average monthly number of employees during the Period was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
The following amounts were outstanding at the reporting end date:
Name of related party: AMEE (Association for Medical Education in Europe)
Nature of related party: Common Control
Balance due: £51,000
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the Period. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.