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 Charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, 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)".
As set out in the Memorandum & Articles of Association, Beltane Fire Society’s charitable objectives are set out as follows:
· to advance the education of the general public in the traditions of the Celtic lunar calendar fire festivals and their relevance to contemporary culture.
· to further an awareness of and promote participation in the Scottish traditions of street theatre, music, and pageantry.
· to advance the performing arts through the development of skills in professional performance and production, within a cooperative and collaborative environment.
Beltane 2024
Our most iconic event, the Beltane Fire Festival, drew an audience of thousands to Calton Hill to witness the majesty of the May Queen and the ascendance of the Green Man from lowly mushroom man to Her worthy partner. Kind weather contributed to an enjoyable evening for all, and we were delighted to welcome a cultural exchange of maypole dancers from a partner community in France. Three drum crews shook the hill, while an experimental "Goblin Tekover" project successfully combined fun and playful performance with the essential tech/site-build roles we usually struggle to fill.
AGM and fully-new Board
Last year’s Board did such a phenomenal job and exhausted themselves. Frequent flyers will remember there was a bit of a scramble to assemble a fully new Board as only one person applied in the first instance. Enormous appreciation for the other six people who stepped up when it was needed. Dream team!
Steffie Sutherland - Vice Chair
Jenny Glover - Company Secretary and Outreach Coordinator
Neil Barton - Treasurer
Franklyn Reinhart - Volunteer Secretary
Robert Lee - Sysadmin
Andy Macleod - Festival Secretary
Sincere thanks to those from last year’s Board who hung around to help us both with the initial handover and ongoing projects.
We also got inundated with offers of “I can’t be on the Board directly but I really want to help”, leading to the introduction of the Community Organiser role, a much more open-ended and autonomous reinterpretation of a trustee assistant.
It took us a little while to get comfortable in our new roles but seemingly within seconds it was time for
The society’s main fire festival, Beltane, saw attendance increase by 350 to 8,300. Although income increased by £18,500, costs incurred in staging the festival increased by £20,000, leaving a slightly reduced surplus of £58,900 compared to 2023 £60,200. Our Samhuinn festival was attended by 6,100 ticket holders who witnessed the transition from summer to winter. Again, although income increased, so did costs, and the festival returned a small deficit of £4,200 compared to 2023’s surplus of £1,500.
Overhead costs increased by almost one third to £39,500 for 2024 compared to £30,300 in 2023. As in previous years, the largest expenditure, £15,140, was for the rental of our premises in Edinburgh. External contractors and specialist service providers continue to be sought for areas which require specific knowledge. One area of this came with the appointment of a safeguarding officer to provide specialist, and importantly, completely independent resolutions to any complaints involving the society. During the year, safeguarding services incurred £6,200 costs.
In August, the society took part in the ‘Fringe by the Sea’ festival, part of Edinburgh International Festival events programme. Whilst popular with BFS members and the event organisers, the event will not be financially viable in the long term without significant changes, and incurred a loss of £6,000.
In 2025, Edinburgh Council will implement their “Premier Parks Ticket Levy”. This will increase the cost of holding our Beltane festival by an estimated £6,500. Elsewhere, the general increase in costs will apply further financial pressure on the society. We will continue to pursue our policy of having sufficient free reserves to support two fire festivals and at least twelve months of overhead costs. However, although the society’s reserves increased by over £17,500 in 2024 to £150,000, this is looking increasingly hard to achieve.
Risk Management
The Trustees acknowledge that they have a responsibility to identify, assess, and manage potential risks that could stop the charity achieving its aims or carrying out its strategies. The board has worked with various methods this year to help manage risks within a health and safety policy framework:
1. Risk assessments completed by GO’s for each festival, detailing what risks they predict their group may face on the run up and during the night of our festivals.
2. Risk assessments (including Fire, COSHH, Food Safety, COVID, Manual Handling, CDM regulations and health and safety policies) for the Building and premises, and BFS operations.
3. The Event Coordinator’s event management plan to oversee each festival from start to finish.
4. The Event Coordinator’s debrief report (including the EPOG debrief).
5. Completing a SWOT and PESTLE analysis when completing a 5-year fundraising strategy.
6. Examining ways to improve our Safeguarding with external support, and drafting a safeguarding policy for the coming year.
The Trustees are satisfied that the adequate control measures and systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks, and are looking at controls to be put in place to manage lower case risks.
Beltane Fire Society is a registered charity (SC040137) as well as a company (SC341753) limited by guarantee. The principal & registered office for the society is 16 East Cromwell Street, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6HD.
Trustee Election & Selection
The majority of the directors are elected directors, chosen by the membership during the Annual General Meeting, having been advertised to the membership in advance of that meeting, where members can ask questions to determine the person's suitability for the role. A minority of the board members may be co-opted directors, who are appointed by the elected directors as required, in accordance with the company’s memorandum & articles. There is also the ability for members to express an interest in joining the board where they will supply the reasoning for why they should be co-opted, which will be discussed at a board meeting to determine whether or not the elected directors wish to co-opt this individual.
No specific skills or experience is required to stand as an elected director although the person must be a member of the society. Co-opted directors may be picked for their specific skills or experience, (i.e. extensive background knowledge relevant to our festivals or charity governance) to help fill any skills gap that the board determines it needs to fill.
Structure
The charity has no formal employees and is instead run by its dedicated volunteers and members alongside contracted workers. The board of trustees are very hands-on, focusing on both the strategic direction for the charity, as well as being very operations-based during the two key festivals that are held in the year. For each festival being held, the board delegates the day-to-day management responsibilities to the contracted Development Manager who is line-managed by a representative of the board. The board also delegates certain responsibilities to contracted positions as required to ensure that the society operates its festivals and events to a high standard of safety and quality.
The Contractors work alongside a group of volunteers designated as ‘Blues’, who are chosen for their knowledge and respect for carrying on the traditions and stories of the society. This team works to guide the Group Organiser volunteers to craft their group ideas, themes and stories while ensuring they all fit the overall narrative of the festival and ensure all licences and other legal paperwork has been completed. The Group Organisers are then responsible for recruiting volunteers to help perform in their group at the festival.
Governance
Festival related decisions are made by a mixture of the board, contracted persons and BFS volunteers appointed to operational roles depending on the nature of the decisions. These decisions will either be made during official board meetings or will take place in a Group Organisers meetings. Official business, such as issues of membership, the charity’s finances, hiring contractors, or changes in policies, will be carried out by members of the Board of Directors. This is done via regular meetings, held throughout the year between each Annual General Meeting, usually once a month but can be more depending on circumstances. If a matter is considered significant enough, the board has the ability to call a General Meeting of the society’s membership.
Trustees are able to claim back reasonable expenses if they are incurred on behalf of carrying out work for Beltane Fire Society. Contracted workers may only claim back expenses directly related to their role if there are funds in the relevant budget and it was appropriate to use them for the purchase in question.
Related Parties
Beltane Fire Society has a membership to SCVO and one of the Trustees has an associate membership with the Institute of Fundraising and Arts & Business Scotland on behalf of BFS. These memberships do not impact on the society itself, but do allow the Trustees access to materials to ensure they are staying up-to-date with relevant developments in the third sector. No third-party person or organisation is entitled to appoint a trustee other than those stated in the Trustee Election & Selection section.
Beltane Fire Society does not hold any funds on behalf of others and has nothing to disclose in relation to this.
Thanks to the wider Team - Contractors, Boardies, Blues, Community Organisers, and the many people who don’t have a job title but do hold specific things together for the whole community.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report on the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 13 to 22.
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;
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 year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Beltane Fire Society is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is 16 East Cromwell Street, Edinburgh, EH6 6HD.
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), 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 Charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn.
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 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.
Expenditure is recognised when a liability is incurred.
Charitable activities include expenditure associated with the staging of festivals 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 the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the Charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible 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).
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.
If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in income/(expenditure for the year, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.
Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately, unless the relevant asset is carried in at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.
Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition. Items held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured the lower of replacement cost and cost.
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.
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.
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.
After party costs
Contractors
Festival promotion
Insurance
Licences
Operations & Safety
Production costs
Room bookings
Volunteer expenses
No trustee received remuneration for their role as Trustee, but 8 of them were reimbursed a total of £1,713
(2023 - 5 were reimbursed £7,084) of expenses incurred in respect of the charitable activity.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was 0 (2023 - 0).
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
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).