2024/25 has been one of the most ambitious and transformative years in the recent history of the Royal Institution of Cornwall. From the reopening of the Mineral Gallery to the successful completion of the first phase of our capital transformation project — delivered on time and on budget — the past year has demonstrated the power of vision, determination, and teamwork.
These achievements are a testament to the dedication of our staff, trustees, volunteers, and supporters. Together, we have not only enhanced our spaces and collections but expanded our reach and impact across Cornwall. Through exhibitions, learning programmes, and inclusive community outreach, we have engaged thousands of visitors, families, and schools — creating moments of inspiration, pride, and belonging.
We continue to celebrate and share Cornish culture in dynamic and meaningful ways, strengthening our role as a cultural cornerstone for the region.
The financial landscape remains complex, with less ‘bridging funding’ being available through our capital programmes and without core local authority funding we remain in a critical position with our long-term sustainability aspirations. While this presents real challenges, it has also prompted innovation, partnership, and long-term thinking.
Our overall reported surplus of £651,889 largely reflects the restricted grant income received to support our capital development programme. These funds have been appropriately capitalised on the balance sheet, and do not reflect the unrestricted, day-to-day operational position of the museum.
After adjusting for these restricted and capital-related funds, our underlying trading deficit stands at £104,047 (see note 28). This figure highlights the structural funding challenges we continue to face. Despite holding over £7.4 million in assets, the majority are tied up in fixed assets or restricted endowments, leaving our level of free reserves limited. Addressing this will be a key priority in the year ahead, as we work to build a more resilient financial base.
Nonetheless, the progress we have made gives us great confidence in our future. The trustees remain committed to delivering a bold but achievable vision: a museum, art gallery and library rooted in Cornish heritage, thriving through creativity, community engagement, and sustainable growth.
We are deeply grateful to our members, new and longstanding trustees, volunteers, and the partners and funders who continue to believe in our mission — including Arts Council England, Cornwall Council, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
With continued collaboration and clear purpose, the RIC will not only endure but flourish — inspiring pride in Cornwall’s past, and ambition for its future.
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
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 governing document, the Companies Act 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)".
Background and Objectives
Founded in 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Society, the Royal Institution of Cornwall (RIC) was one of the earliest of five similar societies established in England and Wales during the 19th century. These voluntary bodies typically founded a library and a museum, offered a lecture programme and scientific demonstrations, and gave instruction to the local population, well before state education was available. Today the RIC remains true to the objects stated in its constitution, which are 'To advance the education of the public by encouraging and promoting the study and knowledge of literature, natural sciences, archaeology, history, ethnology, geology and the fine and applied arts with special reference to Cornwall'.
In pursuit of these objectives the RIC operates Cornwall's oldest and most prestigious museum, the Royal Cornwall Museum (RCM) and the Courtney Library, as well as publishing the annual RIC journal. The values that led to the creation of the RIC in 1818, the sharing of knowledge and understanding about Cornwall and the opportunities this provided to connect with people and place, are as relevant now as they were then. With the collection at the heart of the organisation the opportunity exists to re-imagine the RIC as a hub which explores and celebrates a distinctly Cornish narrative. When visitors engage with the museum, or the library, they will be in no doubt that they are in Cornwall and visiting an organisation with a strong history and legacy where knowledge and ideas about Cornwall have been absorbed, debated, and challenged and where people can now explore and be inspired by the distinctiveness of place.
The RIC positions itself as the beacon for Cornish history and culture, establishing the Royal Cornwall Museum as the place where everyone who either lives in or visits Cornwall can explore Cornwall's rich cultural heritage. The focus will be on developing our audiences by making a positive impact on the lives of everyone who engages with us relative to their needs and interests. Our programme will reveal a story about Cornwall which is inspiring, and which encourages people to delve deeper into Cornish culture and landscape, visit other places, and create a sense of place which is relevant to them. This also reflects Cornwall's connections across the globe and to bring the world to Cornwall.
The trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and confirm that they are satisfied the charity has met the relevant requirements.
Our strategic priorities have been shaped to address our existing challenges and respond to current opportunities, around; strengthening financial performance, developing leadership, build environmental sustainability, welcome more visitors, engage with more people in meaningful ways, provide cultural access for young people and improve care and management of our collections. We will do all of this to achieve our vision and help our communities look forward together.
We will stabilise the finances and future proof the business model by 2028, in line with the next phase of capital works. We will develop a financial strategy that is flexible and secures economic sustainability.
We will be an environmentally sustainable museum by 2030. We carried out a decarbonisation survey in 2023/24 and we will ensure all the work we do now and in the future, contributes to positive environmental impacts.
We will address social sustainability and grow engagement, building audiences to 60k by 2028. We will further develop and review the 2023 audience development plan to ensure all activity meets the needs of our local audience with particular emphasis on wellbeing.
We will provide high-quality heritage-based learning and engagement for diverse communities and young people. We will deliver our engagement plan, and review and expand the learning offer onsite, offsite, and online.
We will protect and share Cornish art and heritage through effective collections management. A comprehensive review will improve standards in the collections, library and archive ensuring the museum's accreditation is renewed, and the mineral collection is considered for Designation by 2026.
We will build high performing teams who are inspired by our vision and organisational values. Our teams are the members, staff, volunteers, the Board, our partners, and stakeholders. We are committed to impactful collaboration, recognising that success can only be achieved together.
Despite these fluctuations, engagement with schools and families has remained strong:
2,691 children took part in on-site educational workshops and visits
21 schools accessed learning via our loans boxes, reaching over 900 pupils
The Schools Art Collection continued to travel to schools and partner institutions, connecting young people with Cornish artistic heritage
Work experience placements expanded to include 18 students, many from underrepresented or rural communities.
Our outreach presence at festivals and public events, from Falmouth Week to Cornwall Pride, significantly enhanced our visibility and reinforced our role as a key contributor to Cornwall’s cultural landscape.
Community and Wellbeing
2024 continued our longstanding commitment to wellbeing, inclusion, and community care:
Monday Museum Club, our programme for people living with dementia, received renewed funding from the Little Parc Owls Trust and has expanded its offer
The Creative Wellbeing Café and Pain Café continue to provide low-barrier, welcoming spaces for community connection
A new Sensory Wellbeing Trail, co-designed with the Sensory Trust, offers a multi-sensory interpretive experience that enhances accessibility and inclusion.
We also piloted the Early Bird Explorers Club during the summer, offering families on lower incomes free breakfasts, museum admission and creative activities, a success we plan to build upon in future years.
Collections and Conservation
Key acquisitions and stewardship milestones include:
Acceptance of Kurt Jackson’s “China Clay Pit” for the permanent collection, now on display in the mineral gallery
Addition of “Geevor Galaxy Dreaming” by Jill Randall, strengthening our representation of female artists and Cornwall’s industrial heritage
Expansion of the Quiller-Couch archive and ongoing rationalisation of the library collection, with 1,750 items reviewed
Launch of the revitalised Winston Graham Historical Fiction Prize, raising the museum’s national profile and reinforcing our commitment to literature and storytelling.
Collections care saw major improvements, including a project to introduce conservation-grade storage for the Henderson archive and improved housing for stored mineral collections.
Volunteers
Volunteers remain an important part of the organisation, fulfilling crucial roles as gallery invigilators, in collections care, in supporting engagement activities and in being local advocates for the museum. We currently have 60 volunteers with ongoing recruitment. Volunteers are supported through a programme of social and development activities, including exhibition introductions, safe-guarding and artists talks.
Looking Ahead
As we prepare to relaunch fully transformed gallery spaces in March 2025, Royal Cornwall Museum are poised for a bold new chapter. We remain focused on:
Delivering a financially balanced budget by 2028
Achieving net zero carbon by 2030
Deepening community partnerships
Building new national and international collaborations — including with the Foster Museum
Our ambition is to keep growing interest and enthusiasm for Cornish heritage, welcoming more visitors to the museum and library, and encouraging new members to join us in supporting the future of the RIC. For us, 2025 isn’t just an important year in our capital plans, it marks a turning point in how we think about relevance, sustainability, and excellence for heritage and culture in Cornwall going forward.
Total income for 2024/25 was £3,124,165 (2023/24: £1,316,018) while total expenditure was £2,455,729 (2023/24: £963,414).
The resulting surplus for the year was £651,889 (2023/24: £550,855). The surplus is primarily a result of an increase in restricted grant income received during the year towards the capital project, meaning that the majority of related costs have been capitalised rather than recorded through the Statement of Financial Activities. This has been offset to some extent by the impairment loss of £1.4m in order to show the freehold property at a more accurate carrying value.
The net movement in reserves is an increase of £651,889 to give a year end reserve total of £7,816,148.
A significant amount of the reserves total is tied up in endowment and restricted funds (see Notes 24, 25 and 29). The trustees therefore continue to explore alternative ways of operating the charity on a sustainable basis, and have developed a long term capital project plan to lead the redevelopment of the museum to a more sustainable business model. This surplus seen in 2025 is largely a result of the grant funding received towards this project.
Investments
Despite the income generated by the investment portfolio being higher than expected, the current economic climate and world events has resulted in a net loss of £16,547 on the carrying value of investments.
The Audit and Risk Committee is finalising its medium to long term strategic review of the RIC's investment (endowment) holdings ensuring that the organisation's goals of generating usable income, restricted and unrestricted, while ensuring future growth, continue to be resiliently and effectively achieved. This review will be presented and agreed by the board in due course.
The trustees recognise the importance of maintaining adequate financial reserves to safeguard the Royal Institution of Cornwall’s long-term stability and to ensure the Museum and Art Gallery can continue to serve the community and its members. In setting the reserves policy, the trustees aim to balance resilience with the effective use of funds in support of the charity’s objectives.
The trustees aim to maintain unrestricted general funds at a figure equal to at least three months’ operating expenditure, requiring minimum reserves of £213,000.
The reserve policy is reviewed annually to set the target contingency fund level. In response to continuing volatility and inflation, the Board is considering raising the target contingency level a figure equivalent to six months’ operating expenditure, while maintaining the three-month threshold to drive consideration of corrective actions.
This policy is being reviewed and will be aligned to the charity’s risk management framework and investment policy.
At the end of 2024/25 the general fund or "free" reserves were £359,685 (2023/24 £469,314).
The charity's investment powers are set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The investments are monitored by the Audit & Risk Committee (ARC) who compare performance with appropriate indices and meet with the charity's brokers on a regular basis.
The investment policy sets out the charity’s requirements relating to income, risk, and asset mix. The ARC is engaged in an ongoing strategic review of the RIC’s investment holdings, ensuring that the RIC’s goals of generating usable income, restricted and unrestricted, while ensuring future growth, continue to be resiliently and effectively achieved.
The investment portfolio remains a key part of the ongoing sustainability of the organisation, and it is a priority of the ARC to ensure that this is managed correctly.
The funds are held on a long-term basis and an average return of 3.64% on cost was obtained during the year from these investments.
The trustees recognise that effective risk management is essential to safeguarding the charity’s assets, people and reputation, and to ensuring the continued delivery of its charitable objectives. Overall responsibility for risk management rests with the Board of Trustees, supported by the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) and the directors.
Major risks to which RIC is exposed are formally reviewed on an annual basis, and systems are in place to monitor and control these risks throughout the year. Financial, building and business risks are monitored by the directors and the ARC, with monthly reporting through management accounts. Risks relating to the collections are overseen by the Directors and collections team, supported by a suite of policies, procedures and an emergency plan to protect the museum’s assets. Risks affecting visitors, staff and volunteers are managed through the charity’s health and safety policy and procedures, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and the promotion of a safe environment.
The trustees take a proactive approach to risk, seeking to anticipate issues and mitigate their impact through strong governance and clear escalation processes. The risk register is updated regularly and informs the Board’s decision-making, with financial resilience, safeguarding, workforce capacity and compliance remaining areas of ongoing focus. In this context, the reserves policy is recognised as a key mitigating control, providing a financial buffer against unforeseen challenges and ensuring the organisation can respond effectively to risks as they arise.
The risk policy is reviewed annually to ensure it remains proportionate, aligned to strategic priorities, and responsive to the external environment in which RIC operates.
By 2027, the museum will be:
completing a capital project which will provide the spaces to improve the visitor experience, access, community engagement, sustainability and commercial enterprise
governed by a diverse, multi-skilled board of trustees, measured by the organisations values and supported by a strong constitutional framework
an important and integral part of the Cornwall cultural and heritage offer, contributing to making Truro an exciting place to live, work and visit
working with a new staffing structure that is flexible, agile and focused on achieving the vision, goals and ambitions of the museum
offering continual opportunities for young people to train, develop and thrive in the museum, charitable and work sectors in Cornwall
on course to be carbon neutral by 2030, having established an environmental policy and new partnerships to drive sustainable change. We will share our learning with the cultural sector and beyond.
recognised nationally for our creative and innovative approach.
The RIC is an incorporated association and a registered charity, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. It was incorporated in January 2013 and commenced trading on the 1 April 2013. Following the approval of the members, all the assets and liabilities of the former RIC, the unincorporated charity, were transferred to the incorporated RIC. The incorporated charity is the sole trustee of the endowments that had been previously established. The RIC's governing body is a board of trustees, which is responsible for the policies, control and monitoring of the RIC's day-to-day management. Under the constitution, the board of trustees is made up of between eight and fourteen members comprising:
The trustees elected at the Annual General Meeting
Members co-opted by the existing trustees until the following Annual General Meeting.
The Board meets no less than three times a year. There are also regular meetings of subcommittees. An Audit & Risk subcommittee is also in place; three trustees sit on this subcommittee.
The co-directors, who are not trustees, are responsible for day-to- day operation of the RIC and manages the staff on behalf of the trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
The trustee selection process is designed to appoint persons who have the necessary skills to contribute to the RIC's management and development. Newly appointed trustees are introduced to the work of the RIC and provided with the information they need to fulfil their roles, which includes information about the role of trustees and charity law.
Key management personnel
The trustees consider the board of trustees, the co-directors, and the senior management team as comprising the key management personnel of the charity, in charge of directing and controlling the charity and running and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis. All trustees give their time freely and no trustee remuneration was paid in the year. The pay of the charity's directors and senior management team is reviewed annually and benchmarked against other organisations.
The trustees, who are also the directors of The Royal Institution of Cornwall for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report 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 charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that bk plus Audit Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The Royal Institution of Cornwall (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the statement of financial position, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the trustees' report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Our approach to assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
The engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognised non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the entity and determined that the most significant are those that relate to the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102) and those that relate to employment, data protection (including General Data Protection Regulation) and health and safety legislation.
We assessed the risks of material misstatement in respect of fraud by:
Making enquiries of management and those charged with governance as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud.
Considering the internal controls in place to mitigate the risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
Based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations identified above. These included, but are not limited to:
Agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation
Reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance
Enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims
Reviewing correspondence with regulatory bodies
We considered the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, and in response, we:
Tested manual journal entries throughout the year to identify unusual transactions
Assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the critical accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias
Investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions
There are inherent limitations in detecting irregularities described above. The more that laws and regulations are less intrinsically linked to financial transactions, the less likely it is we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be more difficult to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Included in the funds above is a revaluation reserve of £207,324 (2024: £337,180).
The Royal Institution of Cornwall is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Royal Cornwall Museum, 25 River Street, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 2SJ, England.
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity, have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
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 financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The trustees have carefully considered the going concern status of the charity, following a financial year in which an unrestricted deficit of £724,600 was incurred. The trustees consider the charity to have adequate resources to continue to operate for at least 12 months following the date of approval of these financial statements. The trustees have arrived at this conclusion by considering financial projections for the charity over this period alongside the free reserves available to operate the business. The financial projections include reasonable assumptions about the future income and expenditure of the charity as well as reliance placed on expected income in the form of grants and investment income which the charity is accustomed to receiving each year.
The trustees consider there to be no material uncertainties regarding going concern and it is therefore appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis.
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.
Donation and grant income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. Such income is only deferred if the donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods, or the donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the charity has unconditional entitlement. Government grants are recognised in accordance with the performance model.
Legacy income is recognised in the period to which the charity becomes entitled to the income, unless it is incapable of financial measurement.
Income from trading activities is recognised as the related goods and services are provided.
Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis.
Income from charitable activities includes income received from admissions, members subscriptions and educational workshops. It is recognised as the related goods or services are provided.
Intangible income is not included unless it represents goods or services which would otherwise be purchased. No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the Charities SORP (FRS 102).
Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and the irrecoverable element of VAT is included within the expense to which it relates. Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Governance costs represent the cost of governance of the charity and its assets and are generally associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.
The majority of costs are directly attributable to specific activities. Certain shared costs are apportioned to activities in furtherance of the objects of the charity on the basis of estimated usage by each cost centre of services provided.
Tangible fixed assets costing more than £1,000 are capitalised and included at cost less accumulated depreciation and 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.
With effect from 2004, the freehold land and buildings have not been depreciated as they are considered to be in good working order and to have a residual value at least equal to the cost of the asset.
Heritage assets are tangible fixed assets which are of historical, artistic or scientific importance that are held and maintained principally for their contribution to knowledge and culture. They are capitalised and included at cost when purchases, or if donated, their valuation. When information on the cost or valuation of heritage assets is not available or the cost of providing such information significantly outweighs any benefit to the users of the financial statements, then heritage assets are not recognised on the balance sheet.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.
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.
Basic financial instruments in the form of debtors and creditors payable within one year are recognised at transaction value.
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.
The Cornwall Council grant of £102,434 and the Shared Prosperity Fund grant of £2,425,408 noted above are capital grants received during the year to be used solely towards the costs of the transformation of the museum in order to safeguard its long-term future. The costs incurred to date have been capitalised under 'Assets under construction'.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Employer's pension contributions for the year totalled £9,201 (2024 £7,740). There were contributions of £2,346 outstanding at the balance sheet date (2024: £2,251).
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.
Impairment tests have been carried out where appropriate and the following impairment losses have been recognised in profit or loss (see note 17 for detail):
Intangible fixed assets comprise the copyrights relating to the literary work of A L Rowse.
The assets under construction relate to capital costs incurred to date relating to the transformation of the museum, funded by Cornwall Council and the Arts Council.
The trustees consider the combined freehold property and integral features have a carrying value of £3,836,802. This is based on professional valuations obtained in 2022 combined with a review of capital costs incurred for the capital transformation project since this date. An impairment charge of £1,419,004 has therefore been recognised during the year, with £620,553 being allocated to unrestricted funds and £798,451 being allocated to restricted funds.
Part of the museum is rented out to a third party and the associated rental income generates is used to further the charity's objectives. The trustees do not believe that it is practical to value the part of the building that could be classed as investment property. The trustees have no current or future intention to sell the property and any valuation would be of no additional use to the reader of the financial statements.
The RIC's collections are diverse in origin and nature. The vast majority of the objects held were acquired many years ago. In the opinion of the Trustees, reliable information on cost or valuation is not available for the majority of the museum's collections. This is due to the lack of information on the purchase cost, the lack of comparable market values, the diverse nature of the objects and the volume of items held. These collections are therefore not reported as assets in the balance sheet. The value of heritage assets held by the RIC is very significant.
The £32,555 included above largely relates to the St Levan Coin Hoard of which a monetary value could be accurately ascertained.
The RIC’s policy for the acquisition, preservations, management and disposal of heritage assets is available on its website.
Fixed asset investments were valued on an open market basis on 31 March 2025 by Charles Stanley & Company Ltd.
The cost of the above investments at 31 March 2025 is £3,185,756 (2024: £3,109,356).
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
Endowment funds represent assets which must be held permanently by the charity. Income arising on the endowment funds can be used in accordance with the objects of the charity and is included as unrestricted income. Any capital gains or losses arising on the assets form part of the fund.
The HC Cardew Rendle and Winston Graham funds represent permanent endowments, from legacies, to be held indefinitely and the income restricted.
The Hawkins Galsworthy fund represents a permanent endowment created from the sale of two paintings and the income restricted to use on the care of RIC’s collections.
The HLF fund represents funding for the long-term sustainability of the RIC which is made up of legacies and donations received which have been matched by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
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 Buildings fund represents funding received for capital building projects.
The HC Cardew Rendle fund comprises investment income generated by the HC Cardew permanent endowment fund.
The Reverend Selkirk fund relates to a legacy to be used for the purchase of materials and equipment for the RIC's Courtney Library.
The Winston Graham fund relates to a historical prize competition.
The Hawkins Galsworthy fund comprises investment income generated by the Hawkins Galsworthy permanent endowment fund.
The Arts Council England fund is the National Portfolio Organisation's funding via the Cornwall Museum Partnership.
The Heritage Lottery fund relates to the capital expenditure for the installation of the Ancient Civilisations exhibition in the De Pass gallery.
The St Levan Coin Hoard relates to the purchase of a coin hoard.
The Heritage Addition fund was a Cornwall Council Community Chest grant towards the acquisition of a portrait of the Cornish Artist, Jack Pender, by Clifford Fishwick.
The Jayne Wackett fund relates to donations received in memory of Jayne Wackett.
The Cornish Wildlife fund relates to a grant received to purchase a projector that enables relevant media to be played in the wildlife exhibition gallery.
The Capital Project fund relates to a long term strategic plan to redevelop the museum building to extend the exhibition and gallery spaces, the retail and other public areas in order to provide the museum with additional sources of income and become a sustainable organisation and secure the future of the museum.
Linked to the above strategic plan is the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF). This fund has provided significant grant income towards the transformation of the museum. The funds outstanding of £1,970,632 at 31 March 2025 do not reflect unspent monies, but reflect costs that have been capitalised on the balance sheet. This will reduce over time once depreciation is charged.
The Courtney Library fund comprises of a legacy received in the prior year to be spent within the library.
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 General fund asset reserve is the value of the assets of the RIC used in the day to day operations of the RIC, which are not readily convertible into cash. This also has the effect of showing usable reserves separately.
The trading deficit for the year is arrived at as follows:
Of the £7,816,148 funds held at the year end, £418,312 are unrestricted. Free reserves are that part of the charity’s unrestricted funds that is freely available to spend on any of the charity’s purposes. At 31 March 2025 the charity’s free reserves were in surplus by £359,685 (2024: £469,314).
A grant of £233,000 was provided by the National Heritage Lottery Fund towards the installation costs of the Ancient Civilisations gallery. There is a legal charge of £233,000 on the freehold property, 25 River Street, Truro, which was provided to the National Heritage Memorial Fund as the grant is repayable in certain circumstances.
A grant of £3,046,632 was provided by Cornwall Council towards thr capital transformation project, including the Mineral Gallery refurbishment. There is a legal charge of £3,046,632 on the freehold property, 25 River Street, Truro, which was provided to Cornwall Council as the grants are repayable in certain circumstances.
A grant of £1,494,284 was provided after the year end by the Arts Council of England towards the capital transformation project. There is a legal charge of £1,494,284 on the freehold property, 25 River Street, Truro, which was provided to Arts Council of England as the grant is repayable in certain circumstances.
The charity is aware that it is the beneficiary of a number of legacies. The total amount receivable from these legacies cannot be accurately quantified at this time, therefore no income has been accrued in the financial statements.
The charity has a capital grant funding agreement in place with DCMS Arts Council (Museum Estate and Development Fund) whereby the income has not yet been received. The grant amount is £1,494,284. Although the agreement is in place, it has not been recognised in income during this financial year due to the terms and conditions in place and the income criteria not yet being met. The capital expenditure relating to his grant is to be incurred after the balance sheet date.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).
The charity had no material debt during the year.