The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006 present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities", effective January 2015, and FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard Applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".
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)".
Our Vision is a society which actively values and promotes creativity and the arts for everyone.
Our Mission is to be a vibrant and welcoming hub where everyone can experience the power of the arts and develop their creativity.
The Crescent’s purpose is to make a difference to everyday lives, through offering creative opportunities.
Our Strategic Plan 2024 – 28 is centred around 4 Pillars.
Example milestones achieved 2024-25 are listed against each of the Pillars below.
Beneath that is a Summary of our Activities.
1. Place/Neighbourhood: The Crescent is a local landmark, a source of local pride, a home from home, a celebrator of cultures.
South Belfast Partnerships: We developed relationships & worked in partnership with x2 South Belfast Primary Schools: Fane Street PS and Donegall Rd PS, with activity both in the schools, and at The Crescent Art Centre, including also for friends & families, with performance activity in Belfast Book Festival.
South Belfast Partnerships: Belfast Book Festival: focussed on local relationships: partnered with Accidental Theatre, Queens’ Next
We opened our spaces for a variety of free, non-ticketed & informal experiences, including engagement in Late Night Art, monthly drop-in Stitch & Natter and Tech Tips, and installed a ‘Free Little Library’ in The Crescent’s café area.
2. People: We create the conditions for staff, artists, companies, customers and customers to thrive.
Staff: we maintained a high retention-rate amongst Part Time Customer Services Team.
Staff: Expertise is recognised & celebrated: Communications Manager invited to speak at Ticketing Professionals Conference in partnership with thrive, in relation to x3 years of Pay What You Decide Model at Belfast Book Festival.
Freelance: We directly engaged x85 freelance creative practitioners, in a variety of capacities: as Associates/Advisors (Belfast Book Festival, Courses & Workshop, Music Programme); as Facilitators delivering Courses & Workshops; as Administrative Support: Belfast Book Festival Administrator; as Artists (designs for Crescent Shop, Artist in Residence including Vasiliki Stasinaki).
Access & Inclusion: The Crescent was invited by Open Arts, to share our journey in, and experience of Access & Inclusion, at a sequence of Belfast City Council Tourism events.
3. Artistic Practice: We offer professional facilities for rehearsal, development and performance; we bring audiences closer to the production process.
45% of Crescent spaces were used by artists/arts organisations, against a target of 40%. This included introducing a ‘Time To’ project for artists to book facilities at a particular time of the day/week, on a Pay What you Decide Model - Time to Dance, Time to Write & Time for Music.
Artist in Residence, with Vasiliki Stasinaki: example of multi-month Residency that engaged building-wide: with staff, with public and legacy of artwork on display in the building and for sale in The Crescent’s Shop.
Stripped Down: Celebrating Northern Ireland musicians in cabaret-style gigs.
4. Business Excellence: We have a robust financial model that sustainably realises our potential.
Maximising longstanding successful programmes: Courses & Workshops: year on year gradual increase in income.
With sufficient research and support: trialling new income generation approaches: The Crescent’s Shop is up and running, contributing to unrestricted income.
OUR ACTIVITIES
2024-25 was the third full year of in-person activity further to closures as related to the Covid-19 pandemic and saw a gradual increase in the volume of our activities.
Courses & Workshops:
Into its 33rd year, our Courses and Workshops programme continued to thrive, with activity delivered across six programme strands, across four Terms
Children & Family;
Dance & Wellbeing;
Music & Drama;
Visual Arts & Crafts;
Creative Writing & Reading;
Languages & Culture
We engaged 68 Tutors, who delivered 412 Courses and Workshops, to 3615 unique customers, with average capacity at 78%.
Our Take the Stage initiative is now embedded into our programme structure: at the end of each Term we invite Courses & Workshops participants to present their work, as individuals or classes, to an audience, in The Cube and the David Hill Studio. At the end of Autumn Term this was run in conjunction with a Christmas Craft Market (December).
We continued with our Associates Model (initiated in 2022). For this third year we engaged 4 creative practitioners from outside of Tutor network (for the previous year we engaged Tutors within the network), to advise us on our programming strategies and approach. Example outputs included welcoming a number of new Tutors delivering new activities; clarifying our approach to progression/development routes (eg Levels within Languages and Dance); a focus on innovation and expansion of activity in our Art Studio and Workshop 1 as a dedicated Arts & Craft space.
New courses included:
Children & Family; Toddler Ballet; Craft Workshops; Art Lounge (13-17year olds)
Dance & Wellbeing: Ballet for Adults; Burlesque Feather Fan Dancing; Argentine Folk Dancing
Music & Drama: Explore Songwriting; Fingerstyle Guitar
Visual Arts & Crafts: Perfecting Pastels, Crochet Decorative Edging; Frida Kahlo Brooch
Creative Writing & Reading: Writing Eco-Poetry; ‘I’m a Fan!’ (Fan Fiction)
Language & Culture: Saree Draping and Shringaar; The Eccentric World of Luisa Casati
Crescent Live
This is our Events platform, held mainly in our beautiful space ‘The Cube’. We curate activity, we facilitate hires and we offer special Artist rates. We worked with partners to deliver Festivals.
Highlights included:
Stripped Down at The Crescent is a series of gigs that brings together some of the most talented original acts currently working in Northern Ireland, and who perform stripped down versions of their songs. Stripped Down was programmed by The Crescent’s Music Associate Donal Scullion who has been collaborating with our Technical Manager Gareth Doran, to curate a series of events. In 2024 the line up included Becky McNeice & Gemma Bradley, Jealous of the Birds & Acqua Tofana; Pinkslips and Esmerelda Road; CHERYM & Monday’s Child.
Bounce Festival: Held annually in October, The Crescent is proud to be a key partner for Bounce Festival, organised by University of Atypical for Arts & Disability.
Imagine Festival of Ideas: The Imagine! festival takes place in Belfast every March and presents a unique way of imagining the future of this great city — and the wider world. The Crescent hosted 25 Imagine events, including the ever-popular Democracy Days.
In 2024 we welcomed Vasiliki Stasinaki as Artist in Residence.
Belfast Book Festival (June 2024)
Our annual June festival celebrates bestselling authors, award-winning poetry and spoken word; and showcases the wealth of local talent that defines our thriving literary community.
We maintained the focus on access, reach and connectivity established in 2022, which included:
Adopting, for a second year, a Pay What You Decide Model as our ticketing mechanism, in response to the cost of living crisis.
Highlighting The Crescent Arts Centre as the Festival Hub; creating a range of new activities alongside our traditional Events model, many of them free to customers including exhibitions, residencies and multiple drop-in sessions.
Collaborative and innovative approach to programming: we engaged 2 Associates to develop the programme.
Popular events included Pathways to Publishing: a networking and social event for those interested in books and publishing.
A celebration of Northern Ireland talent Deirdre Madden; a conversation on the Menopause featuring journalist Marie-Louise Connolly with fiction writer Ciara Geraghty; Seamus Heaney Centre Fellows Conor Mitchell, Kate Tempest and Roddy Doyle in conversation and Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford with Northern Ireland-based talent Michael Magee.
Our thanks to Festival Funders The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, Johns Elliot Solicitors, alongside our principal funders Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council. Our thanks to hotel Partner Hastings, Festival Bookseller No Alibis and Partner Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s
Mairtin Crawford Award 2024
2024 saw the continued trajectory of year-on year increase in submissions for both Awards. We welcomed new Judges in each category.
Poetry: For Poetry it was the 9th year of Award. Moyra Donaldson stepped back from Judging and joins us as Award Patron. The 2024 Judges were Kathleen McCracken and Dawn Watson. The Winner was Lianne O’Hara, who completed her Residency in Belfast (with in-kind support from Hastings Hotel, and time at The Crescent Arts Centre).
For Short Story it was the 7th year of the Award. Lucy Caldwell remained as Chair, and was joined by Wendy Erskine, with support from Riley Johnston. The Winner was Julie Cruickshank who completed her residency in Belfast (with in-kind support from Hastings Hotel, and time at The Crescent Arts Centre).
Crescent Arts Youth Theatre (CAYT)
Our Education and Talent Development Programme for 14-19-year-olds met 22 times for 3 hour sessions on Saturday afternoons in The Crescent and participated in the National Theatre’s Connections Programme. They presented a Home Show at The Crescent and a Festival show at The Lyric Belfast.
Creative Hub
The Crescent is a home to professional arts companies (office space) and continued to offer its spaces for discounted creative activity – rehearsals, development, meetings.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
The Audited Financial Statements for 2024/25 shows a deficit in unrestricted funds of £98,391 (2024: £131,348 ) including £106,957 (2024: £112,170) of depreciation within unrestricted expenditure. The cash surplus for the 2024/25 financial year was £39,340(2024: deficit £20,822) which included £14,837 of capital expenditure.
The principal funding resources were rental income and grants obtained from Arts Council Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.
Investment policy and objectives
The Charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association permit the Trustees to invest as they decide, with professional advice as appropriate.
Reserves policy
The organisation’s Reserves Policy is reviewed annually by the Board.
Total reserves at 31 March 2025 are £4,229,441 made up of restricted funds of £129,264, designated funds of £3,749,802 and general unrestricted funds of £350,375.
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a memorandum and articles of association, and constitutes a company limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. During the year the Board agreed a Governance Manual.
The Crescent's Board of Non-Executive Directors during 2023-24 was as follows:
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees
Crescent Arts Centre regularly reviews the skills requirements of the board and recruits and selects new board members to fill gaps identified.
Risk management
The Board has a risk management strategy which consists of reviewing the risks that the charity may face including health and safety, employment and misappropriation of funds. The strategy also includes the establishment of procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the plan. The trustees also implement procedures to minimise any potential impact on the charity should these risks arise.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that HM Chartered Accountants be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Crescent Arts Centre for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulation.
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the trustees have prepared the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland”, and applicable law (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the for that period. 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 Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (2015);
make judgments 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 will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the ’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 20065. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In certain circumstances clients may choose to include an additional statement here which is required to be made within the directors’ report as a result of Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006.
In accordance with Section 418, directors’ reports shall include a statement, in the case of each director in office at the date the directors’ report is approved, that:
(a) so far as the trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditors are unaware; and
(b) he has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware of that information.
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;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 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.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Crescent Arts Centre (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 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.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities Accounts and Reports Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Trustees' report; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
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.
We have been appointed as auditors under section 65 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
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.
Our approach to identifying and 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 recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with directors and/or senior management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the sector;
We focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation, data protection, anti-bribery, employment, environmental and health and safety legislation
we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and
identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations;
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in Note 2 were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions;
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
reviewing correspondence with HMRC and the company’s legal advisors;
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that 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 the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder 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.
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities Accounts and Reports Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees 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 charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
HM Chartered Accountants is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Crescent Arts Centre is a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in Northern Ireland. The registered office is 2-4 University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NH.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). 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. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The Crescent Arts Centre re-opened to in-person activity in September 2021, having been forced to close its doors since March 2020 (Covid 19/UK Government legislation). The charity secured COVID-19 related Emergency Grant Funding, and the Trustees note the gradual but encouraging recovery of earned income
Projections have been prepared for 12 months after the year end which show a deficit. The Trustees believe that the Charity holds sufficient reserves, including cash at bank, in order to absorb this deficit if necessary. They do not therefore feel that a material uncertainty exists regarding going concern.
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.
Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for goods and services provided in the normal course of business, net of discounts, VAT and other sales related taxes.
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.
Expenditure is included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis, exclusive of any VAT which can be recovered.
Certain expenditure is directly attributable to specific activities and has been included in those cost categories. Certain other costs, which are attributable to more than one activity, are apportioned across cost categories on the basis of an estimate of the proportion of time spent by staff on those activities.
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 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.
The annual depreciation charge for tangible fixed assets is sensitive to changes in the estimated useful economic lives and residual values of the assets. The useful economic lives and residual values are reassessed annually.
All income from donations and legacies in both the current and comparative periods is unrestricted.
Room hire services
Grants
Licences
Box office
All investment income in both the current and comparative periods is unrestricted.
Creative Learning Programme
Events
Core Costs
Rates
Heat, light and power
Maintenance and cleaning
Telephone
Postage, stationery and sundry
Subscriptions and membership
Legal and professional
IT costs
Insurance
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Remuneration of Key Management Personnel
The total amount of remuneration received by Key Management personnel in the year was £58,694 (2024:£51,180).
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Ulster Bank Ltd hold a first legal charge over premises at 2 - 4 University Road, Belfast.
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 fixed asset fund represents funds received for the purchase of tangible fixed assets. The fund is represented by the net book value of these assets.
The balance of restricted funds represents funds for the ongoing maintenance and running of the Crescent Arts Centre’
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.
A contingent liability exists in relation to the capital grants received from the Arts Council Northern Ireland in respect of the refurbishment of the building. The conditions of the grant stipulate that there will be a claw back of grants if Crescent Arts Centre disposes or loses their interest in the building within twenty five years. The building was officially opened in April 2010.
The pension cost and charge represents contributions payable by the company to the fund and amounted to £5,383 (2024: £4,965). At 31 March 2025, contributions amounting to £NIL (2024: £1,490) were payable to the fund and included in creditors.