The Trustees, who are also the directors of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland (the Charity) for the purposes of company law, present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2025. The financial statements of the Charity have been prepared in compliance with UK GAAP, including Financial Reporting Standard 102, “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland” (“FRS102”), 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 2016 (“Charities SORP (FRS 102)”), the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and the Companies Act 2006.
The Trustees are mindful of their duty to ensure that the Charity’s activities exist for the public benefit. They have considered Charity Commission specific guidance on public benefit and are satisfied that the performance and achievements of the Charity during the year, as summarised in the Trustees’ Report, and the planning of the Charity’s activities for future periods as described below, are consistent with this duty.
The Charity’s purpose is the advancement of education and in particular commercial education, if and in so far as such purpose is charitable, and the education of young people in Northern Ireland in the organisation, methods and practice of commerce and industry and in all subjects related thereto.
The direct benefits that flow from the purposes of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland include enhanced enterprise, financial capability and entrepreneurship skills and knowledge for beneficiaries, allowing them to maximize their ability to demonstrate employability skills and capability for the workplace. The benefits also include increased awareness and understanding, among beneficiaries, of the importance of employability and enterprise skills (communication; creativity; innovation; teamwork; financial capability; negotiation) and their value to potential employers; increased awareness of career pathways and options open to beneficiaries; enhanced ability for beneficiaries to make informed career decisions; increased awareness of the option of self-employment and entrepreneurship as potential career pathways. The overall objective is to increase the level of employability, financial capability and entrepreneurial skills in the beneficiaries who represent the future workforce. The benefits to society are young people who are better skilled and prepared for employment and have increased prospect of improved socio-economic outcomes.
These benefits can be demonstrated through direct feedback from the young people involved in the programmes delivered by Young Enterprise Northern Ireland, and from teachers, volunteers and youth workers facilitating their involvement; attendance and participation records of young people participating in initiatives; training records and qualifications gained; and young people’s personal stories and reflections.
Evaluation of and feedback from programme alumni demonstrate impact in the longer term. Independent evaluations of programmes are completed at regular intervals at NI and UK level by third party organisations, as part of our wider involvement in the Junior Achievement Worldwide charity network. No harm flows from the purpose. The beneficiaries of the purpose are young people in Northern Ireland between the ages of 5 and 25 years.
Volunteers who support our programmes may derive private benefit by way of enhancing their personal and professional development. This is incidental and necessary to achieve the purpose and ensure beneficiaries receive benefit from their mentoring support. Educators may gain private benefit through enhanced awareness of enterprise skills and linkages with local business. This is incidental and necessary to ensure benefit is provided to the beneficiaries by supporting their involvement in the programmes.
The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Charity should undertake.
Mission, vision, and strategic aims
The Charity’s purpose as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association is as follows:
The advancement of Education and in particular commercial education, if and in so far as such purpose is charitable.
The education of young people in Northern Ireland in the organisation, methods and practice of commerce and industry and in all subjects related thereto.
Young Enterprise Northern Ireland’s Mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.
Young Enterprise NI equips young people with the employment, financial and entrepreneurship skillsets, and mindsets they need to succeed. By building abilities and nurturing self-belief, Young Enterprise prepares youth for the future of work, ensures they have the tools to be financially capable adults, and teaches them to think entrepreneurially.
Young Enterprise NI is part of the Junior Achievement ~ Young Enterprise global charity network, which was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize for socio-economic impact. The staff team engage with JA-YE countries to share strategic global priorities and global best practice models. The impact objectives are aligned with the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development. The charity operates under license from Young Enterprise (UK).
Young people aged 5-25 are provided with interactive learning opportunities to develop the skills necessary to succeed in the workforce, inspire a culture and interest in entrepreneurship, and build a vibrant economy for Northern Ireland. This is achieved through an inspiring exposure to entrepreneurship, enterprise and employment experiences, mentored by volunteers from the business community. Young Enterprise programmes are designed to empower young people with the skills, confidence, ability, and ambition to succeed.
Programme resources are developed by working with our global network of 132 Young Enterprise – Junior Achievement charities. The ‘mini-enterprise’ methodology is recognised by the European Union as best practice in enterprise education, engaging students through ‘learning by doing’ business challenges, including setting up and running your own student business.
The suite of Young Enterprise NI programmes run from age 5-25, supporting all educational sectors as follows:
Primary Programmes: Volunteers from business and the local community introduce pupils aged 5 to 11 to the world of work, saving, earning money, decision-making and teamwork.
Secondary Programmes: a progressive suite of financial, enterprise and entrepreneurship programmes for 11-18 age range.
Company Based Programmes: fast paced, high energy business enterprise experience as students aged 10 to 25 set up and run their own student company ranging from six weeks to a one-year duration. This high impact, project-based learning methodology provides experience of work, develops an understanding of the reality of running a business, raises career awareness, and develops enterprise skills.
Team Programme: Students aged 15-19+ with special educational and learning support needs develop essential skills for life and work through setting up and running their own student company.
Alumni network: pro-active support for Young Enterprise alumni to pathway them into future career success.
Our Vision is that young people participating in Young Enterprise throughout their education journey will have the skills and confidence to be prepared for the world of work.
Strategic aims
Entrepreneurship growth
Digital development
Diversification of income streams
Partnership
Inclusion
Summary The 2024/25 delivery year represented one of significant challenge for the charity as it continued to navigate the aftershocks of the loss of all public funding in March 2023, which represented over half the income of the charity at the time.
The Board of Trustees made the financial decision to draw on charity reserves whilst a new funding model was developed, shifting to income generation from the private sector as partners in developing enterprise skills of young people, together with lobbying for a return to an element of public funding for the work of the charity in terms of supporting the delivery of the school curriculum.
Whilst progress was made in this funding pivot, the private sector initiative progressed more slowly than anticipated, meaning a greater use of reserves was required to sustain the work of the charity. Whilst much political support was gained in terms of the need for public funds for the charity’s work, no funding was restored.
During 2024/25, there were 94,888 learning experiences across 361 education centres in enterprise, entrepreneurship, and financial education. 71% of this delivery was in-person sessions in schools, with 29% being registered as online learning via YE Academy or other educator delivered formats.
23,580 of learning experiences (25%) were in the Primary age range and 71,308 in Post Primary (75%), with 6,624 learners with additional learning needs supported with tailored learning opportunities, contributing to our ‘inclusion’ strategy strand.
The learning management system, YE Academy, continued to provide support directly to teachers to provide Young Enterprise content in short form modules into the classroom, with the most popular programmes being You’re Hired (3,669 learning experiences) and the ‘YE Challenge: Bio-diversity’ project competition with Danske Bank (1,959 learning experiences).
The charity provided a showcase event at the Global Innovation Conference hosted at Queen’s University of Belfast, with US Secretary Hillary Clinton and US Special Envoy Joseph Kennedy in attendance.
The team from Omagh Academy won the Company of the Year competition with their product ‘Minted Minds’, which was a financial education resources. The team went on to take 3rd place in the UK competition.
Two local YE Financial Education Centre of Excellence schools participated in the All Party Parliamentary Group visit from MPs to showcase their work in this area.
Partnerships
There was significant support from the business community as the charity continued to address the reduction in public funds. As well as public endorsements for the value of our work, several high-level businesses Lynas Foods, Eakin, Finnebrogue and Musgrave partnered with the charity. The founder of our new Lead partner, SendMyBag, was encouraged to support the work of the charity based on his own experience as an alumnus of the programme.
Staff
Despite the impact of financial pressures the staff team of the charity have remained committed to their belief and support for young people across Northern Ireland. They have met the challenges head-on and actively engaged in new projects to develop the sustainability of the charity. Two full-time posts that became vacant during the year were not backfilled, with responsibility being shared across the wider team.
Through our partnership with Junior Achievement, all staff were able to complete the ‘Ability to Execute’ McKinsey development programme.
Governance
An updated licence agreement was signed with Young Enterprise UK for a 5-year period.
The Board members fulfilled governance responsibilities in relation to ensuring the sustainability of the work of the charity using reserves in this period to allow delivery commitments to be fulfilled. They worked closely with the Leadership Team to develop the pipeline of Business supporters and provided scrutiny to work of the team.
The Finance Committee worked closely with the Finance and Delivery team to develop a new charging model for schools to be introduced for the 2025/26 year to ensure that the charity has a sustainable income and delivery model, in the context of no further public funds.
Reserves Policy
Young Enterprise Northern Ireland retains reserves to ensure it can fulfill and complete the charitable obligations and commitments it has entered in to. This is necessary because funding sources are subject to fresh application or renewed donations each year, they are inevitably subject to fluctuation and can at times be uncertain. This reserves policy is reviewed annually by the Trustees and the level of funds retained is considered in the context of strategic objectives.
Young Enterprise Northern Ireland needs reserves to ensure it can complete its obligations and commitments of programme delivery to the end of the financial year of the charity. The Trustees believe the level of reserves that are freely available for its general purpose are necessary to provide working capital for the on-going operations of the organisation, to provide funding to cover the risks identified in the Risk Register and to allow the organisation to fulfil its statutory obligations in the event of wind-up.
At the end of the financial year ended 31 July 2025 the level of unrestricted funds (excluding fixed assets) stood at £243k (previous year £556k) and Young Enterprise Northern Ireland is confident that this is an adequate level to ensure that it can meet the requirements set out above.
The level of reserves required to provide for working capital needs remains at £100k. This reduction is a result of no longer needing to provide for delivery commitments from Department of Education. A much lower level of funding is received after the expenditure has taken place.
£28k is in place to provide for costs that have not been budgeted in the upcoming year, such as immediate IT hardware, legal costs or office space needs should ongoing in-kind support end unexpectedly.
In a wind-up situation, these reserves would then to be used to cover the costs of closure which they are assessed to adequately cover.
A further £96k is allocated to provide for funding uncertainties as highlighted in our risk register. Funding uncertainties are considerable as more sources of funding reside with new supporters and the funding environment remains highly competitive across all sources of income. This covers funding to enable programme commitments to be delivered to the end of the year.
An additional £19k of reserves is therefore available above the assessed minimum of £224k. This provides additional capacity to stabilize the charity as it continues to operate in an uncertain funding environment in the years ahead.
Young Enterprise has a 3-year strategy that informs its annual operational planning process. The Trustees have agreed a 3-year strategic plan for the 2024-27 period. This plan is shared with Young Enterprise Licensor to ensure alignment with wider strategic plans.
This strategic plan considers the complex, uncertain external environment, and the internal capacity of the organisation, to determine the best use of our limited resources against significant demand for services, to have the greatest impact on our charitable mission. This planning ensures the long-term sustainability of the organisation by understanding the risks faced and mitigating these where possible.
Future periods will continue to focus on financial management, prioritising new income generation and adjusting expenditure to align with revised income levels.
Continue to widen income streams with increased networking & collaboration with others for mutual benefit.
Engage schools & wider stakeholders in the level of support services & programmes on offer.
Review the organisational structure to best suit its future needs
The major risks and opportunities which face the organisation during this future period are:
Continued pressure on budgets within education, provide an opportunity to demonstrate the long-term value and investment needs in enterprise & financial education.
An increasing requirement to demonstrate strategic value & alignment of the charities mission & objectives alongside those with private, public sectors and other grant making bodies in so far as they remain relevant to the changing needs of business & the economy.
Changes in the delivery of programmes may dilute to a point that they no longer meet the needs or expectations of stakeholders. Programmes and services will remain relevant and delivered in an efficient and impactful way.
These major risks and opportunities mean the organisation will continue to focus primarily on income generation to ensure programmes and services are delivered in a way that is impactful and meet the needs of participants.
The organisation will align programmes delivery and number of beneficiaries supported in line with financial support secured.
Status
Young Enterprise Northern Ireland is a company with charitable status, limited by guarantee, which was founded in 1986 and established independently in Northern Ireland in October 1997 (registered number NI32769). The Company is exempt under this legislation from using “limited” as part of its name. It does not have a share capital and the liability of each member to contribute to the assets of the company is limited to £1. The Trustees have registered the Company as a Charity with the Inland Revenue, registration number XR21328. Its registered office is at 42-46 Fountain Street, Belfast BT1 6JS. The Charity gained registration with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, registration number NIC107515.
Young Enterprise Northern Ireland (YENI) is Northern Ireland’s foremost enterprise, financial capability, and entrepreneurship education charity, developing the entrepreneurial skills and aspirations of local young people. The charity operates under license from Young Enterprise UK and is a member of the global Young Enterprise - Junior Achievement family, which supports the development of employability, financial capability, and entrepreneurship skills across the world, reaching 10 million students each year.
Governance
The role of the Board of Trustees is to ensure that Young Enterprise Northern Ireland is effectively governed; to ensure that the Charity complies with all relevant legislation, its own Memorandum and Articles of Association and the requirements of good practice; and to ensure that the Charity works to agreed strategic and operational plans.
The Charity’s governing documents are the Memorandum and Articles of Association, which assist the Trustees in the management of the Charity. The Board of Trustees meets at least four times per year and delegates agreed functions to the Chief Executive Officer and to the Finance and Audit Committee, which operates under specific terms of reference.
The Finance and Audit Committee comprises:
Patricia O'Hagan (Chair) Trustee/Director
Julieann Black Trustee/Director
Paul Lemon Trustee/Director
For reference and administrative details of the Charity refer to the legal and administrative information page at the start of the accounts.
New Trustees and Directors Induction and Training
The Board reviews Board membership in relation to skills, knowledge and experience to identify and recruit for identified gaps. New appointments are made by the Board. Prospective Trustees meet the Chief Executive and Chair as part of the recruitment and appointment process and, upon appointment, undertake an induction and training process to familiarise them with the Charity and the context within which it operates. These are led by the Chief Executive of the Charity and cover:
The purpose and objectives of the Charity and the programmes in place to deliver against these; The obligations of Trustees;
The main documents which set out the operational framework of the Charity including the Memorandum and Articles of Association;
The current financial position as set out in the latest published financial statements; and The current business plan together with future plans and objectives.
Trustees are encouraged to volunteer for Young Enterprise programmes to experience first-hand the inspirational work of the Charity.
Management
The Chief Executive, Carol Fitzsimons MBE, and the Leadership team are responsible for the day to day running of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland and ensuring that the organisation is operating in line with the Business Plan, as agreed in line with the delegated authority by the Board of Trustees. The CEO works closely with the License Provider Young Enterprise (UK), to ensure license requirements are met.
Directors and officer’s indemnity insurance has been taken out by the Trustees during the year.
Key Management Personnel Remuneration Policy
The remuneration for key management staff is reviewed on an annual basis at the start of the Young Enterprise NI accounting year. A review of key objectives from the operational plan, for these individuals, is reviewed by the Chief Executive, with the completion and progress to date of these objectives considered. Any adjustment of remuneration levels for key management personnel are recommended and placed by the Chief Executive before the finance committee for approval. A similar process is conducted by the Chair of the Trustees, with progress and delivery of key strategic objectives considered. Any recommendations of change in remuneration are put to the board of Trustees for full approval, by a simple majority. Remuneration adjustments are made on an appropriate basis, with levels considered in light of the organisations budget limitations.
Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others
The charity holds no funds as custodian trustees on behalf of others.
Risk Management
A wide-ranging review takes place during each financial year and the identified risks are addressed and mitigated through actions set out in the operational plan for the organisation. Making risk management an integral part of the annual Strategic Review and Operational Planning process ensures that the Board is assured that all risks are being addressed and that the organisation is therefore sustainable in the longer term.
The organisation’s risk register is updated by management on an on-going basis. Any amendments to the register are then reviewed by the organisation’s Finance and Audit Committee on behalf of the Trustees so that the Board can be satisfied that appropriate actions are being taken by management to mitigate all Governance, Operational, Financial, External, Compliance and People risks.
An initial gross risk score is determined by (x * y) where x is impact and y is likelihood, based on 1 – 5 scale.
Following current risk mitigations in place, a revised likelihood score is used, and a net risk score is then determined. Risks are ranked as follows: Major = 15 - 25 Moderate = 5-14 Minor = 5 or less.
Current major risks identified continue to be potential for significant funding shortfalls and targeting of new untested income streams. The Trustees are satisfied that adequate actions are in place to meet these and other less strategic risks
identified.
The task of monitoring the Charity’s financial control systems and procedures is delegated to the Finance and Audit Committee.
Key controls used by the Charity include:
Formal agendas for all Committee and Board activity;
Comprehensive strategic planning, budgeting and management accounting;
Appropriate organisational structure and lines of reporting;
Formal written policies; and
Clear authorisation and approval levels.
The Trustees (who are also directors of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and Accounts in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company 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 Charities Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (2015);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 102, 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 charitable company will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company 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 charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Statement of disclosure of information to auditors
So far as each of the Trustees in office at the date of approval of these financial statements is aware:
there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditors are unaware; and
they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees/Directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company’s auditors are aware of that information.
Small companies’ exemption
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
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.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland (the ‘Charity’) for the year ended 31 July 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, 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.
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; and
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 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 parent 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 company and the charitable company’s members 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.
Young Enterprise Northern Ireland is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Northern Ireland. The registered office is 42/46 Fountain Street, Belfast, BT1 5EF.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charity's governing documents, the Companies Act 2006, 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 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 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 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.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributable to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with use of resources.
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 twelve 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.
Grants (see detail below)
Programme fees and charges
Raising funds
Employability programmes
Entrepreneurship programmes
Financial
None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the Charity during the year.
During the year Trustees made donations to the Charity amounting to £21,600 (2024: £11,445).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
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.
The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:
Resources expended
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 Charity had no material debt during the year.