The trustees (who are also the directors of The Key - Unlock Potential for the purposes 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. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statement unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of 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 the financial statements the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;
- make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at anytime the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website.
Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
The trustees, are responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the charity. They meet as a board every month throughout the year and maintained oversight of finance, risk and operational delivery. During the year safeguarding, conflicts of interest and trustee conduct policies were reviewed. New trustees are supported by an induction process.
Trustee recruitment continues to focus on ensuring an appropriate balance of skills, experience and expertise relevant to the charity’s mission and operational needs. The trustees appointed Mike Cranney in November 2024 to oversee finance and provide hospitality expertise. Sophia Siddique (HR professional) and Mike Cranney (Hospitality specialist) joined the board during the year and Simon Arnold and Lisa Gill stepped down (see table below).