The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 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 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The Council has referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning future activities. In particular, the Council consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objective they have set.
Strategic report
The following sections for achievements and performance and financial review form the strategic report of the charity.
a. REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES
The Southdown Sheep Society has engaged in activities during 2025 in order to promote the breed and encourage and increase membership and the registration of breeding sheep. The Society's National Show was held at the Royal Norfolk Show in June, one national sale was held at Worcester, with a second national sale at Melton Mowbray and the Society's AGM was held in Clayhanger, Devon in September.
b. INVESTMENT POLICY AND PERFORMANCE
The Council has considered the most appropriate policy for investing funds and has found that CCLA Investment Management Ltd COIF Charity Funds and Cambridge and Counties Bank meet their requirements to general income.
a. RESERVES POLICY
The Council has established a policy to maintain unrestricted fund which are free reserves of the charity at a level which equates to approximately twenty four months unrestricted expenditure. This provides sufficient funds to cover management administration and support costs.
The balance held as unrestricted at 31 December 2025 was £64,593 (2024 - £65,536), of which £64,506 (2024 - £65,426) are regarded as free reserves, after allowing for funds tied up in tangible fixed assets. The Council consider that sufficient unrestricted resources are held.
a. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
The Society plans to continue the activities as authorised above in the forthcoming years subject to satisfactory funding arrangements. The Council continues to review income and expenditure to ensure it meets the needs and expectations of the membership with an emphasis on promoting the breed for the benefit of the membership.
a. CONSTITUTION
The company is registered as a charitable company limited by guarantee and was set up by a Memorandum of Association on 6 January 1892 (and amended on 19 September 2020).
The purpose of the company is to encourage the breeding of Southdown Sheep and the maintenance of the purity of the breed and to this purpose the compilation and publication of a flock book and the arrangement of shows and classes for which prizes may be donated or augmented.
The obligations of the members are to pay the Society an annual subscription according to the scale determined by the Council.
There have been no changes in the charitable purposes since the last annual report.
The directors who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
b. METHOD OF APPOINTMENT OR ELECTION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS
The Society is managed on a daily basis by the chairman and the company secretary.
The management of the company is the responsibility of the Council members who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Articles of Association, as amended on 19 September 2020.
The directors' report was approved by the Board of Directors.
I report to the directors on my examination of the financial statements of The Southdown Sheep Society (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2025.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Southdown Sheep Society is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Meens Farm, Capps Lane, All Saints, HALESWORTH, Suffolk, IP19 0PD.
The financial statements 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” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements 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.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the directors 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 directors 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.
Income from contracts for the supply of services is recognised with the delivery of the contracted service, This is classified as unrestricted funds unless there is a contractual requirement for it to be spent on a particular purpose and returned if unspent, in which case it may be regarded as restricted.
Income from investments by way of bank interest is recognised based on the period the interest accrues in.
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.
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).
Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition. Items held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured the lower of replacement cost and cost.
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
Limited by guarantee
The company is limited by guarantee whereby the members of the company guarantee the liabilities of the company to the extent of £1 per member.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the directors 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.
Subscriptions
Registrations *
Publications
Flock competition
Sales levies
Bank interest receivable
None of the directors (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year, but trustees were reimbursed a total of £952 travelling expenses (2024 - £790).
Accountancy fees of £1,200 (2024 - £1,200) have been paid to Waveney Accountants Limited of which one of our council members is a director. The fees charged are at or below previous accountancy costs.
The average monthly number of employee equivalents during the year was:
No remuneration or expenses were provided to society members during the year.
The Secretary receives annual fees of £11,000 per annum.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Other creditors comprise deferred income relating to 2026 memberships fees received in 2025.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none), other than those disclosed in note 9 regarding the directors.