The Trustees are pleased to present their annual Trustees’ report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 December 2025 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.
The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, 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 Royal Forestry Society (RFS) stated charitable objects are:
the advancement and dissemination of the knowledge and practice of forestry, arboriculture and allied sciences;
the advancement of education in forestry, arboriculture and allied sciences;
the promotion of research in forestry, arboriculture and allied sciences, and the publication of the results thereof.
The RFS fulfils its charitable objects by providing a forum for the exchange and dissemination of learning on all aspects of the science and practice of woodland management by organising meetings, conferences, lectures and training courses, publication of a journal, and online news and information. The Society supports forestry education with a wide range of awards and bursaries, encouraging young people to take up careers in forestry and arboriculture and engaging school children to raise awareness of why and how woods are managed.
Public benefit
In the performance of their duties, the Trustees have had due regard to guidance published by the Charities Commission on public benefit.
Strategic report
The description under the headings "Achievements and performance" and "Financial review" meet the company law requirements for the Trustees to present a strategic report.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
The description under the headings "Achievements and performance" and "Financial review" meet the company law requirements for the trustees to present a strategic report.
OVERVIEW
2025 saw another full programme of activities, including Woodland Meetings run by the RFS Divisions, and other events run by the central staff and support team, helping to deliver the Society’s objectives. A significant development in 2025, was the launch of a new Strategy: Inspiring Excellence in Woodland Management. The Strategy sets out the Society’s direction and aspirations for the next 10 years. Another major development this year began in September, when the RFS proudly became the host organisation for Action Oak. We are keen to help support this initiative’s important work to ensure oaks across the UK can thrive in the future. The central staff and support team have continued to run various important programmes and activities to support our education, careers, media and advocacy work, as well as developing our membership, grants, and bursaries.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership remains central to the activities undertaken by the RFS Divisions and the central support team. A full programme of woodland meetings and training events was organised, along with evening talks and lectures. Over 70 Woodland Meetings, lectures and events were organised by the 20 RFS Divisions, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These events provide an incomparable choice of venues and forestry topics for members of the Society and their guests, and remain at the heart of RFS activity.
Delegates enjoyed a 4 day Annual Study Tour ably hosted by the South Wales Division. The tour included informative visits of Llanover and Llanarth Estates, Afan Valley, Bryanu Farm and Wentwood. The Society’s AGM was held during the Study Tour.
In 2025, we continued to run our popular one-day training events on a range of subjects including three new courses in: Continuous Cover Forestry, Managing Woods for Wildlife and New Technologies in Forestry. The training course programme reached over 100 individual delegates, and pleasingly, all courses were fully booked. The majority of places were booked by RFS members, demonstrating that we are meeting their needs through the programme.
We also hosted on-line events including the RFS Three Counties lecture webinar, where Anna Field talked about Goshawks. We co-hosted the DiversiTree Webinar: Diversifying the tree species composition of our woodlands to increase resilience and the Tree of Knowledge Webinar: Exploring how tree species and genetic diversity and epigenetic effects can increase forest. In November, the RFS joined forces with the Royal Scottish Forestry Society, and other forestry organisations, to support a webinar on the subject of reducing the use of plastics in woodland management.
The NDG James Memorial Lecture held at Trinity College, Oxford, was delivered by Dr Eleanor Tew, Head of Forestry England Planning. Dr Tew talked on the subject of forest resilience and what it means in practice.
As ever, we are very grateful to our members for their continued support, and we were pleased to welcome 295 new members to the Society in 2025. We ended the year with 3,849 members, including corporate members, representing a small net loss of members for the year.
In 2025, we attended the Royal Welsh Show in July and the Agroforestry Show in September, and at both shows we hosted stands and gave presentations to delegates. These shows provide important opportunities to meet RFS members, to reach new audiences and for networking. At the Royal Welsh Show, we launched a sector-wide survey to assess the mental wellbeing of people who work in forestry and arboriculture.
The Grants for Resilient Woodlands programme has continued to go from strength to strength, with the scheme now having supported the planting of over half a million trees to date. Throughout 2025, interest in the programme increased, with growing numbers of foresters and landowners planning for the long-term health and resilience of their woodlands. Applications have reflected a strong commitment to diversification, with projects exploring a broader mix of species and trialling alternatives alongside established choices, helping to ensure woodlands are equipped to meet future challenges.
In 2025, the scheme also supported an increase in corporate volunteering days, providing valuable opportunities to engage businesses and individuals directly in woodland creation and management. These corporate days in RFS woods have played an important educational role, helping participants to better understand the complexities of woodland management, the challenges facing the UK’s woodlands, and the importance of informed, long-term approaches to tree planting and care.
LEARNING AND OUTREACH
Teaching Trees continues to be the leading Forest Education programme in England and Wales through our fully-funded woodland visits and the Junior Forester Award. In 2025, we reached over 5,200 children through 164 visits led by our skilled Education Officers and maintained our target to reach a high proportion (nearly 50%) of children from schools in economically deprived communities that we know are the least likely to visit woodlands in their own time. Thanks to partnerships with Green the UK and Gateshead Council, we were able to increase our programme of tree planting in schools with over 1,500 trees planted in school and community spaces over the course of the year. 2025 also saw the launch of a Welsh language addition edition of the Junior Forester Award, enabling more children than ever before to take part in their first language.
We remain a leading voice in sector skills and workforce capacity. Forestry Roots welcomed its eighth cohort of trainee foresters and arborists thanks to the kind support of the ALA Green Charitable Trust, their host employers, the FC and Defra. This programme enables the RFS to place young people into their first paid forestry employment on one-year contracts with RFS members, committed to high standards of training, coaching and development of young people. In 2025, 8 trainees secured full-time forestry positions across England and Wales through the programme.
We saw a doubling in demand for the Forestry and Arboriculture Careers Advice Service with over 100 members of the public wanting advice on how to take their first or next steps in a forestry or arboriculture career. The Forestry Jobs Board has also grown with nearly 100 adverts placed by our members. Through our membership of the Forestry Skills Forum, we were asked to take a lead on representing the sector at Careers Events through the work of Forestry Ambassadors. We attended 8 events in the final quarter of the year and, thanks to funding from the Forestry Commission (FC) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), we began the recruitment of a network of Forestry Ambassadors to speak about careers in Forestry and Arboriculture in their local communities.
EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
The Society’s communications reflect the key themes of the new organisational strategy to 2035: woodland resilience, forestry skills & workforce, forestry policy and public understanding of forestry. In 2025, we issued 15 press releases, 15 blog posts, 22 news posts, 2 comments on government policy and 10 guest articles featuring RFS members. Two new case studies were published featuring the outcomes of our grants for resilience awards. The RFS was covered in regional and trade media on several occasions on a range of subjects, including the Excellence in Forestry Awards, tree planting in Gateshead Schools, Women in Forestry and more.
The RFS continues to engage as an active member in several sector forums, including the FC Delivery Advisory Group, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and Tree Planting, the Forestry Skills Forum, UK Squirrel Accord, the England Woodland Biodiversity Group, and the Wellbeing in Forestry group, which is chaired and convened by the RFS. In 2025, the RFS CEO became the inaugural Chair of a new forum, the Resilient Treescape Advisory Group, which was formed by a merger of the Forestry Climate Change Partnership and Defra’s Tree Health Policy Group.
The RFS website is reviewed and updated regularly to ensure we are providing helpful literature, information and news items for our members and the wider public. RFS events, projects and activities are displayed along with free resources for woodland managers and educators.
The Quarterly Journal of Forestry has continued to deliver high-quality forestry articles to RFS members throughout the year. Selected articles with wide appeal have been published on the RFS website as Featured Articles, and promoted via RFS social media channels.
The RFS e-news bulletin continues to be a popular source of news and updates for our members. In 2025, 24 issues of the bulletin were circulated to our membership with an average open rate of 50%, a click rate of 12.7% and unsubscribe rate as low as 0.06%. These figures are above average for similar sectors, and show our membership are engaged in the stories the RFS is telling through the bulletin.
The RFS’s presence on social media has grown further in 2025. LinkedIn and Instagram remain our most successful platforms. The former has seen followers increase by over 50%, from 2,923 to 4,460. Social media channels are valuable platforms for reaching a wider audience, especially young professionals, educators, students and the general public.
The RFS launched a new podcast, Gone Foresting, in 2025 with four episodes published covering Women in Forestry, Plant Health Week, Mental Health in Forestry and the Value of Conifers. Analytics tell us the podcast was more popular than 80% of new podcasts with roughly 150 people following the podcast. Further episodes are planned for 2026 and new recording equipment will enable improved sound quality.
The RFS has led an important new programme seeking to address mental wellbeing issues in forestry, which involved producing a hard-hitting video about the stress and mental health challenges facing forestry contractors. The video received a high level of engagement across platforms and received a positive response from the sector. This was followed up by a podcast episode which also received positive feedback. Further communications activities on wellbeing in forestry are in the planning stages.
AWARDS AND BURSARIES
Randle Travel Bursaries are awarded to RFS members to undertake independent travel to study various aspects of forestry. In 2025, one Randle Travel Bursary was awarded enabling Chris Reynolds to attend and participate in the 11th International Oak Society Conference at the University of Mexico, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Viking Bursaries can be awarded to those undertaking a FdSc, BSc, MSc or PhD course studying any aspect of forestry which benefits the practical management and resilience of woodlands. In 2025, a bursary was awarded to Aakash Basi of the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) to support his PhD research on the management of urban trees and woodlands.
Spencer Bursaries are awarded to RFS Student members or recent graduates to help with the cost of attending RFS events and training. In 2025, five Spencer Bursaries were awarded enabling students to attend RFS one day courses and events.
ACTION OAK
A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Defra was signed in August, and from 1 September 2025, the RFS took on the responsibility of hosting Action Oak from Woodland Heritage. Action Oak is an initiative comprised of public and private partners, committed to the health of oak trees. Its partners include charities, governments, landowners, and research institutions.
Action Oak activities since September include a special oak event for Hoare’s bank customers, the release of an Annual Report, and a special blog identifying drivers of oak damage during storm Arwen. In 2026, Action Oak will release an important report on the State of the UK’s Oaks.
The Goodhart Bursary enabled four Early Career Foresters to attend our Annual Study Tour at a heavily discounted rate. A further two bursaries were kindly funded by the South Wales Division, to enable 2 early career members from Wales to attend the Study Tour.
The RFS Excellence in Forestry Awards is a prestigious programme which recognises best practice in woodland management and forestry education across 5 award categories. In 2025, we continued with the regional format with entries invited from the following RFS Divisions: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Somerset & Dorset, South Western, and Worcestershire.
The Awards Ceremony was held at the Great Oak Hall, Westonbirt Arboretum, and was kindly sponsored by the Duchy of Cornwall, FSC, PEFC, Tilhill, Trees Please, Savills, and the Woodland Trust. Our thanks also go to all the Awards’ judges for their excellent support throughout the process.
The Duke of Cornwall’s Award for Resilient Multi-Purpose Forestry was won by The Perridge Estate, Devon, owned by Sir harry Studholme. Buckland Wood, Devon, owned by Ralph Nicholson, won the Bede Howell Award for Excellence in Silviculture. Moreton Wood, Herefordshire, owned by Joanna Callaghan and Paul Morton, won the Small and Farm Woodland of the Year Award. The Education and Learning Award was won by Children of the Forest, Devon, owned by Lewis Ames, and the Community Woodland of the Year Award was won by Madley Primary School in Herefordshire.
The Sylva Trophy, kindly gifted to the RFS by the Evelyn family, is awarded to the person or organisation considered by the RFS to have made an outstanding contribution to forestry in its broadest sense. In 2025, the trophy was awarded to Graham Taylor, MBS, FICFor for his outstanding contribution to forestry over many years.
RFS WOODS
To help achieve our charitable purposes, the RFS owns and manages three working woodlands which aim to demonstrate how multi-purpose woodland can be managed to meet financial, conservation and educational objectives.
The Charles Ackers Redwood Grove and Naylor Pinetum at Leighton in North Wales continued to be looked after by Honorary Warden Eve Over, supported by an Advisory group. Work on site this has focused mostly on safety and clearing up after storm damage and the results of a tree safety inspection. The Advisory group met on site in August to consider ideas for inclusion in a new Woodland Management Plan which is being developed.
At Hockeridge and Pancake Woods in the Chilterns, the site continued to be looked after by woodland agent, John Morris, supported by the Chilterns Society volunteer work party and an Advisory group. In 2025, tree safety works were completed along the busy Chesham road. Deer control continued, as did work to control the spread of black cherry. A new woodland management plan was written and submitted to FC, which will guide our work at the site in the coming years. The Advisory Group met in August to meet prospective forestry agents who will take on management of the site when John, the current agent, retires in 2026.
Battram Wood in the National Forest, is looked after by forestry agents, supported by an Advisory group. In 2025, we appointed Forwoods as our new agents for the woods. Ride and hedgerow cutting and grey squirrel control continued to be undertaken. New interpretation boards, funded by the Goodhart legacy were installed early in the year, and in September, we ran our first ever training course on the use of drones at the woods at Battram woods. We continued to run Teaching Trees sessions at Battram, and which received very positive comments from the children who participated.
STAFF, CONTRACTORS AND VOLUNTEERS
Pleasingly, once again there were very few changes to our staffing and support personnel. The Director of Action Oak, Annabel Narayanan, joined the staff team from 1 September when the RFS took on hosting Action Oak (see above). An appointment for the new role of Finance and Facilities Officer was made in September, but this position became vacant by the end of the year. We will seek to reappoint for this role in 2026.
At the end of the year there were a record fourteen RFS staff positions, ably supported by freelance contractors who, among other important activities, edit our publications, deliver the Teaching Trees sessions to children and help to manage the RFS woods. The RFS also depends on the energy and goodwill of a large number of volunteers to support its work, particularly in the Divisions, who dedicate many hours to organising local events for members.
The Trustees thank all our staff, contractors and volunteers for their hard work and commitment during 2025.
Staff have maintained efficient and effective operations and high standards of service for members and supporters. Divisional volunteers continued to support members by organising Woodland Meetings and through effective and regular communications
Total income in 2025 was £1,003,818 (2024: £917,444). Income from membership subscriptions, donations, other trading income and investments was all greater than the previous year. Income also increased due to Action Oak income received not present last year. Total expenditure for the year was £966,756 (2024: £967,164) recording a net surplus of £37,062 excluding movements on investments. There was an increase in the value of investments of £334,495, reflecting movements in global stock markets, which means there was an increase in total charitable funds for the year of £371,557.
The total funds at 31 December 2025 were £2,620,509. Restricted funds representing donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes were £923,894. Designated funds set aside from unrestricted funds by the Trustees for specific educational activities and to provide for future running costs were £1,478,691. Accordingly, an amount of £217,924 is freely available to finance the charity’s general purposes. This amount represents around two months of normal expenditure by the charity. The trustees intend to increase this to a level at which the Society can ensure operational continuity in the event of a severe disruption.
Management of the Society’s investments is governed by an Acceptance of donations and investment policy approved by the Board of Trustees in February 2025. The Society’s investments are held in equities, gilt-edged stocks and unit trusts, all quoted on the London Stock Exchange and now managed by Killik & Co LLP, since 22 October 2025. There are two portfolios, a managed fund which aims for a balance between capital growth and income and an execution only portfolio of exchange traded funds with lower management costs. The total value of RFS investments at the end of 2025 was £1,801,594 (2024: £1,718,836).
In 2024, RFS members were consulted as part of the process of creating a new strategy: Inspiring excellence in woodland management, which was launched in 2025. The new strategy describes refreshed values which we apply as we work towards delivering a new mission, to support the creation and management of a resilient multipurpose treescape. The new strategy builds on the strengths of the Society, and its previous achievements.
We will continue to focus our work on creating more resilient and productive woods through our woodland meetings, study tours, and publications. We will seek to raise the profile of forestry through our media, partnerships and outreach work. We will seek to develop career pathways into forestry through our bursaries, professional certifications, and careers support services.
Membership growth and development will remain at the heart of our activity, and we will seek to strengthen the RFS Divisions, which play a key role in building and supporting our membership. We will seek to integrate Divisional activity with Head Office operations where this is possible, and develop our membership offer.
Charity number: | 306093 |
Company number: | 5306975 |
Registered office: | The Hay Barns, Home Farm Drive, Upton, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX15 6HU |
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Our advisers |
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Auditors | Ellacotts Audit Services Limited, Countrywide House, 23 West Bar, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, OX16 9SA |
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Solicitors | Bower and Bailey LLP, 31-34 South Bar Street, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 9AE |
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Investment advisors | Canaccord Genuity Ltd, 88 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7QR Killik & Co, 46 Grosvenor St, London, W1K 3HN |
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The directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purpose of charity law. The directors shown below | |
have held office during the period from 1 January 2025 to the date of this report. | |
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A Field J Hamilton Stubber | (re-elected president from 1 October 2025) (re-elected Vice President from 1 October 2025) |
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R Morgan-Giles | (re-elected Treasurer from 14 May 2025) |
B Herbert | (Immediate Past President) |
I Tubby C Lundberg H Schiavone C Harrison F Gregory G Vickers | (re-elected Chair of the Board from 1 October 2025)
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Governance
As a company limited by guarantee, the RFS' rules are set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association which can be found on the RFS web site: www.rfs.org.uk. During 2025 all Trustee meetings were held in person. Both Council meetings and the AGM were also held in person.
Appointment of Trustees
The RFS Council nominates the President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Chair for election at the Annual General Meeting. Each Division of the Society appoints one member to Council which also includes the Past Presidents, the Directors and up to six co-opted members.
Trustee induction and training
New Directors are given appropriate induction about the RFS and their duties as Trustees. The Board regularly reviews its policies and practices in the light of Charity Commission advice.
Related parties
None of our Trustees receive remuneration or other benefits from their work with the charity. In the current year, no related party transactions were reported.
Pay policy for senior staff
The directors consider the Board of directors, who are Trustees of the Society, and the Leadership team comprise the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the Society on a day to day basis. All directors give of their time freely and no director received remuneration in the year. Details of directors' expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in notes 12 and 28 to the accounts.
The pay policy for senior staff is reviewed annually by the Board, based on market conditions and changes to roles and responsibilities.
Risk management
The Trustees have assessed the risks to which the charity is exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Ellacotts Audit Services Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of The Royal Forestry Society for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees Annual 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 accounts 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 2019 (FRS 102);
- 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 accounts;
- prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company 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.
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.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of accounts may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The Royal Forestry Society (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 December 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities incuding the Summary Income and Expenditure Account, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the trustees report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the trustees report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the trustees report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
As part of the audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also performed the following procedures:
- Enquiry of management around actual and potential litigation and claims.
- Enquiry of entity staff in tax and compliance functions to identify any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations.
- Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.
- Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- Auditing the risk of management override of controls, including through testing journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, and evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with section 391 of the Companies Act 2014. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the 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 company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Royal Forestry Society is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Hay Barns, Home Farm Drive, Upton, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX15 6HU.
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 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, with the exception of fixed asset investments which are measured at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the accounts, 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 accounts.
Unrestricted funds - Unrestricted funds are spent or applied at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity’s purposes.
Restricted funds - Funds held on specific trusts under charity law are classed as restricted funds. The specific trusts may be declared by the donor when making the gift or may result from the terms of an appeal for funds. The specific trusts establish the purpose for which the charity can lawfully use the restricted funds.
Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.
Income from donations, subscriptions, legacies, grants, sales of merchandise and forestry activities is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.
Legacies are included in the year in which they are quantifiable and receivable, which is when the charity becomes entitled to the resource.
Income tax recoverable on covenanted subscriptions and Gift Aid is credited in the year in which the subscriptions or donations are receivable.
Donated assets are accounted for at their market value 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.
Salaries and other support costs have been allocated to expenditure headings on the basis of time spent on those activities. Transactions carried out by divisions have been included in these financial statements, based on their approved accounts for the year. Governance costs are those incurred in compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Freehold properties held for charity use are included at the value at which they were held by the previous, unincorporated, charity.
Other tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. Investment assets are included at market value.
Depreciation has not been charged on freehold buildings where the useful economic life is expected to exceed fifty years. Freehold land is not depreciated. The Leighton chalet is being written off over its useful economic life of thirty years, and office and other equipment over five years. No depreciation is charged on library books as the residual value is estimated to be the same or higher than cost.
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.
Investments are stated in the balance sheet at market value. The difference between market value and original cost of the investment are shown as net gains or losses and transferred to the revaluation reserve. The difference between the balance sheet value and the proceed of investments disposed of it shown as a gain or loss in the statement of financial activities.
Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts.
The trust only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
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 trustees do not believe there to be any estimates or judgements which have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities.
Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £9,750 (2024: £9,200) for audit fees.
None of the trustees (nor any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year, but six of them were reimbursed a total of £4,392 for out-of-pocket expenses (2024- five were reimbursed £3,886).
The average monthly head count was 13 staff (2024 - 12) and the average monthly number of full-time equivalent employees during the year was as follows:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The company is a registered charity and is exempt from corporation tax on its income and capital gains.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements for annual membership subscriptions purchased in advance and income for courses and events taking place in 2026.
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 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.
Duke of Cornwall fund
The income from this fund supports the Duke of Cornwall Award as part of the RFS Excellence in Forestry Awards.
Leslie Astle fund
A donation made by Leslie Astle the income from which contributes to drinks at the RFS annual dinner and other member functions.
NDG James fund
A donation made by the James family in memory of NDG James. The income and accumulated capital of this fund supports the organisation of an RFS conference or lecture.
Spencer bursary fund
A donation made by Anthony Spencer to establish a fund for RFS student members to attend the annual conference or Whole Society Meeting.
Teaching trees fund
A fund established to support the RFS Teaching Trees programme.
Randle travel fund
A donation made by the Donald Randle Trust to fund bursaries for RFS members to undertake overseas travel to study any aspect of forestry.
Viking fund
A legacy received from the estate of Sheila Jorgensen for the purpose of awarding bursaries administered by the Yorkshire Division for forestry related study and travel.
Future foresters fund
A fund established to support the RFS Future Foresters programme.
Wise about Woods fund
A fund established to support the RFS Wise about Woods programme.
Action Oak
Action Oak is an initiative comprised of public and private partners, committed to the health of oak trees.
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.
Divisions fund
A designated fund representing the funds of the 20 RFS Divisions to support the work of the Society in the Divisions and managed by the elected Divisional officers.
Education fund
It was decided that the Pancake, Banner and Bernard Cox fund were amalgamated into one. All unrestricted donations and legacies will be designated to the Education fund.
Hay Barns fund
A fund established following the disposal of the freehold in the RFS Tring property designated by the Trustees to fund rent, rates and service charges at the RFS Hay Barns office.
Battram fund
A fund representing the value of the land, income and expenditure at RFS Battram Wood.
Hockeridge fund
A fund representing the value of the land, income and expenditure at RFS Hockeridge and Pancake Wood.
Leighton fund
A fund representing the value of the land, income and expenditure of the Charles Ackers Redwood Grove and Naylor Pinetum.
Each member of the charitable company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of it being wound up while he or she is a member, or within one year after he or she ceases to be a member, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £10 for the debts and liabilities contracted before he or she ceases to be a member.
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024- none), other than the expenses in note 12.
The charity had no material debt during the year.