The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their combined Trustees’ and Directors’ report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2026.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1.1 to the financial statements and comply with the Charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)".
The principal objects of the Charity are the advancement of education primarily at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand by the provision of funds towards bursaries, scholarships, research grants, building projects, endowing academic posts and such other income or capital expenses as the Trustees shall in their absolute discretion determine.
The Trustees believe that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit and the objects of the charity, which are the advancement of education primarily at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand by providing funds towards bursaries, scholarships, research grants building projects and endowing academic posts. The Trustees consider that the Charity has demonstrated its public benefit in accordance with these Objects through the stewardship of funds held for these objects.
During the year the charity has participated in mail shots to encourage donations towards funding bursaries, scholarships, research grants, building projects, endowing academic posts and such other income or capital expenses as the Trustees determine.
Following the substantial donation received in the year ended 31 March 2025, a further donation was received from the same donor of £5,000. This donation too has been allocated to a Restricted Fund, that fund being the Lady Brownlie Jessup Moot Fund, set up in furtherance of enabling a student from the International Law PhD Scholarship to attend the Jessup Moot.
The policy of the Trustees for the time being is to maintain only minimal reserves. This is because commitments will not be made beyond donations received and operating costs are expected to be kept at a low level. This policy will be kept under review. Reserves as of 31 March 2026, were £29,271 (2025 - £74,242), with £4,469 of these being unrestricted (2025 - £3,741).
Donations and related Gift Aid totalling £6,176 were received during the year (2025 - £67,469). Grants of £52,000 (2025 - £Nil) were made during the year and otherwise only costs relating to bank charges of £12 (2025 - £13) were incurred.
The University of Canterbury, New Zealand, continues to support the Trust by meeting the governance and administration costs incurred by the Trust.
Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association the charity has the power to make investments as the Trustees see fit. No investments were made during the year and the charity holds no investments, other than general cash deposits which earned interest of £865 (2025 - £256), the majority of which was allocated to Restricted Funds in accordance with the proportion of each fund.
The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting. The Trustees have the power to appoint any person as a Trustee, such co-opted Trustees holding office until the next Annual General Meeting.
The Trustees meet once per year and oversee the management of the charity. Day to day operations are undertaken by ASL Consultancy Limited.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
In order to assist you to fulfil your duties under the Companies Act 2006, we have prepared for your approval the financial statements of The University of Canterbury NZ Trust for the year ended 31 March 2026, which comprise the statement of financial activities and the related notes from the charity’s accounting records and from information and explanations you have given us.
As a practising member firm of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, we are subject to its ethical and other professional requirements which are detailed at https://www.icaew.com/regulation.
This report is made to the charity's Trustees, as a body, in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter. Our work has been undertaken solely to prepare for your approval the financial statements of The University of Canterbury NZ Trust and state those matters that we have agreed to state to the charity's Trustees, as a body, in this report in accordance with ICAEW Technical Release 07/16 AAF. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than The University of Canterbury NZ Trust and the charity's Trustees as a body, for our work or for this report.
It is your duty to ensure that The University of Canterbury NZ Trust has kept adequate accounting records and to prepare statutory financial statements that give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and deficit of The University of Canterbury NZ Trust. You consider that The University of Canterbury NZ Trust is exempt from the statutory audit requirement for the year, and is not required to obtain an independent examiner's report.
We have not been instructed to carry out an audit or a review of the financial statements of The University of Canterbury NZ Trust. For this reason, we have not verified the accuracy or completeness of the accounting records or information and explanations you have given to us and we do not, therefore, express any opinion on the statutory financial statements.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The University of Canterbury NZ Trust is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Accipio Solutions Ltd, 23 Southway, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9SY.
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" 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)". 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 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.
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.
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 £52,000 grants payable figure shown in the year represents a single grant made to the University of Canterbury Foundation from the International Law PhD Scholarship fund.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2026 (2025 - £Nil).
There were no trustees’ expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2026 (2025 - £Nil).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
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 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.
A brief explanation of the purposes of each fund is given below:
Faculty of Arts – Dean’s Discretionary Fund – Set up to support initiatives benefitting students in the Faculty of Arts, including international experiences, work experiences, scholarships, bringing in international academics and student research.
Te Kakau a Maui scholarship – This scholarship recognises and supports undergraduate students who demonstrate alignment to the university commitment to producing students who are engaged, empowered and prepared to make a difference. It is aimed at broadening the pool of students who receive financial support from the University.
International Law PhD scholarship – A scholarship to further the study of International Law.
Research Endowment Fund – A fund set up aimed at raising $25m to support research at University of Canterbury, NZ.
Lady Brownlie Jessup Moot Fund – A fund to enable a student from the International Law PhD Scholarship to attend the Jessup Moot.
The University of Canterbury in Christchurch New Zealand has agreed that it will meet the costs and disbursements of an administrative service provided by Whitings LLP Accountants and ASL Consultancy Ltd. This service comprises acting as the company secretary and registered office; preparing and completing the Returns to the Charity Commission; preparing and completing the Companies House Return; preparing (or having prepared) annual accounts and reports, the Independent Examination of these (when necessary in accordance with applicable thresholds), and submitting these to Companies House and the Charities Commission; banking donations and gifts and sending receipts to the donors, making gift aid claims to HMRC and, upon instruction from the Trustees, arranging for the remittance of grants to the University and setting up/arranging meetings. The cost of this service was £1,936 for the year (2025: £3,016). The year-on-year decrease arises as a result of the Charity not requiring an Independent Examination be carried out on the accounts for 2026.