LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA
(A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
COMPANY NO: 02564505
CHARITY NO: 1004609
LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Trustees’ Report | 1 to 5 |
| Trustees’ Responsibilities | 6 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 7 |
| Comparative Statement of Financial Activities | 8 |
| Balance Sheet | 9 to 10 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 11 to 15 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 16 |
LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The Trustees submit their annual report, including the unaudited financial statements, for the year ended 31 March 2024.
1. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Charity Name: London School of Samba
Charity Number: 1004609 Company Number: 02564505 Country of incorporation: UK (England and Wales) Registered office: 62a Augustus Road London SW19 6LZ Independent Examiners: UHY Ross Brooke Chartered Accountants Suite I, Windrush Court Abingdon Business Park OXON OX14 1SY
Bankers: The Co-operative Bank Plc PO Box 250 Skelmersdale WN8 6WT
Charity Trustees and Trustees who served during the year ended 31 March 2024:
Christopher Mullins-Silverstein (Appointed 06 November 2023) Keon Stewart (Appointed 06 November 2023) David Alan Potter
John Hicks
Murray Anderson (Appointed 06 November 2023)
Zoe Rebecca Pye (Resigned 01 August 2023)
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Contd....) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
2. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document: Memorandum and Articles of Association
The London School of Samba is a company limited by guarantee and registered as a charity under the Charities Act. Until the Annual General Meeting of 18 November 2018, the charitable company was governed by its original Memorandum and Articles of Association. London School of Samba was incorporated as a company on 3 December 1990 (registered company number 02564505) and registered by the Charity Commission on 22 October 1991 (charity number 1004609). At the 2018 General Meeting new Articles of Association were adopted to replace the previous articles and memorandum of association. The aims and objectives of the charity remained unchanged, but the new Articles complied with the significant legislative changes for the governance of Companies which have come into force since 1990. They are closely based on the Charity Commission model guidelines for charitable companies limited by guarantee. Details of these changes have been lodged with both Companies House and the Charity Commission.
The Board of Trustees of the charity operate as the Management Committee as set out in both Articles of Association and have responsibility as Directors of the company. In addition to those elected at our Annual General Meeting, the Board of Trustees can appoint new members of the Board either to fill a casual vacancy or by way of addition to the Board. Particular emphasis is placed upon the appointment of Trustees with knowledge and experience relevant to the charitable company's activities. Before appointment, proposed new Trustees are asked to read induction materials which include a Trustee job description, background information on the charity, summaries of the current finances, and an overview of their responsibilities under the Companies and Charities Acts. The Trustees set out above held office during the whole of the period except where otherwise stated. The company has no share capital, and the Directors have no financial interests in the School.
Day-to-day administration of the charity is conventionally delegated to a voluntary Operational Management Team. Decision making powers are retained by the Trustees and exercised at their regular meetings.
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Contd....) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
3. OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
The mission of the London School of Samba (the School) is to entertain, educate, and engage the public in traditional Brazilian carnival arts, for cultural, social, and educational benefit. Samba means “happiness” and through music and dance, we aim to contribute to the well-being of our members and the local community.
We achieve our objectives through:
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✔ Weekly classes to teach Brazilian drumming and dance.
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✔ Public performances, Including participation at Notting Hill Carnival.
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✔ Costume design and production.
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✔ Partnering with our godmother school Mocidade, based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and winner of the 2017 Rio de Janeiro Carnival.
The School played its first official gig at Covent Garden Piazza on 1 April 1984. In August 1984, we were the first Samba School to play at the Notting Hill Carnival and introduced Brazilian Carnival to the parade.
Excluding the years where carnival was postponed due to Covid, for the five preceding years, we consistently produce and showcase one of the biggest and elaborate parades at the Notting Hill Carnival. Other major performances over the last 37 years include performances throughout the UK and Europe, including the Coburg International Samba Festival, the London New Year’s Day Parade and the Glastonbury Festival.
Three new Trustees joined the Group during the 2023/24 year. These three people were introduced to the current School practices, and helped begin the implementation of new management structures in the School.
4. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
As the school continued to recover from the restrictions of the pandemic, we were able to perform in festivals and venues across London and Europe.
Artistic highlights include:
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Performance at the London Marathon
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Performing at the Embassy of the United States of America’s Black History Month Celebrations
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Performing at the 2023 Coburg International Samba Festival
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Parading for the 37th time at the Notting Hill Carnival with over 200 paraders, volunteers and special guests.
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Performing at the Clapham Grand Pre-Carnival Party
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Performing at the world-famous Jazz Cafe
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Contd....) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
5. FINANCIAL REVIEW
The results of the year and the charity's financial position at the end of the period are shown in the following financial statements. The Trustees are responsible for maintaining an adequate level of reserves to provide for all foreseeable contingencies as well as ongoing running costs and replacement of stock.
During the 2023/24 financial year we had to continue to use our reserves to compensate for losses. This loss stemmed from a number of causes. We had to again underwrite the carnival costs as the income from carnival should cover core operating costs around the event (administration and costume storage store and other running costs). Carnival in itself made a small surplus, but it was not sufficient to cover these costs.
Though classes were well attended the income was not enough to create a surplus toward operating costs.
Booking was up from 2022/23 but not back to pre 2020 levels and not sufficient to cover the shortfalls elsewhere. It will be important going forward to price all our services to be sure they cover all our costs to ensure we break even in the coming years.
6. Board and Governance changes
We began the financial year 23/24 with a board of 3 trustees, following the resignation of trustee LD in February 2023. This was confounded in June with the resignation of ZP. A campaign to repopulate the board and consolidate a new direction was undertaken, with the following highlights:
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Three new trustees were co-opted and subsequently voted in at the 2023 AGM.
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The role of chair shifted from DP to CMS.
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With the new board the priority was twofold :
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establish a repeatable timeline for the samba year and have it finetuned and validated by the management and carnival committees.
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design an organizational chart to reflect dependencies and interactions between the various actors and bodies within the school.
Both of these aims were achieved
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Contd....) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
7. TRUSTEE PRIORITIES
The Trustees agreed the following priorities for 2024/25:
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To continue to redefine the governance structure of the school for more clarity between operational, strategic and long-term policy and governance.
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Aim to reach break even through controlling spending and pricing our services to reflect all costs including the core operating costs
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Aim to increase income via attention to publicity and quality online outreach. A new series of video publicity items is being undertaken to increase catchment.
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Continue to strengthen the governance and controls relating to grant deliverables.
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To encourage members to join the volunteer body in order to make the school agile and fulfil goals by revamping the school’s policies.
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Ongoing revamp of the school’s policies ranging from data protection to safeguarding, as well as the school’s equality and diversity mission statement.
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Continue to meet the objectives of the charity through the promotion of the arts with particular reference to samba music and dance and the culture and tradition of AfroBrazilian carnival.
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The Trustees (who are also directors of London School of Samba Limited for the purposes 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 financial statements for each financial year, which 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 these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102);
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable 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 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.
The Trustees have complied with the duty in section 17(5) of the Charities Act 2011 and have given due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.
This report is prepared under the small companies’ regime.
Christopher Mullins-Silverstein- Trustee
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The samba icons included in the Trustees report have been sourced from: https://www.flaticon.com/
LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA
(A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
(INCORPORATING THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
| Note INCOME and ENDOWMENTS Income from investments 2 Income from charitable activities 3 Total income and endowments EXPENDITURE Charitable activities 4 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) before transfers Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted Restricted 2024 Funds Funds Total £ £ £ - - - 68,219 - 68,219 ___ _____ _____ ___ 68,219 - 68,219 ___ _____ ___ _____ _____ ___ 82,601 - 82,601 ______ __ _ 82,601 - 82,601 ______ __ ______ __ ______ __ (14,382) - (14,382) 27,107 (27,107) - ______ __ ______ __ ______ __ 12,725 (27,107) (14,382) 8,480 27,107 35,587 _____ ___ _____ ___ _______ 21,205 - 21,205 |
2023 Total £ - 49,753 _ 49,753 _________ 59,231 ____ ____ 59,231 ______ (9,478) - __ (9,478) 45,065 __ ____ 35,587 |
|---|---|---|
The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses in the year and therefore a statement of total recognised gains and losses has not been prepared. All of the above amounts relate to continuing activities.
The notes on pages 11 to 15 form part of these financial statements.
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA
(A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES – COMPARATIVE FIGURES (INCORPORATING THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
| Note INCOME and ENDOWMENTS Income from investments 2 Income from charitable activities 3 Total income and endowments EXPENDITURE Charitable activities 4 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) before transfers Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted Restricted 2023 Funds Funds Total £ £ £ - - - 49,753 - 49,753 ___ _____ _____ ___ 49,753 - 49,753 ___ _____ ___ _____ _____ ___ 59,231 - 59,231 ______ __ _ 59,231 - 59,231 ______ __ ______ __ ______ __ (9,478) - (9,478) - - - ______ __ ______ __ ______ __ (9,478) - (9,478) 17,958 27,107 45,065 _____ ___ _____ ___ _______ 8,480 27,107 35,587 |
2022 Total £ - 80,391 _ 80,391 _________ 70,496 ____ ____ 70,496 ______ 9,895 - __ 9,895 35,170 __ ____ 45,065 |
|---|---|---|
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COMPANY NO: 02564505
BALANCE SHEET
| AS AT 31 MARCH 2024 Note Fixed Assets 6 Current Assets Stock for resale Debtors 7 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors Amounts falling due within one year 8 Net Current Assets Total Assets less Current Liabilities Net Assets Represented by: Restricted funds 9 Unrestricted funds 9 |
31 March 31 March 2024 2023 £ £ £ £ 1,716 2,145 2,314 2,314 1,461 2,061 19,671 31,452 _ _ 23,446 35,827 (3,957) (2,385) __ __ 19,489 33,442 _ _ _ 21,205 35,587 __ ___ 21,205 35,587 - 27,107 21,205 8,480 _ ___ 21,205 35,587 |
|---|---|
For the financial period ended 31 March 2024, the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COMPANY NO: 02564505
BALANCE SHEET (CONTINUED)
AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small company’s regime. These accounts were approved by the Board of Directors on 9[th] December 2024 and are signed on behalf of the board by: petaif — Christopher Mullins-Silverstein - Trustee
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The principal accounting policies of the company are as follows:
(a) Basis of accounting
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Companies Act 2006.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis. Grants received in 2020 and 2021 from the Arts Council and Lambeth enabled us to maintain and build our reserves when delivery of our services were limited. We have managed to increase our activities in 2023/24 but without any additional Grant support we have needed to cover all expenses from our income which has been down from the previous comparable pre lockdown year, so we have had to use some of our reserves to cover running costs.
The Trustees intend to keep minimum reserves of £18,700 to ensure the charity's future viability, of which £8,700 is sufficient to achieve orderly closure in the unlikely event of a loss of funding.
The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £.
(b) Income
All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably, and it is probable that the income will be received.
(c) Expenditure
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:
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Costs of charitable activities comprise direct expenditure. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
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Governance costs include those costs, such as independent examination and legal and professional fees, associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.
(d) Taxation
- The company is a registered charity and is not liable to United Kingdom taxes on its income.
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)
(e) Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are general funds that are available for use at the Trustees’ discretion in furtherance of the objects of the Charity. Designated funds are those earmarked by the Trustees for use in a particular area or for specific areas.
(f) Tangible fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets are stated at historical cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at a rate which reflects the anticipated useful life of the assets concerned.
Samba equipment is depreciated over 7 years on a straight-line basis.
(g) Debtors and creditors receivable / payable within one year
Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.
(h) Stock
Stock is included at the lower of cost or net realisable value. Donated items of stock are recognised at fair value which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay for the items on the open market.
| 2 | INVESTMENT INCOME | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| £ | £ |
£ | £ | ||
| Bank interest receivable | - | - | - | - |
3 INCOMING RESOURCES FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
| Unrestricted Restricted 2024 2024 £ £ Income from performances 16,133 - Subscriptions, workshops and outreach 29,026 - Carnival registration fees 23,060 - _ _ 68,219 - |
Total 2024 £ 16,133 29,026 23,060 __ 68,219 |
Total 2023 £ 12,856 23,330 13,567 49,753 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
| 4 |
COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Activities Undertaken Directly £ Workshop costs 23,492 Performance costs 8,292 Carnival costs 21,261 Governance costs (below) 1,693 __ 54,738 Governance costs relate to the following: Independent examination fees 1,693 Other statutory costs - Trustees’ meetings - 1,693 |
Support Costs £ 12,339 4,356 11,168 - __ 27,863 |
Total 2024 £ 35,831 12,648 32,429 1,693 __ 82,601 |
Total 2023 £ 34,200 7,056 16,275 1,700 59,231 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent examination fees Other statutory costs Trustees’ meetings |
5 TRUSTEES’ EMOLUMENTS AND STAFF COSTS
No salaries or wages have been paid to employees as the Charity does not have any employees.
No Trustees received any remuneration or reimbursement of expenses during the year (2023: no remuneration to Trustees).
| 6 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Samba Equipment Cost £ As at 1 April 2023 33,032 Additions - As at 31 March 2024 33,032 Depreciation As at 1 April 2023 30,887 Charge for the year 429 As at 31 March 2024 31,316 Net book value As at 31 March 2024 1,716 As at 31 March 2023 2,145 |
Total £ 33,032 - 33,032 30,887 429 31,316 1,716 2,145 |
|---|---|
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
| 7 DEBTORS 2024 £ Debtors comprised amounts falling due within one year as follows: Trade debtors 100 Other debtors 1,361 1,461 8 CREDITORS - Amounts falling due within one year 2024 £ Trade creditors 2,307 Accruals 1,650 __ 3,957 9 ANALYSIS OF FUNDS Restricted Unrestricted Funds Funds £ £ As at 1 April 2023 27,107 8,480 Incoming resources - 68,219 Resources expended - (82,601) Transfers between funds (27,107) 27,107 _ _________ As at 31 March 2024 - 21,205 Represented by: Fixed assets - 1,716 Net current assets - 19,489 ______ ___ _ As at 31 March 2024 - 21,205 |
2023 £ 700 1,361 2,061 2023 £ 735 1,650 _ 2,385 Total £ 35,587 68,219 (82,601) - _ 21,205 1,716 19,489 _ 21,205 |
|---|---|
The remaining monies in restricted funds of £ 27,107 have now been spent and can be transferred to unrestricted.
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LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
| 9 ANALYSIS OF FUNDS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Comparatives (for the year ended 31 March 2023) | Restricted | Unrestricted | |
| Funds | Funds |
Total | |
| £ | £ |
£ |
|
| As at 1 April 2022 | 27,107 | 17,958 |
45,065 |
| Incoming resources | - | 49,753 |
49,753 |
| Resources expended | - | (59,231) |
(59,231) |
| Transfers between funds | - | - |
- |
| ___ | ___ |
___ | |
| As at 31 March 2023 | 27,107 | 8,480 |
35,587 |
| Represented by: | |||
| Fixed assets | - | 2,145 |
2,145 |
| Net current assets | 27,107 | 6,335 |
33,442 |
| ___ | ___ |
___ | |
| As at 31 March 2023 | 27,107 | 8,480 |
35,587 |
Restricted funds comprise grant funding from the Arts council Emergency response fund.
10 MEMBERS CONTRIBUTIONS
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and as such does not have share capital. Each member has given an undertaking to contribute up to £1 if called upon to do so.
11 CONTROLLING PARTIES
No one person controls the charitable company.
12 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
There were no related party transactions in the reporting period that require disclosure (2023: £nil).
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
I report to the charity Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2024 which are set out on pages 7 to 15.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity Trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your company’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
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:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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the accounts 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 accounts 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 accounts to be reached.
Caroline Webster FCA UHY Ross Brooke Chartered Accountants Suite I, Windrush Court Abingdon OXON, OX14 1SY
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