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2020-12-31-accounts

THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL

And

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the Year Ended 31 December 2020

UNAUDITED

Registered Charity No. 1014370 Company No. 12722

THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

INDEX PAGE
Notice of Annual General Meeting and Agenda 1
Report of the Council 2– 5
Statement of Financial Activities 6
Balance Sheet 7
Notes to the Financial Statements 8 – 11
Independent Examiner’s Report 12 - 13

THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR 2020

Notice of Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held at 4.15 p.m. on 12 June 2021 online via Zoom.

Agenda

The Honorary Secretary for Publications (Transactions) is, as always, eager to receive articles from members and non-members, for publication in the journal. The Honorary Secretary for Publications (Monographs) is similarly actively seeking monographs to appear in the Society’s Publications series. Potential contributors should contact her to discuss proposals.

Council draws the attention of members to the provision whereby members of the Society of twenty or more years standing, who have retired from full-time employment, may, on application to the Council, and at its absolute discretion, be given continued membership without further payment of subscriptions. Members should write to the Membership Secretary in the first instance.

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

REPORT AND ACCOUNTS OF THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2020

Registered Charity No. 1014370 Company No. 12722

President:

Prof. A. LAHIRI, B.A., M.A., D.Phil., F.B.A. (to 13 June 2020) Prof. S. FITZMAURICE, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. (from 14 June 2020)

Vice Presidents:

Prof. S. ADAMSON, M.A. Prof. W. AYRES-BENNETT, M.A., D.Phil. Dr E.K. BROWN, M.A., Ph.D. Prof. A. LAHIRI, B.A., M.A., D.Phil., F.B.A. (from 14 June 2020) Prof. P.H. MATTHEWS, M.A., Litt.D., F.B.A. Prof. N. SIMS-WILLIAMS, M.A., Ph.D., FBA. Prof. N. VINCENT, M.A., FBA.

Ordinary Members of the Council:

Dr. K. ALLAN, M.A., Ph.D. Prof. J. L. CHESHIRE, B.A., Ph.D., F.B.A., F.R.S.A. Prof. S.C. COLVIN, B.A., M.Phil., D.Phil. Prof. E. DICKEY, A.B., M.A., D.Phil., F.B.A. Dr H. GIBSON, Ph.D. Dr S. J. HELLMUTH, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., S.F.H.E.A Dr C. M. MacROBERT, M.A., D.Phil. Prof. M. MAIDEN, M.A., M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Dr h.c., F.B.A., M.A.E. Dr. R. MEYER, MA., M.Phil., D.Phil. Prof. M.-B. MOSEGAARD HANSEN, M.A.,

Ph.D., Dr.Phil., Fellow of Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters Prof. F. PLANK, M.A., M.Litt., Dr.phil.habil. Mr G. POINTON, M.A., M.Litt. Dr S. PULLEYN, M.A., D.Phil., LL.M., F.R.Hist.S. Dr J. ROBINSON, B.A., B.Sc., M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D. Dr R. SEN, M.A., D.Phil. Dr P. STILES, M.A., Dip.Comp.Philol., D.Phil. Prof. L. SYLVESTER, M.A., Ph.D. Dr S. WATTS, M.A., Ph.D. Dr D. W. E. WILLIS, Ph.D. M.A., M.Phil., D.Phil. Dr S. WOLFE, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.

Treasurer:

Prof. P. K. AUSTIN, B.A.(A.S), Ph.D., Ph.D. honoris causa .

Secretaries:

Prof. K. FISCHER, Ph.D.

Dr Z.-J. AINSWORTH, Ph.D. (for Student Associates, until 23 October 2020) Mr J. BOOTH, B.A., M.Phil. (for Student Associates, from 24 October 2020) Dr R.K. ASHDOWNE, M.A., D.Phil. (for Membership) Dr M. GREEN, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. (for Publications) Prof. L. MARTEN, M.A., Ph.D. (for Publications)

Website: http://www.philsoc.org.uk

Accountants:

Mazars LLP, Chartered Accountants, The Pinnacle, 160 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 1FF

Bankers: Barclays Bank plc, 1 Pall Mall East, London, SW1Y 5AX

Agents and Publishers for the Society:

Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ

Registered Office:

The Centre of African Studies, SOAS, University of London Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

REPORT of the PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2020 (continued)

The Philological Society is the oldest learned society in Great Britain devoted to the scholarly study of language and languages. It was established in its present form in 1842, consisting partly of members of a society of the same name established at the University of London in 1830.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Society is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. It was incorporated on 2 January 1879. It is governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association which were most recently amended at an Annual General Meeting held in London on 7 May 1999.

The trustees of the Society are constituted by its President, who is appointed at an Annual General Meeting for a period of three years (renewable for one further year only), the Vice-Presidents, who are appointed for life at an Annual General Meeting, the other Officers, and up to twenty ordinary members of Council, who are elected annually at an Annual General Meeting.

OBJECTIVES

The objects of the Society are to investigate and promote the study and knowledge of the structure, the affinities, and the history of languages, and to apply all the profits (if any) or other income of the Association for the promotion of the above object, without payment of any dividend to the members of the Association, and the doing of all such other lawful things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects.

ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE SOCIETY 2020

During 2020 the Society held seven meetings:

One meeting was planned but cancelled due to Covid-19:

27 April (with British Academy, London) The historical development of the Welsh language from the Middle Ages to the present

During the year, vols. 118.1, 118.2, and 118.3 of Transactions of the Philological Society were distributed to members.

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

REPORT of the PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2020 (continued)

A travel grant was awarded to one postgraduate student to assist them in presenting papers at conferences, or in fieldwork.

The Society continued in 2020 to make audiovisual recordings of papers delivered at meetings, and, with the speakers’ permission, to make the recordings available on Youtube for public viewing.

Eight MA bursaries of £5,000 p.a. were awarded to students in linguistics or philology, following a competitive application process. In addition two Ph.D Bursaries were made and one Bursary was made from the Martin Burr fund (which Council has dedicated to support mature students and early career researchers). One of the eight MA bursaries was awarded from the Anna Morpurgo Davies fund (one bursary per year may be awarded from this fund to support a student working on ancient languages).

In 2020, the Society made a financial contribution to the UK Linguistics Olympiad to support its work in encouraging language-study in schools in 2020.

The Society continued a blog which is hosted on a Wordpress webpage. It is curated by the Secretary for Student Associates and all members are encouraged to contribute items of interest.

On 31st December 2020 the Society had 637 Members comprising 461 Ordinary Members, 59 Life Members, and 117 Student Associates (in December 2010 the total figure was 641).

ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR 2021

Six meetings are scheduled for 2021 to be delivered via Zoom, as follows:

A total of nine MA bursaries are planned to be awarded. Submissions for the Robins Prize will be judged and a prize may be awarded if the quality is sufficient. Further grants will be made available to research students presenting papers at conferences or undertaking fieldwork. The Society welcomes donations to the Anna Morpurgo Davies bursary fund and the Burr research fund.

IMPACT OF COVID-19

The Council does not feel that COVID-19 will affect the performance of the Society with meetings and presentations being held virtually by Zoom. Applications for PhD bursaries will be lower due to travel restrictions for conferences and fieldwork.

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

REPORT of the PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2020 (continued)

RESERVES

The Council’s policy is to maintain the level of resources both now and for future generations that will, together with other income, generate sufficient funds to enable the publication of special interest publications and promote other projects in furtherance of the objects of the charity. Total reserves held at 31 December 2020 amounted to £695,093 (2019: £669,468).

INVESTMENTS

Under the memorandum and articles of association, the Society has the power to make any investments as the directors see fit. The policy of the directors has been to invest the Society’s funds so as to produce a regular and sustainable level of income. Funds are invested in a combination of cash deposits, managed funds and quoted equities. Performance over 2020 has resulted in a small decrease in value overall, broadly in line with the market performance as a whole. The funds are held in order to generate an income which has reduced in 2020. Details of investments held at 31 December 2020 are given in note 7 to the accounts.

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The directors are responsible for preparing the Directors’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They accept responsibility for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under section 415A of the Companies Act 2006.

Approved by the Council on 12 June 2021 and signed on their behalf by

Dr S. Pulleyn Secretary

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account) For the Year Ended 31st December 2020


For the Year Ended 31st December 2020
Note 2020 2019
£ £
INCOME
Membership subscriptions 3 7,078 12,971
Donations
Investment income 4 11,924 7,929
Publications and journals 5 67,384 77,055
─────── ───────
Total Income 86,386 97,955
─────── ───────
EXPENDITURE:
Charitable activities 6 55,506 48,069
─────── ───────
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 55,506 48,069
─────── ───────
MOVEMENT IN TOTAL FUNDS FOR THE YEAR -
Net incoming resources before gains/(losses) 30,880 49,886
Gains/(losses) on investment assets:
Unrealised (loss)/gain 7 (5,255) 15,121
─────── ───────
Net movement in funds after gains/(losses) 25,625 65,007
Fund balances brought forward at 1 January 669,468 604,461
─────── ───────
Fund balances carried forward at 31 December 8 695,093 669,468
═══════ ═══════

The notes on pages 8 to 11 also form part of these financial statements.

All amounts derive from continuing operations.

All gains and losses recognised in the year are included in the Statement of Financial Activities.

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2020

Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2020 Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2020
(A company limited by Guarantee and not having a Share Capital) Company No: 12722
Note 2020 2019
£ £
INVESTMENTS AT VALUATION 7 204,104 209,359
─────── ───────
CURRENT ASSETS
Accrued income 7,552 1,487
Publications 59,383 68,055
Bank deposit accounts 432,122 396,447
─────── ───────
499,057 465,989
─────── ───────
CREDITORS - AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Subscriptions paid in advance 3,328 1,380
Creditors and accruals 4,740 4,500
─────── ───────
8,068 5,880
─────── ───────
NET CURRENT ASSETS 490,989 460,109
────── ───────
NET ASSETS 695,093 669,468
═══════ ═══════
GENERAL FUNDS - All unrestricted
Revaluation reserve 8 99,101 104,356
Realised funds 8 567,650 539,770
Martin Burr Fund 8 28,342 25,342
─────── ───────
695,093 669,468
═══════ ═══════

The notes on pages 8 to 11 also form part of these financial statements.

For the year ended 31 December 2020 the charitable company was entitled to exemption under section 477(2) of the Companies Act 2006 (“the Act”) and members have not required the company to obtain an audit for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Act. The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Act and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at 31 December 2020 and of its surplus for the year then ended in accordance with the requirements of sections 393, 394 and 395 of the Act and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to the financial statements so far as applicable to the charitable company.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provision of part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small entities.

Approved by the Council and authorised for issue on 12 June 2021 and signed on its behalf by

Dr. S. Pulleyn , Secretary

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020

1. Accounting Policies

a.

Legal status of the charity

The Philological Society is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital, incorporated in England and Wales. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantees is limited to £1 per company member of the charity. The address of its registered office and principal place of business is disclosed in the company information.

The principal activity of the charity is investigate and promote the study and knowledge of the structure, the affinities and the history of languages.

The financial statements are presented in Sterling and this is the functional currency of the charity.

b. Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with applicable accounting standards unless otherwise stated. In preparing the financial statements the charity follows best practice as set out in the Statement of Recommended Practice: ’Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ (SORP 15), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Ireland (FRS102) and the Charities and Companies Acts.

c. Going concern

The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis as the trustees consider this basis to be appropriate, having reviewed the forecasts for twelve months from the date of signing these accounts. The trustees are confident that the charity will be able to meet its liabilities as they fall due during the next twelve months.

d. Investments

Investments are shown at valuation. The difference between cost at date of acquisition and the value at the balance sheet date is shown in an unrealised gain.

Donations and subscriptions are credited to the accounts of the Society in the year in which they are receivable.

d. Royalties

Royalties from the sale of publications and journals are included as income in the year in which the relevant publications were sold.

e. Publication costs

The cost of publications is treated as expenditure of the year in which it is incurred and no account is taken of unsold stock at the balance sheet date.

f. Resources expended

Charitable expenditure

This represents expenditure incurred on activities in furtherance of the charity’s objects (which includes support costs).

Governance costs are now included in charitable expenditure. Costs incurred are those relating to the organisation and running of the charity itself rather than its charitable objects and includes Council Meeting expenses and costs associated with the preparation of the annual Report and Financial Statements.

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020 (continued)

g.

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

h. Creditors

Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

i. Financial instruments

The charity 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.

j. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash at bank includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

k. Judgements in applying accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In applying the charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees may be required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions in determining the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities.

Due to the nature of the charity’s activities and financial statements, the Trustees do not consider there to be any significant judgements or sources of estimation uncertainty which could influence the reader’s understanding of the financial statements.

2. Trustees and Employees Remuneration

No emoluments of any kind have been paid or are payable to members of the Council. Travelling expenses and reimbursements of travel and conference costs paid to 6 members of the Council (2019: 16) in the year totalled £310 (2019: £2,686). The Society has no paid employees.

A number of council members are associated with SOAS. The society rents a meeting room and the provision of other services from SOAS with the transactions totalling £206 (2019: £502) being at arm’s length.


being at arm’s length.
3. Voluntary income
2020 2019
£ £
Membership subscriptions and events 7,078 12,971
═════ ═════

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020 (continued)

4. Investment income

4. Investment income
2020 2019
£ £
Income from investments 11,383 6,856
Interest on deposits 541 1,073
───── ─────
11,924 7,929
═════ ═════
5. Incoming resources from publications
2020 2019
£ £
Royalties from sales of journals 67,384 77,055
───── ─────
67,384 77,055
═════ ═════
6. Charitable Activities
2020 2019
£ £
Meeting and speaker costs 3,356 5,903
Publication costs 1,160 2,421
MA Bursaries 40,000 28,005
Student and Conference support 2,500 1,669
Robins Prize - 1,013
Subscriptions - 617
Website 720 205
Payment to UK Linguistics Olympiad 2,250 -
Bank charges 72 147
Independent examiner’s fee 4,740 4,740
Travel and subsistence 398 2,599
Sundry Expenses 310 750
───── ─────
55,506 48,069
════ ════

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020 (continued)

7. Investments

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |31 December 2020 31 December 2019| |Market|Market| |Cost|Value|Cost|Value| |£|£|£|£| |Municipal and General Securities| |Charibond Fixed Interest Shares|30,000|27,884|30,000|27,967| |Municipal and General Securities| |Limited 6,190 Charifund Units 5,002|91,142|5,002|102,797| |Lloyds shares 693 Ordinary|-|253|-|433| |Baring UK Growth & Income Charity Fund|20,000|21,699|20,000|20,355| |Black Rock Charities UK Equity Fund|25,000|32,942|25,000|29,278| |Black Rock Charities UK Bond Fund 25,000 30,184 25,000 28,529| |───────|───────|───────|───────| |105,002|204,104|105,002|209,359| |═══════|═══════|═══════|═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

8. Reconciliation of Movements in Funds

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Anna| |Morpurgo| |Martin|Davies| |Revaluation|Realised|Burr|Bursary| |Reserve|Reserves|Fund|Fund|Total| |£|£|£|£|£| |Balance at 1 January 2020|104,356|535,770 29,342 -|669,468| |Net Incoming Resources|-|31,880 (1,000) -|30,880| |Loss arising on revaluation|(5,255)|-|-|-|(5,255)| |of investments| |───────|───────|───────|───────|───────| |At 31 December 2020|99,101|567,650|28,342 -|695,093| |═══════|═══════|═══════|═══════|═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

Designated Funds

The Martin Burr Fund is available to support activities for which regular funding is not available in a given year. Anticipated uses include support for mature students undertaking an MA in linguistics or philology, or grants to enable independent scholars and retired members to attend meetings of the Society or other academic events.

The Anna Morpurgo Davies Bursary Fund was set up in late 2014 named after the late Anna Morpurgo Davies, a former Chair of Comparative Philology at Oxford and President of the Society and will be used for the award of an annual MA bursary.

All funds are unrestricted.

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of The Philological Society

I report on the financial statements of The Philological Society for the year ended 31 December 2020, which are set out on pages 6 to 11.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity 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 the charity’s financial statements 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(b) of the 2011 Act.

This report, including my statement, has been prepared for and only for the charity’s trustees as a body. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the charity’s trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an independent examiner’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body for my examination work, for this report, or for the statements I have made.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the financial statements present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

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THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of The Philological Society

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, which is complete, no matters have come to my attention which give me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.

Vincent Marke Mazars LLP The Pinnacle 160 Midsummer Boulevard Milton Keynes MK9 1FF

Date:

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