**Business Disability Forum** 

**Annual Report and Financial Statements** 

30 June 2022 

Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number: 02603700 (England and Wales) Charity Registration Number: 1018463 



## **Contents** 

|**Reports**|**Reports**|||
|---|---|---|---|
|Reference and administrative||||
|information|||1|
||||2|
||||32|
|**Financial Statements**||||
|Statement of financial activities|||38|
|Balance sheet|||39|
|Statement of cash flows|||40|
|Principal accounting policies|||41|
|Notes to the financial statements|||46|



Business Disability Forum 



## **Reference and administrative information** 

|**Trustees**|Jacqueline Beer|
|---|---|
|**as at 24 November 2022**|Ian Callaghan|
||Victoria Cleland|
||Paulette Cohen|
||Shaun Davis|
||Janet Hill|
||Rebecca Hitchings|
||Stephen Miller (Chair)|
||Angela Whitty|
||Iain Wilkie|
|**Company Secretary**|Ben Kelly|
|**Chief Executive Officer**|Diane Lightfoot|
|**Registered and Principal office**|Nutmeg House|
||60 Gainsford Street|
||London|
||SE1 2NY|
|Telephone|020-7403-3020|
|Facsimile|020-7403-0404|
|Website|www.businessdisabilityforum.org.uk|
|E-mail|enquiries@businessdisabilityforum.org.uk|
|**Company registration number**|02603700 (England and Wales)|
|**Charity registration number**|1018463|
|**Auditor**|Buzzacott LLP|
||130 Wood Street|
||London|
||EC2V 6DL|
|**Bankers**|HSBC Bank plc|
||69 Pall Mall|
||London|
||SW1 5EY|
|**Solicitors**|Bates Wells & Braithwaite|
||10 Queen Street Place|
||London|
||EC4R 1BE|



Business Disability Forum 

**1** 



**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

The trustees are pleased to present their statutory report together with the financial statements of Business Disability Forum for the year ended 30 June 2022. 

The report has been prepared in accordance with Part 8 of the Charities Act 2011 and constitutes the Act 2006. 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out therein and comply with Business Disability Forum Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). 

## **Statement of t** 

## **responsibilities** 

The trustees (who are also directors of the charitable company for the and 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 charity and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. 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 Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing the accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS102); 

- 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. 

Business Disability Forum 

**2** 



**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Statement of t** 

## **responsibilities (cont.)** 

The trustees are responsible for maintaining adequate accounting records which 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. The trustees 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. 

Each of the trustees confirms that: 

- So far as the trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of is unaware; and 

- The trustee has taken all steps that he/she ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make himself/herself aware of any relevant audit is aware of that 

- information. 

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006. 

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. 

## **Trustees** 

The trustees constitute directors of the charity and company for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006. The board of trustees is known as the Council of Management (the Council). 

taken to ensure that members of the Council have the necessary skills 

The following trustees served throughout the year and remain in office, except where shown. 

Business Disability Forum 

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## **report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

|**Trustee**<br>**Appointed/resigned**<br>**Date**|**Trustee**<br>**Appointed/resigned**<br>**Date**|
|---|---|
|Jacqueline Beer<br>Ian Callaghan<br>Victoria Cleland<br>Paulette Cohen<br>Dr Shaun Davis<br>Rachel Ann Gray<br>Janet Hill<br>Rebecca Hitchings<br>Stephen Miller<br>Hari Sundaresan<br>Iain Wilkie<br>Angela Whitty|Resigned 15 November 2022<br>Resigned 15 November 2022|



New trustees may be appointed by the Council either to fill a vacancy or as an additional trustee. At each Annual Retirement Meeting (ARM) any trustees who have been appointed by a decision of the Council since the last Annual Retirement Meeting shall retire along with those trustees whose three-year term of office has concluded; they may offer themselves for re-election. 

No trustee received any remuneration or expenses from the charity during the year (2021 - £nil). No trustee had any beneficial interest in any contract with the charity during the year (2021 nil). 

## **Other officers** 

**Company Secretary** 

Ben Kelly 

## **Senior executives** 

|**Senior executives**||
|---|---|
|**Name**|**Position**|
|Diane Lightfoot|Chief Executive Officer (CEO)|



## **Members** 

The members of the charitable company, who are guarantors, are: 

Barclays Bank plc. British Telecommunications plc. Cisco Systems. Royal Mail Group. 

Business Disability Forum 

**4** 



**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Organisation and management of Business Disability Forum** 

Business Disability Forum is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association, most recently amended on 29 June 2020. 

In order to achieve both and mission, a formal management structure is in place. 

The Council is responsible for the general control and management of the organisation. At 24 November 2022, the Council comprises senior figures from business and the public sector, some of whom also have extensive experience of the not-for-profit sector. Beneath the Council four committees provide additional oversight on the strategic direction and operations of the organisation. Those committees are: Commercial, Finance and Audit, People, and Policy. 

The Council meets regularly to review financial and other management information and longer-term strategic priorities for the organisation, corporate governance issues and other relevant matters. The committees meet prior to each Council meeting and update the Council. Further ad hoc meetings are convened as required. 

An induction programme and governance manual are in place to ensure new trustees understand the vision, mission and management of the organisation as well as their responsibilities as trustees and company directors in accordance with the relevant guidelines issued by the Charity Commission and Companies House. The recruitment process for new trustees includes interviews with the Chair or another nominated trustee, CEO and Company Secretary with final approval by the Council at the Annual Retirement Meeting. Appropriate guidelines and information on governance, activities, products and services are also provided. The new trustee is also introduced to members of the Leadership Team and, where appropriate, to the wider membership. In addition, ongoing training is sometimes offered in the form of external courses and presentations to the Council. 

The trustees appoint and employ a CEO to provide vision and leadership, achieve their strategic and charitable aims and manage the organisation. 

Business Disability Forum produces an annual Business Plan. This year that plan formed the final year of our five-year strategy to analyse, stabilise, revise, consolidate, **grow and** Business Disability Forum. This strategy and its underpinning annual business plans have been successfully completed. The annual Business Plan is submitted to the Council for approval. It sets out the vision and mission, reviews progress, achievements and the financial outcomes in the current year and sets out the action plan and budget for the forthcoming year. 

Business Disability Forum 

**5** 



**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Organisation and management of Business Disability Forum (cont.)** 

Progress against the annual Business Plan is reviewed at Council meetings and, where appropriate, at committee meetings, with written updates also provided at regular intervals. The Council and committees receive brief, formal written reports covering Policy & Research (Policy consultations and member engagement and BDF led research projects) , Disability Partnerships (Advice Service, Membership Recruitment & Retention, Sponsorship, Disability Smart product suite, Professional Consultancy, Learning & Development and Supplier relationships), Legal and Content (Development of our best practice guidance, design, legal and training & events), Communications and Marketing (Communications, Marketing, PR & media, Digital communications) and Finance & Resources (HR, ICT, Administration, Finance, and Corporate Governance). In addition, the CEO and members of the Leadership Team attend Council meetings to provide further verbal reports and more information, for example on new projects or strategic items. Other employees attend these meetings as required. 

## **Key management personnel** 

There is a designated Leadership Team which includes the Chief Executive Officer, Head of Communications & Marketing, Head of Disability Partnerships, Head of Legal & Content, Head of Policy & Research, and Head of Finance. The Leadership Team is accountable to the Council and is responsible for the day to day running of the organisation. It has agreed 

performance & development reviews are carried out annually, with Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) set six monthly and reviewed regularly, to ensure that objectives are met and that members of the Leadership Team have appropriate development opportunities. 

The senior executives who form the Leadership Team are Diane Lightfoot, Adrian Ward, Angela Mathews, Bela Gor, Lara Davis and Ben Kelly (Company Secretary). 

When personnel are appointed, the salary offered is benchmarked against roles with similar expectations and responsibilities in the not-for-profit sector, mindful that our business model also depends upon complementary skills required in the commercial sector. Key personnel were awarded the same annual cost of living increase that is given to all other employees in July, and this was reviewed and scrutinised by the People Committee for transparency. 

When the responsibilities of the roles that the key personnel perform are increased, a review of the remuneration offered is undertaken and the salary is again benchmarked against roles with similar expected outcomes to decide if a pay increase is appropriate, again to be decided by the People Committee. 

Business Disability Forum 

**6** 



**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Organisation and management of Business Disability Forum (cont.)** 

Key personnel are awarded our standard range of benefits; these are available to all employees. We use the XpertHR, Sendex, salary benchmarking tool and take part in their annual survey to ensure parity with comparable organisations. In 2021/22 a 2% cost of living salary increase was awarded to our team. 

## **Major risks** 

The trustees have reviewed the major risks to which the organisation is exposed. During the year the Covid-19 pandemic and its continued economic fallout together with supply chain issues arising from global Covid lock downs and the Ukrainian war remained the greatest risk that we face over the short term. 

Factors that we consider as part of the risk process include: 

- Covid-19 and the impact global mitigation measures have had; 

- The Ukrainian war and its impact on inflation and supplies; 

- Internal capacity and resource to deliver services; 

- Government attitudes to disability; 

- Competition and demand for our products and services/ market conditions; Staffing and training; 

- Cyber security and data protection; 

- Governance and statutory reporting; 

- Internal reporting and other compliance issues; 

- Processes, systems and quality control; 

- Our mission and objectives; 

- Opportunities and innovation; 

- Internal culture, capacity and decision-making processes; 

- Demand for international products and services; 

- Procurement; 

- Theft, fraud and business interruption/ continuity; 

- Failure to protect intellectual property; 

- The immediate and longer-term effects of the UK exiting from the EU; 

- Issues arising from increasing our prices; and 

- Issues arising from the increased costs of labour, goods and services. 

Business Disability Forum 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Major Risks (cont.)** 

Systems have been established to mitigate losses from such events where practical and are reviewed at each council meeting. 

The top ten risks for the coming year have been identified as: 

- The ongoing effects to the economy of the fallout from Covid-19 and rising inflation; 

- Staff skills not keeping pace with changing customer demand; 

- Insufficient capacity and capability to deliver what we need to achieve; 

- Our products and services do not keep up with developing demands from our customers; 

- Impact and profile insufficiently communicated to make disability a compelling area for business investment with us; 

- Growth in competitors; 

- Key personnel leave to work for competitors; 

- Business Disability Forum receives adverse publicity in the media; 

- Disruption to our membership recruitment team following retirement of Membership Director; and 

Income does not continue to exceed expenditure. 

We are fortunate that unlike many not-for-profit organisations we do not carry life-threatening risks such as operating in dangerous countries and infectious areas or with vulnerable individuals in unsafe situations, nor do we rely on statutory grants for our income. As a membership organisation, it is unlikely that any one event would be so impactful as to render us non-existent overnight in the manner of Kids Company, nor do we minister directly to vulnerable victims as do Save the Children and Oxfam. So necessarily, much of our focus is on our service delivery, income generation and operational effectiveness with further consideration for the social and economic environment in which we operate, guarding against events which will have a long-term debilitating effect on the organisation. 

## **Review of our main risks** 

The continued fallout to staffing capacity and supply chains from Covid lockdowns present the greatest risk to many organisations at this time and we are no different. Restrictions to mitigate the spread of the disease may have been rescinded but working practices have changed and present operational issues. Operating mostly remotely dramatically reduces our ability to collaborate with physical interactions so risks reducing the efficiency of that collaboration and interaction. We are seeking to mitigate this risk through improved tech and hybrid working and we have put in place a monthly team social and team building day which is working well. 

Business Disability Forum 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Major Risks (cont)** 

Externally, we have moved most of our operations online or by telephone but some events require physical presence and cannot be held without an appetite for in person interaction, we tested this with our June Conference and are hopeful for the future. The ongoing economic fallout and therefore our 

Costs increasing from demand returning to the economy, from energy price hikes resulting from the drive to net-zero and the Ukrainian war will impact our costs in the coming year (including wages costs where we have awarded our team a 5% increase for the year ahead), and we have had to increase our own prices accordingly. The price increases we have made are lower than inflation and we believe the new prices still reflect great value to our membership. 

Our skills and capacity, including increasing capacity following our continued rapid growth, are our next most pressing risk. There are numerous mitigations in place to minimise the risk and we have increased our headcount and plan to further increase in the coming year. 

To maintain our income generating opportunities we need to give business more compelling reasons to invest in membership and our other products and services. Showcasing the benefits, financial and philanthropic, of getting it right on disability will make the case for its mainstream inclusion in budgets at board and departmental level. 

## **Objectives and activities** 

In shaping our objectives and activities for the year, the trustees have complied with their duty in section 17 of the 2011 Charities Act to have due regard to 

Business Disability Forum is a membership-based charity which promotes, through its Members and Partners, the economic and social inclusion of disabled people. At year-end, the organisation had 480 (2021: 393) Members and Partners from the private, public and third sectors and emergency and law enforcement services. The membership employs approximately 20.7% (2021: 16.9%) of the UK workforce in employment i.e., approximately 6.44 million employees (2021: 5.80 million). 

There are 4.82 million disabled employees in the UK workforce (an employment rate of 53.8% for disabled people of working age) which is an increase of 456,000 from 4.365 million in the same period last year (employment rate was 52.3%; the number of disabled people of working age has increased by over 620,000 in the same period). The number of nondisabled employees in the UK workforce has reduced by 609,000 since last year and their employment rate has increased 1.2% to 82.0%. 

Business Disability Forum 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Objectives and activities (cont.)** 

The disability employment gap has begun to close post Covid-19. We continue to push to reduce this gap more rapidly and believe that disabled talent offers an answer to the oft reported skills gap that business is subject to, particularly in those sectors most affected by Brexit and the loss of a migrant workforce in a wage inflationary environment. Nearly half of the total disabled workforce remains available for work if considered and provided with practical and pragmatic adjustments. 

Table showing Disability Employment Gap 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
2022  2021<br>Disabled  Non- Disabled  Non-<br>workforce  disabled  workforce  disabled<br>workforce  workforce<br>Employees   4,820,000  26,299,000  4,365,000  26,398,000<br>Working age   8,967,000  32,083,000  8,347,000  32,692,000<br>employees<br>Employment rate %  53.8  82.0  52.3  80.8<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


Business Disability Forum is a registered charity and its charitable objects are the promotion of equality and diversity for the benefit of people with disabilities, in particular, but not exclusively by: 

- The provision of advice, assistance and training aimed at increasing employment opportunities in industry and commerce for people with disabilities; and 

- The provision of advice, assistance and training aimed at increasing accessibility to goods and services for people with disabilities. 

## **Creating a disability smart world together** 

Business Disability Forum is a world-leading membership body mobilising the power of UK and global business behind the economic and social inclusion of disabled people. We are the authoritative voice on disability as it affects business and government. We act as the trusted and impartial adviser to business and government on disability to improve the life chances of disabled people. 

Business Disability Forum 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

Fundamental to our proposition is our pragmatism, longevity and credibility: 

- A long history of working with diverse large private and public sector organisations to improve disability performance; 

- Specialism and expertise in disability as it affects business as a whole; and Impartiality. 

We work with organisations to help create a disability-smart world through: 

- The provision of high-quality advice and guidance. 

- In-depth consultancy and learning & development. 

- Business to business networking and knowledge-sharing that build greater disability confidence across all areas of an organisation. 

Our Disability-smart self-assessment and audit drive best practice by providing the benchmark against which organisations measure their own performance on disability, as employers and service providers, as well as that of their suppliers and partners. We mobilise UK and global business behind the economic and social inclusion of disabled people. We bring business, government and disabled people together for mutual benefit. 

## **Our values:** 

- Purposeful we are focused on removing barriers to disability inclusion. 

- Evidence-based we are informed and driven by unique insights from our membership. 

- Respectful - we are supportive and approachable. 

- Pragmatic - we find practical solutions that business can implement. 

- Responsive we are constantly evolving to meet our Members and needs. 

- Bold we are thought leaders and unafraid to challenge. 

Business Disability Forum 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2021-22** 

This year was the final year of our current five-year plan. 

In the years covered by the current plan we have achieved the aims of the plan and transformed the organisation from one which was primarily inwardlyfocused, reactive rather than proactive in responding to rather than and as a result, running regular deficits and unable to invest the funds required for growth; to one that has customer service at its heart, has become demand led, is widely respected for its thought leadership and considered, evidence led policy outputs and provides practical, pragmatic yet innovative support to all its stakeholders. In 2016 our deficit was £18K which had risen to £94K in 2018 with membership numbers and income decreasing. In 2020-21 we increased our membership by ninety companies and this reporting year by a further eighty-seven with total income increasing by £900K in those periods while expenditure increased by just a third of that value. Our headcount has increased on a planned basis by over one third in the last two years and has seen us investing our increased revenue in our workforce to ensure that we continue to delight our Members and Partners. We have also increased resources to ensure that we are at the forefront of national policy conversations as a trusted partner with Government and policy makers, with the aim of transforming opportunities for disabled people as employees and consumers. 

The adjustments that the entire population had to make when presented with differing logistical problems of Covid lockdowns has filtered through to much greater awareness of adjustments that disabled customers and employees need. One of our mantras has always been that getting it right for disabled people means companies are more likely to get it right for everyone. This has certainly been borne out over the last couple of years and we expect it to continue. 

With our increased commercial success, we have been able to be more generous with our Intellectual Property and make more of our resources available to all on our website, not just to our membership behind the paywall. Our Covid toolkit continues to be well visited and we launched a new Disability Essentials toolkit this year which aims to provide the basics to all employers and service providers as part of our mission. All our policy and thought leadership content is also open source and freely available to everyone. 

This year we were also able to invest in a new CRM, and have successfully migrated to the SalesForce.org platform. The additional data capture capability, data segmentation, user friendliness and speed that this platform provides has already made us better able to serve our Members and Partners and we are excited about the opportunities to improve how our communications are targeted in the future. Getting the right information into the right inboxes will help us to drive our mission through the dissemination of information and advice and also support our commercial performance through better targeted campaigns. 

Business Disability Forum 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2020-21 (cont.)** 

## **Policy & Research** 

nearly five hundred businesses, of all sizes and all sectors, and collectively representing 20 per cent of the UK workforce. Crucially, all are working to make employment, consumer experiences, and access to services more inclusive for disabled people and those with long-term conditions. 

Our policy and research team works closely with businesses and disabled people and those with long-term conditions to gather evidence to effect meaningful change and to drive the disability inclusion agenda. Our unique position as the organisation that links disabled people, business, and Government enables us to gather original insight to inform independent inquiries as well as broader employment, health, social, and economic policymaking. 

It is core to our mission to provide pragmatic solutions that work for disabled people, business, and the wider economy so our findings convert into practical business recommendations for change as well as evidence to inform Government policy development; a direct feedback loop on what works and 

Our policy remit includes the following: 

- Responding to Government or other calls for evidence to inform a debate or Parliamentary session. 

- Being an expert adviser to policymakers on aspects of disability, health, and employment. 

- Contributing to guidance or information development on topics related to health and disability as it affects the UK economy. 

- We are also part of various Government policy stakeholder groups, the organisations. 

Our research underpins the policy positions we develop to ensure these are strongly rooted in a sound evidence base. We regularly undertake research on a wide range of business and disability related topics. Recent projects have included research into how disabled consumers choose what to buy and why, supporting disability inclusion in small and medium sized businesses, and global disability inclusion practices including a deep dive on the built environment. 

Business Disability Forum 

**13** 



**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2021-22 (cont.)** 

Activities this year include: 

- **Cancer care for the next ten years** - an investigation of how the health system encourages or hinders people with cancer to keep working or return to work. Through conducting depth interviews with employees working with cancer and looking at their experiences of diagnosis and treatment, and how their employers respond, considered the experience of occupational health, and the usefulness of their employers Group Income Protection and Private Medical Insurance provisions. Our involvement led to us producing a briefing for employers on this. 

- **Mandatory workforce reporting** our research-based response to this engaging members and disabled people in a research project and it worked really well. The consultation wished to consider how mandatory reporting would affect: 

   - How far mandatory disability reporting would contribute to reducing the disability employment gap; 

   - How far mandatory disability reporting would increase transparency from employers; and 

   - Whether a mandatory reporting requirement from employers would improve inclusive experiences of work. 

Our research found that a mandatory approach to reporting would not directly impact any of the issues that the consultation sought to address, namely closing the disability employment gap for a number of reasons. Mandatory disability workforce reporting would only apply to large employers, not those employing fewer than 250 people. Disabled employees told us they were actually not fond of a mandatory approach. The number of disabled people employed in an organisation also does not reveal the quality of the experience disabled employees have in that organisation and so we found that a broader range of measures was needed to give a true picture rather than a blanket mandatory requirement to measure prevalence alone. Our thoughtful, nuanced response and position stood out from the crowd initially and we were invited to contribute to a number of think pieces as a result. Several highprofile organisations applauded our approach and were grateful that our position as an independent charity meant that we are able take a more 

support our position and we really hope this is will lead to a holistic and rounded approach to any reporting requirement that may be introduced. Our full response can be viewed at 

https://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk/knowledge-hub/resources/disabilityworkforce-reporting/. 

Business Disability Forum 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2021-22 (cont.)** 

- **Disability confident scheme** - Based on our members experiences of and feedback on the Disability Confident scheme, we responded to the review of the Disability Confident scheme. 

- To inform our response 

- to this we held wide ranging discussion groups with employers and disabled employees. 

- O 

- came together to express views on Access to Work, Disability Confident, Job Centres, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and the role of the NHS for workplace health and retention. This informed our response to the 

## **Other projects:** 

- We made two submissions to the Comprehensive Spending Review one on a Technology for Life approach to providing a lifelong assistive technology provision, and another on a developing a Disability Employment Endowment Fund. We are still engaging with discussions on both these ideas with Government. 

- We presented evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Cerebral Palsy (CP) following a short research project. We received good feedback on our presentation to the APPG including from people living with CP. 

- We audited 100 university websites on inclusive communication options offered at pre-admission stage, and wrote our findings into a short paper -admissions 

- experience matters for non-hearing and non-verbal learners applying to 

- We started our Intersectionality Working Group to help identify the level of knowledge among our member organisations of using intersectionality as This will continue into next year. 

- We carried out 

- workplace technologies (such as office suite packages) on mental health and productivity. Based on this, we published a paper to burnout: Why we must manage technology instead of letting technology This was also a subject in our Technology Taskforce 

- Conference in March and part of a blog written by Diane Lightfoot, our CEO, 

- We collaborate with University of Kent Law School where BDF Head of Policy and Research is a specialist adviser on the future of flexible working. 

Business Disability Forum 

**15** 



**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2021-22 (cont.)** 

## **Advice Service** 

The Advice Service, and the many query subjects it responds to, continues to provide valuable insight into the needs and concerns of our members. The Advice Service continued to be busy this year, particularly as this was Year 3 in the Disability Confident Leader cycle, meaning many members needed to be (successfully) revalidated for their Leader status. To aid our membership with their Disability Confident journey and help them move onward to become tywe launched our new Peer Learning Network sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group to support members with the knowledge they need to move from Disability Confident Levels 1-3 and on to perform well in our Disability-Smart self-assessment and audit. 

We responded to 1,261 queries in the year (2021; 1,002). The 20% increase reflects our excellent engagement with the membership through the Business Partners, highlighting the service and encouraging its use; the complexity of many of the queries was again greater than the previous year. Other than Covid interventions, data monitoring and managing workplace adjustments . The number of queries that we receive on data monitoring does support our policy position that companies are already collecting data and that they are best placed to decide what data to gather and how to use it to best serve their disabled employees. 

To reflect the customer service needs of the Advice service it is now part of our Business Disability Partnerships Team, ensuring it remains best able to support and advise our members and to provide a seamless link between the Advice Service and our Business Partners. 

## **Legal & Content** 

## **Content and resources** 

During 2022 we launched four new toolkits for the membership and created a new open-source toolkit for all businesses. 

## Disability Essentials Toolkit 

This open-source toolkit aims to provide essential information for all employers and service providers. Giving pointers and areas to consider it intends to support businesses who find disability and making adjustments for employees and customers a mystery or . We hope those businesses will discover that empathising with disabled customers and employees and making simple, pragmatic adjustments to enable them to perform their roles or purchase goods and services more easily will encourage them to join us and journey towards becoming Disability-smart. 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2021-22 (cont.)** 

## Global Toolkit 

Comprising thirty-three resources, our first Global toolkit organises our many detailed resources for global head offices into easy to find, bite sized offerings to answer specific questions as required at varying levels of seniority. 

## Disability-smart toolkit 

Sponsored by Unilever and providing support to those organisations undertaking the Disability-smart self-assessment this resource provides guidance about all ten areas of business measured within the Disability-smart self-assessment. It is a detailed and comprehensive toolkit segmented and organised for simplicity, designed to guide businesses through every step of the self-assessment or audit process. We also carried out a complete revamp and relaunch of the Disability-smart product suite, including the audit and selfassessments questions to make them clearer and easier to use whilst maintaining their rigorous quality standards. 

## Recruitment Toolkit 

Sponsored by Oliver James recruitment and launched in June this toolkit has been well received by the membership. Recruitment and removing the barriers for disabled candidates is a vital area to tackle if the disability employment gap is to be reduced and more important than ever to businesses who are facing skills shortages in many sectors. Giving candidates equal opportunities to apply for roles, access interviews and then perform at those interviews is important is ensuring business can choose from ALL talent. 

## Occupational Health mini-Toolkit. 

When to refer an employee to occupational health and what to expect from that intervention is an often misunderstood or overlooked process. This minitoolkit aims to demystify the process and make interventions more productive for the employee and employer. 

Other existing toolkits have been comprehensively updated including our Covi ~~d~~ 19 toolkit which we keep relevant and updated with the current rules and legislation. Business still needs to know about shielders and best practice for return to work. We also updated the Mental Health toolkit, Welcoming Disabled Customers Convenience store guide, Technology toolkit and Inclusive Communications toolkit. 

Each Toolkit has been designed to be distinctive on the Knowledge Hub and consists of accessible PDFs as well as downloadable Word documents and fully captioned videos. 

In addition to creating and updating toolkits we added sixty-three discrete large resources to the Knowledge hub. To suit all communication preferences these were in infographic, video, podcast and text formats. Resources from the Knowledge hub were viewed over 110,000 times in the year. 

Business Disability Forum 

**17** 



**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2021-22 (cont.)** 

## **Events** 

Our events team had a busy year, and although we expected a return to in person events at some point during the year, this was not possible until June when we held an in person and online hybrid Annual Conference, sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group. Our experience in delivering webinars is now extensive after two years and we have adapted delivery platforms to suit the type of event and to ensure that accessibility is available to all. 

We piloted a new format for our Global Conference sponsored by HSBC this year, running an AM and a PM session with the same (live) speakers and topics in each. The content remained much the same in each session but the speakers ably maintained their enthusiasm and engagement with each other during each of the plenary sessions. This allowed delegates from both East and West to access the conferences in their own time zones without having to stay up late or wake up early. It was well received and we will be repeating the format in December 2022 with the second part of our Global Conference, also sponsored by HSBC. 

Our hybrid Annual Conference sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group was also a pilot, we had in person sessions running which were broadcast online. Discussion was lively in the room and also online using the Slido chat portal. The in-person delegates followed the day with a drinks reception where acquaintances were renewed and online friendships reinforced. 

We again ran our Technology Taskforce conference in March, this year we thanked the IT technicians and engineers who have kept us connected during the last two years. We acknowledge their struggles with mental health and noted that they were probably their own harshest critics striving to keep us 

Our speed and agility in putting on remote events meant we could present many more sessions than would be possible in a physical world and we averaged six online webinars and gatherings each month in the year which matched the previous year. 

Business Disability Forum 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2021-22 (cont.)** 

## **Business Disability Forum in the Press** 

We generated a substantial amount of press coverage in 2021-22 with exposure in the local, national and trade press including: 

- Forbes 

- BBC Ouch Podcast 

- BBC Radio Ulster 

- Big Hospitality 

- Building Magazine Business Info 

- The Caterer 

- DiversityQ Drapers Enable Magazine Energy News Live 

- Global Recruiter 

- HR Director 

- HR Magazine 

- HR Zone 

- The IEP (Institute of Employability Professionals) Journal 

- People Manager Personnel Today 

- Retail Bulletin 

- Safety Supply Management Magazine Vogue Business 

## **Speaking and profile raising appearances** 

This year, our CEO, Diane Lightfoot has spoken at: 

## **Open or invite-only external events:** 

- The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Assistive Tech British Association of Supported Employment (BASE) Conference BIE Executive disability inclusion webinar 

- Cabinet Office Public Appointments Team 

- CIPD Conferences 

- DIAL Global Summits 

- D&I Leaders Conference 

- Disability Confident Busin 

- Disabled Police Association Conference 

- Enable India Conference 

- Employing Benefits Live (chairing Employment Stream) Includability webinar 

- NHS Disability Summit 

- People Academy Conference 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2020-21 (cont.)** 

- Westminster Briefing Westminster Forum. 

## **Events for Members and Partners including:** 

- Arts Council England Admiral 

- Anglo American 

- AstraZeneca 

- Bloomberg 

- Burberry Cisco 

- Freshfields GfK 

- Great Ormond Street Hospital 

- Leeds Council 

- Metropolitan Police AGM 

- Microsoft 

- Oliver James 

- Warwick University 

## **Taskforces and Networks** 

Our taskforces and networks continued to remotely support the membership with existing groups going from strength to strength and new gatherings taking advantage of the ease of getting together using video technology. Taskforces are included in the Partner offer with Members who have an interest in the area invited to join for an additional fee, Networks are open to the whole membership. The list of regular support network meetings includes: 

- Technology and Global Taskforces 

- Northern England Network 

- Construction Round Table 

- Scottish Round Table 

- NHS Network 

- Higher Education Network 

- Neurodiversity Taskforce 

- SME Network 

- Emergency and Law Enforcement Network 

- Customer Retail Network 

- Career Development Network 

- Inclusive Communications Network 

- Central Government Roundtable 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Review of activities and impact in 2020-21 (cont.)** 

## **Celebrating best practice** 

celebration, the Disability-smart awards made an online comeback in December. The Disability Smart Awards celebrate the work businesses achieve to help transform the lives of disabled people in the workplace and in society. From global leaders and D&I practitioners, innovative campaigners and change-making influencers to great customer service providers, the Disability Smart Awards offer organisations the chance to showcase the great work done across different sectors. 

Sponsored by Microlink and complemented by four additional Disabilityconfident categories overseen by DWP and presented by the Minister for Disabled People, Work and Health, the awards were attended by over 500 delegates and showcased innovation and dedication to making business more Disability-smart. The winners, commended entries and their stories can be discovered at https://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk/disability-smart-awards2021. 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Financial review 2021-22** 

Business Disability Forum began the year with a positive general fund of £745,358 (2021: £126,689). The target for the year was to generate £134,093 additional funds with the income generated in the year to further our mission (2021: £51,779). 

Revenue generation exceeded the previous year as we continued to satisfy increased demand for our practical, pragmatic services from business and government. Our expenditure expanded to increase capacity in order to satisfy the demand but remained well controlled. Consequently, and exceeding our most optimistic forecasts, the general fund increased by £738,091 (2021: the fund increased by £618,669) to £1,483,449 (2021: £618,669). 

All income strands performed well in the year considering the uncertainty within the UK and global economies, with Membership recruitment and retention particularly notable and our Membership Income growing 23.2% in the year to £2,536,029 (2021: £2,057,654). That growth was supported by robust income delivery from Publications and training packages, Consultancy and Other projects with only Seminars and events failing to increase income as we used these interventions to engage more fully with our membership, included within the membership offer. Overall income from charitable activities increased by £670,776; 26.4% (2021: £229,410 increase; (9.0%)). 

Throughout the year Membership continued to generate strong income as we delivered the services our membership expects remotely, digitally and occasionally in person, our delivery techniques have adapted to changing member needs and we remain able to consistently delight them and exceed their expectations. 

Our expenditure increased in the year by £512,334; (26.2%), (2021: increased by £249,698; 11.6%). Much of this increase was staff costs as we increased our head count by 20% in the year. We also invested heavily in technology with website upgrades and a new CRM to provide improved data security, functionality and responsiveness for our membership. We will continue to wisely invest charitable funds to deliver our business plan, focus on keeping our profile high and to champion the awareness of disability as a business priority. 

Our customer service ethos, aiming to delight our Members and Partners, led us to continue to upskill our team to deliver even better service to the membership. There is more to do on this and while we were able to use the training budget allocated during the year, we continue to have our designated training fund totalling £12,657 (2021: £15,901) to spend on larger ticket and longer-term staff training and upskilling in 2022/23. 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Reserves policy** 

The trustees have agreed the target level of reserves for the end of the 2021/22 financial year should be £1,256,000. This represents the level of funds in the upcoming budget year required to run the charity for five months. The reserves serve to provide funds for investment in service expansion or property if appropriate but also provide sufficient cash to close the organisation down in an orderly fashion while providing paid for services if required. The reserves policy was amended in June 2022. 

Reserves for this purpose include the balance of the general fund and total £1,483,449 (2021: £745,358). The trustees can report that reserves at the financial year end exceeded our target while not preventing opportunities to deliver our mission. 

## **Gender pay and other equality and inclusion metrics** 

At year-end 2021/22 we had 22 female employees and 17 male employees. Our median gender gap was negative with women paid on average per hour 7.44% more than men. Our disability pay gap is also negative with our 25 disabled employees being paid on average 4.44% higher than our 14 nondisabled employees. Our ethnic minority pay shows that our 27 non-ethnic minority employees are paid 10.62% higher than our 12 ethnic minority employees. 

Our other equal opportunity statistics for the full year are: 

- Percentage of employees with a disability or long-term condition: 62.67%; 

- Percentage of Leadership Team with a disability or long-term condition: 33.33%; 

- Percentage of employees from an ethnic minority: 23.36%; 

- Percentage of Leadership Team from an ethnic minority: 16.67%; 

- Percentage of female employees: 54.24%; and 

- Percentage of female employees, Leadership Team: 66.67%. 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Membership** 

Our Disability Business Partnerships teams comprise: Lead and Senior Disability Business Partners, Disability Business Partners and Advice Service Manager and Officers plus a taskforce manager and Learning and Development Team. These team members each have specialist knowledge and experience of disability best practice for productive workplace adjustments aimed at disabled employees and customers, but which can also benefit all employees and customers. 

A strong membership base, with committed and engaged Members and Partners, is necessary to fulfil our mission to promote the economic and social inclusion of disabled people by ensuring our membership is equipped to recruit and retain disabled people and serve disabled customers. In 2021/22 we were able to improve our retention rates for all levels of membership, improve recruitment of Members and Partners (we recruited over 120 new Members and Partner) and increase our total engagement with our members through, events, account management, consultancy, the Disability-Smart product suite, online resources, policy and campaigns activity and advice. 

Business Disability Forum wishes to enhance and develop our membership base. In 2021/22 we challenged ourselves to maintain our membership numbers at 393. This was not only achieved but we outperformed our expectations by far, and membership increased from 393 to 480. The target of five new Partners was exceeded (eight were recruited) and only three of our Partners left in the year. 

The recruitment target of 60 new Members was nearly doubled; at year-end 114 new Members and two Emergency Services and Law Enforcement Network (ELEN) Members had joined, which was an outstanding performance. The retention rate achieved in 2021/22 was 90.46% (2021: 90.03%); targeted retention rate was 78.89%. The total number of Members and Partners at year-end was 480 (target 393). 

Membership income (£2,536,029) was £478,375 greater than 2021 (£2,057,654) in fact the total Membership Income was approximately £3,000 less than our whole income total for 2021. Membership Income was £412,503 greater than the target, £2,123,526. These results reflect over performance in recruitment of Partners and Members and member satisfaction resulting in retaining nearly 12% more of our members than we had hoped we could achieve. 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Membership (cont.)** 

A realistic yet stretching target has been set for 2022/23 given the uncertainties arising in the UK and Global economy from the supply chain issues and inflation. That target is ten new Partners and 65 new Members with an overall retention rate of 87.75%. This would result in 501 Members and Partners at year end, an increase of 21 (4.3%) which would build on our gains from this year and ensure a strong base for our policy positions and a draw for new Members and Partners who want to be part of a growing, relevant and dynamic movement. As always, we will seek to over-achieve on these figures; our past performance shows that we are not constrained by prudent targets in seeking to exceed them. 

Business Disability Forum Disability Business Partner framework allows each Partner to work with one of our experienced Senior Disability Business Partners to assist in developing their overall approach to becoming disabilitysmart and sharing best practice. Our wider membership is served by our sector specific Disability Business Partners. This combined approach has seen improved Member and Partner engagement giving the membership the support they need to drive change. 

Support has expanded in the year for sector specific networks, including the Emergency Services and Law Enforcement Network (ELEN), Construction Sector Network, HEI Network, NHS Network, Retail network, Neurodiversity Network, Peer Learning Network, Procurement Network, Legal Network, Central Government Network and the Communications Network. We have also maintained activity in regional (Scotland and North of England) networks. These meeting have been aided by the adoption of video conferencing as the norm which increase attendance and engagement and reduces the time commitment required to attended. As a result, the networks are flourishing. The member offer is further enhanced by two taskforces; our Technology Taskforce and the Global Taskforce which are included in the Partner offer and available to Members to join for an additional fee. 

To further support our membership offer and improve membership retention rates, we continued with a series of podcasts and webinars making Business Disability Forum accessible on a national and international basis through our (33% of our contacts within membership organisations change every year and these are useful tools to showcase what is available to new contacts). New contacts each have an introductory telephone or video conference meeting guidance on disability management and to discuss how the Member or Partner can best use our guidance to achieve their objectives. 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Membership (cont.)** 

The Disability-Smart Framework, our assessment and accreditation framework measuring how disability-smart an organisation is, continued to be available free as an online self-assessment exercise. The assessment was subject to rigorous review this year and a new iteration and simplified scoring system was released in September, supported by our Partner Unilever. All our members have access to the self-assessment process, a less evidence-based solution than our full Disability-smart audit, assessing ten criteria across business areas using a binary scale to measure their performance. At the end of the self-assessment a report is produced suggesting potential improvements (including legal risk) and highlighting areas of excellence. 

The Advice Service , our service for best practice guidance on managing disability in the workplace and to welcoming disabled customers, has been widely used by our membership in 2022, we increased the size of the team on the service by 75% and were able to assist with an average of 105 calls per month (2021: 83). Many queries are ever more complex indicating the evolution of our knowledge of disability in the workplace and their subsequent requirements from this service. Users of the service have increased requests for policy reviews and Disability Confident valuations which often take longer to complete than ad hoc queries and the increase in capacity has enabled us to keep pace with requests and maintain the high level of member satisfaction with this much appreciated service. 

Although the Advice is essentially a service offered to fee paying companies from within the membership, non-member companies are provided with basic advice, invited to join the organisation or directed to other organisations that can provide them with more detailed advice. Disabled people or other stakeholders who call the Advice are also able to take advantage of the they are put in touch with either the relevant company from the membership or other suitable organisations to provide them with assistance. 

Further advice and information is provided to the membership through our monthly newsletter; legal update bulletin; weekly e-communications regarding our online flagship events; products and services; online networking and webinar events and our website. This year our membership also benefited from our online Disability Essentials toolkit which was an open-source product and available to all employers of disabled people. 

As part of our drive to improve membership engagement and value we launched other toolkits in the year which were included in the member offer: Recruitment Toolkit Oliver James and the Disability-smart toolkit which we launched to coincide with the release of the new Disabilitysmart self-assessment and covers all ten areas benchmarked by the tool to reinforce that to be disability-smart organisations must consider the whole organisation. Feedback and access of these resources suggest they are vital tools for our membership. 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Membership (cont.)** 

We will continue to respond to the needs through active communication with them: anticipating any non-renewals; the needs of disabled stakeholders; and ensure the whole team is actively involved in membership retention. Member and Partner numbers and retention rates are key performance indicators that reflect the organisation ability to achieve its vision and mission. We are confident that the retention rates we have budgeted are achievable and realistic and that our membership will continue to thrive. In times of uncertainty, shared purpose and a sense of belonging can bring comfort. 

## **Seminars & events** 

Our expectations for this year, reflected by our budget, included a return to inperson events and delegate sales. Circumstances and general attitudes mostly precluded this, particularly delegate sales, so we remained wholly reliant on sponsorship to provide funding for our, expanded, online programme. We did manage to deliver one in person and online hybrid event, our Conference in June with lively in-room engagement and much chat on the online platform. The continued reliance on delivering our events, webinars and roundtables online did allow us to deliver many more events than previous years and welcome more delegates from a broader range of locations, including globally. 

We confirmed an appetite for large set piece events in the future (in person and online) but will also retain the smaller meetings and sessions as online interaction which allows for agile and better attended routine gatherings. During the year our Legal & Content team delivered flagship events alongside seminars, podcasts, round table discussions, toolkit launches, Business Disability podcasts and events tailored specifically for individual needs. We hosted 2,675 delegates in 2022, our previous record for a single year was 1,800. 

This year we expected to deliver nine (2021: six) income generating events which would be complemented by 30 (2021: 24) events that were free to the membership to inform and engage and 100 network meetings. We actually delivered six (2021: 5) income generating events alongside 57 (2021: 67) engage events and network or Taskforce meetings generating income of £95,814 (2021: £99,736) which was slightly less than the target of £114,738 (2021: £109,400) but was generated at significantly lower costs than previous years. 

In previous years our in-person events have been hosted by our Members and Partners. This immensely valuable contribution has been recognised in previous years in the financial statements as intangible income. In 2022 this amounted to £0 (2021: £0) and again the impact of the Covid measures is noticeable. Encouragingly people do seem keen to meet and network in person for the right cause/ event. 

Business Disability Forum 

**27** 



**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Publications** 

We have previously written about the large cache of online toolkits and resources available to our membership through our Knowledge Hub. Many of these resources are open source and available to all. Access to these resources, while contributing to the continuing increase in memberships and membership income, has diminished the appetite for sales of resources for our memberships intranets and Learning Management Systems. Toolkits do provide great opportunities to raise sponsorship income which has resulted in this income stream increasing in the year, despite lower unit sales. 

We continued to offer our Partners all our guidance as part of their membership which increased the potential distribution by up to 1.7 million employees while adding significant value to the Partner offer and anecdotally contributing much to Partner recruitment and retention. 

Turnover on publications sales was £171,806, an increase on the previous year (£126,107). 

We continue to have an extensive range of publications with 53 titles plus the extensive range of eleven toolkits (https://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk/knowledge-hub/toolkits/) covering a comprehensive range of topics which promote and facilitate the recruitment and retention of disabled people and value disabled people as customers and stakeholders in the UK and now globally. Our distribution model has become almost wholly electronic although we do provide hard copy for accessibility purposes. 

We have alliances with five companies to promote their accessibility products to our membership who pay us commission at varying rates for introductions. The purpose of these alliances is primarily to ensure we can offer our membership a fuller range of solutions. These strategic alliances delivered £11,500 (2021: £16,085) income in 2022. 

The Publications projects delivered in the year were a Recruitment Toolkit sponsored by Oliver James, Disability-smart toolkit sponsored by Unilever, Getting Started Toolkit sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group, Customer Choice Research and reports supported by Microsoft and HSBC Global Guides which together raised £95,333 revenue (2021: £60,275) at a cost of £30,855 (2021: £14,875). 

Business Disability Forum continued to offer discounted rates on its publications for all charities and non-profit making organisations as well as its range of free publications and toolkits. 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Disability-smart Framework, consultancy and other projects** 

The Disability-smart framework (formerly the Disability Standard) is the basis for all that Business Disability Forum does. Grounded in a long history of B2B work, the Disability-smart framework uses an organisation-wide approach to disability in a unique way that differentiates Business Disability Forum from other organisations working with employers and service providers on disability. 

Following a thorough review of the questions and methodology of the Disability-smart framework in 2021, this year we migrated to a new Disabilitysmart assessment and audit. The latest iteration of the Disability-smart framework simplifies the scoring, is more user friendly and stretches the boundaries of best practice to reinforce the importance of a structured approach to planning for, and making improvements to, disability management as it affects all functional areas within an organisation. 

The Disability Standard (as was) has generated interest around the globe and has provided a framework for much of our international consulting work and ongoing discussions. We want the new Framework to continue this and we expect to develop a global framework going forward. 

The Disability-smart framework provides an evaluation tool with participants answering a comprehensive on-line questionnaire on how disability is addressed and managed within their organisation. It has been licenced for use in Australia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and South Korea and used in the States of Guernsey, Dubai and Ireland to inform consultancy projects. 

We continue to use a third party to deliver some of our consultancy services, which allows us to concentrate our efforts on delighting the membership and delivering the consultancy projects included within the Partner offer. Our outsourcing arrangement provides ideal solutions to those of our membership that need additional services. This has enabled us to deliver more internal and external projects and to continue to continue to provide in house Learning and Development interventions. Interest in our product range continues to be encouraging and we have adapted to the new ways of working well. 

Income generation of £333,132 (2021: £256,382) in 2022 exceeded our expectation of £240,000, with our direct costs reducing to £218,134 (2021: £349,371). 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Strategic priorities** 

Our aim is to be the go-to organisation for guidance and advice on all aspects of disability as it affects business whilst striving to protect our core income streams. 

2021/22 was a very productive year for Business Disability Forum. We expanded our reach nationally and internationally and continued to improve our profile and reputation particularly in the policy space while developing improved opportunities and capacity to recruit new members and income generating opportunities. 

In this time of economic uncertainty and while the disabled stakeholders who we serve are often more disadvantaged by the economic situation than most, main focus will be to increase our capability and capacity to deliver the services for which our membership pays. 

We will be designing and running a pilot scheme to designate some of our surplus funds into areas that have less commercial return, to reach some of the most disadvantaged disabled employment candidates and customers whose disabilities attract less focus than others. An example might be job programmes for learning disabled candidates. If this is successful, we will use our surplus funds over and above the level of reserves to run these programmes in future. 

Strategic priorities for 2021/22, driven by our new five-year plan are: 

- To improve life choices and experiences for more disabled people. 

- To sustainably increase the membership. 

- To deliver outcomes from our evidence-based policy and research programme that improve life choices and experiences for disabled people as employees and consumers. 

- To develop and share cutting edge thought leadership. 

- To extend opportunities for businesses to network and share best practice. 

- To create quality information and guidance content in response to business need. 

To this end we will increase our capacity through careful employee recruitment, train our existing employees and develop new ways of working for the current environment. We will develop new products and upgrade our website as a medium through which to deliver to a wider audience. 

To judge how we are performing against these priorities we will use a range of measures including anecdotal feedback, qualitative and quantitative research. 

The ultimate OKR for our relevance is member numbers and by how much the disability employment gap can be reduced. 

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**report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Financial objectives 2021-22** 

- To release sufficient funding to enable recruitment of enough new employees to provide services paid for by the membership, but to ensure this remains sustainable. 

- To maintain 

- model. Increasing the volume and predictability of income and reviewing expenditure, to monitor the cashflow and working capital required to run the organisation. 

- Further develop OKRs and real time reporting, using the new CRM and other tools to monitor progress against budget and the new five-year plan. 

- approach to 

- resources expended without missing any realistic opportunities for growth and mission delivery. 

- Report on income and expenditure in real time and provide sufficient information for management to make timely and informed decisions. 

- Carefully monitor membership renewals which are essential for cash flow. 

Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by: 



Stephen Miller, Chair Approved by the trustees on:  24 November 2022 

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**Independent auditor s report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Business** 

## **Disability Forum** 

## **Opinion** 

We have audited the financial statements of Business Disability Forum (the 30 June 2022, which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

In our opinion, the financial statements: 

- as at 30 June 2022 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended; 

- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and 

- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. 

## **Basis for opinion** 

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those stand audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the 

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. 

## **Conclusions relating to going concern** 

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. 

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**Independent auditor s report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Conclusions relating to going concern (continued)** 

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 charitable compa 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 Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report and Financial thereon. 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. 

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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 the audit: 

- the information given in the Trustees which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and 

- the Trustees 

- legal requirements. 

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**Independent auditor s report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception** 

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees 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 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 report and from 

- the requirement to prepare a strategic report. 

As explained more fully in the Trustees responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. 

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

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**Independent auditor s report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **statements** 

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 

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. 

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows: 

- the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations; 

- we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charitable company through discussions with management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the sector; 

- the identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of noncompliance throughout the audit; 

- We focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the accounts or the activities of the charity. These included but were not limited to the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland - FRS102, and also the Charities SORP FRS102, 2019; and 

- we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management, inspecting legal correspondence and reviewing Trustee meeting minutes. 

material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by: 

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**Independent auditor s report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **statements (continued)** 

- making enquiries of management and those charged with governance as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and 

- considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations. 

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we: 

- performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships; 

- tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions; 

- tested the authorisation of expenditure as part of our substantive testing thereon; 

- assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in the accounting policies were indicative of potential bias; and 

- used data analytics to identify any significant or unusual transactions and identify the rationale for them. 

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to: 

- agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation; 

- reading the minutes of Trustee meetings; 

- enquiring of management and those charged with governance as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and 

- reviewing any available correspondence with HMRC and the Charity Commission. 

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. 

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion. 

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**Independent auditor s report:** Year to 30 June 2022 

## **statements (continued)** 

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting C www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our 

## **Use of our report** 

members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable 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 charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 





**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
09/12/2022<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


Edward Finch, Senior Statutory Auditor for and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL 

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## **Statement of financial activities incorporating income and expenditure account:** Year to 30 June 2022 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Unrestricted Restricted  2022  2021<br>funds  funds  Total funds Total funds<br>Notes £  £  £  £<br>Income and expenditure<br>Income from:<br>Investments  1,215  -  1,215  -<br>Donations  7,056  -  7,056  -<br>1 3,136,781  73,875  3,210,656  2,539,879<br>Charitable activities<br>Total income  3,145,052  73,875  3,218,927  2,539,879<br>Expenditure on:<br>Charitable activities  2 2,406,961  59,682  2,466,643  1,954,309<br>Total expenditure   2,406,961  59,682  2,466,643  1,954,309<br>Net Income and<br>net movement in funds  738,091  14,193  752,284  585,570<br>Reconciliation of funds<br>Total funds brought<br>forward at 1 July 2021  745,358  24,401  769,759  184,189<br>Total funds carried<br>forward at 30 June 2022  1,483,449  38,594  1,522,043  769,759<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


above two financial periods. 

The charity has no recognised gains and losses other than those shown above. 

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## **Balance Sheet:** Year to 30 June 2022 

|Notes|**2022**<br>**£**|**2022**<br>**£**|2021<br>£|2021<br>£|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Fixed assets**<br>Tangible assets<br>8<br>**Current assets**<br>Debtors<br>9<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>**Creditors**: amounts falling due<br>within one year<br>10<br>**Net current assets**<br>**Deferred income**<br>11<br>**Total net assets**<br>**Represented by:**<br>**Funds and reserves**<br>Unrestricted Funds<br>General Fund<br>Designated Fund<br>12<br>Restricted Fund<br>13|531,186<br>2,994,006|11,599<br>3,144,515<br>(1,634,071)|281,920<br>2,122,377|21,439<br>2,081,816<br>(1,333,496)|
||3,525,192<br>(380,677)||2,404,297<br>(322,481)||
||||||
|||**1,522,043**||769,759|
|||1,483,449<br>12,657<br>25,937||745,358<br>15,901<br>8,500|
|||**1,522,043**||769,759|



Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by: 




Chair 

Name 

Approved on: 24 November 2022 Company Number 02603700 

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## **Statement of Cashflows:** 30 June 2022 

|Notes|**2022**<br>**£**|2021<br>£|
|---|---|---|
|**Cash flows from operating activities:**<br>Net cash provided by operating activities<br>A<br>**Cash flows from investing activities:**<br>Dividends and interest from investments<br>Purchase of tangible fixed assets<br>**Net cash used in investing activities**<br>**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year**<br>**Cash and cash equivalents at 1 July 2021**<br>B <br>**Cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 2022**<br>B|871,839|675,307|
||1,215<br>(1,425)|-<br>(1.600)|
||(210)|(1,600)|
||871,629<br> 2,122,377|673,707<br>1,448,670|
||2,994,006|2,122,377|



|**A**<br>**B**|**Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 30 June 2022.**<br>**Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash (used in) provided**<br>**by operating activities**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>2021<br>£<br>**Net expenditure for the year (as per the statement of**<br>**financial activities)**<br>752,284<br>585,570<br>**Adjustments for:**<br>Depreciation charge<br>11,266<br>12,432<br>Dividends and interest from investments<br>(1,215)<br>-<br>Increase in debtors<br>(249,266)<br>(127,582)<br>Increase in creditors<br>358,770<br>204,887<br>**Net cash provided by operating activities**<br>871,839<br>675,307<br>**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>2021<br>£<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>2,994,006<br>2,122,377<br>**Total cash and cash equivalents**<br>2,994,006<br>2,122,377|**Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 30 June 2022.**<br>**Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash (used in) provided**<br>**by operating activities**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>2021<br>£<br>**Net expenditure for the year (as per the statement of**<br>**financial activities)**<br>752,284<br>585,570<br>**Adjustments for:**<br>Depreciation charge<br>11,266<br>12,432<br>Dividends and interest from investments<br>(1,215)<br>-<br>Increase in debtors<br>(249,266)<br>(127,582)<br>Increase in creditors<br>358,770<br>204,887<br>**Net cash provided by operating activities**<br>871,839<br>675,307<br>**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>2021<br>£<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>2,994,006<br>2,122,377<br>**Total cash and cash equivalents**<br>2,994,006<br>2,122,377|
|---|---|---|
||**Net expenditure for the year (as per the statement of**<br>**financial activities)**<br>**Adjustments for:**<br>Depreciation charge<br>Dividends and interest from investments<br>Increase in debtors<br>Increase in creditors<br>**Net cash provided by operating activities**<br>**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**|752,284<br>11,266<br>(1,215)<br>(249,266)<br>358,770<br>871,839<br>**2022**<br>**£**|
||Cash at bank and in hand<br>**Total cash and cash equivalents**|2,994,006|
|||2,994,006|



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**Principal accounting policies:** 30 June 2022 

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are laid out below. 

## **Basis of preparation** 

These financial statements have been prepared for the year to 30 June 2022. 

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these accounts. 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland - FRS102, and also the Charities SORP FRS102 2019 and the Companies Act 2006. 

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. 

The financial statements are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest pound. 

## **Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement** 

Preparation of the accounts requires the trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates. 

The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include: 

Our year end membership figure of 480 assumes that 33 Members and Partners (2021: 25) who have not yet confirmed they will continue in membership will do so. This has no effect on income which is not booked until confirmation is received. 

## **Assessment of going concern** 

The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these financial statements. The trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of one year from the date of approval of these financial statements. 

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**Principal accounting policies:** 30 June 2022 

## **Assessment of going concern (continued)** 

The trustees of the charity have concluded that there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees are of the opinion that the charity will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due. The most significant areas of judgement that affect items in the financial statements are detailed above. With regard to the next accounting period, the year ending 30 June 2023, the most significant areas that affect Business Disability Forum continuing as a going concern have been raised in the note on Major Risks in the Trustees Report namely: 

- The ongoing effects to the economy of the fallout from Covid-19 and rising inflation. 

- Staff skills not keeping pace with changing customer demand. 

- Insufficient capacity and capability to deliver what we need to achieve. 

- Our products and services do not keep up with developing demands from our customers. 

- Impact and profile insufficiently communicated to make disability a compelling area for business investment with us. 

- Growth in competitors. 

- Key personnel leave to work for competitors. 

- Business Disability Forum receives adverse publicity in the media. 

- Disruption to our membership recruitment team following retirement of Membership Director. 

Income does not continue to exceed expenditure. 

The continuing uncertainty over the effects on the economy of supply chain issues arising from Covid lockdowns and the war in Ukraine plus the inflationary impact of those supply chain issues, energy shortages driven by the drive for net zero and huge money printing programmes undertaken by Central Banks concern at this time. We feel our stock of deferred income as reported in these pages (£1.6 million; note 11) provides more than half of the working capital and cashflow to fund us in the year to come. Our free reserves, totalling £1,483,449, have also increased from just £17,085 in 2019 and are budgeted to increase again substantially in 2023 following two years of rising demand for our services. We have begun 2023 performing ahead of budget expectations. 

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**Principal accounting policies:** 30 June 2022 

## **Assessment of going concern (continued)** 

Further Comfort is provided across our core membership income by the historically high rates of member retention and recruitment that we achieve, the proposition and approach that delivers these high retention rates is continually reviewed and monitored using feedback from the membership, market conditions, advances in disability best practice and knowledge and perceived value. Indeed our recent membership survey returned results which provided areas for continual improvement while confirming that overall our delivery exceeds expectations. 

We are working with #valuable and others to raise the recognition and awareness of the importance of disability to business within the board room and this is an ongoing theme in our communications. 

Our budget for 2022/23, as written above, has been designed to build on our current performance and is mindful of the likely recession that will come from Government action to combat inflation and consumer reactions. We have assumed greater attrition rates for the membership than we have seen in previous years, and used experience gained in 2008-2011 during the great recession to guide our income projections while allowing sufficient expenditure to deliver the services our membership expects to our usual high standards. We can expand as the economy contracts to consolidate our position as the go-to provider of advice on disability in business. 

Our healthy cash position resulting from deferred membership, sponsorship and project income means that we will be able to meet all foreseen liabilities sterling performance and our fixed costs are manageable for an organisation of our size and income. 

## **Income recognition** 

Income is recognised in the period in which the charity has entitlement to the income and the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received. Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period. 

Income comprises membership fees, income from seminars and events, income from publications and training, consultancy and bank interest. 

Income from membership fees is recognised over the membership year with the unexpired portion of membership fees being included in the balance sheet as deferred income. 

Income from seminars and events, income from publications and training, consultancy, disability standard and from the provision of training and workshops is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the company and the revenue can be reliably measured. 

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**Principal accounting policies:** 30 June 2022 

## **Income recognition (continued)** 

Income is measured as the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other taxes. 

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when received and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid by the bank. 

## **Expenditure recognition** 

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to make a payment 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 comprises the costs of charitable activities in respect to the Such costs include: 

- Events and seminar expenses; 

- Publication costs; and 

- External supplier delivery costs. 

All expenditure is stated inclusive of irrecoverable VAT. 

## **Allocation of support and governance costs** 

Support costs represent indirect charitable expenditure. In order to carry out the primary purposes of the charity it is necessary to provide support in the form of personnel development, financial procedures, provision of office services and equipment and a suitable working environment. 

Governance costs comprise the costs involving the public accountability of the charity (including audit costs) and costs in respect to its compliance with regulation and good practice. 

Support costs and governance costs are apportioned using staff numbers. 

## **Tangible fixed assets** 

All assets costing more than £1,000 and with an expected useful life exceeding one year are capitalised. 

Tangible fixed assets are depreciated at the following annual rates in order to write them off over their estimated useful lives: 

- Furniture and general office 25% per annum based on cost equipment Computer and similar 33% per annum based on cost equipment 

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**Principal accounting policies:** 30 June 2022 

## **Debtors** 

Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material. 

## **Cash at bank and in hand** 

Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than three months but less than one year have been disclosed as short term deposits. Cash placed on deposit for more than one year is disclosed as a fixed asset investment. 

## **Creditors and provisions** 

Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material. 

## **Pension costs** 

Contributions by the charity in respect of the group money purchase pension scheme (workplace pension scheme) are included in the statement of financial activities when they are payable. 

## **Fund accounting** 

Designated funds comprise monies set aside out of unrestricted general funds for specific future purposes or projects. 

General funds represent those monies which are freely available for application towards achieving any charitable purpose that falls within the 

Restricted funds are monies raised for a specific purpose. 

## **Leased assets** 

Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged on a straight-line basis over the lease term. 

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## **Notes to the financial statements:** 30 June 2022 

## **1 Income from charitable activities** 

||2022<br>Unrestricted<br>£|2022<br>Restricted<br>£|**2022**<br>**Total**<br>**£**<br>2021<br>Total<br>£<br>**2,536,029** 2,057,654<br>**95,814**<br>99,736<br>**171,806**<br>126,107<br>**333,132**<br>215,298<br>**73,875**<br>41,084|
|---|---|---|---|
|Membership fee income<br>Seminars and events<br>Publications and training<br>packages<br>Consultancy<br>Other projects|2,536,029<br>95,814<br>171,806<br>333,132<br>-|-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>73,875||
||3,136,781|73,875|**3,210,656** 2,539,879|



## **2 Charitable activities** 

## **(a) Analysis of costs of unrestricted charitable activities** 

||Costs<br>allocated<br>directly<br>£|Support<br>costs<br>£|**Total**<br>**2022**<br>**£**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Membership<br>Seminars and events<br>Publications and training packages<br>Consultancy and other projects|924,510<br>204,029<br>75,816<br>218,134<br>1,422,489|707,471<br>110,271<br>75,786<br>90,944<br>984,472|**1,631,981**<br>**314,300**<br>**151,602**<br>**309,078**<br>**2,406,961**|



||Costs<br>allocated<br>directly<br>£|Support<br>costs<br>£|Total<br>2021<br>£|
|---|---|---|---|
|Membership<br>Seminars and events<br>Publications and training packages<br>Consultancy, Disability Smart Framework and<br>other projects|509,266<br>154,843<br>57,593<br>349,371<br>1,071,073|607,033<br>72,828<br>63,297<br>81,979<br>825,137|1,116,299<br>227,671<br>120,890<br>431,350<br>1,896,210|



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## **Notes to the financial statements:** 30 June 2022 

## **2 Charitable activities** (continued) 

## **(b) Analysis of support costs** 

||Staff<br>costs<br>£|Office<br>expenses<br>£|Depreciation<br>£|Professional<br>and legal<br>£|**2022**<br>**Total**<br>**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Membership<br>Seminars and events<br>Publications and training<br>packages<br>Consultancy and other<br>projects|432,410<br>67,398<br>46,321<br>55,586<br>601.715|210,963<br>32,882<br>22,599<br>27,119<br>293,563|8,096<br>1,262<br>867<br>1,041<br>11,266|56,002<br>8,729<br>5,999<br>7,198<br>77,928|**707,471**<br>**110,271**<br>**75,786**<br>**90,944**<br>**984,472**|



Support costs are allocated to charitable activities on the basis of staff numbers. From 2020/21 we have outsourced much of our Consultancy delivery to allow us to focus on deliver Membership services. 

||Staff<br>costs<br>£|Office<br>expenses<br>£|Depreciation<br>£|Professional<br>and legal<br>£|2021<br>Total<br>£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Membership<br>Seminars and events<br>Publications and training<br>packages<br>Consultancy, Disability<br>Smart Framework and other<br>projects|414,326<br>49,709<br>43,202<br>55,955<br>563,192|144,761<br>17,367<br>15,095<br>19,549<br>196,772|9,146<br>1,097<br>954<br>1,235<br>12,432|38,800<br>4,655<br>4,046<br>5,240<br>52,741|607,033<br>72,828<br>63,297<br>81,979<br>825,137|



## **3 Governance costs** 

|**Governance costs**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2022**<br>**Total**<br>**£**|2021<br>Total<br>£|
|Staff costs<br>Legal and professional fees<br>Other|**27,977**<br>**16,280**<br>**1,816**|24,229<br>17,069<br>2,291|
||**46,073**|43,589|



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## **Notes to the financial statements:** 30 June 2022 

## **4 Net income (expenditure) and movement in funds** 

This is stated after charging: 

||**2022**<br>**Total**<br>**£**|2021<br>Total<br>£|
|---|---|---|
|Staff costs (note 5)<br>Auditor<br>s remuneration<br>Statutory audit services<br>Other services<br>Depreciation<br>Operatinglease rentals|1,779,899<br>12,750<br>5,005<br>11,266<br>95,780|1,500,486<br>11,800<br>5,230<br>12,432<br>95,780|



## **5 Employees and staff costs** 

Staff costs during the year were as follows: 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
2022 2021<br>£ £<br>Wages and salaries  1,363,212 1,143,776<br>Social security costs  157,194 132,556<br>Other pension costs  154,736 115,944<br>1,675,143 1,392,276<br>Payments to agency staff  58,560 64,127<br>Staff training  7,489 12,909<br>Other payments/benefits  38,707 31,174<br>1,779,899 1,500,486<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


The average number of employees during the year was 36 (2021:31). 

The number of employees who earned £60,000 or more (including taxable benefits but excluding employer pension contributions or termination charges) during the year was as follows: 

||**2022**<br>**Number**|2021<br>Number|
|---|---|---|
|£60,001 - £70,000<br>£70,001 - £80,000<br>£80,001 - £90,000|**2**<br>**-**<br>**2**<br>**4**|1<br>1<br>1<br>3|



Total employer contributions to the group money purchase schemes in respect of the above employees during the year amounted to £47,043 (2021: £30,346). The increase in contributions in 2022 is due to some of these employees taking advantage of the salary exchange option for pension contributions that is open to all of our team. 

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**Notes to the financial statements:** 30 June 2022 

## **5 Employees and staff costs (continued)** 

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees and the Leadership Team of six members (2021: five members). The total remuneration of the key management personnel for the year was £500,276 (2021: £415,242). 

## **6 Trustees** 

None of the trustees received any remuneration in respect of their services during the year (2021: £nil). 

During the year travelling expenses were incurred by the trustees in the course of their duties. Such expenses were not reimbursed to trustees during the year as a matter of policy. Our policies do allow for expense for any adjustments to be reimbursed but this has not been necessary in the year. 

Business Disability Forum has indemnity insurance which covers actual or alleged breach of duty, breach of trust, neglect, error, misstatement, omission, breach of warranty of authority, libel and slander or any other act committed by trustees, officers and employees in the course of the activities (subject to specified exclusions). The cost of this insurance was £3,508 (2021: £2,923). 

## **7 Taxation** 

Business Disability Forum is a registered charity and therefore is not liable to corporation tax on income derived from its charitable activities, as it falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities. 

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## **Notes to the financial statements:** 30 June 2022 

## **8 Tangible fixed assets** 

|**Fixtures,**<br>**fittings and**<br>**equipment**<br>**£**|**Fixtures,**<br>**fittings and**<br>**equipment**<br>**£**|
|---|---|
|**Cost**<br>At 1 July 2021<br>Additions<br>Disposals<br>At 30 June 2022<br>**Depreciation**<br>At 1 July 2021<br>Charge for the year<br>Disposals<br>At 30 June 2022<br>**Net book values**<br>At 30 June 2022<br>At 30 June 2021|**86,119**<br>**1,425**<br>**(17,167)**|
||**70,377**|
||**64,679**<br>**11,266**<br>**(17,167)**|
||**58,778**|
||**11,599**|
||**21,439**|
|Fixtures,<br>fittings and<br>equipment<br>£||
|Cost<br>At 1 July 2020<br>Additions<br>At 30 June 2021<br>Depreciation<br>At 1 July 2020<br>Charge for the year<br>At 30 June 2021<br>Net book values<br>At 30 June 2021<br>At 30 June 2020|84,518<br>1,600|
||86,118|
||52,247<br>12,432|
||64,679|
||21,439|
||32,271|



## **9 Debtors** 

|**Debtors**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Due within one year**|**2022**<br>**£**|2021<br>£|
|Fees receivable<br>Other debtors<br>Prepayments and accrued income|**453,475**<br>**3,616**<br>**74,095**<br>**531,186**|246,313<br>184<br>35,424<br>281,921|



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## **Notes to the financial statements:** 30 June 2022 

## **10 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year** 

|**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2022**<br>**£**|2021<br>£|
|Expense creditors<br>Payroll and VAT creditors<br>Accruals and other creditors|**74,166**<br>**192,657**<br>**113,854**<br>**380,677**|41,958<br>164,618<br>115,905<br>322,481|



## **11 Deferred income** 

|**Deferred income**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2022**<br>**£**|2021<br>£|
|At 1 July2021<br>Invoiced in the year<br>Released in the year<br>At 30 June2022|**1,333,496**<br>**3,615,806**<br>**(3,315,231)**<br>**1,634,071**|1,150,167<br>3,299,691<br>(3,116,362)<br>1,333,496|



Deferred membership income includes £1,164,451 (2021: £980,396) for the unused element of The remainder of deferred income relates to the second year of certain embers' two year membership fees and also income due from projects, publications and events to be delivered post year-end. 

. 

## **12 Designated Funds Training Fund** 

The Trustees recognised that following the restructure in 2020 it was vital that retain, share and improve their business and disability skills and knowledge. To ensure that was possible they designated £20,000 of funds to be used for training and development of employees. We were able to continue to routinely develop our staff as income remained strong so we now use the fund for professional development and qualifications of our employees such as CIPD, legal, IT or accountancy qualifications. 

||**2022**<br>**£**|2021<br>£|
|---|---|---|
|At 1 July2021<br>Expenses incurred<br>At 30 June2022|**15,901**<br>**(3,244)**<br>**12,657**|20,000<br>(4,099)<br>15,901|



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## **Notes to the financial statements:** 30 June 2022 

## **13 Restricted Funds** 

## **City Bridge London SME project** 

City Bridge Trust has committed to a five-year grant funded programme to circa £50,000 per calendar year commencing January 2020. Administrative delays resulted in half of last 

||**2021**<br>**£**|2020<br>£<br>37,500<br>25,000<br>(54,000)<br>8,500|
|---|---|---|
|At 1 July2021<br>Grants received in the year<br>Expenditure in the year<br>At 30 June2022|**8,500**<br>**73,875**<br>**(56,438)**<br>**25,937**||



## **14 Leasing commitments** 

## **Operating leases** 

At 30 June 2022 the charity had the following total minimum commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows: 

||**2022**<br>2021<br>**Land &**<br>**buildings**<br>**£**<br>**Equipment**<br>**£**<br>Land &<br>buildings<br>£<br>Equipment<br>£|
|---|---|
|Operating leases:<br>Less than one year<br>Between one and two years<br>Between two and five years|**95,000**<br>**780**<br>95,000<br>780<br>**95,000**<br>**195**<br>95,000<br>780<br>**19,950**<br>**-**<br>114,950<br>195|



## **15 Related party transactions** 

Seven organisations by which trustees are employed or who are members of the company paid to the charity £139,331 during the year in respect of membership fees and other services, (2021 - nine organisations paid £297,450). A further organisation by which trustees are employed made a donation totalling US$10,000. 

Of the 2022 related party transactions £24,000 was outstanding for payment at 30 June 2022. (2021: £0 outstanding). 

## **16 Liability of members** 

The charity is constituted as a company limited by guarantee. In the event of the charity being wound up, members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1. 

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## **Notes to the financial statements:** 30 June 2022 

## **17 Prior year statement of Financial Activities** 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Unrestricted Restricted  2021 2020<br>funds  funds  Total funds Total funds<br>Notes £  £  £ £<br>Income and expenditure<br>Income from:<br>Investments  -  -  - 2,468<br>-  -  - 75<br>Donations<br>1 2,514,879  25,000  2,539,879 2,310,469<br>Charitable activities<br>Total income  2,514,879  25,000  2,539,879 2,313,012<br>Expenditure on:<br>Charitable activities  2 1,896,210  58,099  1,954,309 2,145,908<br>Total expenditure   1,896,210  58,099  1,954,309 2,145,908<br>Net expenditure and<br>net movement in funds  618,669  (33,099) 585,570 167,104<br>Reconciliation of funds<br>Total funds brought<br>forward at 1 July 2020  126,689  57,500  184,189 17,085<br>Total funds carried<br>forward at 30 June 2021  745,358  24,401  769,759 184,189<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


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