Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts of
RIVERSIDE COUNSELLING SERVICE
(charity no. 1018853)
for the year 1st March 20120 to 28th February 2021
I report on the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 28th February 2021, which are set out on the following page and prepared on an accruals basis.
Respective Responsibilities of Trustees & Examiner:
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an Independent Examination is needed. It is my responsibility to:
-examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
-to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
- to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of Independent Examiner's Report:
The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to perform this examination as I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants on England and Wales. My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent Examiner's Statement:
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
-to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and -to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
David White Channers High Street Hurley Berks
Accounts for the year to 28[th] February 2021
| Accounts for the year to 28[th]February 2021 | Accounts for the year to 28[th]February 2021 | Accounts for the year to 28[th]February 2021 | Accounts for the year to 28[th]February 2021 | Accounts for the year to 28[th]February 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year to 28~~th~~ February 2021 Restricted Year to 28~~th~~ February 2021 Unrestricted Year to 28~~th~~ February 2021 Total Year to 29~~th~~ February 2020 Total ~~ee~~ |
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| STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES ~~a~~ ~~ee~~ |
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| ~~a~~ ~~ee~~ ~~ef~~ |
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| Income: ~~ef~~ |
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| Fees Received from Clients 116,310 116,310 109,955 ~~ef~~ |
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| Receipts from fundraisingand donations 18,536 18,536 25,263 ~~ef~~ |
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| Grants 119,100 38,071 157,171 119,365 ~~ef~~ |
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| ~~ef~~ | ||||
| Total Income 119,100 172,917 292,017 254,583 ~~ef~~ |
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| ~~eG~~ | ||||
| Expenditure: ~~eG~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Clinical Management & Counselling 33,481 39,996 73,477 102,625 ~~a~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Supervision 12,668 19,155 31,823 26,638 ~~a~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Administrative Support 12,832 15,966 28,798 24,160 ~~a~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Room Hire 2,022 3,326 5,348 25,551 ~~a~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Assessment Support 5,413 11,348 16,761 16,005 ~~a~~ ~~a~~ |
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| FundraisingStaff Costs 13,020 13,020 10,010 ~~a~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Insurance 104 671 775 775 ~~a~~ ~~eG~~ |
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| Stationery& Postage 94 287 381 1,992 ~~eG~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Travel 280 632 912 4,871 ~~a~~ ~~a~~ ~~Oe~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Subscriptions 238 467 705 909 ~~a~~ ~~Oe~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Equipment,IT & consulting 40,573 275 40,848 20,813 ~~Oe~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Telephone 44 185 229 272 ~~a~~ |
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| Marketing 24 42 66 392 ~~a~~ ~~G~~ |
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| Other Costs 251 704 955 1,847 ~~eG~~ |
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| Training 28,117 21,499 49,616 11,781 ~~ef~~ |
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| ~~ef~~ | ||||
| Total Expenditure 136,141 127,667 263,714 248,641 ~~ef~~ |
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| ~~ef~~ | ||||
| Net income/ (expenditure) for theyear (17,041) 45,344 28,303 5,942 ~~ef~~ |
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| Funds brought forward 40,682 33,863 74,545 68,603 ~~ef~~ |
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| Funds carried forward 23,641 79,207 102,848 74,545 ~~ef~~ |
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| ~~ef~~ ~~——~~ |
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| BALANCE SHEET ~~——~~ |
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| Cash in bank 24,979 108,709 133,688 99,524 ~~——~~ ~~a~~ |
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| Accounts Receivable 500 500 8,793 ~~a~~ |
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| Accounts Payable (1,338) (26,746) (28,084) (28,716) ~~a~~ |
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| Accrued Expenses (3,256) (3,256) (5,056) ~~GG~~ |
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| Current and Total Assets 23,641 79,207 102,848 74,545 ~~a~~ |
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| ~~eG~~ | ~~eG~~ | ~~eG~~ | ~~eG~~ | ~~eG~~ |
Approved on 19[th] July 2021
Adrian Marsh
John Morrow
Chair
Treasurer
Analysis of Restricted Funds
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Donor b/fwd Income Expenditure c/fwd
SODC 3,750 3,750 0
Thamesfield YA 3,000 6,000 6,000 3,000
Albert Hunt 0 1,000 1,000 0
Doris Field 500 500 0
Groundwork (Tesco) 0 2,500 1,025 1,475
Big Lottery – Berinsfield Open Door 1,861 1,861 0
OCF Tampon tax 8,000 (480) 7,520 0
Councillor Bennett 500 500 0
Tony Lane Trust 1,000 1,000 0
Celia Wilson 500 500 0
Invesco 5,842 5,842 0
SODC Councillors 1,477 1,477
Lawrence Trust 1,000 1,000 0
Councillor Murphy 1,000 1,000 0
Greggs Foundation 500 500 0
R&M Moss Charitable Trust 1,000 1,000 0
Edward Gostling Foundation 5,000 3,094 1,906
National Lottery Covid support 49,904 49,904 0
Wates Foundation 9,690 9,690 0)
OCF Step Change 26,344 29,894 40,455 15,783
TOTAL 40,682 119,100 136,141 23,641
----- End of picture text -----
Notes to the accounts
Note 1: Basis of preparation
1.1 Basis of accounting
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with
the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 and with the Charities Act 2011.
1.2 Going concern
The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis and the trustees are not aware of any events or conditions that cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern
1.3 Change of accounting policies or estimates
The accounts present a true and fair view and the accounting policies adopted are those outlined in note 2. There have been no changes in accounting policies during the year. There have been no changes in accounting estimates and there are no prior year adjustments.
Note 2: Accounting Policies
This standard list of accounting policies has been applied by the charity:
Recognition of income
These are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when:
-
the charity becomes entitled to the resources;
-
it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources; and
-
the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
Grants and donations
Grants and donations are only included in the SoFA when the general income recognition criteria are met (5.10 to 5.12 FRS 102 SORP). Where a donor puts stipulations on the use to which a grant or donation can be put the amount received is designated as a restricted fund and expenditure relevant to it is accounted for accordingly.
Tax reclaims on donations and gifts
Gift Aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor. Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.
Support, trustee and employee costs
The charity has incurred expenditure on support costs during the year but had no employees and made no payments to trustees or related parties.
Balance Sheet
All amounts are due within one year.
Creditors
The charity has creditors which are measured at settlement amounts less any trade discounts.
Debtors
Debtors are measured on initial recognition at settlement amount, subsequently they are measured at the cash amount expected to be received.
Treasurer’s report on the accounts to 28[th] February 2021
Income
There was an increase in the number of sessions provided during the year (19%) and this more than offset the 1.2% reduction in average fee income per session so that fees generated from counselling sessions went up by over £13,000. Covid restrictions prevented any fundraising activities so no fundraising income was generated, however donations to the charity increased by 47% to £18,245. Grants to the charity showed a spectacular increase of 32% to £157,171. Many trusts contributed to this, for which the charity is extremely grateful, but the two largest receipts were from the National Lottery Covid support fund (£49,904) and Oxfordshire Community Fund (£29,894) for the Step Change project.
Expenditure
Although overall expenditure increased by over £15,000, the expenditure for the year on operating the service (i.e. excluding Step Change project costs) actually decreased by over £4,000. This was due to the move to on line counselling necessitated by Covid restrictions which obviated the need to hire rooms. During the year the clinical team attempted to quantify the time spent on training counsellors and this was reflected in the allocation of their costs which explains why Clinical Management and Counselling has decreased and Training increased.
The Space
The number of sessions for young people reduced by 9% to 725 for the year resulting in a drop in fee income of 7% to £22,090. Staffing changes and less room hiring resulted in a reduction of costs for the service so that the net deficit for the year improved to £18,000.
Net Income
There was an overall surplus for the year of £33,716, a considerable improvement on the previous year’s result of £5,942. However within this restricted funds showed a deficit of £17,041 (due to spending on projects where the funds had been received the previous year) whilst unrestricted funds showed a surplus of £50,757. An analysis of income and expenditure of restricted funds is shown above.
Balance Sheet
The surplus generated for the year helped increase reserves to £108,261 although £23,641 of this was restricted. Unrestricted reserves increased to £84,620 and were in excess of the reserves policy of covering 3 months’ expenditure. Cash balances increased to £133,687 thanks to the surplus generated in the year.
Outlook
The charity benefitted greatly from grants made to mitigate the effects of the pandemic which is why the reserves have reached the level they have. It is not anticipated that such generosity will be repeated in the year ahead so it is fortunate that the charity is now well placed financially to weather what could be a leaner year in terms of charitable funding.
Thanks
Riverside Counselling Service continues to be indebted to the many individuals, organisations and trusts who support it and without whom it would not exist. The charity is reliant on them to be able to provide the services it does to those who otherwise could not afford the sort of help the charity offers.
Director’s report on the accounts to 28[th] February 2021
It would have been difficult to predict, that our worlds would continue to be affected for such an extensive period by the extraordinary turn of events caused by the Coronavirus. When I wrote my report in September 2020 the service was planning to transition back to face-to-face working. As autumn saw a steady rise in cases the Tier system was introduced and then we moved into a country wide Lockdown, from which we are only now slowly beginning to emerge. Our return to face-to-face work never materialised and we are now just at a point where we are beginning a phased return alongside the continuation of an OPT (Online Phone Therapy) service. This hybrid approach has become common place in the therapy world where we have learnt the value of mediated therapy and that it can increase accessibility, reduce costs (room rental) as well as reduce travel, benefiting the environment.
Alongside consolidating our OPT service we have continued to develop and extend the use of our new cloud-based client management system, Counsel360, which has enabled us to share information on a safe platform so that communication has remained possible despite working from home. In tandem this year we have continued to develop expertise in time limited work so that we can continue to be accessible to a wider client base. It has become clearer overtime, that what was initially seen as a physical health crisis, has developed into a more complex crisis with far reaching ramifications particularly in relation to the impact it has had on our mental health, exacerbated by the socio-economic impact of the restrictions. We at Riverside are on the frontline of services encountering the damage inflicted, both by the virus itself, and the measures imposed to attempt to contain it. In May 2021, as the country began to open up again, we had the highest number of referrals we have ever recorded, and the clients we are seeing are presenting with greater complexity. NHS services are under extreme strain and therefore the fall out is greater demand for our services. For the first time our waiting list is now over 100 clients and the SMT are considering ways to manage this, so we remain accessible while maintaining high clinical standards. Our current intention is to increase our offering of shorter time limited contracts and our therapeutic group offering. We have also in the past month recruited a further 16 counsellors to join the team which will increase the number of clients we are able to support. Only time will tell if these measures enable us to reduce our waiting time for ongoing counselling.
There is much in the press to indicate the impact the pandemic has had on young people, and we have been pleased to be able to offer the Stage One YP training to enable adult trained counsellors to meet the BACP requirements to work with the 12-18 year client group. This has benefited the service by training in-house counsellors, so we are able to offer an increased number of sessions to YP, but also brought in revenue as external participants have paid a fee to attend the training. This will also benefit the community as the expertise of local counsellors has been enhanced.
Despite the demands of this particularly taxing year the team has grown in strength. The calibre of both trainee and qualified counsellors we recruit is of the highest level- all our counsellors are training or have completed a training at postgraduate level, many are on master’s or doctorate programs. As a placement provider for those in training we are recognised as a service that contains both clients and counsellors. We know that by
optimising the support we give our counsellors our clients get the best support possible and this is our primary aim. Our supervisors add a high degree of clinical expertise to the team and the administrative support we have is of the highest quality. Our board of Trustees are both engaged and offer a diverse range of expertise to the service. By working closely with our senior clinical team, fund raiser and our digital project manager there is a strong forum to consider the needs, both of the communities in which we work, and the needs of the service so that they align, and we remain viable and sustainable.
Despite the challenges of this last year, we remain robust and resilient. We have learnt much from the experience and as is our forte, we will reflect on what we have learnt and use it to inform our practice during this coming year.