## **ARMONIA UK TRUST**
## **REPORT & ACCOUNTS**
**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**
## **ARMONIA UK TRUST**
## **LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS**
## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**
|**Registered Charity**||1037177|
|---|---|---|
|**Office and Treasurer's Address**47b Prince of Wales Mansions|||
|||Prince of Wales Drive|
|||Battersea|
|||London|
|||SW11 4BH|
|**Governing Document**||Declaration of Trust dated 28 September 1993, as amended October 2020|
|**Trustees**||A Lobsinger|
|||P S Mills (Treasurer)|
|||S Mortin (Chair)|
|||S L Seah|
|||M Smith|
|||S Webley|
|||Chairmanship transferred from S Webley to S Mortin on 24th March 2024.|
|**Bankers**||Barclays Bank PLC|
|||Moorgate|
|||London EC1|
|**Independent Examiner**||Jaimée Young|
|||Stewardship|
|||1 Lamb's Passage|
|||London|
|||EC1Y 8AB|
|||**INDEX**|
|Page 1|Legal & Administrative Details||
|Page 2-3|Trustees' Report||
|Page 4|Independent Examiner's Report||
|Page 5|Receipts and Payments Account||
|Page 6|Statement of Assets and Liabilities||
|Page 7|Notes to the Accounts||
1
## **ARMONIA UK TRUST**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES**
## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**
The trustees present the Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023.
## CHARITABLE OBJECTS
Armonia UK Trust is the UK organisation that supports Organizacion Armonia A.C., a Mexican Civil organisation supporting poor communities in Mexico City, its surrounding areas and in Oaxaca State. This support consists of educational aid, community support and development, and the advance of the Christian religion, as set out in the Statement of Beliefs annexed to the trust deed. The specific objectives of Armonia UK Trust are to advance the work of Organizacion Armonia A.C. in the UK, to raise funds and to seek to encourage volunteers to go to Mexico to provide resources for building projects, summer school teaching and other areas of need as required.
The trustees seek to ensure that all general donations given are forwarded to Mexico without deduction of expenses, and this has been the case throughout the year. An 'Office Account' is maintained within the charity to which donations are specifically designated, from which payments for all expenses, bank charges and resources are made.
## ORGANISATION
The trustees currently meet on an occasional basis to set policy, review activities and monitor the financial situation.
## REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES
The trustees sent the equivalent of £31,480 to Mexico during the year. Unfortunately, no volunteer groups went from the UK in 2023.
The funds were primarily spent on the support of indigenous Mexican students studying in Oaxaca and Mexico City and the maintenance of their buildings of residence. Matthew Smith (trustee) stayed at Armonia Mexico on two occasions in 2023. In addition, regular reports on the work in Mexico are received both directly at trustees’ meetings by Zoom and through regular newsletters and financial statements.
At the beginning of 2023, £1080 was received for the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Campaign launched in 2022 for the families of indigenous students housed at the Armonia residences in Oaxaca state in addition to £822 of reclaimed tax. Towards the end of 2023, a further special appeal was made in conjunction with CAF for indigenous student scholarships. The latter campaign raised a total of £6681 - £4892 was received and sent in 2023 with the balance received and sent in 2024 after subsequent gifts and Gift Aid was received.
In considering the activities of the charity the trustees have had regard to the guidance of the Charity Commission on public benefit.
6
## FINANCIAL REVIEW
Receipts for the year of £32,661 were £751 less than in 2022. Payments to Mexico of £31,480 were £420 lower than in 2022 reflecting stable donations and a small reduction in unrestricted reserves.
The trust's standing target for general fund giving of the equivalent of MXN2 mn (pesos) was not met. A total of MXN0.68 mn was sent in 2023 of which MXN0.52 mn was unrestricted.
## RESERVES
With only limited UK operational expenditure, the trustees do not consider a formal reserves policy to be necessary, but have agreed that a balance of £2,000 should ideally be maintained in the Office account. At the end of the year the charity had balances of £1,191 compared to £934 the previous year. The balance in the Main account was regularly sent to Mexico, usually once around £5-10,000 had accumulated.
## RISK STATEMENT
The trustees have examined the major risks that the charity faces. These are predominantly financial (shortfall of funds and fraud). Controls are in place to address the risk of financial misappropriation and the charity's accounts cannot be overdrawn. The trustees also continued to review the safeguarding policy and received safeguarding policy documents from Armonia Mexico.
## TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the Charities Act 2011, the trustees are required to prepare a statement of accounts for each accounting year.
They are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the trust and to ensure that such accounts and records comply with the Charities Act 2011.
They also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the trust and to take reasonable steps to detect fraud or other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurances that:
1. The trust is operating efficiently and effectively,
2. Its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition,
3. Financial information used in the trust or for publication is reliable, and
4. The trust complies with relevant laws and regulations.
The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf on 17th July 2024 by:
## S Mortin
**Stephen Mortin** Chair of Trustees
7
Independent Examiner's Report To the Trustees of Armonia UK Trust
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Armonia UK Trust (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2023 on pages 5 to 7 following.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Jaimée Young
## **Jaimée Young**
For and on behalf of: Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
Date: 17/7/24
8
## **ARMONIA UK TRUST**
## **RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS ACCOUNT**
## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**
|Notes
**Receipts**
_Voluntary receipts_
Grants & gifts received
Legacy
Tax refunded under Gift Aid
Total Receipts
**Payments**
Direct Charitable Costs
2
Net Receipts/(Payments)
Balances 1 January
Transfers - Office a/c surplus transfer
Balances 31 December|General Fund
Designated
Funds (Office)
Restricted
Funds
2023
2022
£
£
£
£
£
21,522
1,240
6,332
29,094
29,665
438
2,303
240
1,025
3,567
3,309|
|---|---|
||23,824
1,480
7,357
32,661
33,412|
||24,123
923
7,357
32,403
33,492|
||24,123
923
7,357
32,403
33,492|
||(299)
557
0
258
(80)
361
573
-
933
1,014
-
-
-
-
-|
||62
1,129
-
1,191
933|
Movements on reserves and all recognised gains and losses are shown above.
The notes on page 7 form part of these accounts.
5
## **ARMONIA UK TRUST**
## **STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES**
## **AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023**
Notes
## **Bank & Cash Balances**
|**h Balances**||
|---|---|
|Held at Bank
4|2023
2022
£
£
1,191
934|
||1,191
934|
## **Other Assets & Liabilities**
|_Assets_
Gift aid tax recovery not yet received
_Liabilities_
Unbilled fee for Independent Examination|3,661
3,567|
|---|---|
||3,661
3,567|
||582
582|
||582
582|
The accounts were approved by the trustees on 17th July 2024 and signed on their behalf by:
by Stephen Mortin ------------------------------------------------------------- _**Stephen Mortin**_
The notes on page 7 form part of these accounts.
6
## **ARMONIA UK TRUST**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS**
## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**
## **1 Accounting policies**
The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis with a statement of assets and liabilities.
## **2 Charitable activities**
|**2**
**Charitable activities**
a
Direct Charitable Costs
Grants paid
Organizacion Armonia A.C. Mexico City
Hurricane appeal
Scholarships
Christmas appeals
b
Support & Administration
Office costs
Bank charges
Administration services
Accounts examination
Combined charitable activity cost|General
Designated
Restricted
Total
Total
Funds
Funds (Office)
Funds
2023
2022
£
£
£
£
£
24,123
-
24,123
24,613
-
113
113
980
-
-
450
450
450
-
-
6,794
6,794
5,857|
|---|---|
||24,123
-
7,357
31,480
31,900
-
-
-
742
-
306
-
306
233
-
35
-
35
35
-
582
-
582
582|
||-
923
-
923
1,592|
||24,123
923
7,357
32,403
33,492|
## **Staff and trustees**
**3** The Trust had no employees during the year.
No amounts were paid or are due to be paid to any trustee or to any person connected to them apart from reimbursed expenses.
## **4 Cash at bank balances**
|||
|---|---|
|**Cash at bank balances**
Barclays main account
Barclays office account
Barclays business saver account|2023
2022
£
£
62
361
1,129
573
-
-|
||1,191
934|
## **Funds**
**5** The general fund excludes donations designated to ensure office administrative costs are fully covered. This means that general donations can be passed in full to Mexico. Where office donations exceed requirements the trustees can, at their discretion, make use of the excess to supplement grants paid to Mexico.
|Balances at 1 January 2023
Incoming resources
Resources expended
Transfers
Balances at 31 December 2023|General
Designated
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
£
361
573
0
933
23,824
1,480
7,357
32,661
(24,123)
(923)
(7,357)
(32,403)
-
-
-
-|
|---|---|
||62
1,129
-
1,191|
7