2021-07-31-accounts

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Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 July 2021

Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number 02953431 (England and Wales)

Charity Registration Number 1039962

Reference and Administrative Information ............................................................................... 2 Report of the Council 31 July 2021 ............................................................................................ 3 Independent auditor’s report to the members of Gresham College ...................................... 18 Statement of Financial Activities Year to 31 July 2021 (including income and expenditure account) ................................................................................................................................... 22 Balance Sheet 31 July 2021 ...................................................................................................... 23 Statement of Cash Flows Year to 31 July 2021 ........................................................................ 24 Notes to the financial statements 31 July 2021 ...................................................................... 25

Reference and Administrative Information

Current Members of Council Dr L D G Grossman CBE (Chair) (at 1 August 2021) Professor K M Blundell OBE Professor Emeritus J E Delahunty QC Ms M D Gurney Sheriff C M Hayward (Vice-Chair) Mr A E Hodson Mr A D Humzah Mr R J Long CB Deputy C E Lord OBE JP Mr G C Matthews Ms D C Ounsted CBE The Hon. T J Palmer DL (Vice-Chair) Mr J G S Scott JP Deputy Dr G R E Shilson Provost Dr S J Thurley Chief Executive Officer Dr W L Piatt Company Secretary Dr M C Loughlin-Chow Registered Office Barnard’s Inn Hall Holborn London EC1N 2HH Company registration 02953431 (England and Wales) number Charity registration number 1039962 Auditor Buzzacott LLP 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL Bankers Bank of Scotland 33 Broad Street London EC2N 1HZ C Hoare and Co. 37 Fleet Street London EC4P 4DQ Solicitors Radcliffes LeBrasseur 85 Fleet Street London EC4Y 1AE

Report of the Council 31 July 2021

The Members of the Council, who are the directors of the charitable company, present their annual report, and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2021 are also presented.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 24 to 27 of the attached financial statements and comply with the charity’s Memorandum and Articles, applicable laws and the requirements of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Status

Gresham College was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham to provide free public lectures. The College was a registered charity until 28 July 1994, when it was incorporated as a charitable company in England and Wales, governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association. Grants to meet the College’s core costs are awarded by the beneficiaries of Sir Thomas’ will (the Mercers’ Company and the City of London Corporation – the College’s core funders).

Objectives and Activities

The College’s principal activity is the provision and administration of its academic programme in a tradition going back more than 400 years. Gresham College aims to make new learning of contemporary relevance and academic integrity available to a wide and diverse audience. It provides an intellectually rigorous and stimulating programme of free public lectures of the highest standard, dealing in depth with a range of cultural, intellectual, and social issues. It will contribute to society through this provision and associated activities.

In setting the charitable objectives and planning future activities, the Council Members have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

Achievements and Performance

Overview

Despite ongoing COVID restrictions across the 2020-2021 academic year, the College continued to deliver its core mission, and exceeded expectations on many of the objectives set for the year. The College’s COVID contingency plan continued to operate, with ongoing adjustments responding to government guidance. The academic programme, which ran from 15 September 2020 to 17 June 2021, was delivered entirely on-line, as a combination of filmed live delivery from the Hall, and prerecorded lectures. In the latter case, speakers filmed remotely, supported by the College’s technical staff. All

'Gresham lectures have transformed my life under lockdown. I have tried to watch every one, and many of the past lectures as well. It suits my butterfly mind and reminds me of my far distant undergraduate days.'

'Thank you for helping me get through this year of isolation'

'Thanks for the great lectures which have kept my brain working during lockdown’

(Feedback from our online audience)

lectures were released online at the pre-scheduled (and pre-advertised) time. The programme consisted of 140 lectures, 13 of which were rescheduled from the previous academic year (where lecturers were unable to deliver them because of COVID restrictions). In addition, several short films were developed and released on-line.

The Memorandum of Understanding outlining the funding arrangements having been approved in May 2020, the College embarked upon a new phase in its identity and operations. 2020-2021 saw the implementation of the first year of the College’s five-year business plan (2020-25), with a refreshed vision, mission and values, and a new set of aims, objectives, and measures.

The College’s CEO, Dr Wendy Piatt, was appointed on 1 August 2020, and in her first year further crafted and began to implement the College strategy. To provide information to the Council on progress in implementing the 5-year plan, she devised and shared with Council several tools for reporting on progress in delivering inputs and outputs, including KPIs. Yearly objectives are also measured via an action plan focusing on inputs and aligning those actions to the College’s strategic objectives. Social and educational impact measures are also being developed, to complement the more quantitative performance indicators.

This year, the College has made considerable progress towards achieving our ultimate goals, as our performance indicators show, in terms of enlarging and broadening our audience whilst maintaining academic quality. From a starting point of 28 million existing views (either online or in-person) at 31 July 2020, we aim to increase our total views to 60 million by 31 July 2025. To monitor this, we have implemented annual targeted increases, and the aim by the end of Year 1 was for us to have achieved 5 million views towards this goal. We have exceeded expectations, achieving 6,539,620 views in 2020-2021, in contrast to a total of 3,979,872 views last year. These figures are complemented by an increase in average watchtime – 14.02 minutes as compared to 12.16 in the previous year, demonstrating a real qualitative engagement of our on-line community.

YouTube subscriptions have also increased year-on-year to 157K from a previous total of 117K - in excess of our Year 1 goal of 140K subscribers. Likewise, our mailing list subscriptions have increased from a starting point of 22K to over 33K, exceeding the Year 1 goal of 27K. Social media presence is also on the rise, with followers across various platforms currently at 20K, which matches our Year 1 goal.

We have made a good start on income generation, with a first-year total of £31K in additional income against a goal of £21K. This is despite the fact that the Head of Income Generation did not take up her post until 1 June 2021: our goals increase over the next four years as we shape and implement the new income generation strategy.

At the end of Year 1, the majority of the key operational inputs set out in the Business Plan have been completed or are on course to be completed. In addition, a considerable amount of work has been done to fortify our operational foundations and minimise organisational risks, with a particular focus upon HR, finance, recruitment, and facilities.

The following provides more detail about the achievements made in five key areas of activity: academic programme, broadcast and online outputs, media/marketing, income generation and operational/organisational issues. These sections include a more detailed account of progress towards the key aims of the five-year plan, the progress that has been made towards achieving the main four objectives set out in the plan in addition to businessas-usual activities, and highlights of the year.

Academic Programme

Two new professors took up posts at the College over the course of 2020-2021. Sarah Hart, the College’s first female professor of mathematics, presented a very well-received series on “Mathematics in Music and Writing”– her final lecture entitled “Where do Mathematical Symbols Come From?” particularly resonated with audiences, and has had 75K views to date. Leslie Thomas QC, Gresham Professor of Law, presented on “Death, the State, and Human Rights”, a timely series in the aftermath of the worldwide protests following George Floyd’s brutal death in 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Three new visiting professors also started in 2020-2021: Martin Daunton, VP of Economic History; Thomas Grant QC, VP of Politics and Law; and John Mullan, VP of English Literature. The new professors and VPs settled in well and engaged with the production team to produce their inaugural series of lectures online, and excellent series proposals for 2021-22.

Highlights of the online provision for 2020-2021 included Professor Chris Whitty’s series on “Major Debates in Public Health”, including a lecture on vaccination which has obtained over 18K views to date. Also extremely popular have been Alec Ryrie’s lectures on “England’s Reformations and their Legacies” – his six lectures averaging 26.5K views. The College’s music professor, Marina Frolova-Walker, presented a series of lectures on Russian piano music, accompanied by concert pianist Peter Donohoe – this series was held at LSO St Luke’s for the first time, and the sound and production values were of a significantly higher standard than for music lectures held in previous venues.

Other popular series held in this year were “Cosmic Vision” (Katherine Blundell, Professor of Astronomy), “The Psychology of Finance” (Alex Edmans, Professor of Business), “Our Connected World” (Jacqueline McGlade, Frank Jackson Professor of the Environment), “Great Ideas from Computer Science” (Richard Harvey, WCIT Professor of IT), and “Evil Women” (Joanna Bourke, Professor of Rhetoric).

With regard to progress on the academic programme objectives outlined in the five-year plan, on 1 August 2020 Professor Simon Thurley succeeded Professor Sir Richard Evans as Provost, and he has focused on planning and structuring of the lectures, incorporating new thematic series into the upcoming 2021-2022 programme. As well as continuing to appoint Gresham Professors in the Foundation subjects and provide lectures of the highest academic standard (whilst still aimed at public audiences of all ages and backgrounds), the vision of Sir Thomas in terms of supporting innovation and new learning will be promoted. New learning in science and the arts (such as advances in technology, robotics, IT, AI, new literature, new music, new art, new scientific discoveries and developments in subjects like mathematics, medicine, commerce and environmental science) will be delivered, at the same time as stimulating ideas and discussion on areas such as human rights and philosophical debate.

The programme for 2021-22 is varied with many interesting lectures already attracting attention. Lectures to be given in 2021-22 include the final series of Chris Whitty, Professor of Physic, on “Infections and their routes of transmission”, of Richard Harvey, Professor of IT on “Six Tech Inventions that Changed the World”, and of Alex Edmans, the Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Business, who will be presenting a series on “The Principles of Finance”. We will also have a new approach to non-professorial lectures, with the introduction of thematic series, including lectures on neuroscience, “Books, Libraries and Civilisation”, “Religion and Society in the 21[st] Century”, “Extinction, Exploration, and Adaptation”, and “Media: Trust and Society”.

Communications: Broadcast and on-line outputs

Live streaming continued to be a key feature of the programme despite the digital remote production of lectures during the COVID-19 pandemic. 69,326 online attendees registered for and watched lectures live at the point of streaming in the 2020-2021 academic year. Live streamed recordings are accessible as soon streaming is concluded and attract views immediately – this is possible as a result of an ongoing investment in training for the production team, and its increased expertise. During lockdown, advance filming was required, with post-production work resulting in professional films that were streamed at the pre-advertised times.

Measures have been taken to improve the production and promotion of lectures. Communications initiatives in 2020-2021 include the closed caption subtitling of all YouTube lectures, improved thumbnail images on YouTube, improved tagging to increase Search Engine Optimisation, and the repackaging of lectures into playlists. Increased data collection from online lecture registration allowed us to grow our mailing list to 33K, to

monitor online student attendance, and to encourage audience donations both at lectures and in follow-up emails.

Dr Piatt convened a Website Working Group at the start of the academic year to assist James Bull (Head of Communications Technology) in developing a new website - one of the key goals of the five-year plan. The Group comprises Katherine Blundell (Professor of Astronomy), Richard Harvey (Professor of IT), Clare Loughlin-Chow (Academic Registrar), Michelle Gurney (Council Member & member of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists [WCIT]), and Gary Bilkus (a WCIT pro-bono consultant).

After conducting an analysis of the College’s requirements, requesting bids, and interviewing, a developer was appointed. By the end of July, discovery meetings and further consultation have taken place, and the project is now under development. The College’s vision for the new website is that it will help raise our profile, increase audience engagement, convert users into repeat viewers and subscribers, generate more income from donations, and make the site easier to develop, update and manage. There is a particular focus on incorporating a more effective search function, better ways for users to discover content in our archive, improvements to SEO/Marketing and further development of the live on-line lecture experience.

A Website and Communications Manager was appointed on 1 June 2021 to assist the Head of Communications Technology in the development, implementation and upkeep of the website. She will also take on wider Communications and broadcast responsibilities as the website beds in.

Communications: Media and Marketing

One of the key aims of the five-year plan is to improve our media and marketing strategy and activities and a considerable amount of work was done to accomplish this aim. A summary of the refined marketing approach was included in the CEO’s paper on the 5 Year plan presented to Council in March 2021. The headline figures for total views, number of YouTube, social media and mailing list subscriptions and unique webpage …our pupils come from some of the most economically views are set out in the overview deprived wards... We actively support our sixth form pupils to learn beyond the curriculum… I was delighted section. The media and marketing therefore when the Gresham publicity material arrived in work played a key role in achieving my pigeonhole. The lectures had a wide variety of those impressive results.

…our pupils come from some of the most economically deprived wards... We actively support our sixth form pupils to learn beyond the curriculum… I was delighted therefore when the Gresham publicity material arrived in my pigeonhole. The lectures had a wide variety of interesting subjects that supported intellectual curiosity and more importantly they were free. I actively encouraged all pupils to attend independently. We want to instil in them that learning does not have always involve a teacher and to show independence of thought and explore new ideas. This is a really important skill to develop to ensure top universities and apprenticeships can be accessed and to create lifelong learners. (Director of 6[th] form, Sacred Heart School, Southwark)

Social media engagement and the College’s online presence has expanded, largely as a result of the activities of the College’s digital marketing manager (who started on 1 June 2020). These have included an increase in paid advertising, in particular focusing on video views in

Facebook and Google YouTube. Embedded video view campaigns on Facebook have proved particularly cost effective in reaching more people.

'Gresham has been a pillar for my professional development. Hopefully over the years I will be able to commit much more to such a worthy cause as education for all.'

The College’s outreach to schools increased over 2020- education for all.' 2021 with 10,146 registering and watching lectures online (in comparison to 728 bookings in the previous year). Increasing interest has been fostered through lectures. This project must be the expansion of targeted mailings to schools – two campaigns were run this year. The second campaign in wish it could be more.' January 2021 saw emails sent to 50,000 teachers (and heads) and resulted in the online school mailing list (Feedback from Donors) growing by a factor of 4 to 440 schools, and over the last year, the online traffic to our dedicated schools’ webpages increased tenfold.

'So many wonderful and stimulating lectures. This project must be supported and deserves every penny. I wish it could be more.'

Press coverage continued to be strong over the course of the year; from August 2020 to July 2021 the College had 591 press clippings (as compared to 321 in 2019-20). The print circulation figures for 2019-2020 were 23,978,635 – these were replaced by a different measure for 2020-2021, involving “unique views” of the publications’ websites, so comparisons between these two years are invidious. Across 2020-2021, the number of unique views for these publications was +1,104,982,617), and this number will form the basis for comparison of circulation going forward.

Professor Chris Whitty’s lecture coverage has seen the College mentioned in newspapers all over the country, but other highlights have included a detailed feature article on Professor Sarah Hart in The New York Times which included a history of the College – the kind of coverage money cannot buy; and a feature on Professor Whitty in The Guardian extensively quoting the College Chair, Loyd Grossman, specialist teaching magazine coverage of the lectures of Professor Richard Harvey and Professor Sarah Hart, and attention paid to Professor Leslie Thomas’ legal series.

Income Generation

During 2020-21 sponsorships for lecture services were received from The Frank Jackson Foundation of £11,500 (2020: £11,500) and from The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists of £11,500 (2020: £11,500). Over the course of 2020-2021 funding for these professorships was extended to a 4[th] year for the incumbents, and the grants were also renewed. Renewal of the grants means that a recruitment exercise (funded by the FJF and WCIT) will take place over the course of 2021-2022, and two new professors will be appointed on 1 August 2022 for a 3-year term.

The College has not in the past actively solicited donations from individuals. However, the five-year plan includes a new approach, with an active pursuit of funds additional to the funding provided by our two main sponsors, the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers (see above under Status ). The College’s first Head of Income Generation was appointed on 1 June 2021, and, with the CEO, is developing

fundraising strategy. Good progress has already been made in terms of income generating initiatives, including increased promotion of donation opportunities (a “donation button” on key audience interfaces such as lecture sign-ups), registration for Gift Aid, improvements to the Hall with a view towards Hall hire, and registration for Amazon Smile. The College has received an additional £23,514 in donations from individuals this year, along with a figure of £3,210 from YouTube advertising and £4,200 from hiring out audio visual equipment. This represents a total of £30,924 against a Year 1 target of £21,000.

The College is now registered with the Fundraising Regulator.

Operations

As noted earlier in this report, both the College’s CEO, Dr Wendy Piatt, and the Provost, Professor Simon Thurley took up their posts on 1 August 2020. The new management team at the College has skilfully managed both the COVID-related adjustments as well as forward planning.

The College has maximised the opportunities offered by COVID restrictions by improving its facilities. The Offices were reorganised over summer 2020 to maximise the space available for office use, and the covid pandemic obviously resulted in homeworking for a substantial part of the year. As a result, we managed to avoid the need for more office accommodation in 2020-2021. We are hoping to continue these arrangements for as long as possible in 2021-2022 but we may have to seek additional or alternative accommodation in the latter part of the year. Following an additional risk assessment, the College also implemented recommended COVID-related adjustments (screens between desks, hand sanitiser units, COVID-related signage), and updated its policies to provide guidance for staff on additional safety measures. The Academic Registrar held individual meetings with each staff member to discuss the return to the offices. In line with government guidance, a phased return to the offices began at Step 4 of the roadmap out of lockdown (19 July).

Other improvements during this period were in response to professional health and safety and fire assessments. Security has also been improved with updates to the intruder alarm and measures taken in response to suggestions from the City of London Police. The College also worked with the Mercers on an overhaul of the heating and air-conditioning system in the lecture hall.

A considerable amount of time this year was focused on sorting out and systematising several operational, HR and recruitment issues in order to build a solid foundation underpinning the organisation so we can focus more intensely in the coming year on our plans to innovate, improve our content, increase our audience and generate income.

Financial Review

The financial results of the College’s operations are shown on page 22 . Total income (all unrestricted) was £1,522,859 (2020: £981,356). Total expenditure (all unrestricted) was £1,197,747 (2020: £971,365). The surplus of income over expenditure was £325,112 (2020: £9,991). However, when adjustments are made for designated reserves, the general

reserve increases from £36,074 at the start of the year to £221,241 at the end - see reserves policy section below.

The College’s core income from its main sponsors of £937,972 in 2019-20 was increased to £1,468,916 in 2020-21. This was supplemented by donations of £46,514 (2020: £31,679) and income from other trading activities of £7,425 (2020: £11,665).

Overall, the College continues to maintain good cost control and to keep year on year expenditure broadly in line with the income available from its main sponsors and other sources. The College has settled arrangements in place for its lecture premises both at Barnard’s Inn Hall (6 years of the lease term remaining) and the Museum of London (rolling agreement).

Reserves policy and financial position

Council policy is that the College should hold four months’ operational costs (ie staffing, premises, governance) costs as a minimum reserve (as defined in the Memorandum of Understanding effective from 2020-21). The minimum requirement is now £287,343 (2020: £282,237) and the College held this level of reserves at 31 July 2021. In addition, the College held designated fixed asset reserves of £17,467 (2020: £15,065), designated payroll administration reserves of £70,000 (2020:nil), designated website development reserves of £62,436 (2020: nil) and free reserves of £221,241 (2020: £36,074).

The Members of Council have reviewed the level of reserves held, taking into account the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, and are satisfied that the current level is adequate but not excessive. 2020/21 has been an unusual year primarily due to the covid pandemic and as a result the College has generated a significant surplus relative to the budget:

The Covid pandemic has had a highly significant impact on the delivery of our offering and on our working patterns with the effect of reducing costs. For example, several high costs events were cancelled and venue costs not incurred due to the necessity of delivering lectures online; most staff worked from home for most of the year, so office and Hall running costs reduced significantly; and a strategic decision was made not to invest as planned on print advertising as fewer people would have been exposed to hard copy literature.
Some major expenditure was delayed slightly for various reasons, so smaller costs were incurred within this financial year but will fall in subsequent years. For example, the recruitment process for the College’s new Head of Income Generation took some time as it was crucial to get this appointment right. The appointed candidate then requested to serve out a relatively lengthy notice period. Likewise, website development is well underway, but the major tranche of costs will be incurred in financial year 2021-22.

Risk management

The College regularly examines risk, including health and safety, fire, public liability and risk to reputation, and procedures are in place to manage risk. A risk register is presented at

least annually to Council, with mitigating actions taken as appropriate. In 2020-2021 the CEO made major improvements to the existing Risk Register, separating out strategic risks from operational risks, and incorporating the business plan risks into the wider register. She also provided an associated “heat map” to allow Council members to better understand and evaluate the risks at the College, and to better serve as a helpful management tool for College operational staff.

At the start of the year, the CEO considered the principal strategic risks to the College to be: capacity/staffing strains, major external incidents (eg. pandemic), major technological changes/problems, and reputation/potential academic issues. Principal operational risks were identified as: technology, funding (reserves policy), website, HR, and estates. New mitigation was introduced to supplement existing measures and risks are now demonstrably on the downward trend.

To deal with capacity strains, new posts have been created, and some redistribution of existing workload has taken place. Additional mitigation has taken place in the adoption of an HR consultancy firm to assist with updates to HR policies and procedures and external assistance brought in to help with key Marketing tasks. Existing mitigation of this risk such as staff development programmes, cross-training, process documentation, and regular appraisals continue to be applied.

IT also represents a standard operational risk, monitored and managed carefully by the College. The College is GDPR compliant, and it has strict cyber-security policies and processes in place, in line with guidelines established by the National Cyber Security Centre (their additional advice and support in the wake of COVID-19). The Head of Communications Technology regularly reports to Council. The CEO has added to existing mitigation by setting a working group of stakeholders and experts to assist the Head of Technology with the new website project and arranging additional staffing in this area.

The premises of the College also represent an operational/resources risk, primarily due to an increase in staff numbers and the upkeep required of an historic building. Office reorganisation has mitigated the former, and the College monitors and manages the latter under the terms of its lease. It has engaged in external health and safety and fire safety assessments this year and has responded to recommendations. Gresham continues to review alternative lecture venues and alternative plans relevant to its longer-term growth.

The College maintains a Social Welfare Combined Insurance Policy, with buildings insurance covered by our landlord.

COVID-19 has resulted in adjustment and further development of the College’s risk management strategy with regard to external factors. As noted in the previous report, the College developed a contingency plan in early March 2020, and this was approved by Council and has been continuously updated in line with government guidance. Governmental and HSE guidance have been consulted in relation to the reopening of the College offices, and an additional risk assessment informed a formal return-to-work plan. We plan to deliver the 2021-2022 academic programme to in-person audiences with a

simultaneous livestream to online audiences, but will adjust our practices if required in line with government guidance and best practice in the HE, cultural and entertainment sectors. We have provided guidance for audiences and speakers about measures being taken to keep them safe – these include the ticketing of all lectures, a request that audience members wear masks when not seated in the Hall, a stipulation that staff members and speakers will be regularly tested for COVID, the provision of hand sanitiser at all doors. These measures will be taken at Barnard’s Inn Hall and at outside venues used by the College (Museum of London and LSO St Luke’s). These venues may have additional requirements.

Future Plans

The 2021-2022 financial and academic year will see the College moving into Year 2 of the five-year plan. We have engaged in a considerable amount of work over the past year to build foundations and implement changes. We should be able to reap the rewards of that work next year and in subsequent years in terms of achieving our overarching goal of increasing and broadening audience whilst maintaining quality of academic content of our outputs.

In year 2 we intend to continue to implement the strategy as set out in that plan including the following inputs and action points:

continue to build our core audience and extend efforts to attract more viewers including those from more diverse backgrounds and nationalities.
develop our academic commissioning strategy further, using programme analysis and putting increased emphasis on innovation in the programme (expansion of shorter outputs to complement lectures, etc.)
deepen and broaden our relationships with schools, emphasising educational enrichment and ‘stretch and challenge activities’
launch a new website
improve presentation of lectures through both ongoing improvements to the Hall for broadcast/livestream and offering of training to professors
continue to sharpen our promotional and marketing approach, for example further expanding our social media presence; bolstering and diversifying our advertising strategy; launching a competition for schools; holding an event to launch new programme; unleashing the potential of our archive and back catalogue through additional promotion and creating playlists and tranches of online learning
develop and implement income generation strategy
identify and assess new potential venues and office space
continue to fortify the operational structure of the organisation to improve efficiency and efficacy and reduce risks

The budget surplus that we have built this year as a result of the COVID lockdown and delayed timings of major expenditure such as the new website and new recruits will be spent on the achieving the goals listed above particularly:

Staffing – including the costs of the posts recruited in the latter part of Year 1, as well as new recruits such as a Finance and HR manager; freelancers in Media Communications and Broadcast (the latter to help with our goal of producing a more diverse portfolio of outputs)
Marketing and Promotion – see above. With the larger budget surplus, we can deploy more of our proposed plans to market Gresham outputs and raise our profile. This is crucial to achieve our overarching goal of attracting a larger and more diverse audience
Office space and new venues for lectures. The original 5 Year plan did not make provision or budget for additional office space, even though the risk register flagged up the need to procure more accommodation. In the first year we managed to avoid having to do so by completely rearranging the space available, and by the CEO offering to establish a makeshift office in space previously used as a green/function room. However, these arrangements are not sustainable for the long term, particularly as some staff are concerned about proximity to others as a result of the covid pandemic; (please note, however, that we have ensured that the current layout complies with current health and safety regulations). We are also embarking on a search for a new venue for some of the lectures as it is doubtful that the Museum of London will be able to provide a suitable venue in the next few years.

Structure, Governance and Management

Members of the Company

The Charitable Company is a Company limited by guarantee.

Following a special resolution passed on 31 August 2004, the members of the company are the City of London Corporation and the Mercers’ Company.

The nominee of the Mercers’ Company during this period was The Honourable Tim Palmer. The nominee of the City of London Corporation during this period was Sheriff C M Hayward.

Members of Council

Members of Council comprise up to four appointees each of the City of London Corporation and the Mercers’ Company, together with up to four co-opted members, two Gresham Professors and the Provost.

Members of Council are Directors of the Charitable Company for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006. They are also Trustees of the Charitable Company within the Charities Act 2011. Insurance cover was maintained for Members of Council against liabilities arising from their duties.

The Members of Council who served during the financial year 1 August 2020 to 31 July 2021 and up to the date of approval of this report were as follows:

Co-opted

Dr L D G Grossman CBE (Chair of Council) Mr R J Long CB (Chair of Finance and Remuneration Committee) Ms M D Gurney Mr A D Humzah

Appointed 1 August 2019 Appointed 1 August 2018 Appointed 1 August 2020 Appointed 13 May 2021

Appointed by City of London Corporation

Sheriff C M Hayward (Vice Chair) Mr J G S Scott JP Deputy Dr G R E Shilson Mr N M Bensted-Smith Deputy C E Lord OBE JP

Appointed 1 August 2020 Appointed 1 August 2016 Appointed 7 March 2014 1 Sept 2017—25 May 2021 Appointed 25 May 2021

Appointed by the Mercers’ Company

The Hon. T J Palmer DL (Vice Chair) Mr A E Hodson Mr G C Matthews Ms D C Ounsted CBE (Chair of Nominations Committee)

Appointed 1 August 2013 Appointed 1 December 2018 Appointed 1 August 2020 Appointed 1 March 2016

Provost

Dr S J Thurley

Appointed 1 August 2020

Gresham Professors

Professor Emeritus J E Delahunty QC Professor Emeritus M C Thomas CBE

Appointed 7 November 2019 1 March 2017—31 July 2021

Procedures adopted for the induction and training of Members of Council

Upon appointment, Members of Council are provided with an information pack which includes the following documents:

Charity Commission. The Essential Trustee: What you need to know (May 2018)
Gresham College Handbook (now in 9th edition, 2020), incorporating:
a. The Articles of Association of Gresham College
b. Historical Background (including the Will of Sir Thomas Gresham)
c. Governance Arrangements
d. Committee structure and Terms of Reference for all Committees
e. Definition of roles and appointments
f. Information on the Academic Programme
g. Quality Assurance and Monitoring arrangements
h. Collaborative activities
i. Fees and Honoraria
The Report of the CEO to Council on the Strategic Plan (March 2020)
Minutes and papers the previous Council meeting

Gresham College Accounts (most recent audited accounts)
Dates of future meetings

As part of the induction process, new members are offered meetings with the Chair of Council, the CEO, and the Provost. They also invited to direct any queries to the Academic Registrar, who acts as Company Secretary. They are required to complete a registration form for entry of details with Companies House and the Charity Commission, and are required to contribute to the Council Skills Matrix through the completion of a survey.

Decision making

The Charitable Company has two voting Members: the Mercers’ Company and the Corporation of the City of London. The Members of Council are charity trustees and directors under the Companies Act.

The Council has two Committees: a Finance and Remuneration Committee and a Nominations Committee, both of which make recommendations to Council on an advisory basis. The Finance and Remuneration Committee reviews the financial statements and proposed budget and recommends the policy for the remuneration of staff. The Nominations Committee determines and agrees with the Council the framework and nominations relating to the appointment of new Members of Council (other than those nominated by the core funders). It also determines the appointments process for new Professorial appointments. Proposals regarding the academic programme, including costs, are first discussed by the Academic Board, and finally are recommended to the Council for approval.

Management Arrangements

In 2019-2020, the Council decided to implement a new management structure beginning 1[st] August 2020, a key feature of which was the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer of the College.

Arrangements for setting the pay and remuneration of Gresham College’s key management personnel are informed by the HE Single Pay Spine (https://www.ucu.org.uk/he_singlepayspine), and the University of Cambridge pay spine extensions where applicable (http://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/Salaries/242). These are felt

to provide a useful benchmark. The CEO’s salary, however, is not linked to the spine in this way.

Members of Council are not remunerated for their services to the College as trustees/directors. The Provost is remunerated for his services as the College’s Provost. One member (one of the representatives of Academic Board) also received a professorial stipend in their capacity as a Gresham College Professor at the agreed rate.

Assessment of going concern

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

The Members of Council have concluded that, despite the ongoing uncertainty in relation to COVID-19, there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the College to continue as a going concern. They are of the opinion that the College will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due.

Statement of Members of Council’s responsibilities

The Members of Council (who are the directors of Gresham College for the purposes of company law and trustees for the purposes of charity law) are responsible for preparing the report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Members of Council to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the College and of the income and expenditure of the College for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the Members of Council 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 their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102);
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.

The Members of Council are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that 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. They 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 Members of Council confirms that:

so far as the Member is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity’s auditor is unaware; and

the Member has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a Member in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s auditor 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 Members of Council are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

This report was approved by the Members of Council on 25 November 2021

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Dr L D G Grossman CBE
Registered Office
Barnard’s Inn Hall
Holborn
London
EC1N 2HH
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Independent auditor’s report to the members of Gresham College

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Gresham College (the College) for the year ended 31 July 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the College’s affairs as at 31 July 2021 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 standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the College in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical 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 Council’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

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 company’s ability to continue as 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 Council members with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The Members of Council are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report 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 report of the council, which constitutes the directors’ report for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the report of the council, which constitutes the directors’ report for the purposes of company law, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the College and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the report of the council.

We have nothing to 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:

the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of Members of Councils’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the Members of Council were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the report of the council and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of Members of Council

As explained more fully in the statement of Members of Council’s responsibilities, the Members of Council, who are the directors 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 Members of Council 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 Members of Council are responsible for assessing the College’s 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 Members of Council either intend to liquidate the College or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial 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 auditor’s 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 obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the company and determined that the most significant frameworks which are directly relevant to specific assertions in the financial statements are those that relate to the reporting framework (Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006) and those that relate to data protection (General Data Protection Regulation).

We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

making enquiries of management 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; and
tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions.

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

reviewing the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; and
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.

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 Council members 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.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the College’s 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 College'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 College and the College's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Shachi Blakemore (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

Date: 13 December 2021

Statement of Financial Activities Year to 31 July 2021 (including income and expenditure account)

expenditure account)
Notes Income and expenditure Income from: Donations 3 Other trading activities 4 Interest receivable Charitable activities . Provision of lectures, seminars and conferences 5 Total income Expenditure Charitable activities . Provision of lectures, seminars and conferences 6 Expenditure on raising funds 7 Total expenditure Net income and net movement in funds 10 Reconciliation of funds Balance brought forward at 1 August Balance carried forward at 31 July	Unrestricted funds £ 46,514 7,425 4 1,468,916	Restricted funds £ — — — —	Total funds 2021 £ 46,514 7,425 4 1,468,916	Unrestricted funds £ 31,679 11,665 40 937,972	Restricted funds £ — — — —	Total funds 2020 £ 31,679 11,665 40 937,972
	1,522,859	—	1,522,859	981,356	—	981,356
	1,174,126 23,621	— —	1,174,126 23,621	971,365 —	— —	971,365 —
	1,197,747	—	1,197,747	971,365	—	971,365
	325,112 333,375	— —	325,112 333,375	9,991 323,384	— —	9,991 323,384
	658,487	—	658,487	333,375	—	333,375

There is no difference between the net movement in funds stated above and the historical cost equivalent.

All of the charitable company’s activities were derived from continuing operations during the above two financial periods.

All recognised gains and losses are included in the above statement of financial activities.

Balance Sheet 31 July 2021

Balance Sheet 31 July 2021
Notes	2021 £	2020 £
Fixed assets Tangible fixed assets 12 Current assets Debtors 13 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 14 Net current assets Total net assets The funds of the charity: 15 Unrestricted funds . Designated funds . General fund	17,467	8,764
	36,380 864,102	47,212 510,997
	900,482 (259,462)	558,209 (233,598)
	641,019	324,611
	658,487	333,375
	437,246 221,241	297,301 36,074
	658,487	333,375

The notes on pages 25 to 35 form an integral part of these financial statements

Signed on behalf of the Council of Gresham College (Company registration number 02953431 (England and Wales)) on 25 November 2021 by

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Chair of Gresham College Council Dr L D G Grossman CBE
Vice-Chair of Council
Sheriff C M Hayward
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Statement of Cash Flows Year to 31 July 2021

Statement of Cash FlowsYear to 31 July 2021
Notes	2021 £	2020 £
Cash flows from operating activities: Net cash provided by operating activities A Cash flows from investing activities: Interest received Purchase of tangible fixed assets Net cash used in investing activities Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year Cash and cash equivalents at 1 August B Cash and cash equivalents at 31 July B	367,089	207,102
	4 (13,988)	40 (11,268)
	(13,984)	(11,228)
	353,105 510,997	195,874 315,123
	864,102	510,997

Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 July:

A Reconciliation of net income to net cash used in operating activities

	2021 £	2020 £
Net income (as per the statement of financial activities) Adjustments for: Depreciation charge Interest receivable Decrease in debtors Increase in creditors Net cashprovided byoperatingactivities	325,112 5,285 (4) 10,832 25,864	9,991 11,364 (40) 39,810 145,977
	367,089	207,101

B Analysis of movement in net debt

	2021 £	2020 £
Cash at bank and in hand Total cash and cash equivalents	864,102	510,997
	864,102	510,997

Notes to the financial statements 31 July 2021

1. Accounting policies

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 31 July 2021.

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 remaining notes to these financial statements.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

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 financial statements 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:

the estimates of the useful economic lives of tangible fixed assets used to determine the annual depreciation charge; and
the assumptions adopted by the Members of Council and management in determining the value of any designations required from the charity’s general unrestricted funds.

Assessment of going concern

Income

Income is recognised in the period in which the College is entitled to receipt and the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty and it is probable that the income will be received. Income is deferred only when the College has to fulfil certain 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 donations receivable, bank interest and income from charitable activities, principally the grants receivable from The City of London Corporation and The Mercers Company Charitable Foundation, and other charitable grants.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the College 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. All expenditure is stated inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

All expenses are allocated to the applicable expenditure headings. The majority of expenditure is directly attributable and any apportionment between headings is negligible. Expenditure on charitable activities comprises expenditure on the charity’s primary charitable purposes as described in the Report of the Council. Such costs include, academic expenses, professors’ stipends and technology costs associated with the delivery of the College lectures, grants payable towards research and other support costs associated with the furtherance of the College’s objectives.

Governance costs, which comprise the costs involving the public accountability of the College (including audit costs) and costs in respect to its compliance with regulation and good practice, are allocated in full to the cost of the College’s principal charitable activity.

Tangible fixed assets:

All assets costing more than £5,000 and with an expected useful life exceeding one year are capitalised.

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

Furniture and general office equipment 33 ⅓ % per annum based on cost
• Computer and similar equipment 33 ⅓ % per annum based on cost

Debtors:

Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for nonrecoverability. 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 College 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.

Financial instruments

The charity only holds basic financial instruments as defined in FRS 102. The financial assets and financial liabilities of the charity and their measurement basis are as follows:

Financial assets – other debtors are basic financial instruments and are debt instruments measured at amortised cost. Listed investments are a basic financial instrument as detailed above. Prepayments are not financial instruments.

Cash at bank – classified as a basic financial instrument and is measured at face value.

Financial liabilities – accruals and other creditors are financial instruments and are measured at amortised cost.

Fund accounting:

Restricted funds comprise monies raised for, and their use restricted to, a specific purpose, or donations subject to donor imposed conditions.

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

General funds represent those monies that are freely available for application towards achieving any charitable purpose that falls within the College’s charitable objects.

Leased assets:

Rentals applicable to operating leases, where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership remain within the lessor, are charged to the statement of financial activities in equal amounts over the lease terms.

Pension costs:

Gresham College participates in Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (“SAUL) which is a centralised defined benefit scheme and is contracted-out of the Second State Pension. SAUL is a “last man standing” scheme so that in the event of the insolvency of any participating employers in SAUL, the amount of pension funding shortfall (which cannot otherwise be recovered) in respect of that employer will be spread across the remaining participant employers and reflected in the next actuarial valuation. A formal valuation of SAUL is carried out every three years by professionally qualified and independent actuaries using Projected Unit method. Informal reviews of SAUL’s position are carried out between formal valuations.

It is not possible to identify the College’s share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme, therefore contributions are accounted for as if the scheme were a defined contribution scheme and pension costs are based on the amounts actually paid. Further details on the scheme are given in note 16 .

The College continues to be fully compliant with the Government’s auto-enrolment scheme for pensions (for which the staging date was 1 February 2016).

2. Administration

The Charitable Company is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 28 July 1994, which were subsequently amended on 31 August 2004, and again in November 2007 (with a minor amendment to Article 23 in 2013). On 1 January 1995 it took over the assets, liabilities and undertakings of Gresham College Trust, a registered charity number 283467. On behalf of the Mercers’ Company, the City of London Corporation and the Mercers’ School Memorial Trust the College discharges their liability for the payment of stipends to the eight Gresham Professors. Under these arrangements, the financial statements of the Charitable Company reflect in all respects a continuation of the activities of the predecessor body.

3. Income from donations and legacies

	Unrestricted funds £	Restricted funds £	Total 2021 £	Total 2020 £
Donations The Frank Jackson Foundation Worshipful Company of Information Technologists Bloomberg Philanthropies From individuals Total funds	11,500 11,500 — 23,514	— — —	11,500 11,500 — 23,514	11,500 11,500 8,000 679
	46,514	—	46,514	31,679

All donations received in 2020 were unrestricted.

4. Income from other trading activities

	Unrestricted funds £	Restricted funds £	Total 2021 £	Total 2020 £
Income from lettings and asset hire Publication sales and royalties Marketing income Total funds	4,200 15 3,210	— — —	4,200 15 3,210	9,001 281 2,384
	7,425	—	7,425	11,665

All income received from trading activities in 2020 was unrestricted.

5. Income from charitable activities: Provision of lectures, seminars and conferences

Unrestricted Funds

Core funding The Mercers’ Company Charitable Foundation The City of London Corporation Mercers’ School Memorial Trust Total funds	Professors’ stipends £ General grant £ Total 2021 £ 35,000 695,958 730,958 35,000 695,958 730,958 7,000 — 7,000 77,000 1,391,916 1,468,916	Professors’ stipends £ General grant £ Total 2020 £
		28,000 433,986 461,986 35,000 433,986 468,986 7,000 — 7,000
		70,000 867,972 937,972

6. Expenditure on charitable activities: Provision of lectures, seminars and conferences

	Unrestricted funds £	Restricted funds £	Total 2021 £	Total 2020 £
Staff costs (note9) Operating costs Sundry Fees and lecture expenses Academic expenses Professors’ stipends Governance costs (note8)	711,050 298,157 852 59,916 80,000 24,151	— — — — — —	711,050 298,157 852 59,916 80,000 24,151	495,008 307,521 4,123 45,531 75,000 44,182
	1,174,126	—	1,174,126	971,365

All expenditure on charitable activities in 2020 was unrestricted.

7. Expenditure on raising funds

7. Expenditure on raising funds
	Unrestricted funds £	Restricted funds £	Total 2021 £	Total 2020 £
Staff costs (note9) Other costs	17,031 6,590	— —	17,031 6,590	— —
	23,621	—	23,621	—

8. Governance costs

8. Governance costs
	2021 £	2020 £
Legal and professional Audit and accountancy fees Council Secretarial Services Council and Academic Board Professional indemnity insurance Appointment of professors	8,588 10,830 57 1,200 3,476 —	7,220 7,812 1,098 2,402 2,008 23,642
	24,151	44,182

9. Staff costs and remuneration of key management personnel

The average number of persons employed during the year was 12.5 (2020 – 10.2).

	2021 £	2020 £
The total remuneration was as follows: Gross salaries Social security costs Pension contributions Temporary staff Other costs	566,366 59,169 84,077	371,773 35,656 52,588
	709,612 1,400 17,069	460,017 — 34,991
	728,081	495,008

	2021 £	2020 £
Staff costs were allocated between activities as follows: Expenditure on charitable activities Expenditure on raising funds	711,050 17,031	495,008 —
	728,081	495,008

One employee earned between £100,000 and £120,000 in 2020-21 (2019-20: nil). Employer pension contributions totalling £19,200 (2019-20: nil) were payable in respect of this employee.

Two employees earned between £70,000 and £80,000 in 2020-21 (2019-20: one). Employer pension contributions totalling £14,386 (2019-20: £12,875) were payable in respect of these employees.

The Members of Council, including the Chief Executive Officer, consider that they together with the Provost and the Academic Registrar comprise the key management of the College in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the College on a day to day basis.

The total remuneration (including taxable benefits but excluding employer's pension contributions) of the key management personnel for the year was £269,205 (2019-20: £131,987)

None of the members of Council are remunerated for their services as trustees of the College. The Provost is remunerated for his services as the College's Provost. His remuneration for 2020-21 was £39,121 (2019-20: £37,616). The Provost has also retained his position as a Visiting Professor of the College , and any lectures delivered in this capacity are separately remunerated (see note 18).

10. Net income and net movement in funds

This is stated after charging:

	2021 £	2020 £
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets Operating lease charges . Land and buildings Auditors’ remuneration . Current year audit fee . Non-audit services	5,285 39,420 9,360 3,450	11,364 39,420 7,812 3,350

11. Taxation

As a registered charity, Gresham College is not liable to income tax or corporation tax on income derived from its charitable activities, as it falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities.

12. Tangible fixed assets

12. Tangible fixed assets
	Equipment, Fixtures and Fittings £	Total £
Cost at 1 August 2020 Additions At 31 July 2021 Depreciation at 1 August 2020 Charge for the year At 31 July 2021 At 31 July 2021 At 31 July2020	37,850 13,988	37,850 13,988
	51,838	51,838
	29,086 5,285	29,086 5,285
	34,371	34,371

	17,467	17,467
	8,764	8,764

13. Debtors

13. Debtors
	2021 £	2020 £
Other debtors Prepayments	1,146 35,234	848 46,364
	36,380	47,212

14. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

14. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
	2021 £	2020 £
Accruals and deferred income Taxation and social security Other creditors Movements on deferred income (included above) Balance brought forward at 1 August Income deferred in current reporting period Amounts released to income from prior reporting period Balance carried forward at 31 July	213,433 21,625 24,404	173,706 14,448 45,444
	259,462	233,598
	165,452 200,220 (165,452)	83,293 165,452 (83,293)
	200,220	165,452

Deferred income relates to grant payments made in advance for the forthcoming academic year 2021-22 by The Mercers’ Company and the Frank Jackson Foundation.

15. Funds

	At 1 August 2020 £	Incoming resources £	Resources expended £	At 31 July 2021 £
General fund Designated funds: Minimum reserves Fixed assets fund Rescheduled lecture fund Payroll Administration fund Website development fund Total designated funds Total funds	36,074	1,503,765	(1,186,162)	221,241
	282,237 8,764 6,300 — —	5,106 13,988 — — —	— (5,285) (6,300) — —	287,343 17,467 — 70,000 62,436
	297,301	19,094	(11,585)	437,246

	333,375	1,522,859	(1,197,747)	658,487

15. Funds [cont.)

	At 1 August 2019 £	Incoming resources £	Resources expended £	*At 31 July* *2020* £
*General fund* *Designated funds:* Minimum reserves Fixed assets fund Rescheduled lecture fund *Total designated funds* *Totalfunds*	49,111	981,356	(971,365)	*36,074*
	274,273 — —	— — —	— — —	*282,237* *8,764* *6,300*
	274,273	—	—	*297,301*

	323,384	981,356	(971,365)	*333,375*

Designated funds include the minimum reserves required by Council equating to 4 months operational and academic support costs – as per the reserves policy noted in the Report of the Council. Funds for core annual events and projects spanning more than one year are reviewed and accounted for at year-end.

Details of other designations are detailed below:

Fixed assets fund - relate to the net book value of the College’s fixed assets.

Rescheduled lecture fund - designated towards the costs of rescheduled lectures.

Payroll administration - a sum our bankers require us to set aside to cover their liability for monthly BACS payments

Website development - a fund to meet costs to be incurred on the project to develop a new website.

16. Operating lease commitments

At 31 July the College had total future commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

	Land and	buildings	Plant and machinery 2021 £ 2020 £ — 3,608 — — — — — 3,608
	2021 £	2020 £	2020 £
Within one year Between one and five years Over five years	39,420 157,680 39,420	39,420 157,680 78,840	3,608 — —
	236,520	275,940	3,608

17. Pension commitments

Gresham College participates in the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (“SAUL”), which is a centralised defined benefit scheme within the United Kingdom and was contracted out of the Second State Pension (prior to April 2016).

SAUL is an independently managed pension scheme for the non-academic staff of over 50 colleges and institutions with links to higher education.

Pension benefits accrued within SAUL currently build up on a Career Average Revalued Earnings (“CARE”) basis.

Gresham College is not expected to be liable to SAUL for any other current participating employer’s obligations under the Rules of SAUL, but in the event of an insolvency of any participating employer within SAUL, an amount of any pension shortfall (which cannot otherwise be recovered) in respect of that employer, may be spread across the remaining participating employers and reflected in the next actuarial valuation.

Funding Policy

SAUL’s statutory funding objective is to have sufficient and appropriate assets to meet the costs incurred by the Trustee in paying SAUL’s benefits as they fall due (the “Technical Provisions”). The Trustee adopts assumptions which, taken as a whole, are intended to be sufficiently prudent for pensions and benefits already in payment to continue to be paid and for the commitments which arise from Members’ accrued pension rights to be met.

The Technical Provisions assumptions include appropriate margins to allow for the possibility of events turning out worse than expected. However, the funding method and assumptions do not completely remove the risk that the Technical Provisions could be insufficient to provide benefits in the future.

A formal actuarial valuation of SAUL is carried out every three years by a professionally qualified and independent actuary. The last actuarial valuation was carried out with an effective date of 31 March 2020. Informal reviews of SAUL’s position, reflecting changes in market conditions, cash flow information and new accrual of benefits, are carried out between formal valuations.

The funding principles were agreed by the Trustee and employers in June 2021 and will be reviewed again at SAUL’s next formal valuation in 2023.

At the 31 March 2020 valuation SAUL was 94% funded on its Technical Provisions basis. However, market movements following the valuation date were positive and the Trustees and the Employers agreed to allow for post-valuation experience up to 30 April 2021. As SAUL was in surplus on its Technical Provisions basis at that date, no deficit contributions were required. However, the Trustee and the Employers have agreed that the ongoing Employers’ contributions will increase from a rate of 16% of CARE Salaries to 19% of CARE Salaries from 1 April 2022 and to 21% of CARE Salaries from 1 January 2023.

Employer pension contributions charged to the statement of financial activities during the year amounted to £83,790 (2020 - £49,102).

Accounting Policy

Gresham College is a Participating Employer in SAUL. The actuarial valuation applies to SAUL as a whole and does not identify surpluses or deficits applicable to individual employers. As a whole, the market value of SAUL’s assets at 31 March 2020 was £3,612 million representing 94% of the liabilities. The market value of SAUL’s assets at 30 April 2021 was £4,369 million representing 109% of the estimated liabilities.

It is not possible to identify an individual Employer’s share of the underlying assets and liabilities of SAUL. Gresham College accounts for its participation in SAUL as if it were a defined contribution scheme and pension costs based on the amounts actually paid (i.e cash amounts) in accordance with paragraphs 28.11 of FRS 102.

Although there was a Technical Provisions deficit at 31 March 2020, allowing for post valuation experience to 30 April 2021, SAUL had a Technical Provisions surplus. Therefore, no deficit contributions were required following the 2020 valuation and there is no defined benefit liability (i.e the present value of any deficit contributions due to SAUL) to be recognised by Gresham College.

18. Related party transactions

City of London Corporation and The Mercers’ Company Charitable Foundation are the College’s principal funders. Both parties are able to appoint up to four Members of Council each and together up to four co-opted members, two Gresham Professors and the Provost. Details of the funding received from the City of London Corporation and The Mercers’ Company Charitable Foundation are provided in note 5 to the financial statements.

Professor Simon Thurley CBE received remuneration totalling £39,121 (2020 Professor Sir Richard Evans - £37,616) for his services as Provost. Professor Thurley has maintained his status as a Visiting Professor at the College and was paid £2,400 for lectures provided in this capacity.

None of the remaining Members of Council received remuneration in respect of their services as members of the Council during the year.

No members of the Council (2020 - two) were reimbursed (2020 - £130) for travel to lectures, accommodation, sundry expenses, attendance at Council or Academic Board meetings during the year.

The registered office of Gresham College: Barnard’s Inn Hall, EC1N 2HH is owned by The Mercers’ Company Charitable Foundation. The office is occupied under an operating lease, during the year rental payments totalling £39,420 (2020 - £39,420) were made under the terms of the lease.