## **Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 July 2022**
Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number 02953431 (England and Wales)
Charity Registration Number 1039962
## **Contents**
Reference and Administrative Information ............................................................................... 2 Report of the Council 31 July 2022 ............................................................................................ 3 Independent auditor’s report to the members of Gresham College ...................................... 19 Statement of Financial Activities Year to 31 July 2022 (including income and expenditure account) ................................................................................................................................... 23 Balance Sheet 31 July 2022 ...................................................................................................... 24 Statement of Cash Flows Year to 31 July 2022 ........................................................................ 25 Notes to the financial statements 31 July 2022 ...................................................................... 26
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## **Reference and Administrative Information**
|**Current Members of Council**|Dr Loyd Grossman CBE (Chair)|
|---|---|
|**(at 1 September 2022)**|Professor K M Blundell OBE|
||Deputy K D Bottomley|
||Mr T Broeke|
||Professor Emeritus J E Delahunty KC|
||Ms M D Gurney|
||Deputy C M Hayward (Vice-Chair)|
||Mr A D Humzah|
||Mr R J Long CB|
||Deputy C E Lord OBE JP|
||Mr G C Matthews|
||Ms D Ounsted CBE|
||The Hon. T J Palmer DL (Vice-Chair)|
||Mr C J Vermont|
|**Interim Provost**|Professor Martin Elliott|
|**Company Secretary**|Mrs L H Petrie|
|**Chief Executive Officer**|Dr W L Piatt|
|**Registered Office**|Barnard’s Inn Hall|
||Holborn|
||London|
||EC1N 2HH|
|**Company registration number**|02953431 (England and Wales)|
|**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|
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## **Report of the Council 31 July 2022**
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 2022 are also presented.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 26 to 29 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.
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## **Achievements and Performance**
## _Overview_
The 2021-2022 academic year, saw the College recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to exceed expectations nevertheless on the majority of the objectives set for the year. The academic programme (120 lectures), which ran from 15 September 2021 to 16 June 2022, returned to its normal (pre- COVID) combination of in-person lectures and online livestreaming, followed by archiving of the lectures on its website and YouTube. Additional COVID-related safety measures were introduced and can be accessed at: - - - https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats on/covid safety measures. The College has closely monitored government guidance on COVID across the year and responded to any renewed restrictions imposed. Inperson numbers continue to be impacted by the pandemic but our on-line audience continues to grow substantially (see below).
_I'm writing to thank you very sincerely for having the lectures online. Just now, I realised with a sinking heart that I had missed the lecture, and was DEVASTATED. I had SO wanted to attend it, and should have remembered to register/attend as you'd kindly sent me an email. […] So I went to the website to see if there was any way of catching the lecture post-hoc, and found it already up & running. The whoop of delight might have been audible in the street! HURRAH! I cannot say how grateful I am to you, and the whole team who has managed this! It's absolutely brilliant that […] the audience can be all over the country now! That is really splendid, and I am absolutely sure that Gresham himself would have been delighted as I am. [Email feedback 10/21]_
Under the leadership of the CEO, Dr Wendy Piatt, by the end of the 2021-22 academic year, the key components and inputs of our ambitious business plan had been successfully implemented. This new strategic infrastructure designed to maximise the potential of the College included the establishment of a new income generation function, a revamped communications strategy, enhancement of our use of modern technology and innovation particularly to improve the quality of our online outputs, the introduction of key performance indicators (KPIs), the creation of new partnerships and the fortification of the operational foundations of the College including improvements in HR, finance, recruitment, and facilities.
The reporting tools for delivery of inputs and outputs have now been fully adopted, including KPIs and a related table and dashboard which summarise outcomes and presents progress in a numerical and graphic form. 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 have also been developed, to complement the more quantitative performance indicators.
The reforms outlined above have already yielded excellent results in terms of achieving our key goals and growth targets. 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 inperson) at 31 July 2020, we aim to increase our total views to 60 million by 31 July 2025.
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To monitor this, we have implemented annual targeted increases, and the aim for Year 2 was for us to have achieved an additional 5.5 million views towards this goal. We have exceeded expectations, achieving 8,113,419 views across the 2021-2022 academic year, just over the total achieved of 7,925,607 views in 2020-2021 year. These figures are complemented by an increase in average watchtime – 14.33 minutes as compared to 14.02 minutes in 2020-2021, and 12.16 in the previous year, demonstrating an ongoing increase in the qualitative engagement of our on-line community.
These results are particularly pleasing because we faced several challenges this year in our efforts to reach our targets and maintain the remarkable growth seen in Year One. The main challenge was the post-COVID return to in-person lectures and events because the latter consume substantially more resources (both human and financial) per viewer. While staff in 2020-2021 had been able to focus solely on the digital output and much larger on-line audience, a considerable amount of time and energy has been channelled into catering for the in-person this year.
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YouTube subscriptions have also increased year-on-year to 190.7K from our Year 1 total of 157K and our starting point of 120K – we are now nearly 40% to our final goal of a total of 300,000 subscribers. Likewise, our mailing list subscriptions have increased from a starting point of 22K to over 41.8K, putting us comfortably at 71% progress to our final goal of 50,000. Social media presence is also on the rise, with followers across various platforms currently at 22.5K from a starting point of 17.2K, which again is nearly 40% to our final goal.
Income Generation activity has been ramped up after a promising start in 2020-2021 – the strategy set annual targets for this element of the five-year plan, with these increasing year- on-year over the course of the 5-year plan. We exceeded our goal of £21K in Year 1 by
£10K, and exceeded the 2021-22 goal by £5K, representing an overall 20% progress to goal. for this 1 June 2021, with a total of £110K from a starting point of £9K. Income generation is discussed in detail below.
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 our business plan, the progress that has been made towards achieving the main four objectives set out in the plan in addition to business- as-usual activities, and highlights of the year.
## _Academic Programme_
Five of our professors engaged in their fourth year of tenure over 2021-22, with recruitment exercises conducted for their successors over the course of the year. In Autumn 2021, Professor Ronald Hutton, Head of the History department at Bristol University was appointed Professor of Divinity with a proposal to cover the ancient pagan religions of Britain from the Stone Age onwards. Myles Allen, Professor of Geosystem Science in the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford was appointed to the Frank Jackson Foundation Professorship of the Environment. He is the Director of the new Oxford Net Zero initiative and his series of lectures ‘Net Zero, why, when and how?’ takes a radical look at the subject of climate change from a scientific perspective.
In Spring 2022, we interviewed for the Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Business and appointed Raghavendra Rau who is the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. His first series will address how technology is changing the way markets and organizations work. The same month we appointed Dr Victoria Baines to the IT Livery Company Professorship of IT. She is a visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University and principal researcher at Cartimandua Insight. Her series ‘Cyber
for humans, not just robots’, aims to re-engage people on IT policy and security issues. And in early March we appointed our new Professor of Physic: Robin May, Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Birmingham and H.M. Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor to the Food Standards Agency. His is a micro-biologist whose first year is provisionally entitled the ‘Magnificence of Microbiology’.
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For all five recruitments the standard of applicants was extremely high and several selection panels had to make some very fine judgements. The new cohort of professors are all outstanding communicators and leaders in their field and will uphold the standards expected from the College. They will also all take their subjects into new areas not previously covered by their predecessors.
Professor Chris Whitty, our outgoing Professor of Physic, has agreed to stay on as a Visiting Professor of Public Health and will be presenting a series of lectures next year on diseases of the heart. We have also appointed a new Visiting Professor of Environmental Health, Dr Ian Mudway from Imperial College London.
The total number of people viewing the lectures continued to increase this year even though the size of the physical in-person audience decreased due almost certainly to post- COVID conditions. Highlights of the lecture programme for 2021-2022 included Professor Katherine Blundell’s series on “Cosmic Revolutions”, including a lecture on “Magnetic Universe”, which has captured the public’s attention, obtaining over 145,000 views to date. Professor Joanna Bourke’s series on “A History of Sex” has also been very popular, with her lecture on pornography obtaining 38.9K views to date. Professor Alex Edmans’ final series “The Principles of Finance” is also doing well online, and we anticipate that the numbers for this practically-oriented series will continue to increase.
Other popular series held in this year were “Natural Capital and the Wellbeing Economy” (Jacqueline McGlade, Frank Jackson Professor of the Environment), “Geometry: the Mathematics of Art” (Sarah Hart, Professor of Geometry), “The Hidden History of How Protestantism went Global” (Alec Ryrie, Professor of Divinity), “Six Tech Inventions that Changed the World” (Richard Harvey, WCIT Professor of IT), and “Race, Colonialism and Power in the Legal System” (Leslie Thomas QC, Professor of Law).
The 2021-2022 academic programme was the first to have been planned under Provost Professor Simon Thurley. An important change this year was the incorporation of thematic series of lectures into the programme. The new thematic structural emphasis saw series of lectures on “The Natural World: Extinction, Exploration and Adaptation”, “Books, Libraries and Civilisation”, “Religion and Society in the 21[st] Century”, “Media, Trust and Society”, and “Neuroscience: the Brain and the Mind”. This type of structuring will continue into next year’s programme.
The College’s Black History Month series goes from strength to strength, with several lectures achieving large numbers of views. The second most popular lecture given this year was Robin Walker’s ‘The Manuscripts and Intellectual Legacy of Timbuktu’, with 274,374 views to date. The total number of views for the lectures in the third series given thus far is approaching one million views.
## _Communications: Broadcast and on-line outputs_
It has been another successful year for Gresham in terms of live viewings and digital engagement. One of the key aims of the 5 year plan in terms of inputs was the creation of a new website and this significant task was completed this year. The previous website was no longer fit for purpose,
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but the development of a new website was not a modest task largely because the large size of the Gresham back catalogue. The new website was designed to facilitate simpler online viewing and, through innovative functionality, increased engagement of visitors, alongside providing a more flexible and future-proof platform, especially in access to creating pages on the CMS. Improving the search function was an important consideration, alongside providing an updated user experience, and moving registration and viewing of our online lectures to the website rather than on a thirdparty platform. Our vast catalogue was migrated and made easier for users to locate what they might be interested in. This was achieved by introducing more recommendations to users based on related content, improved search, and a better content topic tagging system. The facility for featuring more curated playlists of related content on the site was also introduced, and work is ongoing to create playlists which showcase our content.
A soft launch occurred in April with limited functionality i.e., users could take advantage of the new methods to browse and access content but were still directed to our crowdcast.io platform to attend live events. Following the conclusion of the academic year full functionality was launched on 30 June. The site now allows users to create a personal account with which to register for online events (which next year will be streamed directly on the site) and select topics and past lectures of interest; the site then recommends further content based on these preferences.
Feedback has been extremely positive, and we are very pleased with the initial success. We will continue to build on this success in the coming years, with plans for more development to further improve the site. Many thanks go to the Website Working Group (which included Prof Katheryn Blundell, Gary Bilkus, Michelle Gurney, Prof Richard Harvey and James Bull and was chaired by the CEO, Dr Wendy Piatt) who helped us throughout the project with key decisions and site testing.
## _A note on analytics_
We warned the Gresham Council that we anticipated a decrease in visitor numbers, or at least those recorded by analytical tools after we launched the new website. This is to be expected when launching a new site and is due to a combination of factors. There is an inevitable delay between launch and Google’s ‘discovery’ of the new website which impacts the number of users finding the site through the search function. We also target most of our paid-for search engine earlier in the year, and therefore this traffic reduced around the time of the site launch. Finally, a change to the way the site allows users to choose cookie preferences, has affected the number of users who show up on our analytics. We expect to see the gradual build-up of online figures back to prelaunch levels across the next academic year.
It will therefore be important to assess quality as well as quantity, i.e., we hope to see an increase in time spent on site, the number of pages visited and a decrease in the bounce rate (i.e. the number of users who leave after visiting just one page).
||Jan-March 2022|April – June 2022|
|---|---|---|
|Number of returningvisitors|8,727|2,438|
|Number of new visitors|349,657|144,104|
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|Number comingfrom online adverts|142,936|58,765|
|---|---|---|
|Number comingfrom search engines|90,841|45,265|
Gresham has a wealth of outstanding content in its back catalogue which has huge potential, but it needs better ‘signposting’ and curating. We have been working on a project to ‘package’ our lectures and videos into more coherent and appealing ‘playlists’ to help all viewers and particularly students and teachers find those that are most helpful and to absorb the information they impart more effectively. We achieved our target for 2021/22 of creating 10 playlists. Our aim now is to pull together our lectures or extracts of lectures into tranches of on-line learning and to pair some of the Gresham lectures with current A-level and FE College syllabi and/or indicate which videos would be particularly useful for ‘enrichment’ exercises, helping students think beyond the confines of the curriculum and syllabus.
## _Communications: Media and Marketing_
One of the key aims of our business plan is to strengthen 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 views are set out in the overview section. The media and marketing work played a key role in achieving those results despite the fact that this very small team was under capacity this year due to illness.
Social media engagement and the College’s online presence continues to expand. Paid advertising focusing on video views in Facebook and Google YouTube and embedded video view campaigns on Facebook have proved particularly cost effective in reaching more people.
The College’s outreach to schools continues to increase but at a slightly slower rate than last year. 7075 registered either in person or online for lectures this year but this is still significantly higher than the 728 bookings before the implementation of the strategic plan. A Schools’ Competition will be launched in September 2022. The aim of the competition is to raise our profile amongst teachers and students and to promote sound communication skills (now called ‘oracy’ skills) which chime with the Gresham mission to communicate complex information in a clear, compelling, and concise way. The theme of the inaugural competition will be the Environment and Sustainability. We are consulting City of London and Mercers’ schools on the competition and the feedback so far has been very positive. We are working on an online information pack to support applicants.Press coverage was not as strong as last year (161 cuttings down from 591 pieces last year) but this was almost entirely due to less coverage of Chris Whitty (15 cuttings this year).
## _Income Generation_
This is the second year that the College is actively soliciting income from external sources, alongside our founding sponsors and established partnerships, through fundraising and commercial activities. However, it is first full year that our Head of Income Generation has been
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in place and we have set up this function from scratch. A lot has been achieved both in terms of inputs and outcomes. In 2021-22, we surpassed our annual target of £65K, raising £72K. When added to the £31K raised in 2020-21 (which also exceeded our target), we can see a good progress of 20% to our 5-year fundraising goal.
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The number of new individual donors grew in 2021-22 by 48% although the total received by audience members dropped approximately £15,000 compared to the previous year’s
£22,000. This may be due a greater propensity to donate during lockdown and/or the fact that in the first year of soliciting donations, we secured more of the ‘low-hanging fruit’. To redress this decline in income from this group, a focus in the coming year will be to build a solid foundation of regular supporters who give consistently. As such, we have launched the ‘Friends of Gresham’ scheme which recognises those giving £10 per month of more to the College. In 2022, the College also submitted its first claim to HMRC to receive Gift Aid on eligible donations which led to over £6,000 of additional funding.
This year we successfully applied for the College to be an approved institution with the British Schools and Universities’ Foundation, meaning that donors who are taxpayers in the United States can qualify for an income tax reduction on donations made to Gresham College. We also registered the College with the Fundraising Regulator.
The College renewed partnership agreements with the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and the Frank Jackson Foundation who will both fund their respective named professorships for a further 3 years. Both funders were involved in the recruitment of the new professors who will begin their first lecture series in 2022-23. The Frank Jackson Foundation also made an additional donation to support Gresham’s advancements in helping students and teachers to better access our wealth of academic content. Bloomberg Philanthropies also made a renewed donation of £8,000 in 2021 to support the wider mission of the College.
As the College was founded thanks to a generous bequest from Sir Thomas Gresham, it is fitting that Gresham draws more attention to legacy giving as an impactful way for people to give back. As such, a new legacy brochure was produced which informs and inspires individuals to remember Gresham in their wills. The new brochure was promoted in our monthly newsletter and on our website, and we will continue to champion this method of giving which is likely to result in additional income for the College in future years.
As restrictions relating to the pandemic have eased, income generated through hiring Barnard’s Inn Hall were greater than expected. We surpassed our initial target of £5,000 through six bookings, with more than £12,000 generated by fourteen bookings.
We also achieved a significant increase in our YouTube advertising income. This meant that our monthly revenue from YouTube increased from an average of £400-600 per month to £1,200-1,700 per month. This increase was largely due to a change in advertising strategy, whereby the College’s videos now allow YouTube to advertise at the start of each video which viewers can skip. There was also an additional increase as we declared the College’s charitable status with YouTube meaning we were no longer taxed on revenue.
The College did not have a CRM prior to the strategic plan. We are now seeking to fill that gap as a CRM will not just help with our fundraising efforts but also with our PR and Comms strategy.
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## _**Operations**_
Work continued this year to fortify the operational foundation of the College such as producing an up-to-date and comprehensive set of HR policies; tightening financial controls, improving health and safety and dealing with ‘legacy’ issues such as repairs to Barnard’s Inn Hall. COVID-19 has continued to impact upon operations across 2021-2022. From a staffing perspective various employees have been affected by covid for extended periods and everyone has got used to working remotely, as well as back in the office. The expected end of covid has not eventuated, and although the days of lock-down seem to be in the past we remain committed to offering staff the option of working 2 days a week from home, as long as this does not impact the delivery of the lectures.
The continued work-from-home situation has temporarily alleviated the need to look for additional office space. However, we have not been so fortunate as far as lecture venue goes and our long-term use of the Museum of London is coming to an end, as the Museum itself undergoes a move. We have found a new venue for most of the larger lectures in 2022-23 at the David Game School in the City. However additionally more of our lectures will fit into the historic hall at Barnard’s Inn, which we will be sprucing up over the upcoming year.
The effects of the pandemic on employees’ health has proved a major concern for many organisations and Gresham College is no exception. The mental and physical effects of ill health and extended remote working have many long-term repercussions which we are keen to address. Measures we have undertaken are implementing an Employee Assistance programme and undertaking staff feedback exercises. We want to be a workplace of choice, where staff feel appreciated, rewarded and supported in their working lives here. We have now also made sure that staff are properly trained to perform their roles effectively while protecting their welfare. For example, we brought in specialists to provide a full one-day course in First Aid and in how to deal with the public to avoid problematic situations. We are making sure staff are guided, encouraged and supported in taking up training opportunities – several staff have taken courses on minute-taking and board paper drafting skills.
Further steps were taken this year to safeguard the security of the staff, lecturers and audience. For example, we drafted in a security guard to cover controversial lectures. The existing _Code of Conduct for Public Lectures and Online Discussion_ continues to be applied, and in-person attendees are now required to agree to the College’s _Terms and Conditions_ when signing up for tickets.
Another key task completed this year was an audit of Gresham assets and valuation of items within that collection. One significant asset was in need of restoration and improved storage conditions and security. We took immediate steps to achieve this by introducing a temporary measure of including a meter to measure movement in temperature and humidity in the cabinet in which it is housed and we have improved security by connecting an alarm to the cabinet. We commissioned a conservator to assess the tablecloth and wrap it suitably for storage. They have now also completed the task of cleaning and restoring it.
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We also sought and obtained agreement from the Mercers that the tablecloth be housed in Mercers’ Hall to ensure greater security and optimal storage conditions.
The note to the accounts in relation to Heritage Assets now provides a record of these assets.
Financial Review
The financial results of the College’s operations are shown on page 23. Total income was £1,617,929 (2021: £1,522,859). Total expenditure was £1,606,083 (2021: 1,197,747). Of the income £10,000 is considered restricted to be used on our program of engagement with school students and has been expended on this. The surplus of income over expenditure was £11,846 (2021: £325,112).
The level of overall reserves increased from £458,460 at the start of the year to £470,306 at the end - see reserves policy section below.
The College’s core income from its main sponsors of £1,468,916 in 2020-21 was increased to £1,511,988 in 2021-22. This was supplemented by donations of £75,105 (2021: £46,514) and income from other trading activities of £30,723 (2021: £7,425). Although overall, the College continues to maintain good cost control and to keep year on year expenditure broadly in line with the income available, there remains an underspend brought forwards from the surplus last year and keeping the level of minimum reserves can conflict with anticipated expenditure.
## Reserves policy and financial position
Council policy is that the College should hold four months’ operational costs (this calculation has traditionally been made excluding temporary staff and costs of the academic programme) as a minimum reserve (as defined in the Memorandum of Understanding effective from 2020-21). The minimum requirement going into the 202223 financial year is now £434,091 (2021: £287,343). This is the amount shown in these accounts at 31 July 2022. In addition, the College held designated fixed asset reserves of £9,559 (2021: £17,467). There are no other designated funds (in 2021 there were additionally a designated payroll administration reserves £70,000 and designated website development reserves of £62,436).
During the preparation of these financial statements it became apparent that there had been an error made in calculating the deferred income liability in previous years. This error was £200,027 in 2020-21 but had been in existence for many years and probably dated back to prior to incorporation when a cash accounting system rather than accrual accounting was used. Correcting this has led to a restatement of the previous year’s accounts as far as the balance sheet and reserves are concerned. Undesignated reserves were formally shown in the accounts at £221,241 (2020: £36,074) and are now restated at £21,214 (2020: (£163,593)) see Note 20.
The Members of Council have reviewed the level of reserves held and are satisfied that the current level is adequate but not excessive. However, as the amount required to be
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held in the designated minimum reserves has risen significantly from £287,343 in 2021 to £434,091 in 2022 there will need to be a consideration of whether this is too high should this requirement impact cashflow and our ability to provide our charitable aims.
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. The CEO presents a detailed risk register –both strategic and operational - to Council annually. The register includes mitigating actions which have been taken or could be taken as appropriate. She also provides an associated “heat map” to facilitate communication of those risks.
The principal strategic risks to the College were deemed to be: capacity/staffing strains, major external incidents (e.g. pandemic) and major technological changes/problems.
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. Freelance support has also been identified and deployed when necessary eg in broadcast, Communications and security. We continue to draw on the external HR consultants for expert advice in these matters.
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 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. 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. The College continued to update its covid contingency plan in line with government guidance and HSE guidance.
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.
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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 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 2021 to 31 July 2022 and up to the date of approval of this report were as follows:
Co-opted
Dr Loyd Grossman CBE (Chairman of Council) Appointed 1 August 2019 Mr R J Long CB (Chairman of Finance) Appointed 1 August 2018 and Remuneration Committee) Appointed 1 August 2018 Ms Michelle D Gurney Appointed 1 August 2020 Mr Dowshan Humzah Appointed 13 May 2021 Appointed by City of London Corporation Deputy Christopher M Hayward (Vice Chair) Appointed 1 August 2020 Mr J G S Scott JP 1 August 2016 – 27 May 2022 Deputy Dr G R E Shilson 7 March 2014 – 1 April 2022 Deputy Charles Edward Lord Appointed 25 May 2021 Deputy Keith Bottomley Appointed 27 May 2022 Mr Tijs Broeke Appointed 27 May 2022 Appointed by the Mercers’ Company The Hon. Timothy Palmer DL (Vice Chair) Appointed 1 August 2013 Mr A E Hodson 1 Dec 2018 – 31 July 2022 Mr G C Matthews Appointed 1 August 2020 Ms D Ounsted CBE (Chair of Nominations Committee) Appointed 1 March 2016
Provost Dr Simon J Thurley Appointed 1 August 2020, resigned 31 August 2022 Professor Martin Elliott Appointed 28 August 2022
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Gresham Professors Professor Emeritus Johanne E Delahunty QC Appointed 7 November 2019 Professor Katherine Blundell Appointed 1 August 2021
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.
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.
## _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:
1. Charity Commission. _The Essential Trustee: What you need to know_ (May 2018)
2. 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
3. The Report of the CEO to Council on the Strategic Plan (March 2020)
4. Minutes and papers the previous Council meeting
**16**
5. Gresham College Accounts (most recent audited accounts)
6. 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 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.
## _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:
1. select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
2. 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);
3. make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
4. state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
5. 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
**17**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Dr Loyd Grossman CBE
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **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 2022 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 2022 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those 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.
**19**
## **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.
**20**
## **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
**21**
- 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: 27 February 2023
**22**
## **Statement of Financial Activities Year to 31 July 2022 (including income and 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
As previously stated
Prior period adjustment**20**
Balance carried forward
at 31 July|
Unrestricted
funds
£
65,105
30,723
113
1,511,988|Restricted
funds
£
10,000
—
—
—|
**Total funds**
**2022**
**£**
**75,105**
**30,723**
**113**
**1,511,988**|Unrestricted
funds
£
46,514
7,425
4
1,468,916|
Restricted
funds
£
—
—
—
—|
Total funds
2021
(As restated)
£
46,514
7,425
4
1,468,916|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||1,607,929|10,000|
**1,617,929**|1,522,859|
—|
1,522,859|
||1,501,725
94,358|10,000
—|
**1,511,725**
**94,358**|1,174,126
23,621|
—
—|
1,174,126
23,621|
||1,596,083|10,000|
**1,606,083**|1,197,747|
—|
1,197,747|
||11,846
458,460
—|—
—
—|
**11,846**
**458,460**
**—**|325,112
333,375
(200,027)|
—
—
—|
325,112
333,375
(200,027)|
||470,306|—|
**470,306**|458,460|
—|
458,460|
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.
**23**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Dr Loyd Grossman CBE
**----- End of picture text -----**
The Hon. T J Palmer DL
Deputy C M Hayward
## **Statement of Cash Flows** Year to 31 July 2022
|**Statement of Cash Flows**Year to 31 July 2022|||
|---|---|---|
|Notes|
**2022**
**£**|
2021
£|
|**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|
**50,278**|
367,089|
||
**113**
**—**|
4
(13,988)|
||**113**|
(13,984)|
||
**50,391**
**864,102**
|
353,105
510,997
|
||
**914,493**|
864,102|
## **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|**11,846**
**7,908**
**(113)**
**12,945**
**17,692**|325,112
5,285
(4)
10,832
25,864|
||**50,278**|367,089|
_B Analysis of movement in cash and net debt_
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|---|---|---|
|Cash at bank and in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents|**914,493**|864,102|
||**914,493**|864,102|
**25**
## **Notes to the financial statements** 31 July 2022
## **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 2022.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the 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_
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 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.
**26**
## _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 25% reducing balance
## _Debtors_
Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non- recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.
**27**
## _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.
**28**
## _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 18.
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**
**2022**
**£**|
Total
2021
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Donations**
The Frank Jackson Foundation
Worshipful Company of Information
Technologists
Bloomberg Philanthropies
From individuals
**Total funds**|17,000
17,000
8,000
23,105|
10,000
—
—
|**27,000**
**17,000**
**8,000**
**23,105**|
11,500
11,500
—
23,514|
||**65,105 **|
**10,000**|**75,105**|
46,514|
All donations received in 2021 were unrestricted.
**29**
## **4. Income from other trading activities**
|**4. Income from other trading activities**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Unrestricted
funds
£
12,712
116
17,896
**30,723 **|
Restricted
funds
£
—
—
—
**—**|**Total**
**2022**
**£**|Total
2021
£|
|Income from lettings and asset hire
Publication sales and royalties
Marketing income
**Total funds**|||**12,712**
**116**
**17,896**|4,200
15
3,210|
||||**30,723**|7,425|
All income received from trading activities in 2021 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**
**2022**
**£**
40,000 712,494
**752,494**
40,000 712,494
**752,494**
7,000
—
**7,000**
**87,000 1,424,988 1,511,988**|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|
## **6. Expenditure on charitable activities: Provision of lectures, seminars and conferences**
||Unrestricted
funds
£
831,945
357,822
_—_
111,874
80,000
70,813
7,909
41,361
1,501,725|
Restricted
funds
£
10,000
_—_
_—_
_—_
_—_
_—_
10,000|**Total**
**2022**
**£**
**841,945**
**357,822**
**_—_**
**111,874**
**80,000**
**70,813**
**7,909**
**41,361**
**1,501,725**|
Total
2021
£
711,050
264,013
852
59,916
80,000
24,151
28,859
5,285
971,365|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Staff costs (note**9**)
Operating costs
Sundry Fees and lecture expenses
Academic expenses
Professors’ stipends
Website development
Depreciation
Governance costs (note**8)**|||||
All expenditure on charitable activities in 2021 was unrestricted.
## **7. Expenditure on raising funds**
|**7. Expenditure on raising funds**||||
|---|---|---|---|
||Unrestricted
funds
£|
Restricted
funds
£|
**Total**
**2022**
**£**|
|Staff costs (note**9**)
Other costs|90,582
3,777|
—
—|
**90,582**
**3,777**|
||94,358|
—|
**94,358**|
All expenditure on raising funds in 2021 was unrestricted.
**30**
## **8. Governance costs**
|**8. Governance costs**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Legal and professional
Audit and accountancy fees
Council Secretarial Services
Council and Academic Board
Professional indemnity insurance|**15,566**
**9,174**
**25**
**12,516**
**4,080**|8,588
10,830
57
1,200
3,476|
||**41,361**|24,151|
## **9. Staff costs and remuneration of key management personnel**
The average number of persons employed during the year was 14 (2021 – 12.5).
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|---|---|---|
|The total remuneration was as follows:
Gross salaries
Social security costs
Pension contributions
Temporary staff
Other costs|**703,353**
**77,566**
**112,450**|566,366
59,169
84,077|
||**893,370**
**10,280**
**28,877**|709,612
1,400
17,069|
||**932,527**|728,081|
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Staff costs were allocated between activities as follows:
Expenditure on charitable activities
Expenditure on raising funds|**841,945**
**90,582**|711,050
17,031|
||**932,527**|728,081|
One employee earned between £120,000 and £130,000 in 2021-22 (2020-21: employee earned between £110,000 - £120,000). Employer pension contributions totalling £21,075 (2020-21: £19,200) were payable in respect of this employee.
Two employees earned between £70,000 and £80,000 in 2021-22 (2020-21: two). Employer pension contributions totalling £25,669 (2020-21: £14,386) were payable in respect of these employees.
The Members of Council, including the CEO, consider that they together with the Provost, the Academic Registrar and the Head of Finance & Resources comprise the key management of the College in charge of directing, controlling and operating the College on a day-to-day basis
The total remuneration (including taxable benefits and employer's pension contributions) of the key management personnel for the year was £373,561 (2020-21: £306,911).
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, see note 19.
**31**
## **10. Net income and net movement in funds**
This is stated after charging:
|**10. Net income and net movement in funds**
This is stated after charging:|||
|---|---|---|
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Depreciation of tangible fixed assets
Operating lease charges
. Land and buildings
Auditors’ remuneration
. Current year audit fee
. Non-audit services|**7,908**
**39,605**
**9,174**
**3,996**|5,285
39,420
9,360
3,450|
## **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 2021
Additions
At 31 July 2022
Depreciation at 1 August 2021
Charge for the year
At 31 July 2022
**At 31 July 2022**
At 31 July2021|51,838
—|**51,838**
**—**|
||51,838|**51,838**|
||34,371
7,908|**34,371**
**7,908**|
||42,279|**42,279**|
||||
||**9,559**|**9,559**|
||17,467|17,467|
**32**
## **13. Heritage assets**
In addition to the value of assets recognised on the balance sheet, the College is custodian of a number of heritage assets relating to the history of the College and Sir Thomas Gresham.
These assets are held in various locations, including within the College premises and these assets include 'The Gresham Collection' of books and musical manuscripts held at the Guildhall library, as well as an Elizabethan tablecloth held in the archive storage at the Mercer's Hall and various paintings held at Gresham College.
As the cost of obtaining a valuation for assets which have been gifted to Gresham College many decades previously, would outweigh the benefit and be a largely subjective exercise, the College has elected not to include the value of heritage assets on the balance sheet.
Insurance is provided for those assets held separately, by The Guildhall Library and the Mercers Charitable Foundation. Insurance for the heritage assets held at Gresham College, is for a value of £48,900.
## **14. Debtors**
|**14. Debtors**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Other debtors
Prepayments|**667**
**22,768**|1,146
35,234|
||**23,435**|36,380|
## **15. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
|**15. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2021**
**£**|2021
As restated
£|
|Trade creditors
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|**21,648**
**426,485**
**25,342**
**3,707**|6,847
413,461
21,625
17,557|
||**477,182**|459,490|
||**400,247**
**413,191**
**(400,247)**|372,479
400,247
(372,479)|
||**413,191**|400,247|
Deferred income relates to grant payments made in advance for the forthcoming academic year 2022-23 by The Mercers’ Company and the Frank Jackson Foundation.
**33**
## **16. Funds**
||At 1 August
2021 as
restated
£|
Incoming
resources
£|
Resources
expended
£|New
designations
/released
£|
**At 31 July**
**2022**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**General fund**
**Designated funds:**
Minimum reserves
Fixed assets fund
Payroll Administration fund
Website development fund
**Total designated funds**
**Restricted funds**
Schools outreach
**Total funds**|21,214|1,607,929|
(1,525,739)|(76,748)|**26,656**|
||287,343
17,467
70,000
62,436|—
—
—
—|
—
(7,908)
—
(62,436)|146,748
—
(70,000)
—|**434,091**
**9,559**
**—**
**—**|
||437,246|—|
(70,344)|76,748|**443,650**|
||—|10,000|
(10,000)|—|**—**|
||—|10,000|
(10,000)|—|**—**|
|||||||
||458,460|1,617,929|
(1,606,083)|—|**470,306**|
||_At 1 August_
_2020 as_
_restated_
_£_|
_Incoming_
_resources_
_£_|
_Resources_
_expended_
_£_|_New_
_designations_
_/released_
_£_|
**_At 31 July_**
**_2021 as_**
**_restated_**
**_£_**|
|**_General fund_**
**_Designated funds:_**
_Minimum reserves_
_Fixed assets fund_
_Rescheduled lecture fund_
_Payroll Administration fund_
_Website development fund_
**_Total designated funds_**
**_Totalfunds_**|_(163,953)_|_1,503,765_|
_(1,186,162)_|_(132,436)_|**_21,214_**|
||_282,237_
_8,764_
_6,300_
_—_
_—_|_5,106_
_13,988_
_—_
_—_
_—_|
_—_
_(5,285)_
_(6,300)_
_—_
_—_|_—_
_—_
_—_
_70,000_
_62,436_|**_287,343_**
**_17,467_**
**_—_**
**_70,000_**
**_62,436_**|
||_297,301_|_19,094_|
_(11,585)_|_132,436_|**_437,246_**|
|||||||
||_133,348_|_1,522,859_|
_(1,197,747)_|_—_|**_458,460_**|
Designated funds include the minimum reserve required by Council equating to 4 months operational and academic support costs – as per the Reserves Policy notes in the Report of Council. This is calculated from the budgeted costs for 2022-23. Funds for core annual events and projects spanning more than one year are reviewed and accounted for at yearend.
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.
**34**
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.
## **17. Operating lease commitments**
At 31 July the College had total future commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:
||Land and|buildings|
|---|---|---|
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Within one year
Between one and five years
Over five years|**49,214**
**194,963**
**—**|39,420
157,680
39,420|
||**244,177**|236,520|
## **18. 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.
**35**
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. Ongoing employers contributions will increase from a rate of 16% of CARE salaries to a rate of 19% from 1 April 2022 and to 21% from January 2023.
Employer pension contributions charged to the statement of financial activities during the year amounts to £112,450 (2020-21: £84,077)
## **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.
## **19. Related party transactions**
The City of London Corporation and The Mercer's' 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 renumeration totalling £38,871 (2021: £39,121) for his services as Provost. Professor Thurley also maintained his status as Visiting Professor at the College and was paid £1,600 (2021: £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 Council during the year.
**36**
One of the remaining members of Council was reimbursed 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 Mercer's Company Charitable Foundation. The office is occupied under an operating lease, during the year rental payments totalling £39,605 (2021: £39,420) were made under the terms of the lease.
## **20. Restatement of prior year comparatives**
Following a review performed by the charity during the year, it was determined that income from one sponsor, previously recognised 6 months in arrears, had in fact been received 6 months in advance.
This basis of recognition dated back prior to the incorporation of the charity as a charitable company and is not considered to impact the level of income or expenditure recognised as receivable in recent financial periods.
An adjustment has been performed, to correct the amount of deferred income held within creditors at 31 July 2021 and 31 July 2020 along with the corresponding impact on funds as at those dates.
|The impact is detailed below:|2021
£|2020
£|
|---|---|---|
|Impact on creditors
As previously stated
Adjustment
As restated
Impact on funds
General funds as previously stated
Adjustment
As restated|(259,462)
(200,027)|(233,598)
(200,027)|
||(459,489)|
(433,625)|
||221,241
(200,027)|
36,074
(200,027)|
||21,214|
(163,953)|
**37**