OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator. This document is also available as Markdown.

← British Society For Rheumatology

2024-12-31-accounts

Company No. 3470316 Charity No. 1067124 The British Society for Rheumatology is a company limited by guarantee

~~ee~~ Introduction ~~ee~~ Trustees’ Annual Report eee Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ee Activities and impact ee Financial review eee Independent Auditor’s Report ese Statement of financial activities ~~ee~~ Balance sheet ~~ee~~ Statement of cash flow ee Financial statements OO Notes to financial statements Reference and administrative details —.————

We try and make a habit of celebration at British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) – recognising the achievements of the Society and its members is one of our core values. Compiling this annual report is our chance to pool the stories of where our collective work is making a difference and, most importantly, say thank you to everyone who contributed to a highly successful 2024.

We strive every day to be a membership body that makes the specialty proud and where rheumatology health professionals can find a likeminded community. Our membership base has stayed strong across the UK, and we’ve been delighted to welcome more nurses and academic members into the fold. Throughout the year, we ensured our work remained true to our commitment to improve care for patients of all ages and our engagement with professionals in paediatric and adolescent rheumatology flourished. We were extremely proud to hear from that community that BSR feels like “home”.

Our policy and influencing work responded to an earlier than expected general election. We took the opportunity to press for attention to be paid to an overstretched NHS workforce. The resulting message from the new government that the NHS is “broken” goes some way to acknowledging the pressures our members work under, but action is still needed.

Our response to the consultation on the 10-year plan laid out the measures we wanted to see that would improve patient outcomes and professional working lives.

From our end, we continued to play our part in attracting people to the specialty, expanding our induction resources to health professionals, laying out why rheumatology makes for a great career choice.

That support for people at the start of their rheumatology career will remain a priority for the Society. In 2024, we were delighted to relaunch the Specialty Certificate Exam question bank: a practical resource to help doctors in training during the vital days of exam preparation. We renewed our commitment to those seeking to pursue a research career, linking early career researchers with BSR journals’ experts and authors for a 10-month mentorship.

These resources, opportunities and communities come about thanks to the combined work of our members, staff, and partners. Working in collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, and we are enormously grateful for your commitment and involvement.

And finally, nothing says celebration quite like recognising our Best Practice Award winners. Huge congratulations again to the teams at Southmead Hospital North Bristol NHS Trust, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust/University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation. Their work is inspirational and transformative – doses of which are what everyone is looking for.

Chief Executive

President

The Society’s objectives are to promote for the public benefit:

The trustees have taken the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit (contained within the revised guidance publication ‘Charities and Public Benefit’) into consideration when referencing public benefit, as contained within this Trustees’ Annual Report. ​

The British Society for Rheumatology is a registered Charity and a Company Limited by Guarantee, not having share Governance capital. Every member undertakes to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the Society in the event of the Society being wound-up during the period of membership or within one year thereafter.

The governing documents of the Charity are its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 24 November 1997 and last amended 1 May 2019. ​

The Society’s Board of Trustees is its governing body. It is responsible for the strategic direction of the Charity’s work and has put in place an agreed strategic plan, which sets out the work of the Society for the period of January 2023 to December 2027.

The Board of Trustees is advised by the BSR’s MultiDisciplinary Team (MDT) Advisory Council, which in practice is the Charity’s senior advisory body.​ The trustees have also established other committees, subcommittees, and working groups to assist the Society and its Board of Trustees. All committees and groups support the general activities of the Charity to help the Society deliver its strategic aims. ​

The trustees have delegated the day-to-day management of the operations of the Society to the Chief Executive Officer, who reports to them on a quarterly basis. The trustees approve an annual operational plan, which sets out the Chief Executive Officer’s responsibility for planning and developing the activities, services and internal strategies of the organisation to meet the agreed strategic plan and overseeing its staff team. The Chief Executive Officer is supported by a senior management team and the other staff.

BSR has three main directorates: People & Resources (operations); Practice and Quality; and Marketing, Education & Events. ​

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of the Charity and may include any of following officers: President (and Chair of the Board); Treasurer; up to four non-medical Lay Trustees; Vice President representing health professionals in rheumatology, including nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists, psychologists, and physician associates; Chair of the Trainees Committee; and up to five other member trustees. Terms of office are for three years with the opportunity to stand for re-election for a second term of three years.

The Charity recruits all its trustees through a process of election, with the exception of the nonmedical Lay Trustees, who are appointed following a process of shortlisting and interview with a panel of members from the Nominations and Appointments Committee. When a trustee is coming to the end of their term of office, the Charity promotes the vacancy through its website, newsletter and social media to members of the Society. To stand for an elected trustee position, candidates must be members of the Society and seek two to six members of the Society to support their nomination. ​

If candidates are nominated in excess of vacancies, then there is a ballot of the Society’s voting members. ​

All trustee positions include a period of induction and training before the start of their term, which may include attending Board meetings and other such committee meetings as observers. Induction also includes external training courses including an understanding of governance and finance training. Internal training is delivered annually as part of the Board’s commitment to personal development.

All trustees sign a declaration of interest form at the beginning of their term of office, and then on an annual basis until the end of their term. The Charity has produced a Code of Conduct and Conflicts of Interest policy as guidance material for its committee members.

The Society may reimburse the employers of the President in relation to the amount of time and services provided to the Charity, which is considered to exceed that of all other trustees. In 2024, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust received reimbursement from the Society in relation to the exceptional services provided by Dr Ledingham between 1 January and 31 December 2024.

In addition, the Society reimbursed Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for the period 21 June 2024 – 31 December 2024 for the services provided by Dr Penny Davis as Vice-President Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology. Dr Davis is not a trustee of the Society.

The pay of the senior staff is reviewed annually and in accordance with the Charity’s pay policy. In view of the nature of the Charity, the senior management benchmark against pay levels in other similar organisations of a comparable size. Pay for senior staff is reviewed and agreed by the Remuneration Committee – a sub-committee of the Board of Trustees chaired by the Treasurer. A budget is set by the Remuneration Committee to recognise performance against agreed objectives delivered in line with our organisational values, according to the pay policy, and subject to affordability on an annual basis.

Our organisational culture links directly to our mission. Our staff team ensure we keep our members and the wider rheumatology community as the core of our work. Decisions about which activities we choose to pursue, and how we do that in practice are guided by our organisational values. To ensure we all live our values, the staff team cocreated a values behaviour framework which is reviewed annually. This provides a practical set of expectations we all have of each other.

We regularly review our Employee Value Proposition, to make BSR an employer of choice. That means our team can continue to provide the best possible support to the rheumatology community. In 2024, we made our 4.5-day working week permanent, which is acknowledged by the 4 Day Week Foundation. We have also been verified by Flexa for our hybrid and flexible work offering.

We know that we’re on the right track with our offering, as in our December 2024 staff survey, 96% of the team agreed BSR was a good place to work, 100% of our team told us they were proud to work for BSR, and 83% agreed they were empowered to do meaningful work.

As of 1 April 2024, our gender pay gap was:

==> picture [180 x 63] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Empowered A good place to work
83% 96%
----- End of picture text -----

==> picture [49 x 15] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
100%
----- End of picture text -----

==> picture [99 x 9] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Proud to work for BSR
----- End of picture text -----

During 2024, our working group on sustainability continued to embed the strategy across the organisation. Our website meets Green Web Foundation’s criteria for ‘green hosting’; hopefully a first achievement of many to come for our work on digital sustainability. We continue to be proud that our flagship Annual Conference is recognised as an exceptional example of best practice in sustainability. 2024 also saw our Journals move to online only, a crucial step to becoming a paper-less organisation.

2024 was a year of progress, innovation, and influence across the rheumatology community. Guided by our four strategic aims, we continued to drive excellence, support our members, and advocate for better care for people living with rheumatic conditions.

This year, we set new benchmarks in clinical guidance and research:

“It can often feel quite isolating and terrifying managing these [HLH] patients on your own and we wanted to provide a network that would enable people to feel supported and to learn about HLH. Winning the Best Practice Award is really important for us. It recognises us as a network and can help put HLH on the map.”

Consultant Rheumatologist, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation – HLH service

Our clinical guidelines are some of the most valued – and widely used resources we produce developed collaboratively with clinicians, researchers, trainees, and people with lived experience. They reflect the very best of evidence-based, patient-centred care, and

are published open access in Rheumatology to ensure they’re available to all.

This year, we were proud to publish updated guidance on pregnancy and breastfeeding in rheumatology (Parts 1 and 2). These

recommendations don’t just guide care – they can change lives.

One of those lives is Laura’s. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at a young age, Laura regained her quality of life through treatment. But, when she and her husband began thinking about starting a family, the advice she initially received was disheartening – discontinue her medication for six months, risking a return of debilitating symptoms.

Laura told us:

“Before the new advice, I probably never would have come off the drugs to try and conceive—it was too much of a gamble. The new recommendations changed everything.”

That was before our new guidelines were published.

A year later, her specialist – now armed with the latest evidence from BSR – was able to recommend a shorter break from treatment, safer options, and better reassurance. Laura described finally feeling informed, supported, and hopeful. In January 2025, she gave birth to a healthy baby.

Consultant Rheumatologist University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation – HLH service

Our voice has been louder and more united than ever:

We delivered diverse, high-quality learning and career development opportunities in 2024:

With support from our advanced research funding, Professor Laura Coates launched a new resource to support Patient-Initiated Follow-Up (PIFU), helping members adapt to evolving models of care.

“The BSR advanced research funding has been instrumental in advancing our work on the PIFU toolkit. It allowed us to

coordinate a wide range of expertise, creating accessible resources that will improve PIFU care across the NHS. It has also supported my own professional growth as we explore the effectiveness of PIFU in rheumatology on a national scale."

Consultant Rheumatologist and Senior Clinical Research Fellow

Our growing membership reflects the strength and inclusivity of our professional community:

“I think my membership comes down to connection, sharing information and trying to do the best for my patients. We can do that when we are connected through something like BSR.”

Clinical Psychologist in Paediatric Rheumatology

The detailed financial results of the Society’s activities and events are set out in the Statement of Financial Activities within the Financial Statements.

Reporting under FRS102, the net loss for the year was £345,116 (2023: net loss £575,376). The total financial resources defined by unrestricted, restricted and endowment funds for the year were:

Income: £4,840,317 (2023: £4,835,362) Expenditure: £5,467,181 (2023: £6,066,400) Investment Gain: £281,748 (2023: £616,692) I nvestment Properties Revaluation: £0 (2023: £60,970)

During 2024, the key risks for the Society were identified as follows:

Risk is a standing item at every senior management team meeting and is reported on a quarterly basis to the Finance and Risk Committee and the Board of Trustees.

BSR conducted a sustainability review of its registers programme in early 2024 and reported its findings to the Board of Trustees in July 2024. The Board approved a 12-month period of targeted activity focused on primarily on attracting new partners and continuing to build on recruitment.

Risks were successfully mitigated in regard to BSR journals (with Rheumatology Advances in Practice performing better than budget). Changes through Open Access have not occurred at a scale previously predicted by the publishing industry and, along with our publisher Oxford University Press, BSR has successfully improved the marketing approach to suit the new advertising landscape.

The Society’s charitable activities were funded throughout 2024 by the Society’s rheumatoid arthritis and biosimilar registers, journals, conferences, educational courses and membership subscriptions, as well as drawings from accumulated free reserves. These sources of funding have allowed the Society to deliver its charitable objective in: advancing education through online conferences and events; research through registers work with the University of Manchester and University of Aberdeen; and training through practical courses. The Society, using the source funding, produced NICE-accredited clinical guidelines, promoted best practice in rheumatology care and lobbied for changes in government policy.

The Society incurred no financial costs in any fundraising activity during 2024 or 2023. The Society did not engage any external fundraiser and did not receive any complaints in respect of its fundraising activities.

The Charity’s total reserves are £11,474,390 (2023: £11,819,506), of which undesignated free reserves stand at £8,550,925 (2023: £8,851,000), designated fixed asset and heritage assets at £2,722,960 (£2023: £2,810,541) and restricted and endowment reserves at £200,505 (2023: £157,965).

The trustees continue to monitor the spending from designated funds to ensure that it is being used in a timely manner for its set purpose.

The Society’s reserves policy is to hold a minimum of £2.3m (plus RPI) in free reserves to cover liabilities in the event of the Charity ceasing its operation. The Society’s current free reserves level is more than the required amount. In the event of reduced cashflow, and with the requirement that the overall balance of all bank accounts as a group should not be overdrawn, the Trustees have authorised the provision to sell investment units at any time of the year.

The Society plans its rheumatology conferences in advance to secure favoured venues. From 2024, the Society has engaged in venue hire contracts that require deposits and staggered payment plans, which are reflected in the balance sheet as current asset prepayments.

Under the Articles of Association, the Trustees have the right to expend the funds of the Charity in such a manner as they consider most beneficial for the achievement of the Charity, and to invest surplus funds in the name of the Charity as they may see fit.

The Society continues to retain the COIF Charities Deposit Fund, the COIF Charities Investment Fund and a Direct Reserves Savings account.

All the account products have been designed for the charity sector and meet the Trustees’ current requirements. The COIF Charities deposit account has continued to provide a safe vehicle for funds that are required at short notice, with minimal risk of capital loss.

The Board of Trustees considers the current return on the Society’s cash assets to be as expected given the current investment approach.

The Trustees (who are also the Directors of the British Society for Rheumatology for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the Trustees have prepared financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law).

Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company, and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with Companies Acts 2006.

They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from the legislation in other jurisdictions.

The Society’s auditors are Moore Kingston Smith LLP.

The Trustees at the date of approval of this Trustees’ Annual Report confirm that so far as each of them is aware, there is no relevant information of which the Charity’s auditor is unaware, and the Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

Although the Charity maintains restricted funds to deal with incoming resources that are earmarked for a particular purpose by donors, sponsors, and other funders, the Charity does not currently hold, and the Trustees do not anticipate that it will in future hold, any funds as custodian for any third party.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

This report was approved by the Trustees on 26 June 2025 and was signed for and on behalf of the board by:

President

We have audited the financial statements of The British Society for Rheumatology (the ‘charitable company’) and its subsidiary (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, including the Summary Income and Expenditure Account, the Consolidated and Company Balance Sheets, the Consolidated 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 FRS 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:

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 group and the charitable company 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.

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors’ 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 Directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

The Directors 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.

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Strategic Report or the Directors’ Report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

As explained more fully in the Directors’ responsibilities statement set out on pages 4 to 5, the Directors 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 Directors 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 Directors are responsible for assessing the group and the parent charitable company’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 Directors either intend to liquidate the group and the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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 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.

The objectives of our audit in respect of fraud, are; to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses to those assessed risks; and to respond appropriately to instances of fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both management and those charged with governance of the group and the parent charitable company.

Our approach was as follows:

Based on this understanding, we designed specific appropriate audit procedures to identify instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. This included making enquiries of management and those charged with governance and obtaining additional corroborative evidence as required.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK) we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken for no purpose other than to draw to the attention of the charitable company’s members those matters which we are required to include in an auditor’s report addressed to them. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to any party other than the charitable company and charitable company’s members as a body, for our work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Senior Statutory Auditor for and on behalf of Moore Kingston Smith LLP, Statutory Auditor 6[th] Floor. 9 Appold Street, London, EC2A 2AP

21 July 2025

Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Endowment
funds		 Total 2024 Total 2023
Income and endowments Notes £ £ £ £ £
from:
Donations and Legacies 1 - 1,489 - 1,489 30
Charitable activities 2 3,524,207 - - 3,524,207 3,590,274
Investments 3 228,013 945 - 228,958 208,120
Other trading Income 2a 1,085,663 - - 1,085,663 1,036,938
Total 4,837,883 2,434 - 4,840,317 4,835,362
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities 4 4,883,486 - - 4,883,486 5,607,782
Other Trading Costs 4a 583,695 - - 583,695 458,617
Total 5,467,181 - - 5,467,181 6,066,400
Net gains on investments 10 275,956 - 5,792 281,748 616,692
Gain on revaluation of
investment properties		 10a - - 60,970
Net income/(expenditure) -353,341 2,434 5,792 -345,116 -553,376
Transfers between funds 15 -34,314 5,068 29,246 - -
Net Movement in Funds -387,655 7,502 35,038 -345,116 -553,376
Reconciliation of Funds:
Total funds brought forward 15 11,661,541 73,352 84,613 11,819,506 12,372,882
Total funds carried forward 15 11,273,886 80,854 119,651 11,474,390 11,819,506

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. The accompanying notes from part of these financial statements.

Group 2024 Charity 2024 Group 2023 Charity 2023
Notes £ £ £ £
Tangible assets - Freehold Building 8 1,454,806 1,454,806 1,531,384 1,531,384
Intangible assets - Group and Charity 8A 221,401 221,401 232,404 232,404
Heritage assets - Group and Charity 9 175,000 175,000 175,000 175,000
Investments 10 5,820,520 5,820,520 5,538,772 5,538,772
Investment properties 10A 984,753 984,753 984,753 984,753
Total Fixed Assets 8,656,480 8,656,480 8,462,313 8,462,313
Current assets:
Stocks 264 264 262 262
Debtors 11 1,036,479 1,233,367 934,450 1,483,096
Cash at bank and in hand 14 3,162,711 2,903,722 3,858,940 3,189,946
Total current assets 4,199,454 4,137,353 4,793,652 4,673,304
Liabilities:
Creditors: Amounts falling due
within one year		 12 -1,381,544 -1,319,444 -1,436,459 -1,316,111
Net current assets 2,817,910 2,817,910 3,357,193 3,357,193
Total net assets 11,474,390 11,474,390 11,819,506 11,819,506
The funds of the charity:
Endowment funds 15 119,651 119,651 84,613 84,613
Restricted income funds 15 80,854 80,854 73,352 73,352
Unrestricted funds 15 8,550,925 8,550,925 8,851,000 8,851,000
Designated funds 15 2,722,960 2,722,960 2,810,541 2,810,541
Total charity funds 15 11,474,390 11,474,390 11,819,506 11,819,506

As permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, no separate Statement of Financial Activities or Income and expenditure account has been presented for the Charity alone.

The net movement in funds for the year relating to the parent Charity alone amounted to (£841,632) (2023: (£687,327). The financial statements were approved by the Trustees and authorised for issue on and was signed for and on behalf of the Board by:

Treasurer Caroline Chivers

26 June 2025

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

2024 2023
Notes £ £
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities 14 -875,244 -1,476,793
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rent from investments 14 228,958 208,120
Purchase of property, plant and equipment 8 and 8a -49,942 -534,168
Net cash used in investing activities 179,016 -326,048
Change in cash and cash equivalents
in the reporting period		 -696,228 -1,802,841
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of reporting period		 3,858,940 5,661,781
Cash and cash equivalents at the
end of the reporting period		 3,162,711 3,858,940

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

The principal accounting policies, adopted judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statement are as follows:

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) – (Charities SORP 2015 (Second Edition, effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The British Society for Rheumatology meets the definition of a public entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

The Charity is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales (company number 03470316) and a Charity registered in England and Wales (charity number 1067124). The Charity’s registered office is Bride House, 18– 20 Bride Lane, London EC4Y 8EE.

The accounts consolidate the financial statements of the British Society for Rheumatology and its wholly owned subsidiary, BSR Enterprises Ltd, on a line-by-line basis.

Transactions and balances between the Charity and its subsidiary have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. As permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, no separate Statement of Financial Activities or Income and Expenditure account has been presented for the Charity alone.

The Trustees have reviewed the organisation’s budget and financial plans including scenarios on registry, journals and conference income. They have concluded that there are sufficient reserves held at year end to create a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and that it is therefore appropriate to prepare the charity and group financial statements on a going concern basis.

Income from advancing knowledge, practice and standards is recognised in the year of the event and or when the Society is contractually entitled to do so, the latter applying to income received for the biologic registers. Biologic register income, in particular, is recognised under SORP 2015 income recognition criteria: probability, measurability and entitlement with the latter being determined by the patient recruitment requirement stipulated under each contract.

Donations and other similar types of voluntary income are brought into account when received, except that donated income is included gross of any attributable tax recoverable, where relevant. Donations given for specific purposes are treated as restricted income.

Grant income is recognised when the group are entitled to the income, when it is probable it will be received and when it can be measured reliably.

Investment income is accounted on a receivable basis once the dividend has been declared or the interest earned.

Letting of unused parts of the Charity’s premises generated operating lease income, which is recognised on a straightline basis and is spread evenly over the lease period. Any income received for future periods is deferred until the appropriate period.

Credit is taken in the accounts for the proportion of subscriptions which are receivable in the financial period. All other types of income are also accounted for on an accruals basis.

Income received from services provided in relation to the registers is considered to be unrestricted as the income is considered to be from contracts rather than grants, and is recognised over the period of the contract.

Expenditure is allocated to the Charity’s principal activity where the costs can be identified as being directly related to that activity. All costs that cannot be identified relating directly to the Charity’s principal activity are categorised as either support costs or governance costs.

Grants payables are recognised in the period in which the approved offer is conveyed to the recipient except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised only when the conditions attaching to the award are fulfilled. Grants offered subject to conditions, which have not been met at the balance sheet date, are noted as a potential commitment, but are not treated as a liability.

Governance costs are the costs associated with running the Charity as a charitable company, and in particular include a proportion of support staff costs, other support costs and audit fees. Support costs are allocated by staff time across activities.

All tangible assets purchased that have an expected useful economic life that exceeds one year are capitalised and classified as fixed assets. Tangible fixed assets are stated at historical cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write each asset down to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life, as follows:

Change in accounting policy – freehold building

The freehold building was revalued in 2023 and the portion of the building being used by the British Society for Rheumatology has been recognised as a fixed asset at cost less depreciation (NBV).

The remaining two floors used as investment property are recognised as investment property at fair value.

Two floors of the building are used as investment property and recognised as fair value in the current financial year; the fair values have been restated for the prior years. The valuation has been determined by a qualified 3rd party.

All intangible assets purchased that have an expected useful economic life that exceeds one year are capitalised and classified as intangible fixed assets. Intangible fixed assets are stated at historical cost less depreciation.

Depreciation is provided on all intangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write each asset down to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The intangible assets are related to the CRM system setup and implementation, and the CRM system has been estimated to have a useful economic life of 7 years from the date of capitalisation.

The Charity is the custodian of certain heritage assets in the form of the Heberden Library, which is a collection of modern and antiquarian books on rheumatism, gout and other allied conditions held at the offices of the Charity and at the offices of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and includes archives gifted to the Wellcome Institute.

The Heberden and BSR collections are for the use of members of BSR but are also open to other, bona fide researchers.

All books in the Heberden Library are for reference use and made available in the Wellcome reading room at the RCP, or at Bride House. Access is subject to the reading room regulations.

This collection is carried in the balance sheet at its 2021 market value on a “per title” basis, which was settled to be £40 per title.

The Charity’s investments are included in the balance sheet at their market value. The gains or losses arising upon their annual revaluation are included in the statement of financial activities.

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Where assets are financed by leasing agreements that give rights approximating to ownership (finance leases), the assets are treated as if they had been purchased outright. The amount capitalised is the present value of the minimum lease payments payable during the lease term.

The corresponding leasing commitments are shown as obligations to the lessor.

Lease payments are treated as consisting of capital and interest elements, and the interest is charged to the statement of financial activities in proportion to the remaining balance outstanding.

All other leases are operating leases, and the annual rentals are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight line basis over the lease term.

The Charity makes contributions into defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of certain employees. The assets of the schemes are held separately from those of the Charity in independently administered funds. The amount charged to the statement of financial activities in respect of pension costs is the total contributions payable for the year. Pension costs are charged to the unrestricted fund.

The general fund comprises the accumulated surpluses of unrestricted incoming resources over resources expended, which are available for use in furtherance of the general objective of the Charity.

Designated funds are a particular form of unrestricted funds consisting of amounts which have been allocated or designated for specific purposes by the Trustees. The use of designated funds remains at the discretion of the Trustees.

Restricted funds are funds subject to specific conditions imposed by donors. The purpose and use of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the accounts. Amounts unspent at the year-end are carried forward in the balance sheet.

Endowment funds are a particular type of restricted funds which are of a capital nature and are not available to be dispersed or otherwise expensed.

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the amount due after any discount offered. Prepayments are values at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

Creditors are recognised where the Charity has a present obligation resulting from past events that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.

Creditors are normally recognised at the settlement amount allowing for any trade discount due.

Cash and cash equivalents represent the working capital available for the group to be used in the day to day running of the organisation and funding the charitable activities. The Natwest current account and Direct reserves accounts are immediately accessible with no notice.

£724k is held as reserves in the Nationwide Bank account, with a 95-day notice period for withdrawals. The cash balance also includes cash invested in COIF investment accounts.

Foreign transactions are translated into sterling, at the point of being recorded into the Group's accounting system, using the spot exchange rate on the transaction date.

Accounting estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted funds Total 2024 Total 2023
£ £ £ £
Other donations - 1,489 1,489 30
- 1,489 1,489 30
2023 and 2024 donations were all classified
as restricted funds
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted funds Total 2024 Total 2023
£ £ £ £
Subscriptions 399,949 - 399,949 421,886
Rheumatology journal 1,026,154 - 1,026,154 989,663
Annual Conference 566,428 - 566,428 481,422
Case-based Conference 48,578 - 48,578 40,862
Education courses 210,665 - 210,665 173,262
Register and HQIP Income 1,272,403 - 1,272,403 1,401,512
Other income 30 - 30 81,667
3,524,207 - 3,524,207 3,590,274
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted funds Total 2024 Total 2023
£ £ £ £
Sponsorship & Exhibition Income 1,085,663 - 1,085,663 1,036,080
Other Income - - - 859
1,085,663 - 1,085,663 1,036,938
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Endowment
funds		 Total 2024 Total 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Bank interest receivable on short
term cash deposits		 142,118 945 - 143,063 125,930
Rent receivable under operating 85,895 - - 85,895 82,190
leases
Total Investment Income 228,013 945 - 228,958 208,120

Investment income in 2023 was all reported as unrestricted income

Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Total 2024 Total 2023
£ £ £ £
Staff costs 1,373,860 - 1,373,860 1,373,860
1,243,287
Bursaries and Prizes 25,082 - 25,082 24,414
Fellowship 128,609 - 128,609 128,609
Rheumatology journal 87,318 - 87,318 87,729
Annual Conference 502,135 - 502,135 619,358
Case-based Conference 38,858 - 38,858 54,908
Education courses 84,512 - 84,512 67,166
Online education 54,553 - 54,553 62,452
Other international conference costs 4,794 - 4,794 9,064
Partnership development 378 - 378 2,698
Registers and HQIP Spend 893,953 - 893,953 1,112,002
Membership services 751 - 751 36,058
Heberden Library 3,658 - 3,658 4,214
Press and public relations 142,427 - 142,427 282,010
BSR Quality Improvement fellow - - - 12,972
Paediatric QI Learning Collaborative 36,287 - 36,287 79,165
Leadership Programme - - - 119,565
Best Practice Awards 67,953 - 67,953 1,000
Service accreditation 2,230 - 2,230 52,723
Other Spend - - - 318
3,447,358 - 3,447,358 3,999,712
Support costs (see note 5) 1,436,128 - 1,436,128 1,608,070
4,883,486 - 4,883,486 5,607,782
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted funds Total 2024 Total 2023
£ £ £ £
Annual conference costs 439,596 - 439,596 365,652
Case-based conference costs 16,467 - 16,467 13,729
Administrative trading costs 127,632 - 127,632 79,236
583,695 - 583,695 458,617

All 2023 costs were unrestricted.

Support Governance Total 2023 Total 2024
£ £ £ £
Staff costs (see note 7) 755,696 - 755,696 865,546
Staff training and courses 26,765 - 26,765 48,184
Governance Spend 75,981 75,981 47,992
Website costs 43,052 - 43,052 39,155
Other computer costs 73,822 - 73,822 100,932
Service charges including light and heat 67,816 - 67,816 96,932
Other office costs 23,839 - 23,839 47,203
Insurance 34,043 - 34,043 29,725
Repairs and maintenance 16,710 - 16,710 25,555
Equipment hire 35,331 - 35,331 35,998
Professional subscriptions 17,766 - 17,766 21,008
Audit fees - 25,315 25,315 20,150
Legal and professional fees 17,100 - 17,100 21,220
Bank credit card and income collection fees 37,186 - 37,186 21,713
Exchange rate variance 44 - 44 205
Depreciation:
Owned: Tangible fixed assets (note 8) 92,080 - 92,080 81,860
Owned: Intangible fixed assets (note 8a) 45,441 - 45,441 7,907
CRM & new website (not capitalised) 48,139 - 48,139 96,786
1,334,833 101,296 1,436,128 1,608,070
This is stated after charging:
6.Netincome/(expenditure) forthe year		 2024
2023
£
£
~~P~~o		 2024
2023
£
£
~~P~~o
Operating leases – equipment 35,331 35,998
Depreciation – Tangible assets 92,080 89,769
Depreciation – Intangible assets 45,441 -
Audit fees 25,315 20,150
2024 2023
No. No.
The average monthly number of persons employed by The average monthly number of persons employed by
the charity
Marketing, Education and Events 16 16
Practice & Quality 12 12
Operational Services 12 12
40 40
Staff costs for the above persons: £ £
Wages and salaries 1,776,658 1,629,829
Employers' NIC less SMP recovery 139,587 159,417
Other pension costs 86,312 85,898
Temporary staff 5,395 -
Recruitment fees 20,585 138,342
Staff redundancy 26,675 -
Staff bonuses, incentives and benefits 41,716 69,477
Staff insurance 32,629 25,870
2,129,557 2,108,833
The number of employees whose emoluments for the
year exceeded
No. No.
£60,001 to £70,000 3 3
£70,001 to £80,000 1 -
£80,001 to £90,000 - -
£90,001 to £100,000 1 1

The Charity makes contributions to pension schemes on behalf of all employees and the total contributions payable during the year amounted to £86,312 (2023: £85,898).

The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Charity were £19,783 (2023: £25,579). The total remuneration of key management personnel of the Charity was £340k (2023: £317k).

During the year, 2 trustees received £58,920 remuneration for services to the charity (2023: £22,717 for 1 trustee). The payments were made to the Trustee’s employers as compensation for their time.

During the year, 11 trustees were reimbursed £6,311 for meeting expenses incurred on behalf of the Charity. (2023: £15,432 to 10 trustees).

Freehold
Building		 Building
works, Lift &
AC Units		 Fixtures, fittings,
furniture &
equipment		 Computer
equipment		 Total
£ £ £ £ £
Cost:
01 January 2024 1,306,163 925,508 175,487 189,200 2,596,357
Additions - 8,316 - 7,188 15,504
31 December 2024 1,306,163 933,824 175,487 196,388 2,611,861
Depreciation:
01 January 2024 597,803 201,444 119,754 145,974 1,064,975
Charge for year 22,547 43,518 19,082 6,933 92,080
Disposals - - - - -
31 December 2024 620,350 244,962 138,836 152,907 1,157,055
Net book value:
31 December 2024 685,813 688,862 36,651 43,481 1,454,806
31 December 2023 708,359 724,064 55,734 43,226 1,531,384

Parts of the freehold building are used, when surplus to the Charity’s requirements, to generate rental income under operating leases.

8A.IntangibleFixedAssets—
8A. Intangible Fixed Assets —
Group and Charity		 CRM Implementation Total
Cost: £ £
01 January 2024 240,311 240,311
Additions 34,438 34,438
Disposals - -
274,749 274,749
31 December 2024
Depreciation:
01 January 2024 7,907 7,907
Charge for year 45,441 45,441
Disposals - -
31 December 2024 53,348 53,348
Net book value:
31 December 2024 221,401 221,401
31 December 2023 232,404 232,404

9. Heritage assets

The Trustees confirm that they are content with the heritage asset valuation of £175,000 as stated in the 2024 financial statements. This view is based on there not being any significant purchases or sales of any books from the library in the preceding financial year, the books having been stored safely at the Royal College of Physicians, London in the same conditions as in previous years, and there having been no material fluctuations in the market for said publications.

Investments listed on a recognised stock exchange
in the UK and carried at market value:		 2024 2023
£ £
1 January 2024 5,538,772 4,922,080
Unrealised gains 281,748 616,692
5,820,520 5,538,772

At the balance sheet date, the Charity’s investments were represented entirely by holding COIF charities investment fund accumulation units.

10A.InvestmentProperties -Group andCharity 2024
2023
£
£
~~pf~~		 2024
2023
£
£
~~pf~~
Restated Fair Value 984,753 923,783
Revaluation gains - 60,970
984,753 984,753

Two floors of the freehold building are used as investment property and are recognised as fair value in the financial year.

The fair value of the building was restated during the 2023 audit, in February 2024, after a revaluation of the property was conducted by Farebrother, a RICS Registered valuer within the RIC Valuer Registration scheme.

The trustees have considered that the valuation has not materially changed during the financial year.

11.Debtors 2024
Group
2024
Charity
2023
Group
2023
Charity
~~P~~o)		 2024
Group
2024
Charity
2023
Group
2023
Charity
~~P~~o)		 2024
Group
2024
Charity
2023
Group
2023
Charity
~~P~~o)		 2024
Group
2024
Charity
2023
Group
2023
Charity
~~P~~o)
£ £ £ £
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors 380,635 360,407 293,399 205,528
Other debtors 1,147 1,147 70,225 70,225
Prepayments 347,589 347,589 290,467 290,467
Accrued income 307,107 307,107 280,359 280,359
Amounts owed by group undertaking - 15,151 - 58,196
Gift Aid Receivable from Trading company - 201,966 - 578,321
1,036,479 1,233,367 934,450 1,483,096
2024 2024 2023 2023
Group Charity Group Charity
12. Creditors
Amounts falling due within one £ £ £ £
year:
Trade Creditors 411,307 411,307 440,898 440,898
Other taxes and social security 42,884 42,884 45,640 45,640
Accruals 426,590 420,590 385,351 379,652
Other income received in advance 469,903 414,803 526,719 412,070
Other Creditors 6,156 6,156 11,369 11,369
VAT Liability 24,697 23,697 25,255 25,255
Pension Payable 7 7 1,227 1,227
1,381,544 1,319,444 1,436,459 1,316,111

|13.DeferredincomereconciliationfortheGroup|2024
2023
£
£
~~P|~~|2024
2023
£
£
~~P|~~| |---|---|---| |Opening balance|526,719|511,118| |Rheumatology conference income – released|-114,650|-108,150| |BSR Biologic RA Register income – released|-387,703|-380,646| |Education income – released|-1,180|-3,050| |Membership income – released|-2,004|-521| |Rental income – released|-11,182|-18,751| |Rheumatology conference income deferred|55,100|114,650| |BSR Biologic RA Register income deferred|362,343|397,703| |Membership income received in advance|180|2,004| |Education income received in advance|42,280|1,180| |Rental income received in advance|-|11,182| |ClosingBalance|469,903|526,719|

Deferred income relates to income received in year where BSR does not have full entitlement due to contractual restrictions such as patient recruitment numbers; dependent on BSR delivering an event, i.e. exhibitor income; or where income is clearly received in advance for a future date, such as membership fees for the next year.

to net cash flow 2024 2023
£ £
Net income for the reporting period
(as per the statement of financial activities)		 -345,116 -553,375
Adjustments for:
Depreciation and amortization 137,522 89,769
Net gains/(losses) on investments -281,748 -616,692
Net gains/(losses) on Investment properties - -60,970
Dividends, interest and rents from investments -228,958 -208,120
Decrease/(increase) in debtors -102,029 294,765
(Decrease)/increase in creditors -54,915 -422,170
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities -875,244 -1,476,793

15. The funds of the Group (2024)

1 January
2024		 Income Expenditure Transfers
between
funds		 Gains/ (losses)
funds		 Gains/ (losses)
funds		 Gains/ (losses)
31
December
2024
Endowment £ £ £ £ £ £
funds:
Endowment Fund 84,613 - - 29,246 5,792 119,651
Restricted income
funds:
Sponsored Prizes Fund 10,122 - - - - 10,122
Lecture Income Fund 13,374 945 - 5,068 - 19,387
Donations 49,856 1,489 - - - 51,345
73,352 2,434 - 5,068 - 80,854
Restricted &
endowment 157,965 2,434 - 34,314 5,792 200,505
funds:
Unrestricted
funds:
General Fund 8,851,000 4,837,884 -5,467,182 53,267 275,956 8,550,925
Designated funds:
Asset Reserve Fund 2,748,541 - - -87,581 - 2,660,960
Heritage Revaluation
Fund		 62,000 - - - - 62,000
2,810,541 - - -87,581 - 2,722,960
Reconciliation
of funds:
Designated funds 2,810,541 - - -87,581 - 2,722,960
Unrestricted funds 8,851,000 4,837,884 -5,467,182 53,267 275,956 8,550,925
Endowment Funds 84,613 - - 29,246 5,792 119,651
Restricted Funds 73,352 2,434 - 5,068 - 80,854
11,819,506 4,840,318 -5,467,182 - 281,748 11,474,390

15. The funds of the Group (2023)

1 January
2023		 Income Expenditure Transfers
between
funds		 Gains/
(losses)
funds		 31
December
2023
Endowment funds: £ £ £ £ £ £
Endowment Fund 84,613 - - - - 84,613
Restricted income funds:
Sponsored Prizes Fund 10,122 - - - - 10,122
Lecture Income Fund 13,374 - - - - 13,374
Donations 49,826 30 - - - 49,856
73,322 30 - - - 73,352
Restricted & endowment funds 157,935 30 - - - 157,965
Unrestricted funds:
General Fund 9,909,775 4,835,332 -6,066,399 -444,400 616,692 8,851,000
Designated funds:
Asset Reserve Fund 2,243,171 - - 444,400 60,970 2,748,541
Heritage Revaluation Fund 62,000 - - - - 62,000
2,305,171 - - 444,400 60,970 2,810,541
Reconciliation of funds:
Designated funds 2,305,171 - - 444,400 60,970 2,810,541
Unrestricted funds 9,909,775 4,835,332 -6,066,399 -444,400 616,692 8,851,000
Endowment Funds 84,613 - - - - 84,613
Restricted funds 73,322 30 - - - 73,352
12,372,881 4,835,362 -6,066,399 - 677,662 11,819,506 677,662 11,819,506

The Droitwich Medical Trust Lecture Permanent Endowment Fund was set up during 2013 upon the merger of BHPR with BSR. Originally, in 2004, a restricted donation of £60,000 was received by British Health Professionals in Rheumatology (BHPR) from the Droitwich Medical Trust Limited. The donation had to be treated as a permanent endowment to be invested by the Trustees so as to generate income which was then to be used to fund a lecture at one of the BHPR sessions at the combined annual Spring Meeting Rheumatology – the lecture to be known as the ‘Droitwich Medical Trust Lecture’. The Trustees sought permission to extend the use of the funds to include other educational activities linked to the lecture and this was approved. The fund collects the income generated by the permanent endowment which is then used to pay for the travel, registration and subsistence costs of the speaker giving the Droitwich Medical Trust Lecture and for providing an imposing, framed certificate to be awarded to the speaker. The fund can also be used to pay for education courses linked to the lecture.

The Sponsored Prizes Fund was set up in 2007 with amounts received from various sponsoring organisations to be awarded as prizes at BSR educational courses.

Designated funds are funds ring fenced for the use of fixed assets of the charity. The include the asset reserve fund and the heritage revaluation fund, which comprises the revaluation element of heritage assets.

The endowment fund and lecture income fund have been updated to reflect the valuation of the funds held by CCLA on 31st December 2024.

16. Analysis of net assets between funds
(2024)		 Fixed
assets		 Net current assets Total
£ £ £
Endowment funds: 119,651 - 119,651
Restricted income funds:
Sponsored Prizes Fund - 10,122 10,122
Droitwich Medical Trust Lecture Income Fund - 19,387 19,387
Donations - 51,345 51,345
Unrestricted income funds:
General Fund 5,933,520 2,617,405 8,550,925
Designated Capital Asset Reserve Fund 2,660,960 - 2,660,960
Heritage Revaluation Fund 62,000 - 62,000
8,776,131 2,698,259 11,474,390
Analysis of net assets between funds (2023) Fixed
assets		 Net current assets Total
£ £ £
Endowment funds: 84,613 - 84,613
Restricted income funds:
Sponsored Prizes Fund - 10,122 10,122
Droitwich Medical Trust Lecture Income Fund - 13,374 13,374
Donations - 49,856 49,856
Unrestricted income funds:
General Fund 5,629,159 3,221,841 8,851.000
Designated Capital Asset Reserve Fund 2,748,541 - 2,748,541
Heritage Revaluation Fund 62000 - 62,000
8,462,313 3,357,193 11,819,506
At 31 December 2024, the Charity was
committed to making the following
payments under non-cancellable		 2024 2023
operating leases as follows:
£ £
Telephone System - expired 2023 - 1,941
Computer Equipment - expires 2025 45,500 77,353
45,500 79,294

At 31 December 2024, the Charity had contracted with tenants under non-cancellable operating leases, for the future minimum lease payments as follows:

2024 2023
£ £
Less than one year - -
Between one and five years 429,475 410,950
Over five year - -
429,475 410,950

The operating lease represents rental of the 1st and 2nd floors of Bride House to third parties. On entering into these leases, the tenants paid lease deposits of £0. The leases are negotiated for a maximum term of 5 years, with rental values fixed for the same length.

The Charity makes contributions into defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of certain employees. The assets of the schemes are held separately from those of the Charity in independently administered funds. The amount charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in respect of pension costs (as shown in note 7) is the total contributions payable for the year.

During the year, 1 trustee (Jo Ledingham, President) received £30,920 remuneration for services to the charity (2023: £22,717 for 1 trustee). This was approved by the Charity Commission. Payments were also made to the VP Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology (£19,435 to University Hospital Bristol and Weston for Jacqui Clinch for the period June 2023 to June 2024 and £9,095 to the BHAM Womens and Childrens NHS FT for Penny Davis, for the period June 2024 to December 2024. The VP role was not a trustee of BSR.

The payments were made to the Trustee’s employers’ as compensation for their time.

During the year, 11 trustees were reimbursed £6,311 for meeting expenses incurred on behalf of the Charity. (2023: £15,432 to 10 trustees).

The wholly owned trading subsidiary, BSR Enterprises Ltd (company number: 11706829), which is incorporated in the United Kingdom and registered in England and Wales, pays all of its profits to the Charity by gift aid. BSR Enterprises Ltd. manages the sponsorship and exhibition income generated by events and education. The Charity owns the entire issued share capital of one ordinary share of £1. The company was incorporated on 3 December 2018 and commenced trading on 1 January 2019. A summary of the trading results is shown below:

2024 2023
£ £
Turnover 1,085,663 1,036,938
Cost of sales -456,062 -379,381
Gross Profit 629,601 657,557
Administrative costs -127,633 -72,236
Operating profit 501,968 578,321
Profit before tax and profit for the financial year 501,968 578,321
The assets and liabilities of the subsidiary are:
2024 2023
£ £
Current assets 501,968 578,321
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 501,968 578,321
Net Assets
Share Capital and Reserves 1 1

The principal address of the Charity and the registered office of the Company are the offices of the British Society for Rheumatology at Bride House, 18–20 Bride Lane, London EC4Y 8EE.

The Charity is registered under the Charity number 1067124 and the Company is incorporated with the Company registration number 3470316.

The trustees have made the following professional appointments:

Solicitor: Bates Wells & Braithwaite, 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1AG Auditor: Moore Kingston Smith, 9 Appold Street, London EC2A 2AP

Bankers: National Westminster Bank plc, PO Box 2021, 10 Marylebone High Street, London W1A 1FH

The Trustees of the Charity, who are also the Directors of the Company, and certain Officers of the Society together comprise the Board of Trustees. The members of the Board of Trustees who are Trustees and have held office since 1 January 2024, are as follows:

The following key management personnel are the senior members of staff responsible for the day-to-day management of the Society:

British Society for Rheumatology, Bride House, 18–20 Bride Lane, London EC4Y 8EE Tel: +44 (0)20 7842 0900 E: bsr@rheumatology.org.uk W: rheumatology.org.uk