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2023-12-31-accounts

Registered number: 03565643 Charity number: 1072117 FEMS THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES (A company Ilimited by guarantee) TRUSTEE, REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

CONTENTS

Page
Reference and administrative details of the company, its Trustees and advisers 1
Trustees' report 2 - 11
Independent auditor's report on the financial statements 13- 15
Statement of financial activities 16
Balance sheet 17
Statement of cash flows 19
Notes to the financial statements 20- 37

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE COMPANY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Trustees (at time of signing)

Dr A Ventosa, President (appointed from 01 January 2024) Dr B Vasiljević, Secretary General

Dr C M Thomas, Director of Finance (formerly called Treasurer) Dr J Jass, Director of Grants Dr P M Bavoil, Director of Research and Publications Dr P Cos, Director of Business & Policy Dr A Sibirny, Director of Education & Public Engagement Dr V Taleski, Director of Events & Internationalization

Trustees (in office during 2023)

Dr H Lappin-Scott OBE, President (completed term of office 31 December 2023)

Company registered number 03565643 Charity registered number 1072117

Registered office

Salisbury House, Station Road, Cambridge, CB1 2LA

Executive Director

Elise Kuurstra

Independent auditors

Peters Elworthy & Moore, Salisbury House, Station Road, Cambridge, CB1 2LA

Bankers

National Westminster Bank PLC, 13 Market Place, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2EP, UK. ABN-AMRO, Business Services Sector, Postbus 283, 1000 EA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Investment Managers

Brewin Dolphin Limited, 12 Smithfield Street, London, EC1A 9BD, United Kingdom

Central Office

Delftechpark 37a, 2628 XJ Delft, The Netherlands

Page 1

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

The Trustees of the charity (who are also Directors of the Company for the purposes of the Companies Act), present their annual report including the audited financial statements of The Federation of European Microbiological Societies (the Company) (also referred to in the document as FEMS) for the year ending 31 December 2023. The Trustees confirm that the Annual Trustees’ Report, including the financial statements of the Company, comply with the current statutory requirements, the Company's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP). The SORP is applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

Since the Company qualifies as ''small'' under section 383, the strategic report required of medium and large companies under The Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Director's Report) Regulations 2013 is not required.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Policies, objectives, and activities

The FEMS mission is to advance the visibility, reputation, and impact of microbiology by helping to connect people and share knowledge, without borders or barriers.

FEMS was founded in 1974 to encourage scientific collaboration, facilitate international communication and support meetings, training, and research amongst Europe’s microbiologists. Since then, FEMS activities have expanded but its core mission remains focused on those guiding aims.

Our strategic purpose and objectives were reviewed and refreshed during 2020 and published in our Strategic Plan 2020-2024: Connecting People - Sharing Knowledge . This document outlines the goals FEMS wants to accomplish but also describes the value FEMS places on achieving these in a fair, open and inclusive way. It details the challenges FEMS needs to consider as a not-for-profit federation and that its Member Societies and indeed all microbiologists will face in the immediate future. Our responses are outlined in a series of priorities, all of which are aimed at promoting microbiology and supporting microbiologists:

Page 2

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

ACTIVITIES AND PERFORMANCE

Review of activities – delivering strategy

FEMS delivers a range of activities across seven broad areas to achieve our strategic objectives:

In reviewing FEMS aims and objectives, and in planning future activities, the Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit. More detailed information on activities relating to each of these areas can be found on the FEMS website.

Publications

FEMS facilitates the sharing of microbiological research through seven internationally recognized scientific journals, which are published in collaboration with our not-for-profit publisher Oxford University Press (OUP). That our journals provide an important service to the microbiological research community by publishing and promoting articles that have undergone a process of rigorous peer review, is demonstrated by high levels of usage and strong global sales figures.

Articles from our journals were downloaded 5.9 million times in 2023. Our journals provide the revenue that enables our charitable activities, allowing us to continue investing in science and education. We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of every contributor to this process: the Editors, Authors, Reviewers and Oxford University Press, who together make this possible. FEMS journals also award prizes to the best research they publish each year via our Journal Article Awards and to the best research they encounter at scientific meetings via Journal Poster & Oral Presentation Prizes.

2023 has seen significant work underway to support FEMS Journals moving toward an Open Access publication model in 2024. This will see FEMS Microbiology Ecology, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, FEMS Yeast Research, Pathogens and Disease become fully open access. We are excited to make this change because we believe making high quality science freely available to anyone to read anywhere in the world supports the advancement of our discipline. Work has been undertaken to ensure that the relevant publication processes are in place to support this move. In fact, the transition began in September 2023 when all new papers submitted to these journals were entered in the Open Access publication workflow. Furthermore, we reached out to all our stakeholders in the FEMS network to explain why this change is happening and what it means for them as authors in the FEMS journals (see FAQ-page).

Page 3

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Journal Subject area
(World of
Science (WoS))		 Impact
Factor		 Ranking in
‘Microbiology’
(WoS /135)		 Total
articles
published		 Full-text
downloads
(HTML and
pdf)
FEMS Microbiology
Ecology		 Microbiology 4.2 53 167 1,161,232
FEMS Microbiology
Letters		 Microbiology 2.1 118 133 1,887,308
Pathogens and
Disease		 Microbiology 3.3 71 38 631,154
FEMS Microbiology
Reviews		 Microbiology 11.3 13 69 1,538,518
FEMS Yeast
Research		 Microbiology 3.2 75 56 559,727
FEMS microbes Microbiology - - 23 64,269
microLife Microbiology - - 49 61,694

Events

FEMS organizes its own academic conferences and supports others in the community to run theirs. FEMS also runs educational and professional development summer schools. These events aim to encourage scientific interaction and collaboration and are a key contribution to achieving our goal of a connected and collaborative community of microbiologists across Europe. They provide an opportunity for microbiologists to share experiences, knowledge, research outcomes and best practice. Across all our events FEMS seeks to create a sense of community and nurture relationships and connections across all microbiological disciplines and sectors. We provide both scientific and social networking opportunities to encourage communication among microbiologists. We also participate at events organized with and by our Member Societies, assisting our Member Societies to increase the impact of the events they organize via financial contributions or administrative support.

In 2023, FEMS held its 10[th] Congress of European Microbiologists and its first in person Congress since the COVID-19 pandemic. While participation numbers were slightly lower than previous congresses, the event again grew in terms of sponsors and exhibitors. As always through FEMS Congress Attendance Grants, we supported microbiologists from across the world to attend the event. The Summer School for Postdocs which we also organised in 2023 provided a unique opportunity for early career scientists to receive instruction from prominent academics as well as to collaborate and network with fellow researchers from across the world.

10[th] Congress of European Microbiologists (FEMS2023)

Page 4

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Summer School for PostDocs 2023

Grants & Awards

FEMS Grants provide support to microbiologists in the early stages of their career and, enable our Member Societies and their members to organize scientific and educational events. Our grants programme provides support for:

All individual members of a FEMS Member Society are eligible to apply for a FEMS grant (and non-members are eligible to apply for Congress Attendance Grants). Our FEMS Ukraine Support Grant, which was introduced in 2022, was extended in 2023 for a further year to provide ongoing support to help microbiologists caught up in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Grant name Number of
applications
(combined across
application rounds)		 Number of grants
awarded		 Value of awarded
grants (EUR)
Meeting Organizer Grants (MOG) 42 30 220,541
Research and Training Grants (RTG) 78 57 188,500
Meeting Attendance Grants (MAG) 72 43 27,866
Conference Attendance Grants
(CAG)		 570 223 192,905
Ukraine Support Grant 7 6 30,000
Industry Placement Grants (IPG) 7 5 15,700

FEMS Awards recognize excellence in scientific research, teaching, and public outreach. We have a variety of awards to recognise scientific merit found across our diverse community and at all stages of a scientific career. These awards give recognition and exposure to individuals and teams of researchers and include financial contributions to further activities. Two of our awards are jointly awarded with our partner organisations: the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).

Page 5

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Award name Recipient Criteria/Recognizing Value of award
(EUR)
Early Career
Microbiologist Award		 Khaled
Selim		 Recognizing Early Career Scientist that
has an excellent body of (published)
research.		 EUR 1,000 and
registration and costs
to attend FEMS
Congress.
Science Communication
Award		 Joanna
Verran		 Stimulating Europe-based microbiologists
at any stage of their career that apply
science communications and public
relations to contribute significantly to the
public discourse about science and
evidence.		 EUR 1,000 towards
science
communication
projects
FEMS-ASM Mäkela-
Cassell Award		 Paul Solis-
Reyes		 Benefit early career scientists from both
organizations by giving them the
opportunity to present their work
overseas and experience the best of
_microbiology in thepartner country. _		 Registration and
travel costs to attend
FEMS Congress
FEMS-ESCMID Awardee Claudia
Antonella
Colque		 Out of ESCMID’s Research and Training
Grantees, FEMS annually selects at least
one grantee, the ESCMID-FEMS
Awardee.		 Registration to attend
FEMS Congress and
EUR 1,000, paid for
byESCMID)
ESCMID-FEMS
Awardees		 Pedro
Puerta
Alcalde and
Nicolás
Sarute		 Out of the FEMS Research and Training
Grantees, the European Society of
Clinical Microbiology, and Infectious
Diseases (ESCMID) annually selects at
least one grantee, the FEMS-ESCMID
Awardee.		 Registration to attend
FEMS Congress (not
used) and EUR
1,000, paid for by
ESCMID)
Lwoff Award
(awarded 2022)		 -
Rewarding those that create high quality knowledge that helps to solve today’s
societal problems around microbiology.
-
Jensen Award
(awarded 2022)		 -
Recognizing academic achievement and superior research accomplishments
showing significant potential to develop an outstanding research career.
-

Education & Outreach

The FEMS Education group consists of individuals involved in teaching microbiology and aims to share new developments in teaching and advocate for best practice in education. The group organised a symposium at FEMS Congress in Hamburg, Germany in 2023. Education remained a key theme for the FEMS Congress with sessions dedicated to providing early career scientists in particular the tools to support and develop their career in microbiology.

Our focus for public outreach in 2023 was the International Microorganism Day (IMD2023) event. FEMS helped to organize 63 parallel events which ran across 31 different countries. These had an estimated 8000 attendees in total, of which the majority were children and young students. To further support IMD2023, we ran our Microbe Art Competition for the fifth year in a row. Winners were announced on 17 September which is the official International Microorganism Day and received microbiology-themed prizes. Three new blog pieces which shared interesting aspects of microbiology helped promote the event. There was a concerted social media campaign with the hashtag #InternationalMicroorganismDay which was used over 2.5 million times in 2023 alone. In 2023, the IMD website reached new levels of traffic, with over 25,000 unique visitors and over 50,000 page views.

Page 6

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Communication

Marketing and Communication is a central part of our delivery strategy for all our major activities. In 2023, FEMS continued to update our community with all the relevant news and to engage with our audience on our social media platforms and via newsletters.

A key activity in 2023 was the move to the onboarding of more of the marketing, branding and communications in-house to support the delivery of FEMS events, from the aforementioned International Microorganism Day to the FEMS Summer School for PostDocs and 2023 Congress. In particular for the FEMS Congress, these activities had all traditionally been the responsibility of our Professional Conference Organizers in-house for previous events. This required taking on a range of new activities by the FEMS team. For the FEMS Congress in Hamburg we created graphics to support our abstract submission and registration campaigns, we designed our booth, merchandise, and signage for our venue. We managed the social media and email marketing campaigns in combination with administering the FEMS2023 website. We managed creative teams to produce photography and videography of FEMS2023.

This year FEMS also managed the operations and marketing of 3 webinars with the FEMS Journals, in total 851 people attended. The recordings of these webinars have now been watched over 1000 times on our YouTube channel.

A big part of our communications delivery is the creation of graphics, audio, and video to support our messaging. In 2023, we released 8 podcast episodes, 43 blogs, 16 long-form videos and published press releases to announce the new incoming FEMS President and the shift to Open Access publications for the FEMS Journals, including communication with all stakeholders. We also worked together with our volunteers for various communications projects, including the #OnThisDay team, Journal Social Media Editors, blog writers, illustrators, and translators.

Industry & Policy

FEMS aims to build stronger connections between microbiology research and its commercial, medical, and environmental applications. To encourage and facilitate this collaboration we have been seeking to better understand how best to support industrial microbiologists and the companies they work for. We have been working to increase the participation of industry representatives at our events and improved understanding of the sector.

The FEMS Policy Network met in May 2023 with new members knowledgeable and interested in policymaking from FEMS Member Societies. In 2023, following recommendations from the FEMS Policy Network in 2022, FEMS has joined the "The Science Organisations for Policy Networks", an informal, monthly online meeting of policy officers at various organisations active at the "Science for Policy" interface at the European level.

FEMS organised a Policy Session at FEMS Congress in Hamburg (9-13 July 2023) on the topic of "Why and what do scientists need to get involved with policy?" During the FEMS Congress in Hamburg, a "Community Corner" was held to inform Early Career Scientists and industries about the new (since 2022) Industry Placement Grant scheme. There were also roundtables with industry representatives and networking sessions led by the Director of Business & Policy.

Business Administration and Support Services

We continuously work with our Member Societies to find ways to further support their work and we aim to share and celebrate their achievements via our communication channels, to learn from them and, share our expertise in return. We also aim to have clear and robust governance system in place for all our processes.

A key part of this development process in 2023 was FEMS governance review of its Articles of Association to ensure our key documents reflected governance best practice. Throughout the process Member Societies were deeply involved with shaping the changes to be made to the way FEMS would be governed. Following discussions at Council in 2022, FEMS reviewed and proposed changes to the Articles which addressed the key points decided with Member Societies in 2022 to help improve FEMS governance and the Articles overall legal compliance with UK Charity law. The voting reflected the decision of the Association to approve the updated FEMS Articles of Association and passed with 87% of the vote.

Page 7

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

We held our annual hybrid Council meeting in Vienna, Austria in September 2023 which included the Annual General meeting. At the Council meeting, a new FEMS President was elected, and our current Secretary General and Director of Business & Policy were re-elected for a second term. The Council also saw the formal welcoming of FEMS new Executive Director and the new delegates . The Council agreed to retain the existing membership fee for 2024 and to review the membership model in the future. The Council also approved to continuing using PEM as FEMS financial auditors.

The European Academy of Microbiology (EAM), our leadership group of eminent microbiology experts grew in 2023 to more than 170 fellows, increasing the representation of countries and fields of microbiology. The academy hosted two symposia at the FEMS Congress (FEMS2023) with expert speakers in their field, which were well attended. Fellows from the academy also contributed to a number of publications in microLife , the journal of the EAM and attended meetings worldwide representing the academy and its mission.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

2024 will mark the end of FEMS current 5-year strategy plan as well as the 50th anniversary of Federation. It will also mark the start of a period where FEMS will need to transition its business model to meet the challenges faced from Open Access publishing. The move of FEMS Journals to an open access publishing model have the threat to seriously affect FEMS income. In previous years, significant work has been underway to ensure that FEMS has assessed the risks and to develop the steps needed to ensure its ongoing sustainability into the future. These activities will require FEMS to heavily invest its resources to generate a sustainable way of delivering its charity aims. In the forthcoming year key activities will include:

FINANCIAL REVIEW FOR THE YEAR TO 31 DECEMBER 2023

Results for the year

The organization’s full results for the year to 31 December 2023 are set out in detail in the statement of financial activities.

FEMS journal income for 2023 was €2,680,248 (2022 €2,735,863).

The total value of funds held at the end of 2023 was €21,483,201 (2022 €18,977,837). A small proportion of these funds is held as a restricted fund.

Restricted funds

A total of €121,877 is secured as a restricted fund - The Jensen Award.

Page 8

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

The Jensen Award was set up, through the generosity of J R Norris, to enable the Federation to support an outstanding researcher to work for at least 6 months in a laboratory of their choice. It is the intention that the award is given at intervals which allow for the generation of sufficient capital to make the award worthwhile, while preserving initial capital. The most recent award (€10,000) was made in 2022 to Dr Rosana Alves of the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. The fund balance is invested as part of FEMS' investment portfolio and a transfer has been made to the fund representing its share of the total return on the investment portfolio. FEMS has a dedicated team at central office that oversees the Grants & Awards programmes, and the Jensen Award continues to be managed by this team.

Reserves policy

It is the policy of the Company to maintain sufficient funds to meet its objectives and obligations on an ongoing basis. An imminent threat to its main source of income, namely that from its journal business, is the move from a subscription base to Open Access. Other threats include uncertainty in the financial markets, financial austerity, and uncertainties of the global economy (as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic). While active measures are being taken to develop the FEMS publishing strategy and to develop initiatives to provide additional sources of income, the Board of Trustees considers it judicious to maintain a high level of unrestricted general reserves to cover both capital requirements and recurring and non-recurring expenditure going forward.

The underlying principles regarding the levels of reserves held are:

Principal funding

FEMS does not actively fundraise or seek donations from the public. The charitable activities of FEMS are funded by:

  1. Royalties from publishing seven scientific journals. These royalties make up 64% of the company’s income which, in turn, is used as much as possible in the pursuit of its charitable activities ( vide supra ).

  2. Capital gains and dividends from the company’s investment portfolio. This income depends on the overall performance of the portfolio. To date it has been in line with major indices.

  3. Membership fees paid by its member societies. The annual fee is currently kept at a very modest level, enabling all relevant microbiology societies to become members of FEMS or to maintain their membership regardless of variations in the exchange rate of national currencies to the Euro.

Performance of investments

At the end of 2023, the investment portfolio value stood at €19,703,557 (2022 €17,848,808).

FEMS's investment portfolio is held in London using the services of an Investment Manager. The portfolio’s investment objectives are to generate an income and growth return with a diversified risk. The portfolio is a conservative one, consisting of a mixture of UK and overseas equities, UK government stocks, unit trusts, property, commodities, and cash, carefully blended to generate income and long-term capital growth. The portfolio is managed on a discretionary basis with its content and performance monitored by the Finance Director. The investments are held in Sterling (GBP) and therefore the valuation is dependent on the current GBP/EUR exchange rate.

Page 9

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Statutes

The Company is registered as a charitable company limited by guarantee and is governed by its Articles of Association (revised and accepted by Council in 2023). In accordance with Article 30, each of the Companies Members has undertaken to contribute to it a sum not exceeding GBP 1 in the event of its being wound up while they are members, or within one year after they cease to be members.

Method of appointment or election of Trustees/Directors

The governance of the Company is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees whose members are elected under the terms of the Articles of Association. Vacancies on the Board of Trustees are advertised widely and with clear role descriptions. Previous experience of charity governance or with FEMS is not required but is preferred. Each Trustee, except the President, serves a term of 3 years, up to a maximum of two terms. The President serves for one three-year term.

Organisation structure and decision making

The Company’s Members are scholarly societies and other associations with a predominant interest in microbiology, based across Europe and beyond. Each such Member Society has the right to nominate one delegate to the Council of the Federation. The Council meets annually to receive reports from the Board of Trustees and to elect members to the Board who lead the organizational strategy and governance of the Company. The Trustees in turn appoint the Executive Director and delegate the day-to-day management of the Company according to the statutes of the Company (Article 24.2).

Pay Policy for senior staff and Trustee/Directors

The Trustees are tasked with the development of the strategy of FEMS and ensuring proper oversight and quality assurance of the activities of the charity. All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee received remuneration in the year. Details of Trustees’ expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in the accounts.

The senior management of the charity are tasked with managing FEMS on a day-to-day basis. The pay of the senior staff is reviewed annually and normally increased in accordance with average earnings, broadly consistent with the Dutch higher education collective labour agreement (CAO). Where recruitment has proven difficult, a market addition may also be paid in accordance with an agreed pay maximum that is in line with benchmarked salaries for comparable roles.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the Company is exposed, which are those related to the operations and finances of the company and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks. The Trustees consider that the major risks to the Federation remain a significant loss of income from FEMS Journal portfolio due to their move to Open Access publishing. Additionally, in this rapidly changing professional landscape, a failure to implement state-of-the-art IT systems and to establish sufficient staffing capacity for FEMS needs were also marked as further major risks.

To help address the impact of the changes to its publishing business model, FEMS has undertaken a range of activities. We have secured a new contract with our publishers from 2024 which recognises this changing landscape and increases the communication resources to help promote OA flipped journals. From September 2022, development plans have been initiated to flip FEMS Journals over to Open Access and delivery plans have been developed to ensure new Journals are successful in this new era. FEMS has also approved a Development Fund to help FEMS invest in the future sustainability of the organization and has established a Finance Committee to monitor the financial delivery of its transformation goals. The Development Fund will help support the Board of Trustees and Executive Director in their strategy work, mapping the potential danger and developing an appropriate response plan. FEMS also continues to maintain a medium risk and diversified portfolio and continues to operate well within its reserve requirements.

Page 10

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Regarding the need to implement appropriate IT systems and establish sufficient staffing capacity for FEMS, the previous years have seen the development of a series of IT infrastructures. This has supported FEMS activities in 2023 and will function as a stable potential IT platform to support the expansion of FEMS products and services in the future. FEMS will look to work with technology advisors to review FEMS's current technology provision and make recommendations for appropriate ways for[w] ard. The FEMS Development fund will enable future f1..mding for both IT and human resources investment, beyond the annual operations budgets.

Trustees' responsibilities statement

The Trustees (who are also the Directors of The Federation of European Microbiological Societies for the purposes of company law} are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Repor[t ] and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees/Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they provide a true and fair view of the situation of the charitable company and of the existing resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees/Directors are required to:

The Trustees/Directors are responsible for keeping adequate records that are sufficient to show and account for the charitable company's transactions and which disclose at any time and with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the charitable company. The financial records should also enable the Trustees/Directors to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The Trustees/Directors are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and dete[c] tion of fraud and other irregularities.

Disclosure of information to auditors

Each of the Trustees/Directors, at the time when this Trustees' Report was approved, has confirmed that:

This report was approved by the Trustees/Directors and signed on their behalf by:

Dr CM Thomas Director Fin;nce

Date: 3/5/2024

Paoe 11

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Federation of European Microbiological Societies (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the related notes, 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:

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 Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council'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 Trustees' 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 Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Page 1 2

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES (CONTINUED)

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditors' report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. 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. 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 course of 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our 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 Trustees' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Page 1 3

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES (CONTINUED)

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees' responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company 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 Trustees 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 Trustees are responsible for assessing the 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 Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors' 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 auditors' 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, is as follows:

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

Page 1 4

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES (CONTINUED)

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we;

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

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 directors 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.

Use of our report

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 so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' 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 charitable company and its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Michael Hewett (senior statutory auditor) for and on behalf of Peters Elworthy & Moore Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditors Salisbury House Station Road Cambridge CB1 2LA

Date:

Page 1 5

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Note
INCOME FROM:
Donations
3
Charitable activities
4
Investments
6
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds: Investment management
fees
7
Charitable activities
8
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET INCOME BEFORE NET
GAINS/(LOSSES) ON
INVESTMENTS
Net gains/(losses) on investments
16
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Transfers between funds
20
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS BEFORE
OTHER RECOGNISED
GAINS/(LOSSES)
OTHER RECOGNISED
GAINS/(LOSSES):
Gains on investment cash
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS:
Total funds brought forward
Net movement in funds
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 Unrestricted
funds
2023
€
40,222
3,633,664
512,730
4,186,616
71,344
3,063,398
3,134,742
1,051,874
1,409,601
2,461,475
(9,754)
2,451,721
43,889
2,495,610
18,865,714
2,495,610
21,361,324		 Restricted
funds
2023
€
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
9,754
9,754
-
9,754
112,123
9,754
121,877		 Total
funds
2023
€
40,222
3,633,664
512,730
4,186,616
71,344
3,063,398
3,134,742
1,051,874
1,409,601
2,461,475
-
2,461,475
43,889
2,505,364
18,977,837
2,505,364
21,483,201		 Total
funds
2022
€
42,810
2,849,024
395,892
3,287,726
59,819
2,014,518
2,074,337
1,213,389
(3,422,197)
(2,208,808)
-
(2,208,808)
(67,401)
(2,276,209)
21,254,046
(2,276,209)
18,977,837

The Statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

The notes on pages 2 0 to 3 7 form part of these financial statements.

Page 1 6

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAi. SOCIETIES (A company limited by g:uarantee) REGISTERED NUMBER: 03565643

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023

2023 2022
Note € €
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 15 2,194 3.,969
Investments 16 19,703,557 17,848,808
19,705,751 17,852,777
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 17 573,979 649,166
Cash at bank and in hand 2,517,491 3,925,573
3,091,470 4,574,739
Creditors: amounts falling due wlthin one
year 18 (1,150,622) (3,130 164)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 1,940,848 1,444,575
TOT AL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES 21,646,599 19,297,352
Creditors: amounts falling due after more
than one year 19 (163,398) (319,515)
TOTAL NET ASSETS 21,483,.201 18,977,837
CHARITY FUNDS
Restricted funds 20 121,877 112,123
Unrestricted funds 20 21,361,324 18,865,714
TOTAL FUNDS 21,483,201 18,977,837

The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and preparation of financial statements.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to entities subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Professor C M Thomas Director of Finance Date: 3/5/2024

The notes on pages 20 to 37 form part of these financial statements.

Page 17

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Note
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net cash used in operating activities
22
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Dividends, interests and rents from investments
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Net cash transferred to investment portfolio
NET CASH PROVIDED BY INVESTING ACTIVITIES
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Gains on invested cash due to exchange rates
NET CASH PROVIDED BY/(USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES
CHANGE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS IN THE YEAR
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT THE END OF THE YEAR
23		 2023
€
(1,519,553)
512,730
-
(445,147)
67,583
43,888
43,888
(1,408,082)
3,925,573
2,517,491		 2022
€
942,551
395,892
(3,063)
(234,698)
158,131
(67,401)
(67,401)
1,033,281
2,892,292
3,925,573

The notes on pages 2 0 to 3 7 form part of these financial statements

Page 18

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES (A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.1 BASIS OF PREPARATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - 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) (October 2019 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 Federation of European Microbiological Societies meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.

1.2 COMPANY STATUS

The company is a company limited by guarantee. The members of the company are the Members Societies. In the event of the company being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the company.

1.3 FUND ACCOUNTING

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the company and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the company for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.

1.4 GOING CONCERN

The Trustees have considered budgets and forecasts to 31 December 2025 and beyond and as a result have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the financial statements continue to be prepared on the going concern basis.

Page 19

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES (A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)

1.5 INCOME

Donations are recognised where the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis, when the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. This is normally upon notification by our investment managers or our bankers.

Income from journals comprises royalties from the Federation's publisher receivable in the year under review. Subscription income from members is accounted for on a receipts basis in the year in which the income is received.

Income from the Congress is accounted for in the year in which the income is receivable. Congress Attendance Grants are accounted for as free places and shown as a discount. Previously, congress income resulted from any surplus made on the event, managed and provided by an external company.

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the company; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.

1.6 EXPENDITURE

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit 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.

Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the company and include project management carried out at Headquarters. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the company and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the company to raise funds for its charitable purposes and includes costs of all fundraising activities events and non-charitable trading.

Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the company's objectives, as well as any associated support costs.

Page 2 0

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)

1.6 EXPENDITURE (continued)

Grants payable are charged in the year when the offer is made except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised as expenditure when the conditions attaching are fulfilled. Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end are noted as a commitment, but not accrued as expenditure.

1.7 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS AND DEPRECIATION

The charity has a policy of not capitalising portable computer equipment or items where the original cost is less than €1,500 and they are fully written off in the year of purchase.

Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. All costs incurred to bring a tangible fixed asset into its intended working condition should be included in the measurement of cost.

Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives on the following basis:

Office equipment - 25% straight line

1.8 INVESTMENTS

Fixed asset investments are a form of financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction cost and subsequently measured at fair value at the balance sheet date, unless the value cannot be measured reliably in which case it is measured at cost less impairment. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and presented as ‘Gains/(Losses) on investments’ in the Statement of Financial Activities.

1.9 OPERATING LEASES

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight line basis over the lease term.

1.10 DEBTORS

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

1.11 CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

Page 2 1

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)

1.12 LIABILITIES AND PROVISIONS

Liabilities 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.

Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the company anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.

Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised in the statement of financial activities as a finance cost.

1.13 FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The company only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

1.14 PENSIONS

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the company to the fund in respect of the year.

1.15 FOREIGN CURRENCIES

The functional and presentational currency is Euros. Transactions in overseas currencies during the year under review and balances denominated in such currencies at the balance sheet date have been translated into euros. Transactions in foreign currencies are initially recorded in the entity’s functional currency by applying the spot exchange rate ruling at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. All differences are taken to retained earnings.

2. CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND AREAS OF JUDGEMENT

Estimates and judgments 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.

Critical accounting estimates and assumptions:

The company makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are investment valuations.

Page 2 2

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

3.
INCOME FROM DONATIONS
Unrestricted
funds
2023
€
Membership subscriptions
40,222
Total 2022
42,810
4.
INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Unrestricted
funds
2023
€
Income from journals
2,680,248
Congress income - registration fees
949,470
Congress income - Congress Award Grants
(196,905)
Congress income - ticket sales
170,101
Congress income - exhibition fees
30,750
Shared event income (note 5)
-
Total 2023
3,633,664
Total 2022
2,849,024		 Total
funds
2023
€
40,222
42,810
Total
funds
2023
€
2,680,248
949,470
(196,905)
170,101
30,750
-
3,633,664
2,849,024		 Total
funds
2022
€
42,810
Total
funds
2022
€
2,735,863
-
-
-
-
113,161
2,849,024

Page 2 3

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

5. SHARED EVENT INCOME

Shared event income - FEMS share (note 4)
Shared event costs - FEMS share (included in note 8)		 2023
€
-
-
-		 2022
€
113,161
(223,391)
(110,230)

In 2023 the FEMS Congress was held by FEMS with all income being received directly.

During the year, FEMS awarded CAGS (Congress Attendance Grants) in the form of free registration places.

In 2022, the FEMS Conference was held in collaboration with 2 partners with each partner taking a share of income and expenditure. In 2022, the total income share was €108,357 and total share of costs was incurred of €183,090 which resulted in a deficit of €74,733. This deficit was deemed to be FEMS’ contribution to holding the event.

A similar arrangement was in place for the Education Summer School event in 2022. The share of income received was €4,804 however costs incurred totalled €40,301. This resulted in a deficit of €35,497 which is deemed to be FEMS' contribution to holding the event.

Page 2 4

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

6.
INVESTMENT INCOME
Unrestricted
funds
2023
€
Income from equities
485,042
Bank interest receivable
27,688
Total 2023
512,730
Total 2022
395,892		 Total
funds
2023
€
485,042
27,688
512,730
395,892		 Total
funds
2022
€
393,099
2,793
395,892

7. INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COSTS

Unrestricted
funds
2023
€
Investment management fees
71,344
Total 2022
59,819		 Total
funds
2023
€
71,344
59,819		 Total
funds
2022
€
59,819

Page 2 5

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

8. ANALYSIS OF CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE BY ACTIVITIES

Direct costs
(note 9)		 Grant &
Awards
costs
(note 10)		 Support
costs
(note 11)		 2023 2022
€ € € € €
Publications 192,081 5,983 134,017 332,081 274,087
Events 1,546,443 - 103,311 1,649,754 455,770
Grants and Awards 60,641 315,032 96,832 472,505 640,667
Projects 57,064 - 93,262 150,326 156,296
Business Development and
Support Services		 172,386 - 94,397 266,783 272,739
Communications 97,326 - 94,623 191,949 214,959
Total 2023 2,125,941 321,015 616,442 3,063,398 2,014,518
Total 2022 956,370 503,528 554,620 2,014,518 -

9. DIRECT COSTS

Staff costs Other
direct
costs		 2023 2022
€ € € €
Publications 51,529 140,552 192,081 154,645
Events 14,619 1,531,824 1,546,443 366,344
Grants and Awards 53,971 6,670 60,641 72,200
Projects 19,200 37,864 57,064 74,549
Business Development and Support Services 32,021 140,365 172,386 152,438
Communications 70,315 27,011 97,326 136,195

Page 2 6

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

10. ANALYSIS OF GRANTS AND AWARDS

10. ANALYSIS OF GRANTS AND AWARDS
Grants
Awards
Total
Total 2022		 Grants to
Institutions
2023
€
44,542
-		 Grants to
Individuals
2023
€
262,066
14,407
276,473
284,622		 Total
2023
€
306,608
14,407
321,015
503,528		 Total
2022
€
485,662
17,866
44,542 503,528
218,906

During 2023, 30 Meeting Organizer Grants were dispersed ranging from €3,000 to €15,000 and 43 Meeting Attendance Grants were dispersed from €170 to €750. 57 Research and Training Grants were dispersed to individuals ranging from €1,500 to €5,000 (excluding write backs). 6 Ukraine Support Grants were dispersed ranging from €3,000 to €7,500. 5 Industrial Placement Grants were dispersed ranging from €2,000 to €5,000. 37 Article Awards were also dispersed in the year ranging between €83 to €333. 1 ESCMID award was dispersed for €1,000 as well as 1 Lwoff Award of €1,000.

During 2022, 31 Meeting Organizer Grants were dispersed ranging from €3,000 to €10,000 and 52 Meeting Attendance Grants were dispersed from €200 to €600. 51 Research and Training Grants were dispersed to individuals ranging from €1,400 to €4,000 (excluding write backs). 9 Ukraine Support Grants were dispersed ranging from €1,000 to €7,000. 7 Industrial Placement Grants were dispersed ranging from €3,600 to €5,000. 7 Article Awards were also dispersed in the year for €1,000 per journal. 1 ESCMID award was dispersed for €1,000 as well as 1 Jensen Award of €10,000.

*Grants were awarded in December 2023 totalling €176,000 however were not formally communicated to recipients until January 2024. A designated fund has been set up to reflect this commitment.

Free registration places amounting to €192,905 were awarded in relation to attendance at the Congress (note 4).

Grants Payable
Grants to institutions
Meeting Organizer Grants
Less refunds relating to Meeting Organizer Grants
Total Grants to institutions
Grants to individuals*
Meeting Attendance Grants
Research and Training Grants
Conference Grants
IPG Grants
Ukraine Support Grants
Impact in Science Communication Award
FEMS/ESCMID Award
Article Awards
Lwoff Award
Jensen Award
Outstanding Early Career Microbiologist Award
Makela Cassela Award
Miscellaneous grant costs
Less refunds relating to Research & Training Grants
Total Grants to individuals
Total		 2023
€
44,542
-
44,542
27,866
188,500
-
15,700
30,000
262,066
1,103
1,000
5,983
1,000
-
1,318
3,082
921
-
276,473
321,015		 2022
€
231,000
(12,094)
218,906
19,250
175,450
-
30,656
41,400
266,756
-
1,000
6,506
-
10,000
-
360
-
284,622
503,528

Page 2 7

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

11. SUPPORT COSTS

Publications Events Grants and
Awards		 Projects Business
Development
and Support
**Services **		 Communications 2023
2022
€ € € € € € €
€
Office 7,355 7,355 7,355 7,355 7,355 7,355 44,130
70,385
Governance 37,124 37,124 37,124 37,124 37,124 37,125 222,745
82,224
Finance 23,236 23,239 23,236 23,236 23,236 23,236 139,419
135,846
Personnel 55,188 24,479 18,003 14,433 15,568 15,793 143,464
200,537
Systems 11,114 11,114 11,114 11,114 11,114 11,114 66,684
65,628
Total 2023 134,017 103,311 96,832 93,262 94,397 94,623 616,442
554,620

Included in governance costs is €12,266 (2022 - €11,108) relating to auditors' remuneration.

2022 support costs were: Publications €116,075, Events €73,747 Grants and Awards €74,584, Projects €84,886, Business Development and Support Services €123,425 and Communications €81,903.

Page 28

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

12. AUDITORS' REMUNERATION

2023 2022
€ €
Fees payable to the company's auditor for the auditof the company's
annual accounts 12,266 11,108
Fees payable to the company's auditor in respect ofother services
All taxation advisory services not included above 3,424 3,101

13. STAFF COSTS

Dutch staff remuneration
Dutch staff social security costs
Dutch staff pension costs		 2023
€
597,929
83,725
42,139
723,793		 2022
€
548,484
68,515
34,063
651,062

The average number of persons employed by the company during the year was as follows:

2023 2022
No. No.
Publications and administration 11 10

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded €60,000 was:

2023 2022
No. No.
In the band €150,001 - €160,000 1 -

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees, Executive Director and the Managing Director. No Trustees are entitled to any emoluments in respect of their services and they did not receive any remuneration or benefits in kind in this or the prior year. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were €186,077 (2022 - €81,455). This represents salaries, employer's pension contribution and employer's social security costs.

Page 29

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

14. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES

During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2022 - €NIL).

During the year ended 31 December 2023, expenses totalling €14,751 were reimbursed or paid directly to 7 Trustees (2022 - €19,145 to 7 Trustees). The reimbursed expenses primarily represent travel and subsistence expenses incurred in connection with attendance at FEMS meetings and postage and stationery costs.

15. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Cost or valuation
At 1 January 2023
Disposals
At 31 December 2023
Depreciation
At 1 January 2023
Charge for the year
On disposals
At 31 December 2023
Net book value
At 31 December 2023
At 31 December 2022		 Office
equipment
€
44,443
(37,343)
7,100
40,474
1,775
(37,343)
4,906
2,194
3,969

Page 3 0

(A company limited by guarantee)

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

16. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

Cost or valuation
At 1 January 2023
Additions
Disposals(Proceeds €752,628)
Revaluations
Movement in cash
AT 31 DECEMBER 2023		 Listed
investments
€
16,735,655
1,916,382
(791,779)
1,448,752
-
19,309,010		 Cash
investments
€
1,113,153
-
-
-
(718,606)
394,547		 Total
€
17,848,808
1,916,382
(791,779)
1,448,752
(718,606)
19,703,557

All investments are carried at their fair value. Investment in equities and fixed interest securities are all traded in quoted public markets, primarily the London Stock Exchange. Holdings in common investment funds, unit trusts and open-ended investment companies are at the bid price. The basis of fair value for quoted investments is equivalent to the market value, using the bid price. Asset sales and purchases are recognised at the date of trade at cost (that is their transaction value).

The significance of financial instruments to the ongoing financial sustainability of the charity is considered in the financial review and investment policy and performance sections of the Trustees' Report.

The main risk to the charity from financial instruments lies in the combination of uncertain investment markets and volatility in yield. Liquidity risk is anticipated to be low as all assets are traded and the commitment to intervention by central banks and market regulators has continued to provide for orderly trading in the markets and so the ability to buy and sell quoted equities and stock is anticipated to continue. The Company‘s investments are mainly traded in markets with good liquidity and high trading volumes.

The charity manages these investment risks by retaining expert advisors and operating an investment policy that provides for a high degree of diversification of holdings within investment asset classes that are quoted on recognised stock exchanges. The charity does not make use of derivatives and similar complex financial instruments as it takes the view that investments are held for their longer term yield total return and historic studies of quoted financial instruments have shown that volatility in any particular 5 year period will normally be corrected.

17. DEBTORS

Trade debtors
Other debtors		 2023
€
472,806
101,173
573,979		 2022
€
541,197
107,969
649,166

Page 3 1

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

18. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Trade creditors
Other taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
Grants payable
Reconciliation of grants payable:
Grants payable brought forward
Commitments made (net of write backs) (note 10)
Grants paid
Grants payable carried forward		 2023
€
22,254
119,719
-
779,299
229,350
1,150,622
2023
€
445,381
321,015
(537,046)
229,350		 2022
€
12,151
410,548
1,050
2,261,034
445,381
3,130,164
2022
€
402,977
507,499
(465,095)
445,381

19. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR

Deferred income
.
DEFERRED INCOME		 2023
€
163,398		 2022
€
319,515

Monies were received in advance for the journal production contract which commenced with Oxford University Press from 1 January 2024. This income has been deferred and is being released over the period to which the services relate. This is split between amounts falling due within one year and more than one year.

Deferred income brought forward
Resources deferred during the year
Amounts released from previous periods
Deferred income carried forward		 2023
€
2,494,575
549,788
(2,210,030)
834,333		 2022
€
2,756,445
2,045,143
(2,307,013)
2,494,575

Page 3 2

(A company limited by guarantee)

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

20. STATEMENT OF FUNDS

STATEMENT OF FUNDS - CURRENT YEAR

Unrestricted
funds
Designated
funds
Meeting
organizer
grants
General funds
General Funds
Total
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Restricted fund -
Jensen award
Total of funds		 Balance at 1
January
2023
€
-
18,865,714
18,865,714
112,123
18,977,837		 Income
€
-
4,186,616
4,186,616
-
4,186,616		 Expenditure
€
-
(3,134,742)
(3,134,742)
-
(3,134,742)		 Transfers
in/out
€
176,000
(185,754)
(9,754)
9,754
-		 Gains/
(Losses)
€
-
1,453,490
1,453,490
-
1,453,490		 Balance at
31
December
2023
€
176,000
21,185,324
21,361,324
121,877
21,483,201

Page 3 3

(A company limited by guarantee)

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

20. STATEMENT OF FUNDS (CONTINUED)

STATEMENT OF FUNDS - PRIOR YEAR

Unrestricted
funds
General Funds
Restricted
funds
Restricted fund -
Jensen award
Total of funds		 Balance at
1 January
2022
€
21,129,520
124,526
21,254,046		 Income
€
3,287,726
-
3,287,726		 Expenditure
€
(2,074,337)
-
(2,074,337)		 Transfers
in/out
€
12,403
(12,403)
-		 Gains/
(Losses)
€
(3,489,598)
-
(3,489,598)		 Balance at
31
December
2022
€
18,865,714
112,123
18,977,837

Restricted Fund - Jensen Fund

The Jensen Award was set up, through the generosity of J R Norris, to enable the Federation to support an outstanding researcher to work for at least 6 months in a laboratory of their choice. It is the intention that the award will be given at intervals which allow for the generation of sufficient capital to make the award worthwhile, while preserving initial capital. The most recent award (€10,000) was made in 2019 to Dr Sarah Zecchin of University of Milan. The fund balance is invested as part of FEMS' investment portfolio and a transfer has been made to the fund representing its share of the total return on the investment portfolio. FEMS has a dedicated team at Central Office that oversees our Grants and Awards programmes, and the Jensen Award will continue to be managed by this team.

The transfer to restricted fund is the allocation of the investment gains or losses in the year to this fund.

Designated fund - Meeting organizer grants

As outlined in note 10, grants were awarded in December 2023 in relation to meeting organizer grants however they were not formally communicated until January 2024. As the grants were approved out of the 2023 budget the amount has been designated in the year.

Page 3 4

(A company limited by guarantee)

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

21. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS - CURRENT YEAR

Unrestricted
funds
2023
€
Tangible fixed assets
2,194
Fixed asset investments
19,581,680
Current assets
3,091,470
Creditors due within one year
(1,150,622)
Creditors due in more than one year
(163,398)
Total
21,361,324
ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS - PRIOR YEAR
Unrestricted
funds
2022
€
Tangible fixed assets
3,969
Fixed asset investments
17,736,685
Current assets
4,574,739
Creditors due within one year
(3,130,164)
Creditors due in more than one year
(319,515)
Total
18,865,714		 Restricted
funds
2023
€
-
121,877
-
-
-
121,877
Restricted
funds
2022
€
-
112,123
-
-
-
112,123		 Total
funds
2023
€
2,194
19,703,557
3,091,470
(1,150,622)
(163,398)
21,483,201
Total
funds
2022
€
3,969
17,848,808
4,574,739
(3,130,164)
(319,515)
18,977,837
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Current assets
Creditors due within one year
Creditors due in more than one year
Total

Page 3 5

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

22.
RECONCILIATION OF NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS TO NET CASH FLOW
ACTIVITIES
Net income/expenditure for the year (as per Statement of Financial
Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
(Losses)/gains on investments
Dividends, interests and rents from investments
Decrease in debtors
Decrease in creditors
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
23.
ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Cash in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents
24.
ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET DEBT
At 1
January
2023
Cash flows
€
€
Cash at bank and in hand
3,925,573
(1,448,080)
3,925,573
(1,448,080)		 FROM OPERATING
2023
2022
€
€
2,461,475
(2,208,808)
1,775
3,086
(1,409,601)
3,422,197
(512,730)
(395,892)
75,187
343,776
(2,135,659)
(221,808)
(1,519,553)
942,551
2023
2022
€
€
2,517,491
3,925,573
2,517,491
3,925,573
Changes in
market
value and
exchange
rate
movements
At 31
December
2023
€
€
39,998
2,517,491
39,998
2,517,491

Page 3 6

THE FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

25. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS

At 31 December 2023 the company had commitments to make future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

Not later than 1 year
Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years		 2023
€
28,500
7,125
35,625		 2022
€
28,500
35,625
64,125

26. OTHER FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS

The charity has given guarantees in the normal course of business amounting to €11,262 (2022 - €11,262).

27. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

There were no transactions with related parties during the year (2022 - none).

28. CONTROLLING PARTY

The charitable company is under the control of the Trustees. No one trustee has individual control.

Page 3 7