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2023-03-31-accounts

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 3224552 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1074830

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND

AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

FOR

AXIS COUNSELLING

(A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

D.R.E. & Co. (Audit) Limited 7 Lower Brook Street Oswestry Shropshire SY11 2HG

AXIS COUNSELLING

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Page
Reference and Administrative Details 1
Report of the Trustees 2 to 7
Report of the Independent Auditors 8 to 11
Statement of Financial Activities 12
Balance Sheet 13 to 14
Cash Flow Statement 15
Notes to the Cash Flow Statement 16
Notes to the Financial Statements 17 to 25
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities 26

AXIS COUNSELLING

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

TRUSTEES Dr S Robin (resigned 26.7.22)
J Bryans
Dr T B Goode
Mrs D L Ploszay
Mrs T Hayek
N G O Burn
COMPANY SECRETARY Ms I Ferguson
REGISTERED OFFICE 2nd Floor Fletcher House
15 College Hill
Shrewsbury
Shropshire
SY1 1LY
REGISTERED COMPANY 3224552 (England and Wales)
NUMBER
REGISTERED CHARITY 1074830
NUMBER
AUDITORS D.R.E. & Co. (Audit) Limited
7 Lower Brook Street
Oswestry
Shropshire
SY11 2HG
SOLICITORS Wace Morgan Solicitors
21 St Mary's Street
Shrewsbury
SY1 1ED
BANKERS CAF Bank 25
Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 4JQ

Page 1

AXIS COUNSELLING

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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) (effective 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Principle activities AXIS COUNSELLING SERVICE 2022/2023

Axis delivers services to people aged 5+ who have experienced any form of sexual abuse at any time in their life, including (but not limited to):

o Childhood sexual abuse o Childhood sexual exploitation o Sexual assault, sexual violence, rape. o Technology assisted sexual abuse (This list is not exhaustive) o In addition, we support family members of victims/survivors of sexual trauma.

The counselling team offer a wide range of services including a Trauma Informed Online Self-Help Programme, Initial Assessment, Workshops, a range of Brief Counselling options, Trauma Focused Counselling & Groupwork. Additionally, Axis Counselling provides a contracted counselling service within HM Prison at Stoke Heath and Fast Track Counselling for the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC)

The ISVA Team offers a wide range of support including advocacy, support through the Criminal Justice System, providing impartial and independent advice, guidance, and information to survivors to help them to make informed decisions that are right for them. This covers a wide variety of areas of their life which has been impacted by the abuse such as mental and physical health and wellbeing; financial; accommodation; support networks; coping mechanisms; education and employment; harm from others; Safeguarding; and immigration and residence.

The training Centre delivers training courses and awareness raising to professionals.

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm that they have considered and have had due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission and a full description of the charities activities is given in the CEO Report.

Page 2

AXIS COUNSELLING

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE AXIS COUNSELLING 2022/23

The counselling service received 701 referrals, which was a decrease of 9% on the previous year. We were able to affect a 26% decrease in the waiting list on the previous year and have sustained less than a 20 week wait for access to therapy down from an all-time high of over 100 weeks in individual cases (it is recognised: allocations are based on clients' individual requests for specific days/times/deliver and location and assessed priority.)

Counselling delivery was adapted to provide remote coverage due to COVID, however the service now continues to offer a blended approach of both face-to-face and online/telephone counselling which now has an equal split as delivery preference. This flexibility has seen a higher percentage of attended appointments and an all-time low of DNA's appointments. We have seen a 14% increase in clients accessing an appointment compared with the previous year and approx. A total of 21,000 contacts distributed across those clients receiving a service took place during 2022-23.

Targeted funding from the PCC/MOJ allowed us to recruit a learning disability/Neuro Diverse counsellor, additional men and boys counselling support and critical support resources to target the waiting list together with a part time children's counsellor which has enabled us to open up our service to 5-10yr olds.

With a commitment to supporting clients whilst on our waiting list, we launched 'Let's Talk about Trauma' - a series of six online workshops to help clients understand and manage some of the common responses to trauma. Our online resource, 'Taste of Recovery with Axis' has 75% take up from waiting list clients. The programme helps clients to identify the effects of sexual trauma and to develop coping strategies and to improve emotional wellbeing.

We launched HEAR4YOU - a new listening service to provide active, compassionate listening and additional support for clients waiting for trauma focused interventions.

We also launched our Under 11's service offering counselling for children from 5 to 10 years to help a child process traumatic events and explore emotions through creative and playful interventions. As parental involvement is beneficial to the therapy process, parents/carers are invited to participate in some sessions with their child and individual support can also be provided. As part of this new service, a comprehensive Initial Assessment for counselling was developed involving both parent and child.

Referrals are mainly via self-referrals (46%) although the majority of these are signposted in from community mental health services, followed by Axis ISVA Service (25%) up 6% on last year and SARC (12%) doubling its referrals from last year. We have seen a dramatic decrease in direct referrals received from GP practices in favour of signposting's.

Axis Counselling now supports people of all genders from the ages of 5 upwards. The majority of our clients, 879 of whom received a service (14% increase), were female (86%), and the main age range of our clients was 18-24yrs (22%).

The current geographical areas of operation are Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and surrounding areas.

AXIS ISVA SERVICE 2022/23

The ISVA team have supported 1120 clients over the period of April 2022 to March 2023 with 643 new referrals received, being able to contact 641 of these clients and offer a service.

Of the 1120 clients supported, 641 of these were new referrals received during the year, 479 were existing clients.

60 of our new referrals were for Family members of survivors who have identified they need support to better understand what has happened to their loved one and how it might have impacted on them. Overall throughout the year 94 Family clients received support from our Family ISVA.

The ISVA team handled 3640 face to face appointments with clients over this period and provided a total of 16,439 interventions of all other methods, which highlights a significant rise in face to face appointments as we moved out of Covid restrictions.

The gender split of our clients is 107 males in service and 984 females and our adult clients (those over the age of 18) represent our largest group of ISVA clients.

Of our new referrals the largest referral source was the police at 53% (340 referrals), 30% self-referrals (195) and the rest coming from other agencies or third parties.

Page 3

AXIS COUNSELLING

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The ISVA service continues to offer a range of options for support including video, phone, text/WhatsApp, office and outreach appointments. It is based on what best suits the individual and this is identified at the beginning of support and continually re-visited.

Axis ISVA Service offers direct support to clients of all genders, ages 5 and up.

The ISVA team offer specialist support to groups and communities of clients who might otherwise not be reached such as Ethnic Minorities, LGBTQ+, Teen victims of domestic abuse, clients with disabilities. These specialist ISVA's go out into the community to connect with these groups of survivors, attend specialist training and hold skills and knowledge which support their own clients as well as the rest of the team who have clients who hold this protective characteristic.

Our Training arm has trained over 100 people in the last financial year, and we expect this to increase significantly over the next year. Axis is now an accredited Training Centre and have developed the 'In the Mind of the Victim' which takes the learner into the mind of a survivor to understand the impact of sexual abuse and help to identify the appropriate verbal and non-verbal approaches to a disclosure of sexual abuse. This course affords the learner the opportunity to obtain a Level 3 certificate.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Axis continues to provide excellent support for clients through ISVA and counselling services. It is a learning organisation using relevant research and practice models to enhance the success and relevance of its services. Axis is ably assisted by its Trustees, Staff and volunteers who are all very committed, passionate and optimistic in providing the very best services to enhance the wellbeing and health of its clients.

OBJECTIVES AND YEAR AHEAD

This year has seen us support more clients in one year than ever before; 1999 clients in total. The demand for our services continues to increase year on year. Following the pandemic, we had to find new ways in which to offer support. We have been able to maintain those offers as well as re-offering old options. Now that all of those are embedded as the norm, we have been able to look, this year, at the services we offer. By a combination of client collaboration, and analysing our service data, we have been able to create new offers, based on survivors wishes and statistical evidence.

This year we have achieved re-accreditation of the Quality Standards for Independent Sexual Violence Adviser Services for both our Adult and Children and Young Peoples Service. We have also achieved Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation, ensuring that the data security we have in place is robust.

This year has seen Axis become an accredited training centre with AIM Qualifications and Assessments Group. We have created our own specialist Level 3 course which has been accredited, which we have delivered to professionals. We have also become a certified member of CPD (Continuous Personal Development) enabling us to award CPD points to our non-accredited courses.

We have delivered training to over 300 professionals in our first year, both through our ISVA contract and through Axis' training department.

With the priority that is being given to Sexual Abuse/ Violence and Rape, by the Government, in the wake of several high-profile cases, multiple pots of short-term funding have been available again this year which we have benefitted from. Whilst we are immensely grateful for any additional funding, recruiting into short-term posts is incredibly difficult, and unspent funds cannot be rolled over to the next financial year. We have taken advantage of several pots of short-term funding, but these came to an end on 31st March 2023, with no clear indication of whether this funding would become available again, meaning that we had to let trained staff go.

The year ahead will be looking to secure longer term funding so that we can secure staffing levels that do not require us to train staff, just to let them go after a short period of time. We are also aiming for a certain degree of self-sustainability by means of building our training arm, albeit this will take some time to become self-sufficient, before it will be able to generate sufficient funds to divert to other services within the organisation.

Collaborative working has been high on our agenda this year and will continue into the year ahead. We have attended a huge number of events and liaised with many partner agencies to raise the profile of Axis, raise awareness of what we do, and ensure that we are at the forefront of people's minds when opportunities for collaborative working arise.

Page 4

AXIS COUNSELLING

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

We have taken on a volunteer this year who has supported the administration of our training centre as well as Axis generally. We will be looking to build on this in the future by expanding our volunteer programme.

Becky Jones CEO

CHAIR OF THE TRUSTEE REPORT

Over the last year Axis Counselling has again helped hundreds of people across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin who have suffered from the effects of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape. It has been another year of growth in our services and also expansion into a new area, with our training department.

The Charity's work is needed more than ever and so we continue to be immensely grateful to our funders and supporters, including the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner, The Ministry of Justice, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB, and the Lloyds Bank Foundation. Their support has allowed us to help more people this year than ever before through our Counselling and ISVA services. Our clients remain the centre of everything we do.

The quality of our services has been further recognised with re-accreditation of our ISVA services as well as the successful accreditation of Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. This reflects the excellence which Axis' staff offer supporting clients, and the protections put in place to protect their data. The Board of Trustees would like to recognise this work and thank the incredible team at Axis working in both services.

The ambitious achievements of the last 12 months have been set against the incredibly challenging background of the cost-of-living crisis whilst, at the same time, most of the charity's multi-year funding remains static. Axis, however, has continued to use innovative ways to provide quality services to clients amidst the rising costs. Axis has continued to grow and further diversify, promoting better understanding of the impact of sexual abuse and sexual assault through educational activity. The team have again shown incredible dexterity in delivering support to clients while managing and adapting to ongoing change.

The Trustees and I would like to recognise and thank the professional and highly effective leadership team at Axis. Their dedication, collaboration and ambition for the important work of Axis continues to drive our success in supporting each of our clients.

On a personal note, I would also like to thank all of the Trustees who remain one of Axis' greatest assets. They have again given their time, energy and ideas for the benefit of the organisation and have continued to be a valued and consistent support to the leadership team and to myself.

J. Bryans Chair of Axis Trustees

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Reserves policy

It is a policy of the Management Committee to maintain a designated contingency reserve that would mitigate against the risk of loss of funding or of a funding delay from a major service contract or funding source. Axis has no major assets or ability to seek loans to maintain the service if in financial crisis. Access to reserves would be essential if the organisation failed in part or completely, in attracting sufficient funds to continue its work and had to close down its operations in part or full. If there was a significant future funding shortfall there would still be the need to operate services for a period of time, which could be some months, and manage through to a conclusion the service users that were progressing through their therapy. The Trustees aim to maintain a minimum of £100k of free reserves as a contingency reserve and £70k held in reserve against possible redundancy payments should there ever be a need to close down part or all of the organisation's operation. Maintaining a contingency reserve provides a degree of confidence that the organisation is secure in the medium term and is therefore able to plan and manage for its future needs.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Page 5

AXIS COUNSELLING

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Management

A Board, which normally meets quarterly, oversees the management and direction of the organisation. The Board is made up of the Directors/trustees and representatives of each Service, as well as the CEO, Finance Officer, and Company secretary.

Feeding into the Board meetings is a Strategic Senior Leadership Team (Strategic SMT) which meets monthly. This is made up of the CEO, Service Managers and Finance Officer.

Feeding in to the Strategic SMT, is an Operational Senior Management Team (Operational SMT) which meets bi-monthly. This is made up of the CEO, Service managers, Finance officer, Service Seniors and Service Leads.

The Chief Executive Officer plans and oversees the provision of services as directed by the Board. Each Service comprises of a Service Manager who is supported by either a Lead or Seniors.

The Counselling Manager is supported by the Counselling lead (who has responsibility for Clinical practice). The ISVA Manager is supported by a Senior Adult ISVA and Senior ChISVA (Children's ISVA). Both managers report directly to the CEO and are responsible for the day to day running of their respective services and welfare of their staff. Counselling Services are provided to the clients by Counsellors, with the support of Counselling Support Officers who have their work monitored and continually evaluated by Clinical Supervisors and are managed by the Counsellor Lead and/ or Counselling Manager.

The Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) Services are provided to clients by the ISVA's, who are also monitored and continually evaluated by Clinical Supervisors and are managed by their respective Senior and/ or the ISVA Manager.

Risk Management Policy

A comprehensive Risk Assessment has been completed and presented to the Board identifying and assessing the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular, these risks relate to its operations, finance and data collection and retention. The Board are satisfied that identified risks have been assessed for the impact they may have, and, where considered high, systems are in place to mitigate exposure.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of Axis Counselling for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) including Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which 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 the 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 proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 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.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

Page 6

AXIS COUNSELLING

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

AUDITORS

The auditors, D.R.E. & Co. (Audit) Limited, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by:

........................................................................ J Bryans - Trustee

Page 7

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE TRUSTEES OF AXIS COUNSELLING

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Axis Counselling (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement 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 (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'.

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 UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the 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.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors 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 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.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Page 8

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE TRUSTEES OF AXIS COUNSELLING

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, 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.

Page 9

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE TRUSTEES OF AXIS COUNSELLING

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditors under Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

-the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

-we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with directors and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the client's operating sector;

-we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation, employment, environmental and health and safety legislation;

-we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management; and

-identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.

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

-making enquiries of management as to their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and

-reviewing the client's system notes and internal controls.

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

-performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;

-tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;

-assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in note 3 were indicative of potential bias;

-investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.

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

-agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;

-enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Page 10

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE TRUSTEES OF AXIS COUNSELLING

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's trustees 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 the charitable company's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

D.R.E. & Co. (Audit) Limited Eligible to act as an auditor in terms of Section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006 7 Lower Brook Street Oswestry Shropshire SY11 2HG

Date: .............................................

Page 11

AXIS COUNSELLING

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Notes
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
2
Investment income
3
Total
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
4
Charitable Activities
NET INCOME
Transfers between funds
13
Net movement in funds
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 Unrestricted
funds
£
27,430
3,276
30,706
11,615
19,091
150,860
169,951
464,339
634,290		 Restricted
funds
£
1,384,404
-
1,384,404
1,233,544
150,860
(150,860)
-
-
-		 31.3.23
Total
funds
£
1,411,834
3,276
1,415,110
1,245,159
169,951
-
169,951
464,339
634,290		 31.3.22
Total
funds
£
1,264,418
395
1,264,813
1,071,949
192,864
-
192,864
271,475
464,339

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 12

AXIS COUNSELLING

BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2023

Unrestricted
funds
Notes
£
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets
9
55,382
CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks
10
1,000
Debtors
11
210,102
Cash at bank and in hand
394,332
605,434
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year
12
(26,526)
NET CURRENT ASSETS
578,908
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES
634,290
NET ASSETS
634,290
FUNDS
13
Unrestricted funds
TOTAL FUNDS		 Restricted
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 31.3.23
Total
funds
£
55,382
1,000
210,102
394,332
605,434
(26,526)
578,908
634,290
634,290
634,290
634,290		 31.3.22
Total
funds
£
76,906
1,000
67,379
362,385
430,764
(43,331)
387,433
464,339
464,339
464,339
464,339

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2023.

The members have not deposited notice, pursuant to Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006 requiring an audit of these financial statements.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

These financial statements have been audited under the requirements of Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011.

The notes form part of these financial statements

continued...

Page 13

AXIS COUNSELLING

BALANCE SHEET - continued 31 MARCH 2023

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

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on ............................................. and were signed on its behalf by:

............................................. J Bryans - Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 14

AXIS COUNSELLING

CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
1
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Sale of tangible fixed assets
Interest received
Net cash used in investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in
the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of
the reporting period		 31.3.23
£
44,203
44,203
(17,224)
1,692
3,276
(12,256)
31,947
362,385
**394,332 **		 31.3.22
£
207,418
207,418
(72,916)
-
395
(72,521)
134,897
227,488
362,385

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 15

AXIS COUNSELLING

NOTES TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES
31.3.23 31.3.22
£ £
Net income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial
Activities) 169,951 192,864
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 25,071 37,370
Loss on disposal of fixed assets 11,985 897
Interest received (3,276) (395)
Increase in debtors (142,723) (62,524)
(Decrease)/increase in creditors (16,805) 39,206
Net cash provided by operations 44,203 207,418
2. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS
At 1.4.22 Cash flow At 31.3.23
£ £ £
Net cash
Cash at bank and in hand 362,385 31,947 394,332
362,385 31,947 **394,332 **
Total 362,385 31,947 **394,332 **

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 16

AXIS COUNSELLING

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

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, 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) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

The financial statements are for the individual entity only.

The financial statements are presented in Sterling (£), rounded to the nearest £1.

Company Status

The charity is a company limited by guarantee. The members of the company are the Trustees named on page 1. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the charity

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Where incoming resources have related expenditure (as with fundraising or contract income) the incoming resources and related expenditure are reported gross in th SoFA.

Income from grants and donations is only included in the SoFA when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the resources.

Incoming resources from tax reclaims are included in the SoFA at the same time as the gift to which they relate.

Contractual income and performance related grants are only included in the SoFA once the related goods and services have been delivered. When donors specify that donations and grants are for a particular restricted purpose, which do not amount to pre-conditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in incoming resources of restricted funds when receivable.

Gift in kind are accounted for at a reasonable estimate of their value to the charity or the amount actually realised.

Gifts in kind for sale or distribution are included in the accounts as gifts only when sold or distributed by the charity.

Gifts in kind for use by the charity are included in the SoFA as incoming resources when receivable. Donated services are only included in incoming resources (with an equivalent amount in resources expended) where the benefit to the charity is reasonably quantifiable, measurable and material. The value placed on these resources is the estimated value to the charity of the service or facility received.

Volunteer help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the trustee's annual report.

Investment income is included in the accounts when it is receivable.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, 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 accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

continued...

Page 17

AXIS COUNSELLING

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible assets are stated at cost (or deemed cost) less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Costs include the original purchase price, costs directly attributable to bringing the assets to its working condition for its intended use, dismantling and restoration cost and borrowing costs capitalised.

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life:

Property improvement - 4% on cost Computer equipment - 33% on cost Fixtures and fittings - 10% reducing balance Equipment - 25% reducing balance

Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objective of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the accounts.

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

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

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Financial instruments

Basic financial assets, including trade and other debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially recognised at transaction price, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest.

Basic financial liabilities, including trade and other creditors, are initially recognised at transaction price, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest.

continued...

Page 18

AXIS COUNSELLING

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

2.
DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
Gifts, donations and grants
3.
INVESTMENT INCOME
Deposit account interest
4.
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS
Charitable Activities
5.
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):
Depreciation - owned assets
Deficit on disposal of fixed assets		 31.3.23
£
1,411,834
31.3.23
£
3,276
31.3.23
£
25,071
11,985		 31.3.22
£
1,264,418
31.3.22
£
395
Direct
Costs
£
1,245,159
31.3.22
£
37,370
897

6. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2023 nor for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Trustees' expenses

There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2023 nor for the year ended 31 March 2022.

7. STAFF COSTS

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 31.3.23
£
894,598
77,968
15,990
988,556		 31.3.22
£
760,305
61,450
14,393
836,148

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

The average monthly number of employees in the year was 36 (2022: 34).

Remuneration paid during the year in respect of those classed as key management personnel totalled £176,571 (2022: £70,943).

continued...

Page 19

AXIS COUNSELLING

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

8.
COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
Unrestricted
funds
£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
68,494
Investment income
395
Total
68,889
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
Charitable Activities
3,461
NET INCOME
65,428
Transfers between funds
127,436
Net movement in funds
192,864
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
271,475
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
464,339
9.
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Improvements
Fixtures
to
Plant and
and
property
machinery
fittings
£
£
£
COST
At 1 April 2022
9,333
17,920
36,231
Additions
-
2,458
2,529
Disposals
-
(3,907)
(9,175)
At 31 March 2023
9,333
16,471
29,585
DEPRECIATION
At 1 April 2022
373
6,816
17,561
Charge for year
374
1,353
4,155
Eliminated on disposal
-
(3,867)
(3,192)
At 31 March 2023
747
4,302
18,524
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2023
8,586
12,169
11,061
At 31 March 2022
8,960
11,104
18,670
Restricted
funds
£
1,195,924
-
1,195,924
1,068,488
127,436
(127,436)
-
-
-
Computer
equipment
£
88,094
12,237
(42,067)
58,264
49,922
19,189
(34,413)
34,698
23,566
38,172		 Total
funds
£
1,264,418
395
1,264,813
1,071,949
192,864
-
192,864
271,475
464,339
Totals
£
151,578
17,224
(55,149)
113,653
74,672
25,071
(41,472)
58,271
55,382
76,906

continued...

Page 20

AXIS COUNSELLING

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

10.
STOCKS
Stocks
11.
DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER ONE YEAR
Prepayments and accrued income
12.
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Social security and other taxes
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
13.
MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Net
movement
At 1.4.22
in funds
£
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund
464,339
19,091
Restricted funds
ISVA
-
139,588
HM Prison Stoke Heath
-
1,079
Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated
Care System (ICS)
-
10,193
-
150,860
TOTAL FUNDS
464,339
**169,951 **		 31.3.23
£
1,000
31.3.23
£
660
55,978
105,218
161,856
31.3.23
£
48,246
48,246
31.3.23
£
-
23,337
-
3,189
26,526
Transfers
between
funds
£
150,860
(139,588)
(1,079)
(10,193)
(150,860)
-		 31.3.22
£
1,000
31.3.22
£
-
25,001
42,378
67,379
31.3.22
£
-
-
31.3.22
£
377
20,943
17,787
4,224
43,331
At
31.3.23
£
634,290
-
-
-
-
634,290

continued...

Page 21

AXIS COUNSELLING

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Restricted funds
ISVA
HM Prison Stoke Heath
Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated
Care System (ICS)
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
30,706
857,818
11,040
515,546
1,384,404
1,415,110		 Resources
expended
£
(11,615)
(718,230)
(9,961)
(505,353)
(1,233,544)
(1,245,159)		 Movement
in funds
£
19,091
139,588
1,079
10,193
150,860
**169,951 **

Comparatives for movement in funds

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Restricted funds
Counselling Shropshire (SCCG & MOJ)
Counselling Telford & Wrekin (T&W
CCG & MOJ)
ISVA
HM Prison Stoke Heath
Parental Advisor
ISVA Young People
ISVA Shropshire
Telford & Wrekin Groups
Child ISVA
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.4.21
£
271,475
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
271,475		 Net
movement
in funds
£
65,428
(2,719)
(525,154)
726,727
11,323
(2,211)
(46,261)
(23,862)
(569)
(9,838)
127,436
192,864		 Transfers
between
funds
£
127,436
2,719
525,154
(726,727)
(11,323)
2,211
46,261
23,862
569
9,838
(127,436)
-		 At
31.3.22
£
464,339
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
464,339

continued...

Page 22

AXIS COUNSELLING

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Restricted funds
Counselling Shropshire (SCCG & MOJ)
Counselling Telford & Wrekin (T&W
CCG & MOJ)
ISVA
HM Prison Stoke Heath
Parental Advisor
ISVA Young People
ISVA Shropshire
Telford & Wrekin Groups
Child ISVA
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
68,887
293,388
155,276
735,938
11,324
-
-
-
-
-
1,195,926
1,264,813		 Resources
expended
£
(3,459)
(296,107)
(680,430)
(9,211)
-
(2,211)
(46,261)
(23,864)
(569)
(9,838)
(1,068,490)
(1,071,949)		 Movement
in funds
£
65,428
(2,719)
(525,154)
726,727
11,324
(2,211)
(46,261)
(23,863)
(569)
(9,838)
127,436
192,864

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Restricted funds
Counselling Shropshire (SCCG & MOJ)
Counselling Telford & Wrekin (T&W
CCG & MOJ)
ISVA
HM Prison Stoke Heath
Parental Advisor
ISVA Young People
ISVA Shropshire
Telford & Wrekin Groups
Child ISVA
Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated
Care System (ICS)
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.4.21
£
271,475
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
271,475		 Net
movement
in funds
£
84,519
(2,719)
(525,154)
866,315
12,402
(2,211)
(46,261)
(23,862)
(569)
(9,838)
10,193
278,296
362,815		 Transfers
between
funds
£
278,296
2,719
525,154
(866,315)
(12,402)
2,211
46,261
23,862
569
9,838
(10,193)
(278,296)
-		 At
31.3.23
£
634,290
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
634,290

continued...

Page 23

AXIS COUNSELLING

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Restricted funds
Counselling Shropshire (SCCG & MOJ)
Counselling Telford & Wrekin (T&W
CCG & MOJ)
ISVA
HM Prison Stoke Heath
Parental Advisor
ISVA Young People
ISVA Shropshire
Telford & Wrekin Groups
Child ISVA
Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated
Care System (ICS)
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
99,593
293,388
155,276
1,593,756
22,364
-
-
-
-
-
515,546
2,580,330
2,679,923		 Resources
expended
£
(15,074)
(296,107)
(680,430)
(727,441)
(9,961)
(2,211)
(46,261)
(23,864)
(569)
(9,838)
(505,353)
(2,302,034)
(2,317,108)		 Movement
in funds
£
84,519
(2,719)
(525,154)
866,315
12,403
(2,211)
(46,261)
(23,863)
(569)
(9,838)
10,193
278,296
362,815

Designated Fund

This is a contingency fund to mitigate against the risk of loss or delay of funding.

Counselling Shropshire/Telford & Wrekin

Funds from Integrated Care Services - Shropshire/Telford & Wrekin and Ministry of Justice cover counselling costs in the area of Shropshire/Telford & Wrekin for anyone over the age of 5 years, who have suffered sexual abuse, either historical or present. Axis works with a specific therapy that all counsellors are specially trained in.

NB: Counselling is now combined - under ICS (Integrated Care Services) - no longer Shropshire/Telford and Wrekin

Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA)

Funding is provided by the PCC to work with anyone who has been a victim of sexual trauma. ISVAs work with the client from the initial trauma through to the courts. Sometimes a court case is not appropriate, and the client will be "held" by the ISVA, and then signposted to the Counselling side of Axis.

H M Prison Stoke Heath

Axis provides counselling to inmates who have experienced historical sexual trauma, as well as generic counselling.

continued...

Page 24

AXIS COUNSELLING

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

14. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

During the year, amounts totalling £45,241 were paid to the The Roy Fletcher Centre, a charity which a member of key management personnel is also a trustee of. The amount was fully paid in the year and there is no outstanding balance at the balance sheet date. Amounts paid were in respect of room hire and rent.

Page 25

AXIS COUNSELLING

DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS
Donations and legacies
Gifts, donations and grants
Investment income
Deposit account interest
Total incoming resources
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities
Wages
Social security
Pensions
Rent
Insurance
Utilities
Telephone
Postage and stationery
Sundries
Travel, parking etc
Administrative and IT
Training
Clinical supervision
Professional fees
Room hire
Repairs and renewals
Accountancy fees
Bank charges
Audit fees
Depn of improvements to property
Depn of plant & machinery
Depn of fixtures & fittings
Depn of computer equipment
Loss on sale of tangible fixed assets
Total resources expended
Net income		 31.3.23
£
1,411,834
3,276
1,415,110
894,598
77,968
15,990
38,919
4,934
5,667
19,771
15,582
214
8,382
24,359
36,860
16,621
20,871
1,718
9,298
8,479
72
7,800
374
1,353
4,155
19,189
11,985
1,245,159
1,245,159
**169,951 **		 31.3.22
£
1,264,418
395
1,264,813
760,305
61,450
14,393
27,985
4,170
-
19,379
13,607
1,978
13,243
29,811
28,356
15,282
15,548
5,398
2,880
8,179
110
11,608
373
1,234
6,692
29,071
897
1,071,949
1,071,949
192,864

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

Page 26