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2023-07-31-accounts

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nocn GROUP

NOCN

(A Company limited by guarantee)

Trustees’ Report and Consolidated Financial Statements 31 July 2023

Registered Charity No. 1079785 Company Registration No. 03829217

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nocn
GROUP
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Contents

Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers 2-3 Trustees' Report 4-17 Independent Auditor's Report on the Financial Statements 18 - 21 Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities 22 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 23 Company Statement of Financial Position 24 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 25 Notes to the Financial Statements 26 - 43

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Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers for the Year Ended 31 July 2023

Directors and Trustees

The Trustees of NOCN, who were also company directors, serving during the year and since the year-end are as follows:

NOCN Trustees’ and Directors: NOCN Trustees’ and Directors:
Chair David Gareth Jones
Vice Chair Alison Duckles CBE** (Retired end of nine-year term 31 July 2023)
Corrina Hembury (Appointed as Vice Chair 16 August 2023)
Trustees Kay Dickinson (Retired end of nine-year term 30 October 2023)
PeterWallwork (Resigned 22 August 2022)
Adrian Toomey
Fiona Macaskill (Resigned 30 May 2023)
Lucy Hunte
Stephen Evans (Appointed 1 August 2022)
Nicola Davis (Appointed 7 November 2022)
David Wilkins (Appointed 18 January 2023)
Mark Froud (Appointed 7 September2023)
Deborah Howarth (Appointed 12 September 2023)
DarrynHedges (Appointed29November2023)

Secretary Sarah Standeven

** Trustee is also a trustee and Chair of NOCN Job Cards

NOCN Job Cards Trustees’ and Directors NOCN Job Cards Trustees’ and Directors
Chair Alison Duckles CBE
Trustees Graham Hasting-Evans
Kevin Minton (Resigned 13 December 2022)
Trevor Gamble MBE (Resigned 13 December 2022)
Kay Dickinson (Appointed 12 May 2023)
David Mosley
Paul Allman
Tim Brownbridge
Carl Hassell
NOCN India Skills Foundation Directors:
Director Graham Hasting-Evans
DrSunilAbrol

Key Management Personnel - NOCN Group Senior Leadership Team in 2022/23: Group Chief Executive Graham Hasting-Evans

Group Executive Director (Finance & Governance & Deputy CEO) Simon Renny Group Director (Awarding Organisation) Paul Johnson Group Director (Global Business Development and Marketing) Louise Allen Group Director (Job Cards) Carl Hassell Group Director (Digital Delivery and Improvement) Gareth Cutts Group Director (Apprenticeships) Thomas Burton (left 28 February 2023)

Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers for the Year Ended 31 July 2023 (continued)

Reference and administrative details

Our Advisers

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Trustees’ Report for the year ending 31 July 2023

The Trustees are pleased to present their Annual Directors’ Report together with the consolidated Financial Statements of the charity and its subsidiaries for the year ending 31 July 2023, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes. The Financial Statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and 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).

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Chair’s Foreword

| am pleased to present the NOCN Annual Report and Accounts for 2022/23.

The year has been one of continued change for the vocational and technical education sector, with the Westminster government's reform programme continuing to have a significant impact on our Awarding Organisation business. The key aims of the reform - to streamline the number of publicly funded qualifications and to enhance employer engagement — presents a significant challenge to NOCN and to the wider Awarding Organisation sector over the coming years. Alongside this we have seen inflationary cost pressures and skills gaps impact our business as in the rest of the economy.

Despite these challenges, NOCN has continued to develop and grow as an organisation. We have achieved this by focusing on the following key areas:

The Group has continued to increase its capacity and investment to support these above areas as well as paying the final instalment in the year to CITB for the purchase of the CPCS business.

Finally, NOCN Group’s policy and advocacy role has continued to evolve with a number of key papers and think pieces published in the year in partnership with others, including 2 reports on Green Skills.

| am confident that NOCN is well-positioned to meet the challenges of the future. The Group has a strong track record of innovation and a commitment to providing high-quality products and services to our customers. We will continue to focus on product & geographic diversification, IT systems, and our people to ensure that we continue to deliver for the benefit of our beneficiaries.

| would like to thank all of our staff, board members, and partners for their hard work and dedication over the past year. We have achieved a great deal together, and | am confident that we can continue to build on our success in the years to come.

Gareth Jones Chair of Trustees, NOCN Group 14 December 2023 Li—

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Our Purpose, Objectives and Activities

The Purpose of the Charity

The purpose and mission statement of the Charity is to support learners and apprentices to achieve success in life and work and to support communities and organisations to develop and prosper, through regulated qualifications, apprenticeship assessments, _ skills accreditation, assessment support, access to higher education, competency cards, consultancy advice and training.

The Objectives of the Charity

The Objectives of the Charity are:

“The advancement of the education of the public in one or more of the following ways: '

The Charity works to deliver these objectives through its key Group functions as follows:

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Public Benefit

Our Trustees have complied with their duty in accordance with the UK Charities Act 2011 to follow the Charity Commission’s guidance on the operation of this public benefit.

The Charity provides a public benefit to advance education and training for the general public through:

Within the requirements of the individual qualification standards, NOCN qualifications are open to all members ofthe public. The Charity is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and holds the status of a ‘Leader in Diversity’ by the National Diversity Centre.

The Charity continues to demonstrate its objective of widening participation in education, working with groups and communities that have traditionally not benefited from traditional or formal educational opportunities, for example learners working at lower educational levels: learners with disabilities (SEND); learners with few formal qualifications; learners based in offender institutions; younger learners who are not in employment or training; the unemployed and people working in industries that have not traditionally valued formal qualifications.

Key Achievements, Activities & Performance in the year

The Charity is able to demonstrate progress against its key objectives, and key achievements can be summarised as follows across the following divisions of the Group:

NOCN Awarding Organisation

The Awarding Organisation’s work in 2022/23 continued to be heavily influenced by the Westminster government's programme to reform vocational and technical qualifications. The key aims of the reform are to streamline the number of publicly funded qualifications and to enhance employer engagement. Both aims present a significant business risk, to NOCN and to the wider Awarding Organisation sector, by potentially reducing income and increasing costs.

The reform is being implemented in cycles, depending on level and sector, and is planned to conclude in 2028.

NOCN continues to rise to the challenge presented by the reform by developing qualifications which comply with the new requirements for public funding, and by diversifying our product offer. For example, NOCN submitted two more Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) for funding approval in HTQ cycle 4, Level 5 Healthcare Assistant Practitioner and Level 4 Data Analyst, and work continued to develop Level 4 Engineering Manufacturing Technician ready for the next submission window. These HTQs add to the Level 4 Construction Site Supervisor qualification which has already been approved. and are starting to give NOCN a market presence at levels which are not traditionally our core business.

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NOCN also submitted five construction qualifications in Level 3 cycle 1 and work continued to prepare Level 2 qualifications for Level 2 cycle 1.

A key element of the product diversification strategy is to develop and grow the market share for products that are commercially funded instead of publicly funded. This includes qualifications, short-duration assured courses and endorsed programmes.

The international market offers rich potential for product diversification. Our ESOL International qualifications, supported by our strategic partner in Greece, continued to grow in the year and we added three focused Listening and Reading qualifications which include innovative adaptive assessments. In india, our partnership with Nettur Technical Foundation (NTTF), to provide top-up management and productivity Diplomas for engineering learners, flourished and we were delighted to work with Haryana State Board of Technical Education (HSBTE) to develop a similar offer. Our expertise in developing English language qualifications, alongside our presence in India, enabled us to win a contract with British Council to support people from the rural communities in Tamil Nadu to gain employment.

Outside of qualifications, our SiteRight brand continued to generate significant income. The brand includes short, quality assured upskilling courses for the construction sector and its success underlined our conviction that skills development for the current workforce is equally as important as that for young people who are preparing to enter the workforce.

In addition to assured courses, we made a concerted effort to grow our endorsed programmes business. The NOCN endorsement process assures learners they are getting a good quality programme whilst allowing training providers more flexibility in the design and delivery of the programmes.

NOCN continued to lead the sector on developing skills to achieve a net zero carbon economy. We finished the year with 18 (2022- 11) green qualifications, ranging from Entry Level to Level 5 and a green skills unit catalogue to support upskilling. Additionally, and of equal importance, we embedded green skills units into existing qualifications to provide learners with the opportunity to study environmental awareness and sustainability in the context oftheir learning programmes.

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In total, we finished the year with 511 (2022- 507) qualifications available for learners.

Outside of our core business, we won a contract to help support Onsite Construction T Level learners to demonstrate full occupational competence by developing initial and summative assessment. The contract involved us working with key partners in the sector including the Department for Education, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, the Gatsby Foundation and the Association of Colleges (AOC).

Aside from product diversification, NOCN recognises that the quality of the IT systems we use to drive our operational processes is critical to the success of the business and as such the major development in the year was a tender process for a new assessment platform. Through a rigorous scoring exercise carried out by users of the platform, the number of potential new suppliers was reduced to two, both of which participated in a pilot including customers. A final decision about the supplier will be made early into next year.

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NOCN Apprenticeships

One of the most significant changes in the Awarding Organisation sector occurred in January when Ofqual, the qualifications regulator, became the single regulator for all apprenticeship end-point assessments offered by NOCN. Ofqual categorised end-point assessments as a qualification type and started to regulate in line with its established practices for other qualification types.

NOCN quickly understood the significance of this change and took immediate action. A new Regulation and Compliance Team was created, staffed by members with extensive experience of qualification regulation, to ensure compliance across all qualification types including endpoint assessments. Additionally, a new Assessment and Quality Assurance Team was created, and the process started to recruit members with experience of end-point assessment in order to drive greater consistency in assessment.

We also took the opportunity to introduce greater efficiency into our product development process by integrating qualifications development and end-point assessment development. Publicly funded qualifications and end-point assessments are developed against the same occupational standards, so it made sense to have a single team.

As the restructure took place in the background, NOCN continued to lead the way as the organisation offering end-point assessment against the greatest number of standards; 82 at the end of the year. The majority of apprentices undertaking NOCN assessment continued to work in the construction and engineering sectors with carpentry and joinery accounting for the highest volumes.

The whole sector was challenged by a shortage of competent assessors and the dedicated recruitment team was fully occupied with searching for assessors to add to the team.

Despite these issues, we continued to service the great majority of assessment bookings within our service standards and to retain first-time pass rates 90% or slightly below.

NOCN Job Cards

CPCS supports people to gain employment and develop their careers within the construction plant sector by ensuring operatives meet the standards expected by industry CPCS then issues operatives with digital SMART cards. The scheme, which is competency based, has different colour cards that indicate the level of skill.

CPCS is compliant with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) requirements for a “OneLogo” skilled work force, as such we are audited by Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) and remain compliant.

During 2022/23 CPCS has gone through significant changes to ensure that the CPCS card scheme meets the requirements of the Standard Setting Body for the introduction of “New Training Standards”, as such we have had to change many of the scheme rules to ensure compliance. CPCS has strong support from industry. We have put together industry working groups to ensure that the training standards were adopted and improvements to the scheme are delivered and meet the needs of industry.

Job Cards continues to support centres, employers, and operatives in enhancing skills and competence supporting the plant sector and supporting the sector skills gap.

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Quality assurance has strengthened during the financial year, CPCS has a new Quality Assurance Manual, new reporting forms and EQA’s are now more efficient due to completing documentation in real time.

Our competitors have a presence in some parts of the construction sector, which has some impact on CPCS market share.

CPCS has been able to gain the support of the board and its industry representatives to create an online version of the Health, safety & environment test (HS&E) for plant operatives, CPCS has created great on-line learning content that is easy to navigate and improves knowledge of the health safety and environmental responsibilities of employers, employees and contractors. At the end of the learning operatives are able to access an online test platform to ensure that learning has been effective. The test has facial recognition and is artificially quality assured, all tests are video recorded and are quality assured before results are issued. Test numbers are growing and we will be releasing enhanced versions and other online products throughout 2023/24.

CISRS smart carding processes are managed by Job Cards on a commission basis, volumes have increased during 2022/23 and forecast to further increase in 2023/24.

international

The international market offers rich potential for product diversification. The Group has continued to see growth in several of our international partnerships, despite challenges in the global economy. We have consolidated our position in the Middle East region and are now seen as the leading Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) AO in Bahrain. The partnership with Global Awards (Greece) to deliver ESOL International qualifications has seen continued growth and their online testing platform, and the development of a short English Language Test, will secure and further grow our market share for ESOL in Greece and other areas in Europe and Middle East. In addition, we added three focused Listening and Reading qualifications which include innovative adaptive assessments.

In India, our partnership with Nettur Technical Foundation (NTTF), to provide top-up management and productivity Diplomas for engineering learners, flourished and we were delighted to work with Haryana State Board of Technical Education (HSBTE) to develop a similar offer. Our expertise in developing English language qualifications, alongside our presence in India, enabled us to win a contract with British Council to support people from the rural communities in Tamil Nadu to gain employment.

The strategic relationship with NTTF Colleges in India has already seen 1,200 registrations in the last three months of the new financial year. There are additional opportunities arising from our presence in India with All India Management Association (AIMA), Haryana State, Tamil Nadu State, Construction Skill Development Council of India and National Skills Development Corporation. There is slow but steady growth from centres in Africa and Malaysia. Looking forward, we are forming new partnerships in Nepal, Bangladesh, Borneo, Eastern Indonesia, and the Philippines to position ourselves in these emerging TVET markets.

Education and Skills Policy & Research

As an integral part of supporting our charitable objectives, the Group continues to support a number of national awards, which aim to encourage learning for across society including disadvantaged groups. The national awards that we have supported this year include Association of Colleges (AoC) Beacon Awards and Student of the Year Awards, Multi-Cultural Apprenticeship Network, CPA Stars of the Future, Learning & Work Institute Awards, National

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Apprenticeship Awards, National Federation of Builders Top 100 Women in Construction Awards, CN Workforce Awards and Sheffield City Region Apprenticeship Awards. In addition, the Group has taken part in and supported research on education and skills development to promote learning and open skills development to more and more of our communities. In 2022/23, this included:

Financial Review

The Group has seen a continued growth in income across all main business areas in 2022/23.

The Group’s costs have increased mainly due to higher staffing levels to support our investment in the continued growth in the business offer to our customers and support functions as well as inflationary pressures on pay and other costs, and growth in EPA assessor costs.

As a result, our operating surplus reduced to £1.25m in 2022/23 compared to £1.8m in 2021/22.

In 2022/23 the final instalment to CITB for the purchase of the CPCS business was paid.

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||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |£000s|2022/23|||2021/22| |Operating|[costs]|_|(15,266)16,502||||(13,583)16,342| |Operating|surplus|21,236.)|1,759| |Depreciation,|Amortisation|&|Interest|(1,111)|(1,213)| |OA|pension|servicing|cost|Pos|(145)| |One Awards|Pension|liability|revaluation|(loss)/gain|inthe year|||=|-||2,409| |Loss|on|disposal|of One Awards|for|nil|consideration|||||(602)| |Other|revaluations|ee|ee| |Net incoming|resources|after other gains/(losses)|||125|2,208|

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Going Concern

The Board has assessed the current and projected solvency of the Group looking forward over 12 months from the point of signing.

In assessing going concern of the Group at the date of this report we have reviewed our forecasts for 2023/24 and developed reasonable best and worst case income scenarios taking into account the likely external economic environment and other external market factors.

As part of the going concern assessment we carried out sensitivity tests on our Statement of Financial Activities and cashflow projections looking forward to end of 2024/25 and have looked at how much income would need to drop over this period beyond our worst case income scenario assuming we take no action to reduce costs, such that we cannot meet all our liabilities as they fall due at any point. The assessment has taken into account the year to date performance in 2023/24 and latest P&L and cashflow projections as at the end of October 2023.

The Board has reviewed the assessment and considers that the Group and its subsidiaries remain a going concern and that the Group will continue to make sufficient surpluses in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to cover liabilities as they fall due.

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At 31 July 2023, and at the date of this report, the balance sheet and forward cash projections show that the Group can continue to meet its all its obligations as they fall due over at least the next 12 months.

In the event that the business is impacted by economic downturn or other external factors then the business will take prompt action to further reduce its cost base to ensure that it can still meet its obligations as they fall due.

Subsidiary going concern assessments

NOCN Job Cards also continues to borrow from NOCN to fund its activities given it is still building its reserves following deficits in previous years. The Board has considered NOCN Job Cards future projections of income and costs and considers that the business will remain a going concern and is expected to continue to generate a surplus in 2023/24 and in future years as a result of continued actions to ensure the CPCS card scheme meets the needs of employers and the new CITB grant scheme. The Group Board has agreed to continue to provide the intercompany loan to NOCN Job Cards. It is projected that the intercompany loan from NOCN will be paid down within 2-3 years.

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Key Risks in the year

The key risks the Group has faced in 2022/23 have been:

Reserves Policy

The Group’s reserves policy was reviewed and updated in 2022/23. The aim of the policy is to keep the Group’s balance sheet unrestricted reserves in the range of £5.6m and £9.6m. Equating to approximately 4 to 7 months of projected operating expenditure. The policy also aims to keep the Group’s available cash within £1.6m and £2.5m. These unrestricted reserves, which are freely available for general use, are held to withstand any short-term financial risks and to support any net windup costs in the event of closure.

As at the end of July 2023, the Group was operating outside the bottom of this reserve range due to the need to invest in the business and address the increased costs facing the business. The Group’s reserve levels have increased by £0.1m compared to the prior year levels of £4.3m. The Board approved a business plan and budget for 2023/24, which will increase the reserve and available cash levels and the Group is expected to move to coming within the reserves target by 2024/25.

Powers of Investment

The Trustees are authorised by the Memorandum of Association to invest monies not immediately required for the Charity’s own purposes in such investments, securities or property as they deem fit subject to any conditions required by law.

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Future Plans

The Group's strategic objectives over the next 2 years are:

These objectives are driven by the context we operate in, our mission and values, the need to maintain our business in what may bea difficult policy and economic context for a number of years and the need to develop new ways of working.

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Structure, Governance and Management

Governing Document and Structure

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated on 18 August 1999. There were 8 members of the charity as at the end of 31 July 2023.

In July 2017 NOCN India Skills Foundation was incorporated in India as a subsidiary of NOCN and is included as part of these consolidated set of accounts.

NOCN Job Cards was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee on 22 October 2018 and was registered as a charity on 15 February 2019. NOCN Job Cards is consolidated within NOCN Group given its articles give NOCN the right to appoint or terminate members of the Board. NOCN is the sole member of NOCN Job Cards.

Appointment of Trustees

As set out in the revised Articles of Association, the Group seeks and recruits Trustees who are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, including industry sectors where the Group works. As at the end of 31 July 2023 there were 8 Trustees in post at the Group’s Board. The chairs of the Board and the sub-committees are appointed trustees. As at the 31 July 2023 there were 7 trustees in post at NOCN Job Cards Board. The Chair of the Board is an appointed trustee and was Vice Chair of the NOCN Group Board until July 2023.

During 2022/23 there were 3 appointments and 2 resignations to the NOCN Board.

Trustee posts are advertised. Applications are reviewed by the Board and where appropriate a shortlist established for interview. The Board makes the final appointment.

Trustee Induction and Training

When newTrustees join the Board, a formal briefing from the Chair and Group Chief Executive takes place and they receive an induction pack. Trustees receive formal training on their responsibilities, including their legal obligations.

Statement of Regulatory Compliance

All Awarding Organisations are required to submit their formal statement of compliance, under the General Conditions of Recognition, published by Ofqual. This is a key governance document, which NOCN submitted to the 3 regulators of qualifications in the UK in December 2022. NOCN recorded that it was compliant with the General Conditions of Recognition.

Compliance with the Charity Governance Code

The Trustees monitor the Group’s compliance with the Charity Governance Code, the assessment of which was last updated in September 2023. It has been assessed that the Group continues to be compliant with the Code.

Organisational Structure

The Group’s Board of Trustees meets at least quarterly with a full business agenda including a review of the Management Accounts and budget achievement for the Group and each of its subsidiaries. During the year the Group’s Board was supported by two sub-committees: Group Audit & Risk Committee and Regulation Committee and Enhancement Committee. Each sub-

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committee meets between 3 and 4 times in the year and reports its activities and recommendations, at the Board meeting immediately following their own meetings.

The Board of Trustees delegates the management of the Charity to the Group Chief Executive who undertakes these responsibilities through a Senior Leadership Team (SLT) which is comprised of the Group Chief Executive, Deputy Group Chief Executive and all the Executive Directors within the Group, and a Group Management Team which is made up of the SLT plus the Heads of Functions of the Group entities.

Pay policy for senior staff

All Trustees give of their time freely and no director received remuneration in the year.

The pay of the Senior Leadership team is reviewed annually and normally increased in accordance with average earnings in line with the rest of the staff and market comparisons. Any changes to Senior Leadership staff salaries have to be approved by the Board of Trustees.

Details of the Trustees and Senior Leadership Team related party transactions are disclosed in the notes to the accounts.

Risk Management

The Group operates a risk management policy and strategy. The aims of the policy and strategy are to:

During the year the Audit & Risk Committee has routinely considered the Strategic Risk Register and examined specific areas of risk at the request of the Board and has overseen a review of the register’s format and risks. The Strategic Risks are also reported to the Board on a quarterly basis. The Strategic Risk Register is also reviewed on a monthly basis by the SLT.

In addition, the Regulation and Enhancement Committee has regularly considered issues of risk relating to NOCN’s status as a recognised and regulated awarding organisation, within the context of being compliant with the General Conditions of Recognition.

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Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The Charity’s Trustees (who are also the directors of NOCN for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year. Under that law the Trustees have elected to prepare the group and charity financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the trustees must not approve

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the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the group for that period.

In preparing the Financial Statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity 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 Charity and the Group and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Gareth Jones (Chair)

December 2023

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Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of NOCN

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of NOCN (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 31 July 2023 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated Balance Sheet, the Charity Balance Sheet, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes to the financial statements, including 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 freland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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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 auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent 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

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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 group and parent 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 other information comprises the information included in the trustees annual report , other than the financial statements and our auditor’s 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

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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.

Opinions 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 the knowledge and understanding of the group and parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report and the directors’ report.

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

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page x, the trustees (who are also the directors of the parent charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation ofthe[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 group and parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in

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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.

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

We assessed the susceptibility of the Group and the parent charitable company financial! statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

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:

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Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

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 Auditor's Report.

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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 theCompanies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might

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state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

eee oe

Simon Turner (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Armstrong Watson Audit Limited Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Northallerton Date: 14/12/2023

21

Company Registration No. 03829217

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

Including the statement of comprehensive income

For the Year ended 31 July 2023

2023 2022
Unrestricted Unrestricted
Funds Funds
Notes £ £
Incoming resources
Grants and Donations 1 1,493 102,892
Charitable activities 2 16,500,649 15,238,616
Total incoming resources 16,502,142 15,347,508
Resources expended
Charitable activities 3,4 16,377,514 14,941,136
Total resources expended 16,377,514 14,941,136
Netmovement infunds before other
gains/(losses)		 6 124,628 400,372
_
Other recognised gains/(losses) 21 - 1,807,203
Net movement in funds after other gains/(losses) 26 124,628 2,207,575
Total funds brought forward 4,340,985 2,133,410
Totalfundscarriedforward 20 4,465,613 4,340,985

The notes on pages 26 to 43 form part of these financial statements.

|

The incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing operations.

NOCN uses the exemption conferred by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 in not preparing a separate income and expenditure account for NOCN as a separate company. The net surplus recorded by the parent company for the year was £85,790 (2022- net surplus £123,931)

:

22

Company Registration No. 03829217

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

As at 31 July 2023

2023 2022
Unrestricted Unrestricted
Funds Funds
Notes £ £
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 11 4,839,005 5,574,328
Tangible assets 12 220,894 249 666
Total fixed assets 5,059,899 5,823,994
Current assets
Debtors 14 2,598,058 2,273,028
Stock 15 30,829 20,176
Cash at bank and in hand 25 1,396,503 1,343,673
Total current assets 4,025,390 3,636,877
Current liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 16 (4,069,676) (4,269,886)
Net current (liabilities) (44,286) (633,009)
Total assets less current liabilities 5,015,613 5,190,985
Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year 18 (550,000) (850,000)
Net assets excluding defined benefit pension plan liability 4,465,613 4,340,985
Net assets / (liabilities) including defined benefit pension
plan liability		 4,465,613 4,340,985
—————————
Represented by:
General funds/(deficit) 20 4,465,613 4,340,985
Totalfunds 4,465,613 4,340,985

The notes on pages 26 to 43 form part of these financial statements.

All funds are unrestricted.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 14 Dec 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

Gareth Jones

Chair, NOCN Board of Trustees

23

Company Registration No. 03829217

|

Company Statement of Financial Position

As at 31 July 2023

.
2023 Unrestricted
Funds		 2022
Unrestricted
Funds
Notes £ £
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 11 2,846,247 3,395,720
Tangible assets 12 199,917 224,102
Investments 13 99 99
Total fixed assets 3,046,263 3,619,921
Current assets
Debtors 14 3,989,323 3,349,706
Stock 15 30,829 16,692
Cash at bank and in hand 1,122,290 1,040,070
Total current assets 5,142,442 4,406,468
Current liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 16 (3,664,368) (3,287,842)
Net current assets/ (liabilities) 1,478,074 1,118,626
Total assets less current liabilities 4,524,337 4,738,547
Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year 18 (550,000) (850,000)
Total net assets 3,974,337 3,888,547
Represented by:
General funds 20 3,974,337 3,888,547
Totalfunds 3,974,337 3,888,547

The notes on pages 26 to 43 form part of these financial statements.

|

All funds are unrestricted

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 14 Dec 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

Gareth Jones Chair, NOCN Board of Trustees

|

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the financial year ended 31 July 2023

For the financial year ended 31 July 2023
2023 2022
£ £
Cash flows from operating
activities
Net cash provided by operating activities 1,449,567 3,177,894
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of intangible fixed assets (310,727) (305,515)
FairValue Assessment of intangible assets - 26,689
Payments made to CITB in respect of purchase of Cskills (750,000) (2,800,000)
Disposal ofOne Awards cash balance - (385,021)
Purchase oftangible fixed assets (36,010) (50,654)
Net cash used in investing activities (1,096,737) (3,514,500)
Cash flows from financing activities
Repayment of Bank Loan (300,000) (300,000)
Net cash (used in)/generated from financing activities (300,000) (300,000)
Changes in cash and cash equivalents in the year 52,830 (636,606)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning ofthe year 1,343,673 1,980,279
Cash and cash equivalents at the end ofthe year 1,396,503 1,343,673
Reconciliation of net movement in funds before other gains/(losses) to net cash flowfrom / (used in)
operating activities
Netmovement infunds in the period as perthestatement offinancial
activities		 124,628 400,372
Adjustments for:
Depreciation and amortisation 1,110,832 1,206,559
Loss on Disposal of fixed assets - 5,812
(Increase) /decrease in stock (10,653) 52,072
(Increase) / decrease in debtors (325,030) 1,000,714
(Decrease) / increase in creditors 549,790 892 526
One Awards Gain on Disposal -
One Awards’ net surplus in 2021-2022 - (525, 161)
One Awards
Defined Benefit Pension Fund — Service Cost		 - 145,000
Netcashprovidedbyoperatingactivities 1,449,567 3,177,894

25

:

Notes to the Financial Statements

Accounting Policies

The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items, which are considered material in relation to the Charity’s Financial Statements.

Charitable company information

NOCN is a charitable company, limited by guarantee and incorporated in England and Wales under the Companies Act 2006. The address of the registered office is given on the ‘Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers’ pages and the nature of the charitable company's operations and its principal activities are set out in the Trustees’ report.

Basis of preparation

The Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

NOCN meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

Consolidation

The Financial Statements consolidate the Financial Statements of NOCN and all its subsidiary undertakings.

The parent company has applied the exemption contained in section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not presented its individual Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA).

Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The Trustees have carried out a review of the Charity’s financial performance and its reserves position and believe that the Group has adequate financial resources and is well placed to manage its business risks. The Group's business planning process, including financial projections, has taken into consideration the uncertainty within the current educational funding and qualification infrastructure and its potential impact on the sources of income and planned expenditure. In addition, sensitivity analysis and stress testing has been carried out on the Group’s SOFA and cash projections. The Trustees have assessed that the organisation has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the Financial Statements based on these forecasts and analysis. Thus, they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the annual financial statements.

In assessing going concern of the Group at the date of this report we have reviewed our forecasts for 2023/24 and developed reasonable best and worst case income scenarios for 2023/24 taking into account the likely external economic environment and other market factors.

|

As part of the going concern assessment, we have looked at how much income would need to drop over this period beyond our worst case income scenario assuming we take no action to reduce costs, such that we cannot meet all our liabilities as they fall due at any point.

The Board has reviewed the assessment and considers that the Group and its subsidiaries remain a going concern and that the Group will continue to make sufficient surpluses in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to cover the Group’s liabilities as they fall due.

At 31 July 2023, and at the date of this report, the balance sheet and forward cash projections show that the Group can continue to meet its all its obligations as they fall due over at least the next 12 months.

In the event that the business is impacted by a significant economic slowdown impacting on its income, then the business will take prompt action to further reduce its cost base to ensure that it can still meet its obligations as they fall due.

26

Accounting Policies (continued)

Liability of Members

The Charity is a company limited by guarantee. !n the event of the Charity being wound up, the liability of the members is limited to a sum not exceeding £1.00, being the amount that each member undertakes to contribute to the assets of the Charity in the event of its being wound up while he, she or it is a member or within one year after he, she or it ceases to be a member, for:

Incoming Resources

Incoming resources primarily comprise: Learner Registration charges, Delivery Partner Annual Fees, online card and test assessment fees, delivery of a wide range of endorsed programmes and Apprenticeship End Point Assessment fees.

All income is recognised once the Group has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

The Group’s income streams are recognised as follows:

Income is classed as unrestricted unless there is a contractual requirement for it to be spent on a particular purpose and returned if unspent, in which case it may be regarded as restricted.

Foreign Currencies

Foreign currency transactions, monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the exchange rate ruling at the reporting date, with gains or losses being taken to the Statement of Financial Activities. NOCN group is exposed to transactions in Indian Rupees, Euro, US Dollars and Sterling Pounds (functional currencies). However, all financial statements use Sterling Pounds as the presentation currency.

Financial Instruments

The Group only enters into basic financial instruments transactions that result in the recognition of financial assets and liabilities like trade and other accounts receivable and payable, loans from banks and other third parties, loans to related parties and investments in non-puttable ordinary shares.

Financial assets that are measured at cost and amortised cost are assessed at the end of each reporting period for objective evidence of impairment. If objective evidence of impairment is found, an impairment loss is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.

For financial assets measured at amortised cost, the impairment loss is measured as the difference between an asset’s carrying amount and the present value of estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. If a financial asset has a variable interest rate, the discount rate for measuring any impairment loss is the current effective interest rate determined under the contract.

For financial assets measured at cost less impairment, the impairment loss is measured as the difference between an asset's carrying amount and best estimate of the recoverable amount, which is an approximation of the amount that the company would receive for the asset if it were to be sold at the reporting date.

27

| 2

! :

Accounting Policies (continued)

Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount reported in the Statement of Financial Position when there is an enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Resources Expended

Resources expended are recognised on an accruals basis. Resources expended include attributable Value Added Tax which cannot be recovered.

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity.

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the Group in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the Group and include the audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the Group.

Judgements in Applying Accounting Policies and Key Sources of Estimation Uncertainty

The preparation of Financial Statements in compliance with FRS 102 requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. The items in the Financial Statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation

Tangible assets are included at cost less accumulated depreciation.

Depreciation is charged so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets over their estimated useful economic lives, using the straight line method as follows:

Computer equipment - rates varying from 20% to 33.3% per annum Fixtures and fittings - 10% per annum

All tangible fixed assets costing over £1,000 are capitalised on acquisition and are included in the balance sheet at cost. The estimated useful economic lives and depreciation method are reviewed at each year end.

Intangible Fixed Assets and Amortisation

Intangible assets are measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses.

Purchased goodwili is recognised at the cost of acquisition less the on balance sheet assets purchased. Software development costs are recognised as an intangible asset when all of the following criteria are demonstrated:

Amortisation is charged so as to allocate the cost of intangibles less their residual values over their estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method. The intangible assets are amortised over the following useful economic lives:

Software development costs - 5 years Goodwill - 10 years

If there is an indication that there has been a significant change in amortisation rate or residual value of an asset, the amortisation of that asset is revised prospectively to reflect the new expectations.

:

28

Accounting Policies (continued)

If the net fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities acquired exceeds the cost of a business combination, the excess up to the fair value of non-monetary assets acquired is recognised in the SOFA (statement of financial activities) in the periods in which the non-monetary assets are recovered. Any excess exceeding the fair value of non-monetary assets acquired is recognised in the statement of financial activities in the periods expected to be benefitted.

Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value being the estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost is based on the cost of purchase on a first in, first out basis. At each reporting date, inventories are assessed for impairment. If inventory is impaired, the carrying amount is reduced to its selling price less costs to complete and sell. The impairment loss is recognised immediately in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Annual Support Fee Provision

NOCN charges an annual centre support fee for which invoices are raised in June or July for the following financial year. The invoiced income is therefore normally deferred into the following year.

Taxation

As a registered Charity, NOCN is exempt from liability to corporation tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or S256 of the Taxation of Charitable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No provision or charges for taxation have therefore arisen.

Pensions

For NOCN and NOCN Job Cards, the pension costs charged in the Financial Statements represent the contributions payable by the Charity during the year.

Leased Assets

Operating lease costs are charged ona straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

Fund Accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets this criterion is charged to the fund, together with a fair allocation of management and support costs.

Unrestricted funds comprise those funds, which the Trustees are free to use in accordance with the objects of the Charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds, which have been allocated for specific purposes by the Trustees.

29

Notes To the Accounts

1.
incoming resources from government grants
2023 2022
£ £
Government Furlough Funds 1,493 102,892
Total 1,493 102,892
2. Incoming resourcesfrom charitable
Activities		 2023
£		 2022
£
Awarding Organisation and End Point
Assessment 12,640,091 10,841,175
NOCN Job Cards (CPCS & CISRS) 3,694,428 3,625,577
OneAwards - 674,690
NOCN India Skills Foundation 166,130 97,174
Total 16,500,649 15,238,616

All incoming resources from charitable activities in 2021/22 and 2022/23 were unrestricted

3. Analysis of resource expended on charitable

activities Summary by fund type

3. Analysis of resource expended on charitable
activities Summary by fund type
Unrestricted
Funds Total Funds Total Funds
2023 2023 2022
£ £ £
Awarding organisation and end pointassessment 12,250,016 12,250,016 10,253,073
Governance 262,619 262,619 275,470
NOCN Job Cards (CPCS & CISRS) 2,604,731 2,604,731 2,299,008
One Awards - - 801,721
NOCN India Skills Foundation 149,316 149,316 102,154
Depreciation & Amortisation 1,110,832 1,110,832 1,209,710
Total 16,377,514 16,377,514 14,941,136

| | |

All resources expended from charitable activities in 2021/22 and 2022/23 were unrestricted.

4. Total resources expended

4. Total resources expended
Activities
undertaken
:
directly		 Support
costs		 2023
£ £ £
Awarding Organisation and Endpoint Assessment 9,769,812 2,480,204 12,250,016
Governance - 262,619 262,619
NOCN Job Cards (CPCS &CISRS) 2,470,707 134,024 2,604,731
NOCN India Skills Foundation 149,316 - 149,316
Group Amortisation & Depreciation - 1,110,832 1,110,832
Total 12,389,835 3,987,679 16,377,514

|

30

4. Total resources expended (continued)

4. Total resources expended (continued)
Activities
undertaken
directly		 Support
costs		 2022
£ £ £
Awarding Organisation and EndpointAssessment 8,138,268 2,114,805 10,253,073
Governance - 275,470 275,470
NOCN Job Cards (CPCS & CISRS) 2,124,594 174,414 2,299,008
OneAwards 480,359 321,362 801,721
102,154
NOCN India Skills Foundation 102,154 -
Group Amortisation & Depreciation - 1,209,710 1,209,710
Total 10,845,375 4,095,761 14,941,136

Allocations have been made on the following basis:

e Governance costs are made up of the estimated time spent by the Senior Leadership Team on group governance plus other direct governance costs.

5, Governance

5, Governance
2023 2022
£ g
Meeting costs 21,812 5,507
Expenses paid to trustees - -
Legal Costs 21,343 44 460
Internal audit fees 14,700 15,400
External audit fees 22,750 20,990
Management costs 182,014 189,113
Total 262,619 275,470
6. Net incoming resources
Net incoming resources fortheyear are arrived at after
charging:		 2023
£		 2022
£
Depreciation 64,782 215,866
Amortisation 1,046,050 993,844
External audit fees 22,750 20,990
Operating lease in respect of buildings 363,842 327,779
Operating lease in respect ofequipment and cars 17,181 21,505
7. Employee numbers and costs
2023 2022
Staff £ £
Wages and salaries 6,895,216 6,249,528
Social security costs 660,531 645,063
Pension costs 506,017 708,391
Total 8,061,764 7,602,982

31

| 2 |

7. Employee numbers and costs (continued)

The pension costs in 2022 of £145,000 related to the decrease in the defined benefits pension liability of One Awards.

The number of employees whose emoluments as defined for taxation purposes amount to £60,000 or more in the year was as follows:

2023 2022
Staff Number number
£60,000 to £69,999 5 -
£70,000 to £79,999 2 1
£80,000 to £89,999 1 -
£90,000 to £99,999 1 3
£100,000 to £109,999 3 2
£120,000 to £129,999 1 -
£180,000 to £189,999 - -
£210,000 to £219,999 - 4
£220,000to£229,999 1 -

In respect of the above employees' employer pension contributions paid to a defined contribution pension scheme during the year were £99,172 (2022 £61,350).

Staff

The average number of staff analysed by function was:

Staff
The average number of staff analysedanalysed by function was:
2023 2022
Number Number
Charitable activities 123 119
Management and administration ofthe charity 48 40
Total 171 159

Contingent workers

The average number of Contingent Workers, calculated on a basis of number working in a month on average over the year, analysed by function was:

2023 2022
Number Number
Charitable activities 119 83
Management and administration of the charity - -
Tota! 119 83

In 2022/23, some contractors were provided with contingent worker contracts following the review of workers under the new IR35 regime that came into force in April 2021.

During the financial year the Group incurred Organisational Change costs of £105,624 (2022 — £nil). This includes statutory redundancy pay, payment in lieu of notice and other miscellaneous costs. Group policy for organisational change is documented fully and is available on-line to all staff. The objective of the policy is to ensure that unavoidable redundancies are handled in a fair, consistent, timely and non-discriminatory way.

32

8. Trustee remuneration

8. Trustee remuneration
Group 2023 2022
£ g
Travel and subsistence - -
Other - -
Total - -
Company 2023 2022
number number
Travel and subsistence - -
Total - -
9. Auditor remuneration
2023 2022
£ g
External audit ofGroup/Parentcompany 16,000 14,995
External audit ofNOCN Job Cards (Subsidiary) 6,750 5,995
External audit ofNOCN India Skills Foundation (Subsidiary) - -
Other non-auditwork carried out by auditor - -
Total 22,750 20,990

10. Net Income / Expenditure attributable to members of the parent company

The net surplus dealt with in the financial statements of the parent company was £85,790 (£123,931 net surplus in 2022). This is all unrestricted funds.

33

| |

11. Intangible fixed assets

Goodwill - Software Goodwill -
Group Software Dev Cskills Dev CPCS Total
NOCN Job NOCN Job
Entity NOCN NOCN Cards Cards
£ £ £ £ £
Cost / valuation
At beginning ofyear 631,087 6,021,789 245,523 3,289,659 10,188,058
Additions 133,372 - 177,355 - 310,727
impairment -
Disposal
At end ofyear 764,459 6,021,789 422,878 3,289,659 10,498,785
Amortisation
At beginning ofyear 202,222 3,054,934 81,587 1,274,987 4,613,730
Charge for the year 127,639 555,206 54,892 308,313 1,046,050
Disposal
At end ofyear 329,861 3,610,140 136,479 1,583,300 5,659,780
Net book value at
31 July 2023 434,598 2,411,649 286,399 1,706,359 4,839,005
Net bookvalue at
31 July 2022 428,865 2,966,855 163,936 2,014,672 5,574,328
Software Goodwill -
Company Dev Cskills Total
£ £ £
Cost /valuation
At beginning ofyear 631,087 6,021,789 6,652,876
Additions 133,372 - 133,372
At end ofyear 764,459 6,021,789 6,786,248
Amortisation
Atbeginning ofyear 202,222 3,054,934 3,257,156 :
Charge for the year 127,639 555,206 682,845
At end ofyear 329,861 3,610,140 3,940,001
Net book value at
31 July 2023 434,598 2,411,649 2,846,240
Net book value at
31July2022 428,865 2,966,855 3,395,720

|

|

34

12. Tangible fixed assets

Group Computer
equipment		 Fixtures
and fittings		 Total
£ £ £
Cost
At beginning ofyear 305,447 387,511 692,958
Additions 36,010 - 36,010
Disposals - - -
At end ofyear 341,457 387,511 728,968
Depreciation
At beginning ofyear 245,410 197,882 443,292
Charge for the year 32,826 31,956 64,782
Disposals
Atend ofyear 278,236 229,838 508,074
Net book value at 31 July 2023 63,221 157,673 220,894
Net book value at 31 July 2022 60,037 189,629 249,666
Computer Fixtures
Company equipment and fittings Total
£ £ £
Cost
At beginning ofyear 283,101 355,468 638,569
Additions 36,010 - 36,010
Disposals rr
At end ofyear 319,111 355,468 674,579
Depreciation
At beginning ofyear 225,755 188,712 414,467
Charge for the year 31,444 28,751 60,195
Disposals
At end ofyear 257,199 217,463 474,662
Net book value at 31 July 2023 61,912 138,005 199,917
Netbookvalueat31July2022 57346 166,756 224,102

35

!

13. Fixed asset investment

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Company|2023|2022| |£|£| |Cost| |At|beginning|of year|99|99| |Additions|-|-| |At end|of year|99|99|

----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
|
----- End of picture text -----

On 16 June 2017 NOCN acquired 99% of the share capital of NOCN India Skills Foundation for a consideration of £99.

Subsidiary Undertakings

The following were subsidiary undertakings of NOCN:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Name|Country|of|Class|of Shares|Holding| |Incorporation| |NOCN|India|Skills|Foundation|India|Ordinary|99%| |NOCN|Job|Cards|UK|N/A|Majority|Voting|Rights|Control|

----- End of picture text -----

Note on NOCN India Skills Foundation: The aggregate of the share capital and reserves as at 31 July 2023 and of the profit or loss for the year ended on that date for this subsidiary undertaking were as follows:

|

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Aggregate|of share|capital|and|reserves|_|Profit/(Loss)| |£|£| |NOCN|India|Skills|Foundation|22,587|6,876|

----- End of picture text -----

The registered office of the above subsidiary undertakings is House No. M-27, M- Block Market, Greater Kailash-l, New Delhi, South Delhi, Delhi.

14. Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Group|2023|2022| |£|£| |Trade|debtors|2,255,556|1,867,390| |Prepayments|and|accrued|income|342,502|405,638| |Total|2,598,058|2,273,028| |Company|2023|2022| |£|£| |Trade|debtors|1,749,629|1,454,820| |Prepayments|and|accrued|income|221,257|260,488| |Intercompany|debtors|2,018,437|1,634,398| |Total|3,989,323|3,349,706|

----- End of picture text -----

|

The intercompany debtors are interest free and repayable on demand. NOCN has committed to continue the intercompany loan to NOCN Job Cards for the foreseeable future and at least for the next 12 months.

36

15. Stock

Group 2023 2022
£ £
At beginning ofyear 20,176 72,248
Purchased in the year 30,829 503,451
Charged in the year (20,176) (555,523)
At end ofyear 30,829 20,176
Company 2023 2022
£ £
At beginning ofyear 16,692 18,189
Purchased in the year 30,829 376,639
Charged in the year (16,692) (378,136)
At end ofyear 30,829 16,692
16. Creditors -amounts falling due within one year
Group 2023 2022
£ gE
Trade creditors 501,708 369,299
Accruals 602,406 475,094
Deferred income — see note 17 1,238,074 746,947
Taxes and social security 735,447 646,105
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBILS) 300,000 300,000
Other creditors 692,041 1,732,441
Total 4,069,676 4,269,886
Company 2023 2022
£ £
Trade creditors 417,798 246,923
Accruals 378,028 408,338
Deferred income —see note 17 1,238,074 746,947
lIntercompany creditors - -
Taxes and social security 732,947 603,388
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBILS) 300,000 300,000
Other creditors 597,521 982,246
Total 3,664,368 3,287842

37

17. Deferred income

Group 2023 2022
£ £
At beginning ofyear 746,947 ° 549,459
Released in the year (746,947) (549,459)
Added in the year 1,238,074 746,947
At end ofyear 1,238,074 746,947
Company 2023 2022
£ £
At beginning ofyear 746,947 423,809
Released in the year (746,947) (423,809)
Added in the year 1,238,074 746,947
At end ofyear 1,238,074 746,947
Annual centre fees and similar charges that are invoiced in advance are deferred to correspond with the period
of service provided. End point assessment fees invoiced prior to year-end are deferred where the assessment
hasyettotakeplaceatyear-end.

|

18. Creditors - amounts falling due after more than one year

Group 2023 2022
£ £
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBILS) §50,000 850,000
Other creditors - -
Total 550,000 850,000
Company 2023 2022
£ £
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBILS) 550,000 850,000
Other creditors - -
Total 550,000 850,000

|

The CBILS loan incurs interest at 1.88% over base rate and is repayable in equal monthly instalments over 72 months, commencing May 2021.

|

|

38

19. Analysis of net assets between funds

2023 2022
Unrestricted Unrestricted
Group Funds Funds
£ £
Intangible fixed assets 4,839,005 5,574,328
Tangible fixed assets 220,894 249,666
Current assets 4,025,390 3,636,877
Current liabilities due in less than one year (4,069,676) (4,269,886)
Liabilities due after more than one year (550,000) (850,000)
Net assets 4,465,613 4,340,985
2023 2022
Unrestricted Unrestricted
Company Funds Funds
£ £
Intangible fixed assets 2,846,247 3,395,720
Tangible fixed assets 199,917 224,102
Investments 99 99
Current assets 5,142,442 4,406,468
Current liabilities due in less than one year (3,664,368) (3,287,842)
Liabilities due after more than one year (550,000) (850,000)
Netassets 3,974,337 3,888,547

20. Statement of funds

At 1 August Incoming Outgoing At 31 July
Group 2022 resources resources Gains 2023
£ £ £ £
General funds 4,340,985 16,502,142 (16,377,514) - 4,465,613
Total unrestricted funds 4,340,985 16,502,142 (16,377,514) - 4,465,613
At 1 August Incoming Outgoing At 31 July
Company 2022 ~=resources resources Gains 2023
£ £ £ £ £
General funds 3,888,547 12,641,584 (12,555,794) - 3,974,337
Totalunrestrictedfunds 3,888,547 12,641,584 (12,555,794) - 3,974,337

21. Other recognised gains/(losses)

2023 2022
£ g
One Awards Disposal - (706,797)
One Awards defined benefit liability revaluation 2,514,000
Total - 1,807,203
39

22. Financial commitments

At 31 July 2023, the Group had commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

Group 2023 2022
£ g
Buildings:
Within one year 363,842 367,723
Between two and five years 1,264,045 259,030
Equipment:
Within one year 17,181
Betweentwoandfiveyears 14,576 10,486

At 31 July 2023, the Company had commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

Company 2023 2022
£ £
Buildings:
Within one year 323,637 327,518
Between two and five years 1,180,111 135,065
Equipment:
Within one year 9,345 9,619
Betweentwoandfiveyears 7,849 5,291

23. Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets:

|

During the year the Group acquired tangible fixed assets with the aggregate cost £36,010 (2022- £50,654). Cash payments were made totalling £36,010 (2022 - £50,654) to purchase the equipment.

Purchase of intangible fixed assets:

During the year the Group acquired intangible fixed assets with the aggregate cost £310,727 (2022 - £305,515). Cash payments totalling £310,727 (2022- £305,515) was paid in the year for the software developed.

Payments made in respect of purchase of Cskills and CPCS:

|

Cash payments were made totalling ENil (2022- £1,500,000) towards settling the Cskills purchase liability with CITB.

Cash payments were made totalling £750,000 (2022- £1,300,000) towards settling the CPCS purchase liability with CITB.

:

40

24, Related Party Transactions

2023 2023 2023
Amount due
Income (£) Purchases (£) from/(to) at the
year end (£)
OCN Northern Ireland 1 36,250 - -
British Ass’n Construction Heads2 - 7,106 -
Credit Services Ass’n ? 120 . -
Barnsley College 4 49,701 - 3,581
Maggie Hasting-Evans © - 200 -
BAM Nuttall © 154,152 - 21,701
Access Training East Midlands Ltd ’ 4,110 - -
Construction Plant HireAssociation ® - 3,000 1,200
Construction Industry Scaffolders
Record Scheme		 - 303,290 35.338
,
ITS Group" 1,618 - °
Learning atWork Institute" - 38,000 12,600
Leeds College of Building’? 5,295 - 980
Bedford College’? 131,781 - 13,029
TUC 18,743 - -
2022 2022 2022
Amount due
Income (£) Purchases (£) from/(to) at the
year end (£)
OCN Northern Ireland 1 34,437 - -
British Ass’n Construction Heads 2 - 3,900 -
Credit Services Ass’n ? 435 - 450
Barnsley College 4 51,186 - 78
Maggie Hasting-Evans ° - 200 -
BAM Nuttall 6 38,406 - 2,477
Access Training East Midlands Ltd 7 15,710 - 980
Construction Plant Hire Association ® - 3,300 900
Construction Industry Scaffolders
Record Scheme ® ~ 315,744 25,188
ITS Group”? 4,741 - (1,110)
Learning atWork Institute" - - -
Leeds College of Building! 3,155 - -
Bedford College’? - - -
TUC ™ 18,743 - -
P Flannery '® 5,050 - 532
Sheffield College *6 168,329 - 9,438
Northern College 1” 1,140 - -
Laing O’Rourke Civil Eng Itd 18 598 - 28
41

|

1 Transactions with OCN Northern Ireland consist of annual Licence fee income and occasional purchases, OCN Northern Ireland was a member of the Charity during the year.

4 Transactions with Barnsley College represent learner registration and certification income. Kay Dickinson is

5 Maggie Hasting-Evans - Flight costs paid for by NOCN in lieu of fee paid in respect of work carried out on behalf of NOCN Group by Maggie in Greece and India.

§ Transactions with BAM Nuttall represent learner registration, certification fees and CPCS cards. Timothy Brownbridge is an Academy Manager at BAM Nuttall.

? Transactions with Access Training represent learner registration and certification fees. Corrina Hembury is a Managing Director at Access Training. 8 Transactions with Construction Plant Hire Association relate to the issue of Job Cards. Kevin Minton is a member of the CPA (Resigned December 22). ® Transactions with Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme in relation to the Card processing Income.

1° Transactions with ITS Group represent learner registration and certification income. ITS Group is a trading subsidiary of Barnsley College. Kay Dickinson is a Trustee of Barnsley College.

1 Transactions with Learning at Work Institute represent Festival and Annual research cost. Stephen Evans is a member of the Learning and Work Institute. 12 Transactions with Leeds College of Building learner registration and certification income. Nicola Davis is a member of the Leeds College of Building.

13 Transactions with Bedford College learner registration and certification income. Dave Wilkins is a member of the Bedford College.

‘4 Transactions with TUC registration and certification income. Adrian Toomey is a member of the TUC. ‘8 Transactions with P Flannery relate to the issue of Job cards. Paul Allman was a Director at P Flannery Ltd until May 2022.

16 Transactions with Sheffield College represent learner registration and certification income. Seb Schmoller was Chair of Sheffield College. (Resigned October 21).

1? Transactions with Northern College represent learner registration and certification income. Seb Schmoller is a Governor at Northern College. (Resigned October 21). 18 Transactions with Laing O’Rourke Civil Engineering Ltd relate to the issue of Job cards, Alison Duckles (nee Lamplough) was an employee of Laing O’Rourke Civil Engineering Ltd until December 2021.

25. Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents included in the statement of cash flows comprise the following:

2023 2022
£ £
Cash at bank 1,396,503 1,343,670
Cash in hand - 3
Total 1,396,503 1,343,673

42

26. Operating surplus/(deficit) to Net movement in funds after other gains/(losses) reconciliation

A reconciliation of the operating surplus/(deficit) to the Net movement in funds after other gains/ (losses) in the Statement of Financial Activity is a follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |2023|2022| |£|£| |Operating|surplus|/|(deficit)|1,235,460|1,610,082| |Depreciation|&|Amortisation|(1,110,832)|(1,209,710)| |Other|revaluations|-|1,807,203| |Net movement|in|funds|after|other|gains|/|(losses)|124,628|2,207,575|

----- End of picture text -----

27. Analysis of Net Debt

Group

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |At|1|August|Movement|At|31|July| |2022|in|year|2023| |£|£|£| |Cash|at|bank|and|in|hand|1,343,673|52,830|1,396,503| |Bank|Loan|(Less|than|12|months)|(300,000)|-|(300,000)| |Bank|Loan|(More|than|12|months)|(850,000)|300,000|(550,000)| |193,673|352,830|546,503| |Company| |At|1|August|Movement|At|31|July| |2022|in|year|2023| |£|£|£| |Cash|at|bank|and|in|hand|1,040,070|82,220|1,122,290| |Bank|Loan|(Less|than|12|months)|(300,000)|-|(300,000)| |Bank|Loan|(More|than|12|months)|(850,000)|300,000|(550,000)| |(109,930)|382,220|272,290|

----- End of picture text -----

43