2024-06-30-accounts - Cccu UK

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CCCU-UK

(A company limited by guarantee) Company Number: 04026626 Charity Number: 1085493

Accounts

for the year ended 30 June 2024

Wenn Townsend

Chartered Accountants

Oxford

CCCU-UK

Reference and Administrative Details

Trustees:	M Bolton
	S Hoogstra
	S Mullen
	D Boone
Programme Director:	S Rosenberg
Business Address:	5 Alfred Street
	Oxford
	OX1 4EH
Registered Office:	30 St Giles
	Oxford
	OX1 3LE
Bankers:	Svenska Handelsbanken
	Oxford Parkway Branch
	Latimer House
	Langford Locks
	Kidlington
	Oxford
	OX5 1GG
Solicitors:	Knights Professional Services Ltd
	Midland House
	West Way
	Botley
	Oxford
	OX2 0PH
Auditor:	Wenn Townsend
	30 St Giles’
	Oxford
	OX1 3LE

CCCU-UK

INDEX

	Page
Trustees’ Report	1 - 5
Report of the Independent Auditors	6 - 7
Statement of Financial Activities	8
Balance Sheet	9
Statement of Cash Flows	10
Notes to the Accounts	11 - 22

CCCU-UK

Report of the Trustees

for the year ended 30 June 2024

The Trustees present their report and the audited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 June 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

Trustees of the Charity

The directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purposes of charity law. The trustees who have served during the year and since the year end were as follows:

S Hoogstra M Bolton S Mullen D Boone

Objectives and Activities

The objects of the Charity are as follows:

to run, manage, or conduct for the benefit of the public at moderate fees, an educational centre for British and overseas students of a university standard and for other advanced scholars and professional persons which will specialise in Arts and Sciences;
to organise lectures, tutorials, field trips, seminars, and co-curricular activities relating to any aspects of the study of Arts and Sciences;
to organise lectures, tutorials, faculty exchanges, conferences and seminars, and other appropriate academic activities for the students, scholars and professional persons relating to any aspect of the study of Arts and Sciences;
to advance currently held grant-funded research and advanced training projects and develop new projects.
The objectives of the Charity are met by regular meetings of the Board of Trustees, senior officials and advisors who decide on strategy and development. The charitable company seeks to benefit the public through its aims.

The charity’s main objectives for the year were as follows:

to offer a quality academic programme to students, meeting budgeting expectations, and building on a reputation for excellence;
to continue to enhance the academic offerings of the programme through constant review and revisions where needed;
to continue to explore advance study opportunities for faculty from CCCU member campuses through grant funding projects;
to manage continuing grant-funded projects offered to faculty and students;
to transition into a new set of relationships well, moving from a partnership with Wycliffe Hall to one with Pusey House;
establish new programme representations and marketing as SCIO prepared for the end of its partnership with Wycliffe Hall, reviewing all programme information and revising where necessary to ensure that no intellectual property belonging to others was inadvertently used after the end of the Wycliffe contract
in preparation for moving out of the 8 Norham Garden offices, with end of the lease, secure new office space in a beneficial and strategic location offering sufficient and appropriate space for administration, teaching and socializing with students.

Public Benefit Statement

The Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties.

CCCU-UK

Report of the Trustees (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

Fundraising standards information

The charity does not carry out significant public fundraising activities, and no professional fundraisers are used by the charity. The charity was not bound to any voluntary scheme or standard for fundraising, given that it does not seek funds from the general public. The Trustees and senior management monitor closely any fundraising activities in each period, largely by direct inclusion in the discussion process with any major funder. There have been no complaints in the period under review.

Achievements and Performance

Over the past year, we have seen the continuing development of existing student programmes, continuing major grant-funded projects, and successfully managed several major organizational transitions. Our programmes have been successfully operating in Oxford since 2000 as the CCCU-UK, and nine years prior to that via the US parent corporation, and we have seen many changes as we continue to improve our performance each year.

CCCU-UK (trading as SCIO: Scholarship & Christianity in Oxford) has successfully emerged out of the challenges presented by the COVID 19 crisis and the various ways the pandemic has continued to interrupt/disrupt business activity. It is a smaller organization with some paring back of staff size and structure but the essential qualities and programmes have been sustained;
SCIO successfully pivoted over this past year:
Negotiating and signing a new Oxford partnership with Pusey House to help host its study abroad students;
revising its tutorial curriculum to offer its own large array of bespoke tutorials to the study abroad students;
finding and securing strategic new office space in city centre proximate to important University locales such as the Bodleian library;
retained its key assets that have enabled its programmes to flourish: the large number of Oxfordrelated tutors, the relationship with the Bodleian library, the trust and partnership with sending universities in the USA and Canada, and the dynamic of a staff engaged and committed to its mission;
SCIO initiated a discussion with a major donor in the US to provide a transformative gift enabling SCIO to pay off the mortgage on its student property, The Vines. The activity beginning in the FY 23/24 resulted in a gift of $1M in October 2025 and the subsequent redemption of the mortgage;
In January 2024, SCIO successfully took over management of US-based recruitment and marketing of its student programs from its US parent organization and developed new strategies and approaches. It established new marketing approaches such as hosting key faculty and campus officials from US-members for site visits;
The Semester program successfully enrolled: 35 students in Autumn 2023, 31 students in Spring 2023; the Oxford Summer Programme enrolled 28 students in the summer 2023 and 21 students in summer 2024;
Continued to review overhead costs to conserve cash amid the continuing post pandemic challenges for study abroad;
Continued to advance the recognition of faculty from SCIO itself and CCCU member institutions in their academic field:
Participants in its Supporting Structures project received more than $2M in grants from US-based research-supporting institutions including 4 grants from the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation;
Continued acceptance of programme alumni into major graduate universities;
Continuation of Logos, a grant-funded project;

CCCU-UK

Report of the Trustees (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

Achievements and Performance (continued)

Continued the activity related to project, Supporting Structures: Innovative Partnerships to Enhance Bench Science at CCCU Member Institutions . The total grant income and activity runs over three years from August 2021 and ending in July 2024. Funding for the full period consists of a primary grant of $2.25m from the John Templeton Foundation and a further $256,000 from the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust (with funding managed through the US parent, CCCU);
Continued work on the $336,000 grant for a three year project (managed through the US parent, CCCU) from the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust for the project Reimagining Faculty Roles and Investing in Adjunct Faculty Formation and Support in Christian Higher Education .
Continued to enjoy academic staff publishing scholarly work, participating in appropriate academic communities, and being recognised as valued scholars in their relevant fields;
Seen a substantial number of alumni of SSO and OSP taking faculty posts in universities and other professional positions, and seen former junior academic staff receiving postdoctoral positions and faculty posts in leading universities;
Academic staff have received recognition in their respective fields and produced notable scholarly outputs.

Financial Review

Total movement in funds in the year were an increase of £591,590 (2023: £168,364).

Total incoming resources were £1,698,794 (2023: £1,501,975) of which £968,274 related to tuition fees and £250,590 to accommodation fees.

Total resources expended were £1,107,204 (2023: £1,333,611). See note 3 for further details.

Details of the funds available to CCCU-UK and how they have been applied are reported on the Balance Sheet. Movements on such funds are reported in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Due to updated guidance from the USS pension scheme about its pension deficit, the CCCU-UK is no longer reporting a liability for deficit recovery contributions. This position is subject to change periodically on actuarial valuation, but the 2023 actuarial valuation reported a scheme surplus and thus no liability exists as at the 2024 year end.

Risk and Reserves

The Trustees are required to consider on a regular basis the risks facing the Charity and the systems and actions required to mitigate these risks; as well as the question of appropriate reserves.

The Charity is presently not in a position to hold free reserves but may consider such reserves in the future.

The Trustees have noted that the principal risks facing the Charity relate to:

financial uncertainty in the midst of the current economy
exchange rate uncertainty between the US dollar and the British pound
potential for greater than expected inflation to affect budget planning
financial aid policy changes at many sending institutions make it difficult for students to attend the programme
dependence upon tuition fees amid uncertain enrolment climate
the potential disruption of activity due to its changes of Oxford partnership which was required as a result of policy changes for visiting student programmes at the University of Oxford

CCCU-UK

Report of the Trustees (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

Plans for future periods

For the coming year the Charity is focused on the following key objectives:

Finalize contract and move into the new office space at 5 Alfred Street;
Implement academic program changes devised during the prior year;
Advance the UK strategic plan devised over the past year, in combination with the US parent’s new strategic plan;
Further develop the new marketing plans including promoting site visits by key leadership at the US sending institutions;
Continue to sustain our activity and build back further beyond the post Covid-shaped challenges;
Reduce overhead costs, conserve cash, reconsider workforce needs, and retain core talent and strengths;
• Review and enhance the focus on undergraduate research activity in the two student programmes;
Refine academic curriculum to fit the changing educational scenarios;
Develop and market the new joint faculty and undergraduate short-term research initiatives;
Enhancing student enrolments, continuing to build and maintain strong links with sending institutions;
Continue Logos and related funded, grant projects;
Develop the next iteration/s of grant funded science and religion projects, submitting three or more proposals;
Continue to implement the grant-funded project, Reimagining Faculty and Forming Adjuncts (contingent) Faculty;
Investigate other grant-funded projects supporting faculty development at CCCU member institutions;
Continuing growth of CCCU-UK activities in the Oxford academic community;
• Supporting academic staff in their scholarly production and engagement.

Structure, Governance and Management

CCCU-UK is a charitable company, company number 4026626, and registered charity number 1085493.

The Charity is governed by the Memorandum and Articles of Association, established under the Companies Act 2006. The company is limited by guarantee without share capital.

The Board consists of between two and five Trustees appointed by the members at an Annual General Meeting of the members. In between AGMs the Trustees may co-opt a Trustee until the following AGM. One third of the Trustees must retire by rotation at every third AGM. Those retiring are eligible for reappointment by the members.

Membership of the Charity is open to any individual who has an interest in the objects of the Charity and who applies and is accepted by the Trustees to be a member. At the year end the sole member is considered to be the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, which is a Charity based in Washington D.C. in the United States of America.

The day to day operations of the Charity are controlled by the Programme Director, S Rosenberg, and several full and part-time staff members who oversee the programmatic and administrative operations of the charity.

Newly appointed Trustees undergo an orientation session to brief them on their legal obligations under charity and company law, the content of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the business plan and recent performance of the company.

The Board is required to meet on an annual basis.

The Board is responsible for strategic planning to meet the Charity’s objectives and develop strategy in relation to programming, finance and administration.

The Trustees are satisfied that the accounts comply with current statutory requirements and the Charity’s governing documents.

CCCU-UK

Report of the Trustees (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

Key Management Personnel Remuneration

The Trustees consider the Board of Trustees and the Senior Management Team as comprising the key management personnel of the Charity in charge of directing and controlling the Charity and running and operating the Charity on a day to day basis. All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee remuneration was paid by the Charity in the year. Details of Trustee expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in notes 5 and 15 to the accounts.

Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and in accordance with the Trust’s policy withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.

The pay of the Senior Management Team is reviewed annually and is normally increased in accordance with average earnings. The remuneration is reviewed to ensure that it is fair and not out of line with similar roles.

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of CCCU-UK for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees 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 the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for the year. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements have been followed subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with 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:

there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware; and
• the Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

This report has been prepared having taken advantage of the small companies’ exemption in the Companies Act 2006.

Signed on behalf of the Board of the Trustees

M Bolton Trustee

24 March 2025

CCCU-UK

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of CCCU-UK

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of CCCU-UK (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 30 June 2024 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, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 30 June 2024, and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the 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 trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

the information given in the trustees’ report (incorporating the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the 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:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
• certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

CCCU-UK

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of CCCU-UK (continued)

we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies’ regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the directors’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 5, 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.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Enquiry of management, those charged with governance and the entity’s solicitors around actual and potential litigation and claims;
Enquiry of entity staff in Accounting and HR functions to identify any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations;
Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
Performing audit work over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for bias.

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.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an 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.

Benjamin Hayes BSc FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Wenn Townsend Chartered Accountants, Statutory Auditor Oxford

24 March 2025

CCCU-UK

Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account) for the year ended 30 June 2024

	Note			2024			2023
		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
		£	£	£	£	£	£
Income from:
Charitable activities	2a	1,221,963	-	1,221,963	1,026,271	-	1,026,271
Donations and grants	2b	-	473,211	473,211	-	460,210	460,210
Rental income		900	-	900	15,494	-	15,494
Investments		2,720	-	2,720	-	-	-
		───────	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Total income		1,225,583	473,211	1,698,794	1,041,765	460,120	1,501,975
		───────	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities	3	987,878	417,326	1,405,204	1,013,472	334,139	1,347,611
Pension provision	17	(298,000)	-	(298,000)	(14,000)	-	(14,000)
		───────	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Total expenditure		689,878	417,326	1,107,204	999,472	334,139	1,333,611
		───────	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Net income/(expenditure)		535,705	55,885	591,590	42,293	126,071	168,364
Transfer between funds	11	62,047	(62,047)	-	49,763	(49,736)	-
		───────	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Net movement in funds		597,752	(6,162)	591,590	92,029	76,335	168,364
Reconciliation of funds
Fund balances brought forward at 1 July 2023		1,067,832	118,866	1,186,698	975,803	42,531	1,018,334
		───────	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Fund balances carried forward at 30	June 2024	1,665,584	112,704	1,778,288	1,067,832	118,866	1,186,698
		═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised during the year.

CCCU-UK

Balance Sheet 30 June 2024

	Note		2024		2023
		£	£	£	£
Fixed Assets
Tangible assets	6a	1,856,498		1,891,354
Intangible assets	6b	111		1,262
		───────		───────
			1,856,609		1,892,616
Current Assets
Debtors	7	368,620		391,600
Cash at bank and in hand		540,822		267,207
		───────		───────
		909,442		658,807
Creditors: Amounts falling due
within one year	8	(300,558)		(276,161)
		───────		───────
Net Current Assets			608,884		382,646
			───────		───────
Total Assets less Current Liabilities			2,465,493		2,275,262
Creditors:Amounts falling due after more
than one year	9		(687,205)		(790,564)
			───────		───────
Net Assets excluding Pension Liability			1,778,288		1,484,698
			═══════		═══════
Defined Benefit Pension Liability	17		-		(298,000)
			───────		───────
Net Assets			1,778,288		1,186,698
			═══════		═══════
Funds
Restricted funds	11		112,704		118,866
Unrestricted funds – general			1,665,584		1,067,832
			───────		───────
Total Funds			1,778,288		1,186,698
			═══════		═══════

The financial statements are prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 24 March 2025 and signed on its behalf by :

────────────────────

M Bolton Trustee

Company number: 4026626

The notes on pages 11 to 22 form part of these accounts

CCCU-UK

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 30 June 2024

Note Net cash flow from operating activities 16 Cash flow from investing activities Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets Net cash flow from investing activities Cash flow from financing activities Repayment of long term loans Interest paid Net cash flow from financing activities Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at 1st July 2023 Cash and cash equivalents at 30th June 2024 Cash and cash equivalents consists of: Cash at bank and in hand Cash and cash equivalents at 30th June 2024	2024 £ 397,543 - _ - _ (100,537) (23,391) _ (123,928) _ 273,615 267,207 _ 540,822 ═════ 540,822 _ 540,822 ═════	2023 £ 168,531 (2,039) _ (2,039) _ (97,853) (26,014) _ (123,867) _ 42,625 224,582 _ 267,207 ═════ 267,207 _ 267,207 ═════

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 30 June 2024

1 Summary of significant accounting policies

CCCU-UK is a charitable company limited by guarantee in the United Kingdom. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information in these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are included in the trustees’ report.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. These accounts have been prepared on an accruals basis and include income and expenditure as they are earned or incurred, rather than as cash is received or paid. 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 issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

Fund accounting

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

Restricted funds are funds subject to specific trusts, which may be declared by the donor or with their authority but still within the objects of the charity. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Income recognition

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

Incoming resources are deferred to the extent they relate to future accounting periods.

Investment income is earned through holding assets for investment purposes and it includes interest. It is included when the amount can be measured reliably. Interest income is recognised using the effective interest method.

Expenditure recognition

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

1 Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)

Expenditure recognition (continued)

Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs associated with semester programmes and conferences; and
Other expenditure represents those items not falling into the categories above.

The charitable company is not registered for VAT and, as such, irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.

Grants payable to third parties are within the charitable objectives. Where unconditional grants are offered, this is accrued as soon as the recipient is notified of the grant, as this gives rise to a reasonable expectation that the recipient will receive the grants. Where grants are conditional relating to performance then the grant is only accrued when any unfulfilled conditions are outside of the control of the charity.

Support costs allocation

Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, administrative payroll costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include project management. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

The analysis of these costs is included in note 3.

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are capitalised and included at cost including any incidental expenses of acquisition.

Depreciation of fixed assets is calculated to write off their cost or valuation less any residual value over their estimated useful lives as follows:

Freehold land Nil Freehold buildings Straight line over 50 years Leasehold improvements Over the period of the lease Furniture and equipment 10% - 33⅓% p.a.

Intangible assets

Research expenditure is written off in expenditure in the SoFA in the year in which it is incurred. Identifiable development expenditure is capitalised to the extent that the technical, commercial and financial feasibility can be demonstrated.

Intangible assets are amortised on a straight line basis over their useful lives. The useful lives of intangible assets are as follows:

Website

5 years

Debtors and creditors receivable / payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.

Loans and borrowings

Loans and borrowings are initially recognised at the transaction price including transaction costs. Subsequently, they are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method, less impairment. If an arrangement constitutes a finance transaction it is measured at present value.

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

1 Summary of accounting policies (continued)

Impairment

Assets not measured at fair value are reviewed for any indication that the asset may be impaired at each balance sheet date. If such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset, or the asset’s cash generating unit, is estimated and compared to the carrying amount. Where the carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount, an impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss unless the asset is carried at a revalued amount where the impairment loss is a revaluation decrease.

Leases

Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged against profits on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

Foreign currency

Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are recorded at the rates of exchange ruling at the dates of the transactions, or at an average rate for the period if the rates do not fluctuate significantly. Monetary assets and liabilities are translated at year end exchange rates or, where appropriate, at rates of exchange fixed under the terms of the relevant transaction. The resulting exchange rate differences are charged to the profit and loss account.

Employee benefits

When employees have rendered service to the charity, short-term employee benefits to which the employees are entitled are recognised at the undiscounted amount expected to be paid in exchange for that service.

The charity participates in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (the scheme). The scheme is a hybrid pension scheme, providing defined benefits (for all members), as well as defined contribution benefits. The assets of the scheme are held in a separate trustee-administered fund. Because of the mutual nature of the scheme, the scheme’s assets are not attributed to individual institutions and a scheme-wide contribution rate is set. The charity is therefore exposed to actuarial risks associated with other institutions’ employees and is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme on a consistent and reasonable basis. As required by Section 28 of FRS 102 “Employee benefits”, the charity therefore accounts for the scheme as if it were a wholly defined contribution scheme. As a result, the amount charged to the income and expenditure account represents the contributions payable to the scheme in respect of the accounting period, and any deficit recovery contributions payable under a scheme Recovery Plan.

Where a scheme valuation determines that the scheme is in deficit on a technical provisions basis (as was the case following the 2020 USS valuation), the trustee of the scheme must agree a Recovery plan that determines how each employer within the scheme will fund an overall deficit. The charity recognises a liability for the contributions payable that arise from such an agreement (to the extent that they relate to a deficit) with related expenses being recognised through the income statement. Further disclosures relating to this can be found in note 17.

Tax

The charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorising these financial statements. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

1 Summary of accounting policies (continued)

Critical accounting judgements

FRS 102 makes the distinction between a Group Plan and a multi-employer scheme. A Group Plan consists of a collection of entities under common control typically with a sponsoring employer. A multiemployer scheme is a scheme for entities not under common control and represents (typically) an industry-wide scheme such as that provided by USS. The accounting for a multi-employer scheme where the employer has entered into an agreement with the scheme that determines how the employer will fund a deficit results in the recognition of a liability for the contributions payable that arise from the agreement (to the extent that they relate to the deficit) and the resulting expense is recognised in profit or loss in accordance with section 28 of FRS 102. The trustees are satisfied that the scheme provided by USS meets the definition of a multi-employer scheme and has therefore recognised the discounted fair value of the contractual contributions under the funding plan in existence at the date of approving the financial statements.

Key sources of estimation uncertainty

Pension scheme liability

The trustees are required to make assumptions on future staffing levels when calculating the USS pension scheme liability. These are included as best estimates at the date of calculation, but present a risk in potentially causing a material adjustment to the balance sheet in periods where significant deficit recovery contributions are required.

Further disclosures relating to this can be found in note 17.

2 Income

a) Charitable activities
	2024	2024	2024	2023
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	£	£	£	£
Student tuition fees	968,274	-	968,274	815,296
Student accommodation fees	250,590	-	250,590	206,475
Other	3,099	-	3,099	4,500
	───────	───────	───────	───────
	1,221,963	-	1,221,963	1,026,271
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════
b) Donations and grants
	2024	2024	2024	2023
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	£	£	£	£
Grants received	-	197,785	197,785	192,852
Donations received	-	275,426	275,426	267,358
	───────	───────	───────	───────
	-	473,211	473,211	460,210
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

3 Expenditure

a) Analysis of expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Charitable activities costs| |Grants Programmes|Governance|2024|2023| |(restricted) (unrestricted) (unrestricted)| |£|£|£|£|£| |Wages and salaries|137,490|300,806|5,020|443,316|458,323| |Staff pension costs|20,718|43,814|766|65,298|81,392| |Other staff costs|2,735|1,894|-|4,629|4,715| |University of Oxford fees|-|172,139|-|172,139|156,563| |Student affiliation fees|193|386|-|579|776| |Student activities|2,245|26,048|-|28,293|30,039| |Utilities|2,735|49,569|-|52,304|21,821| |Rent, rates and insurance|24,585|51,722|-|76,307|71,412| |Repairs and maintenance| |and consumables|1,957|67,295|-|69,252|70,668| |Printing, postage, stationery,| |telephone and office|9,639|16,739|-|26,378|24,569| |Travel and related expenses|130,688|11,674|-|142,362|64,657| |Legal and professional fees|-|3,890|-|3,890|523| |Other support costs|39,172|29,490|-|68,662|63,334| |Programme US allocation costs|-|144,729|-|144,729|187,881| |Audit and accountancy|16,774|6,259|12,420|35,453|64,144| |Bank and other interest and charges|452|24,056|-|24,508|27,035| |Exchange rate (gains)/deficits|33|(16,845)|-|(16,812)|(40,360)| |Depreciation/amortisation of owned assets|-|36,007|-|36,007|36,556| |Scholarships, grants & stipends|27,910|-|-|27,910|23,563| |───────|───────|─────── ─────── ──────| |417,326|969,672|18,206|1,405,204 1,347,611| |═══════|═══════|═══════ ═══════ ══════|

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

b) Grants paid

All scholarships, grants and stipends paid are to individuals. They were awarded to support the research projects for which the charity has received funding.

c) Staff costs

Particulars of employees are shown below:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2024|2023| |£|£| |Employee costs during the year amounted to:| |Wages and salaries|410,609|425,334| |Social security costs|32,707|32,989| |Pension costs|65,298|81,392| |───────|───────| |508,614|539,715| |═══════|═══════|

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

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

3 Total resources expended (continued)

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

	2024	2023
Teaching staff	18	16
Administrative staff	3	2
	───────	───────
	21	18
	═══════	═══════

Highest paid employees:

During the period there was one employee who earned in the band £110,001 to £120,000 (2023: one employee earned in the band £110,001 to £120,000). Pension contributions paid on behalf of this employee totalled £20,415 (2023: £23,998).

d) Auditors’ remuneration

d) Auditors’ remuneration
	2024	2023
	£	£
Fees received for audit services (including VAT)	12,420	11,820
Fees received for non-audit services (including VAT)	23,033	52,324
	───────	───────
	35,453	64,144
	═══════	═══════

4. Pension schemes

The charity pays into a defined benefit pension scheme as detailed in note 17. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in independently managed funds. Total contributions due amounted to £70,423 (2023: £87,391). Contributions outstanding at the year end amounted to £Nil (2023: £Nil).

5 Trustees’ and key management personnel remuneration and expenses

The Trustees received no remuneration or reimbursed expenses during the year (2023: £Nil).

The total amount of employee remuneration and benefits received by key management personnel is £251,859 (2023: £324,933). The Trust considers its key management personnel comprises the Board of Trustees, and the Senior Management Team.

No trustees (2023: none) are accruing pension arrangements.

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the period ended 30 June 2024

6 Fixed assets

a) Tangible fixed assets

a) Tangible fixed assets
	Freehold	Leasehold	Fixtures
	land and	land and	fittings &
	buildings	buildings	equipment	Total
	£	£	£	£
Cost or valuation
At 1 July 2023	2,267,008	67,256	159,504	2,493,768
Additions	-	-	-	-
	───────	───────	───────	───────
At 30 June 2024	2,267,008	67,256	159,504	2,493,768
	───────	───────	───────	───────
Depreciation
At 1 July 2023	383,724	67,256	151,434	602,414
Charged in the year	31,530	-	3,325	34,856
	───────	───────	───────	───────
At 30 June 2024	415,254	67,256	154,759	637,270
	───────	───────	───────	───────
Net book amount at:
At 30 June 2024	1,851,754	-	4,745	1,856,498
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════
At 1 July 2023	1,883,284	-	8,070	1,891,354
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

Tangible fixed assets with a net book value of £1,851,754 (2023: £1,883,284) have been pledged as security for liabilities of the charity.

b) Intangible fixed assets

Cost or valuation At 1 July 2023 Additions ── At 30 June 2024 ── Amortisation At 1 July 2023 Charged in the year ── At 30 June 2024 ── Net book amount: At 30 June 2024 ══ At 30 June 2023 ══ Debtors:amounts falling due within one year Trade debtors Prepayments and accrued income Amounts owed by parent charity	Website £ 5,946 - ───── ── 5,946 ───── ── 4,684 1,151 ───── ── 5,835 ───── ── 111 ═════ ══ 1,262 ═════ ══ 2024 £ 708 22,804 345,108 _ 368,620 ═════	Total £ 5,946 - ───── 5,946 ───── 4,684 1,151 ───── 5,835 ───── 111 ═════ 1,262 ═════ 2023 £ 703 63,955 326,942
		_ 391,600 ═════

7 Debtors: amounts falling due within one year

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

8 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Creditors:amounts falling due within one year
	2024	2023
	£	£
Bank loan (secured)	103,358	100,536
Trade creditors	17,285	30,416
Other creditors	15,691	1,288
Other taxes and social security	9,123	9,406
Accruals and deferred income	155,101	134,515
	───────	───────
	300,558	276,161
	═══════	═══════

Deferred income comprises student tuition fees received in advance and deferred grant income. Movements in deferred income are summarised as follows:-

	£
Opening balance	93,127
Additions during the year	114,160
Amounts released to income	(93,127)
	───────
	114,160
Closing balance	═══════

9

Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year

	2024	2023
	£	£
Bank loan (secured)	687,205	790,564
	═══════	═══════

A bank loan was taken out with Handelsbanken to fund the purchase of The Vines. See note 10 for further details.

10 Loans

Loans
	2024	2023
	£	£
Loans not wholly repayable within five years:
Bank loans	790,563	891,100
	═══════	═══════
Analysis of maturity of debt:
Within a year or on demand	103,358	100,536
Between two and five years	687,205	790,564
	───────	───────
	790,563	891,100
	═══════	═══════

The charitable company has a five year loan with Svenska Handelsbanken drawn on 5 March 2021, at an interest rate of 2.76%, secured by a legal charge over the property known as The Vines, Pullens Lane, Headington, Oxford. See note 18 for events after the period end relating to this loan.

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

11 Restricted funds

2024	Balance				Balance
	1 July 2023	Income	Expenditure	Transfer 30 June 2024
	£	£	£	£	£
The Psalms 1 Fund	102,053	275,426	(241,586)	(36,228)	99,665
The de Jager Fund	4,471	-	(3,623)	-	848
Science and Religion	12,342	-	(151)	-	12,191
SS Early Career	-	197,785	(171,966)	(25,819)	-
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	118,866	473,211	(417,326)	(62,047)	112,704
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════
2023	Balance				Balance
	1 July 2022	Income	Expenditure	Transfer 30 June 2023
	£	£	£	£	£
The Psalms 1 Fund	22,508	266,966	(162,912)	(24,509)	102,053
The de Jager Fund	7,351	-	(2,880)	-	4,471
Science and Religion	12,672	-	(330)	-	12,342
SS Early Career	-	193,244	(168,017)	(25,227)	-
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	42,531	460,210	(334,139)	(49,736)	118,866
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

The Psalms 1 Fund (a Donor Advised Fund of The Signatry) – funding for Summer Logos conference.

The de Jager Fund – funding was received to advance SCIO activities in Oxford.

Science and Religion – income and expenditure relates to a specific project – “Configuring Adam and Eve”.

SS Early Career – Funding provided by the John Templeton Foundation for the funded project: Supporting Structures: Innovative Collaborations to Enhance STEM Research at CCCU Member Schools

The transfer of funds in the year represents the overhead contributions included from various grants to support costs incurred in general funds.

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

12 Analysis of net assets between funds

2024	Restricted	General	Total
	funds	funds	funds
	£	£	£
Tangible fixed assets	-	1,856,498	1,856,498
Intangible fixed assets	-	111	111
Net current assets	112,704	496,180	608,884
Long term liabilities	-	(687,205)	(687,205)
	───────	───────	───────
Total net assets	112,704	1,665,584	1,778,288
	═══════	═══════	═══════
2023	Restricted	General	Total
	funds	funds	funds
	£	£	£
Tangible fixed assets	-	1,891,354	1,891,354
Intangible fixed assets	-	1,262	1,262
Net current assets	118,866	263,780	382,646
Long term liabilities	-	(790,564)	(790,564)
Pension provision	-	(298,000)	(298,000)
	───────	───────	───────
Total net assets	118,866	1,067,832	1,186,698
	═══════	═══════	═══════

13 Operating lease commitments

Total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

	Land and buildings	Land and buildings
	2024	2023
	£	£
Not later than one year	4,403	34,939
Later than one year and not later than five years	-	4,403
	─────	─────
	4,403	39,342
	═════	═════

The amount of non-cancellable operating lease payments recognised as an expense during the year was £35,094 (2023: £32,711).

14 Control

The ultimate controlling party and largest group for which consolidated financial statements are available is Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and Affiliates. The company is incorporated in the United States of America and is organised under the laws of the state of Washington D.C. Group accounts are available from 321 8th Street Northeast, Washington D.C. 20002-6107, USA.

15 Related parties

The company has taken advantage of the exemption in FRS 102 not to disclose related party transactions with entities in the group controlled by Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

There were no other related party transactions during the period (2023: £Nil).

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

16 Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities

Net income for year Interest payable Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets Amortisation of intangible fixed assets Decrease/(increase) in debtors Increase/(decrease) in creditors Decrease in pension provision Net cash flow from operating activities	2024 £ 591,590 23,391 34,856 1,151 22,980 21,575 (298,000) _ 397,543 ═════	2023 £ 168,364 26,014 35,397 1,159 (43,809) (4,594) (14,000) _ 168,531 ═════

17 Pension scheme – Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)

The pension charge for the year includes £65,298 (2023: £81,392) in relation to the USS. This represents contributions of £70,402 payable to the USS, less £5,104 recharged to CCCU-US. A further adjustment in the period relates to the decrease in the deficit funding liability between the opening and closing balance sheet dates of £298,000 (2023: decrease of £14,000).

Deficit Recovery Plan

A deficit recovery plan was put in place as part of the 2020 valuation, which required payment of 6.2% of salaries over the period 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2024, at which point the rate would increase to 6.3%. No deficit recovery plan was required under the 2023 valuation because the scheme was in surplus on a technical provisions basis. The charity was no longer required to make deficit recovery contributions from 1 January 2024 and accordingly has released the outstanding provision to the income and expenditure account. The latest available complete actuarial valuation of the Retirement Income Builder is as at 31 March 2023 (the valuation date), which was carried out using the projected unit method.

Since the charity cannot identify its share of USS Retirement Income Builder (defined benefit) assets and liabilities, the following disclosures reflect those relevant for those assets and liabilities as a whole.

At 30 June 2023, the charity’s balance sheet included a liability of £298,000 for future contributions, following the 2020 valuation when the scheme was in deficit. No deficit recovery plan was required from the 2023 valuation, because the scheme was in surplus. Changes to contribution rates were implemented from 1 January 2024 and from that date the charity was no longer required to make deficit recovery contributions. The remaining liability of £298,000 was released to the income and expenditure account.

The 2023 valuation was the seventh valuation for the scheme under the scheme-specific funding regime introduced by the Pensions Act 2004, which requires schemes to have sufficient and appropriate assets to cover their technical provisions (the statutory funding objective). At the valuation date, the value of the assets of the scheme was £73.1 billion and the value of the scheme’s technical provisions was £65.7 billion indicating a surplus of £7.4 billion and a funding ratio of 111%.

CCCU-UK

Notes to the Accounts (continued) for the year ended 30 June 2024

17 Pension scheme – Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) (continued)

The key financial assumptions used in the 2023 valuation are described below:

CPI assumption	Term dependent rates in line with the difference between the Fixed Interest and Index Linked yield curves less: 1.0% p.a. to 2030, reducing linearly by 0.1% p.a. from 2030.
Pension increases (subject to a floor of 0%)	Benefits with no cap: CPI assumption plus 3bps Benefits subject to a “soft cap” of 5% (providing inflationary increases up to 5%, and half of any excess inflation over 5% up to a maximum of 10%): CPI assumption minus 3bps
Discount rate (forward rates)	Fixed interest gilt yield curve plus: Pre-retirement: 2.5% p.a. Post retirement: 0.9% p.a.

The main demographic assumptions used relate to the mortality assumptions. These assumptions are based on analysis of the scheme’s experience carried out as part of the 2020 actuarial valuation. The mortality assumptions used in these figures are as follows:

Mortality base table	101% of S2PMA“light”for males and 95% of S3PFA for females
Future improvements to mortality	CMI 2021 with a smoothing parameter of 7.5, an initial addition of 0.4% p.a. and a long-term improvement rate of 1.8% pa for males and 1.6% pa for females

The current life expectancies on retirement at age 65 are:

	2024	2023
Males currently aged 65 (years)	23.7	24.0
Females currently aged 65 (years)	25.6	25.6
Males currently aged 45 (years)	25.4	26.0
Females currently aged 45 (years)	27.2	27.4

A provision of £Nil has been made at 30 June 2024 (2023: £298,000) for the present value of the estimated future deficit funding element of the contributions payable under these agreements, using the assumptions shown. The provision reduces as the deficit is paid off according to the pension recovery scheme.

The next formal actuarial valuation is due as at 31st March 2026.

A copy of the full actuarial valuation report and other further details on the scheme are available on the USS website www.uss.co.uk.

18 Events after the end of the period

In September 2024, the Council received a $1 million donation to pay off the Handelsbanken Bank note payable. The note was paid in full in October 2024.