**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **TRUSTEES REPORT** 

The trustees (who are directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act) present their report together with financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2021.  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 preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019, published October 2019. 

## **Reference and administrative details** 

Trustees at 31 March 2021, all of whom, except as noted below, served throughout the year were: 

Mike King (Chair) Mike Alexander – Treasurer and Company Secretary Eilidh Barnett (appointed 24 February 2021) Mark Beer Lucy Burnet (appointed 23 September 2020) Hilary Fenton Rashi Ghandi-Dawson Gordon Graylish (appointed 23 September 2020) Angharad Jones (appointed 24 February 2021) Graham Matthews Ryan Mills (appointed 24 February 2021) Christine Murphy David Nochar 

Paul Currah and Suzi Coul were appointed as trustees on 26 May 2021 and 25 August 2021 respectively and Hilary Fenton resigned on 1 April 2021 

Andrew Wright served as trustee until his resignation on 30 September 2020. Jo Booth and Tom Smith served as trustees until their resignations on 31 January 2021. 

Graham Matthews and David Nochar are due to retire by rotation at the Annual General Meeting.  Graham Matthews offers himself for re-election, David Nochar resigned as a trustee on 26 May 2021. 

Citizens Advice West Oxfordshire operates from two premises in Witney and a number of outreach locations across West Oxfordshire. The Old Print House, Marlborough Lane, Witney is the main administrative office and from which the Chief Officer, Teresa Archer, takes responsibility for the day to day running of the organisation. 

These financial statements have been audited and our auditors are Just Audit & Assurance Ltd. 

Our bankers are Barclays Bank. 

The company, which is a company limited by guarantee, is registered with number 4361560 and is a registered charity with the number 1092539. 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **TRUSTEES REPORT (CONTINUED)** 

## **Structure, governance and management** 

## Governing document 

Citizens Advice West Oxfordshire (“CAWO”) is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity governed by its memorandum and articles of association. It also aims to comply with the principles laid down by the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. The directors of the charity, who are appointed by the members in general meeting, nominated by member organisations or co-opted by the Trustee Board, are its trustees for the purposes of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the trustees. 

## Recruitment and appointment of trustees 

The directors of the company are also charity trustees for the purposes of charity law.  They are elected at an annual general meeting and serve for a three-year period after which they may be re-elected.  New Trustees are recruited mainly from applicants volunteering through REACH. The local Volunteer Link-Up and personal recommendations may also be a source. Candidates are interviewed by the chairman, one other trustee and the chief officer. If acceptable, the candidate then attends a Trustee Board Meeting as an observer and is encouraged to speak on the issues under examination.  At the end of the meeting the trustees vote on whether or not to appoint the candidate. Although not prescribed by its articles of association one trustee is nominated by West Oxfordshire District Council in recognition of their key role as one of CAWO’s major funders. 

## Trustee induction and training 

New Trustees receive localised induction in-house from the chair, the chief officer and the training officer. and are given a handbook detailing their responsibilities which includes several important governance documents. After this, new trustees attend structured training provided by the national organisation Citizens Advice around Citizens Advice policies and procedures and the responsibilities of trustees. 

## Risk management 

Trustees have worked on a Corporate Risk Management exercise.  A risk management strategy and risk register were agreed by the Trustee Board.  The Trustees recognise that any major risks to which to which the charity is exposed need to be reviewed and systems put in place to mitigate those risks.  To that end we are continually monitoring and managing our risk, reviewing the corporate risk register and ensuring action plans are in place to mitigate the key risks. 

Included in external risks is that of the loss of funding.  The effects of this have been minimised by the procedures in place, which have resulted in funding being secured from a variety of sources.  The charity continues to seek to diversify its funding sources.  Internal risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects and to ensure consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the charitable company.  These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they still meet the needs of the charity. 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **TRUSTEES REPORT (CONTINUED)** 

## Organisational structure 

The Trustee Board meets a minimum of four times a year and is supported by sub committees for Finance, HR, Governance and Technology and Infrastructure, together with working groups for Equality and Diversity and Research and Campaigns, which also meet a least quarterly.  Between meetings the Chief Officer, who is responsible for ensuring that CAWO delivers the services specified and that the key performance indicators and the requirements of funders are met, consults with the Chair and Trustee Board members responsible for finance, information technology, health and safety, publicity and media, legal and social policy as appropriate to ensure the continued smooth running of the bureau. 

Whilst this organisation is independent and self-managed many policies and procedures are laid down by Citizens Advice nationally, particularly to ensure that advice given is of the highest possible quality.  Audits are carried out by them to ensure that relevant standards are being met. 

## Related parties 

Mike Alexander is a trustee board member of Citizens Advice Oxfordshire 

## **Objectives and activities** 

The company is a charity and exists to promote any charitable purpose for the benefit of the community in West Oxfordshire by the advancement of education, the protection and preservation of health and the relief of poverty, sickness and distress. 

The Citizens Advice service provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. It values diversity, promotes equality and challenges discrimination. 

The service aims: 

- To provide the advice people need for the problems they face 

- To improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives. 

## The charity’s aims are to: 

- deliver an efficient service within the funds deemed by the Board to be available for the year and which meets the perceived needs of West Oxfordshire 

- seek a very high client satisfaction rating and a strong performance in the Citizens Advice audits, which take place every three years, and cover compliance with Citizens Advice procedures and quality of advice 

- extend the core service to provide specialist advice and case work in areas which address perceived local needs e.g.: pensions, rural problems, debt, etc. and whose funding contributes to CAWO’s overheads 

- devote particular attention to the training and development of staff and volunteers 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **TRUSTEES REPORT (CONTINUED)** 

- structure the Trustee Board so that its members provide a range of skills which assist in the charity's efficient performance and development.  These skills comprise: human resource management, finance, law, business, information technology, publicity and media, planning, health & safety and fund raising. 

- develop an effective fund-raising ability within the charity so that essential capital projects may be undertaken which ensure that the charity can have adequate accommodation and modern office equipment. 

- Identify, research and act upon local issues and contribute towards Citizens Advice national research and campaigns 

## **Public benefit** 

The trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. Our objective is to provide free advice for all and to help improve social policies.  This report, particularly the ‘Achievements and performance’ section below, amply demonstrate the very real difference we make to the lives of the people of West Oxfordshire. 

We believe that our activities help toward achieving the following public benefits: 

- the prevention or relief of poverty 

- the advancement of citizenship or community development 

- the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation, the promotion of racial harmony and equality and diversity 

- the relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage 

## **Achievements and performance** 

CAWO delivers our core advice service throughout West Oxfordshire, and our additional projects and contracts cover a wider area in line with the requirements of our specific funders. 

CAWO delivers our core advice service throughout West Oxfordshire, and our additional projects and contracts cover a wider area in line with the requirements of our specific funders. 

2020-2021 was an extraordinary year for everyone, and CAWO was no exception. As we started the financial year with all of our face to face services suspended, we had to quickly adapt to deliver our services remotely.  Despite this, we still delivered services to 7,260 people and opened 7,342 new cases. 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **TRUSTEES REPORT (CONTINUED)** 

This year we were presented with over 20,200 issues, an increase of 2% on the previous year.  Benefits advice remained the top issue, followed by debt, but for the first time in over 25 years we had more employment than housing issues, with people struggling to understand the Furlough scheme eligibility, facing redundancy or dismissal and looking for support in upholding their employment rights. 

Younger people were more proactive in contacting our services during the pandemic, and older people numbers reduced.  We believe this is directly related to our face to face services being suspended and we will work hard to ensure that we are accessible to all ages and groups as we redefine our services for the future. 



Typically, our services are used by more women than men, and 43% reported a longterm health condition or disability.  9% of our clients identified as an ethnicity other than white. 

We supported West Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council in distributing £68,000 worth of supermarket vouchers and fuel bill support.  Overall, we helped our clients improve their incomes by over £2.1 million. 

Later in the year we were able to tentatively open face to face access for a short period and this accounted for 3% of our interactions.  We handled almost 15,000 calls, an increase of 500% on 2019-20.  We also increased our capacity in answering web chat and email. 

Below are some of our main successes of 2020-2021 

- We enabled all of our staff and 38 of our volunteers to work remotely from home within a week of the first lockdown. 

- We maintained our service levels throughout the pandemic 

- We consistently achieved between 80-100% of call demand met. 

- We increased our web chat capacity 

- We recruited and trained a new full time debt adviser, and a new full time Adviceline assessor 

- We achieved ‘Excellent’ across all 7 areas of our annual leadership audit for the third year in a row. 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **TRUSTEES REPORT (CONTINUED)** 

Most of our volunteers provide advice services, with a few providing administrative support and research and campaigns work.  They usually contribute in the region of 30,000 hours of free time annually, but with services restricted during the pandemic they provided approximately 20,000 this year. 

## **Financial review** 

## Principal funding sources 

The charity is entirely dependent upon its funders for its continuance.  Our foremost funder is West Oxfordshire District Council, without whose support the charity would not be able to continue its activities.  Donations toward core costs are also received from Town and Parish councils throughout West Oxfordshire. A variety of Restricted fund projects and contracts extend the core activities principally funded by West Oxfordshire District Council. 

## Results for the year 

We are pleased that this year has produced a surplus of £26,516 (compared to a surplus of £5,487 in 2019/20).  Despite the restrictions arising because of the Covid 19 pandemic a surplus has again been achieved through our funders continuing to support us at the levels of the previous year. 

Incoming resources have increased only marginally (1.7%) to £555,806. A drop in income from PensionWise was counter-acted by new projects being identified. The most significant of these have been additional Covid 19 related work for West Oxfordshire District Council and two new short term funding streams: Money and Pensions Service: Increasing Capacity in Debt Advice, and BEIS Increasing capacity for Adviceline.  Both funding streams were for 1 year only and will cease during the year ending 31 March 2022. 

Costs have fallen in total by 2% to £529,290, almost exclusively because of changed methods of working due to Covid 19 restrictions. 

Our balance sheet remains strong and we believe that we have sufficient resources for our current level of activity. The balance sheet includes a pension reserve of £243,000 calculated actuarially on an FRS 102 basis. A Cessation Debt is likely to be greater than this amount.  Further details of this are given in Note 9. 

## Reserves policy 

The charity holds reserves to ensure that it can meet all of its future commitments as they fall due.  Unrestricted free reserves at 31 March 2021 amounted to some £294,000.  The trustees have considered the monies which would need to be expended in the event that the organisation had to close due to its funding being withdrawn and also to the level of essential overhead and capital costs that will be incurred, on an ongoing basis, in the forthcoming months. Bearing in mind the need of the trustees to operate prudently, and the guidance on this subject provided by the Charity Commission, they believe that this amount is satisfactory as of 31 March 2021. 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **TRUSTEES REPORT (CONTINUED)** 

This statement is made assuming that the matters set out in Note 9 do not adversely affect our finances. 

The trustees are satisfied that the charity's assets attributable to each of its individual funds are available and adequate to fulfil its obligations in relation to those funds. 

## Investment policy 

Apart from retaining a prudent amount in reserves each year most of the charity’s funds are to be spent in the short term so there is little need for a long-term investment strategy.  Surplus funds are invested with Scottish Widows. 

## **Plans for future periods** 

We published our 3 year strategy and business development plan in 2019 and continue to work on our action plans which we review annually.  Our high-level objectives remain: 

**Advice** Provide high quality advice and support to more people through the channels that meet their needs 

**Advocacy** Influence and lobby on local issues that matter to the people of West Oxfordshire **Sustainability** Manage our finances well - for now and the future **Culture** Be a great place to work and volunteer **Partnership** Build strong partnerships to support our plans 

In addition to the above aims, we have 4 overarching themes: 

- Communications 

- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 

- Technology 

- Information Security 

## **Trustees' responsibilities for the financial statements** 

The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with general applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom General Accepted Accounting Practice). 

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales 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 charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. 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; 

- make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

- state whether applicable accounting standards 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 charity will continue in business. 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **TRUSTEES REPORT (CONTINUED)** 

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safekeeping the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 

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

## **Statement of disclosure of information to Auditors** 

The directors of the company who held office at the date of approval of these financial statements as set out above each confirm that: 

- so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information (information needed by the company’s auditors in connection with preparing their report) of which the company’s auditors are unaware; and 

- they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware of that information. 

## **Auditors** 

A resolution will be proposed to the Annual General Meeting that Just Audit & Assurance Ltd be appointed as our auditors for the ensuing year. 

## ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES 

Trustee 

6 October 2021 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF WEST OXFORDSHIRE CITIZENS ADVICE 

## Independent Auditors' Report to the members of the WEST OXFORDSHIRE CITIZENS ADVICE 

## Opinion 

We have audited the financial statements of WEST OXFORDSHIRE CITIZENS ADVICE for the year ended 31st March 2021, which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)). 

This report is made solely to the Trustees. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the trustees 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 trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 

In our opinion the financial statements: 

- give a true and fair view of the state of the charity’s affairs as at 31st March 2021 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 the Charities Act 2011. 

## 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 charity 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 as applied to public interest entities, 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. 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 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 charity’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’ 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. 

## Matters on which we are required to report by exception 

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

- the information given in the trustee’s report is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements: or 

- sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or 

- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. 

## Responsibilities of trustees 

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement (set out on pages 7 and 8), the trustees  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 charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

## Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements 

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

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue 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 extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below: 

Our assessment focused on key laws and regulations the charity has to comply with and areas of the financial statements we assessed as being more susceptible to misstatement. These key laws and regulations included but were not limited to compliance with the Charities Act 2011, United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice and relevant tax legislation. 

We are not responsible for preventing irregularities. Our approach to detect irregularities included, but was not limited to, the following: 

- obtaining an understanding of the charity’s policies and procedures and how the charity has complied with these, through discussions and sample testing of controls; 

- obtaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the charity and how the charity is complying with that framework; 

- an understanding of the charity’s risk assessment process, including the risk of fraud; 

- designing our audit procedures to respond to our risk assessment; and 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


- 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 estimates for bias. 

Whilst considering how our audit work addressed the detection of irregularities, we also consider the likelihood of detection based on our approach. Irregularities arising from fraud are inherently more difficult to detect than those arising from error. 

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 is available 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 charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees 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 charity, the charity’s trustees, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 

Jonathan Russell (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Just Audit & Assurance Ltd, Statutory Auditor 

37 Market Square Witney Oxfordshire OX28 6RE 

18 October 2021 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES** 

## **Basis of preparation** 

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost.  The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by 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, published October 2019 and with the Charities Act 2011. 

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. 

The financial statements present a true and fair view and the principal accounting policies of the charity.  Apart from that relating to fixed assets as set out below these remain unchanged from the previous year and are set out below. 

No significant changes to accounting estimates or prior year errors have been identified. 

## **Incoming resources** 

## **Recognition of income** 

Income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when: 

- the charity becomes entitled to the resources; 

- it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources; and 

- the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability. 

There has been no material offsetting of assets and liabilities, or income and expenses. 

Grants and donations are only included in the SoFA when the general income recognition criteria (as set out above) are met. 

In the case of performance related grants, income is only recognised to the extent that the charity has provided the activity required to enable it to claim entitlement to the grant. 

Gift Aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor.  Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise. 

Contractual income and performance related grants are only included in the SoFA once the charity has provided the related services or met the performance related conditions. 

The value of any voluntary help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the trustees’ annual report. 

Interest income is included when receipt is probable and the amount receivable can be measured reliably. 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)** 

## **Resources expended** 

Expenditure is recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.   It includes VAT which the charity is unable to recover which is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates. 

- costs of generating funds comprise the costs incurred in fund raising; 

- charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries.  It includes both costs that can be directly attributed to the activity as well as those costs of an indirect nature which are necessary to support them; 

- governance costs comprise all costs involving public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice. 

- a contribution to core (unrestricted) costs from restricted funds is determined by reference to budgets agreed with funders whereby costs for general management and office overheads are recovered. The SORP requires a breakdown of costs into the various activities of the charity. Some analysis has been provided in the SoFA where there is a breakdown between the unrestricted (core) activities of the charity and those of the restricted funds.  All activities are carried out together in the charity’s premises with shared physical, management and administrative resources and many client groups overlap.  Salary and travel costs (i.e. the majority of costs incurred) are specifically allocated to each project. 

## **Fund accounting** 

Restricted funds are to be used for specified purposes laid down by the donor. Expenditure for those purposes is charged to the fund, together with a fair allocation of overheads and support costs. 

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for expenditure on the general objectives of the charity. 

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

## **Tangible fixed assets and depreciation** 

With effect from 1 April 2020 smaller items of computer equipment with a recommended useful life of less than 3 years have been written off when acquired. If this new policy had not been adopted the surplus for the year would have been £5,000 greater. 

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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)** 

Tangible fixed assets purchased prior to 1 April 2020 are stated at cost, net of depreciation. 

Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost of all tangible fixed assets by equal annual instalments over their estimated useful economic lives.  The periods generally applicable are: 

Office equipment and furniture 4 years Computer equipment 3 years Improvements and adaptations to leasehold property period of the lease. 

## **Retirement benefits** 

The charity participates in a defined benefit scheme.  An estimate of the excess of its share of the liabilities over its share of the assets is shown as a reserve on the balance sheet.  The pension costs charged in the Statement of Financial Activities are the contributions payable to the scheme in respect of the accounting year. 

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## **FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH** 

## **2021** 

## Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 

## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** (incorporating an income and expenditure account) **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021** 

|**Income**<br>**Incoming resources**<br>**Income from:**<br>Donations<br>Charitable activities<br>Generalist advice<br>Social policy work<br>Specialist advice<br>Investment income - interest<br>**Total incoming resources**<br>**Expenditure**<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Charitable activities<br>Generalist advice<br>Social policy work<br>Specialist advice<br>Governance costs<br>Audit fee<br>Other<br>**Total resources expended**<br>**Net incoming resources**<br>**Funds at 1 April 2020**<br>**Funds at 31 March 2021**|**Note**|**Unrestricte**<br>**d funds**<br>**£**<br>14,438<br>67,166<br>7,463<br>-<br>251|**Restricte**<br>**d funds**<br>**£**<br>1,798<br>-<br>-<br>464,690<br>-|**Total 2021**<br>**£**<br>16,236<br>67,166<br>7,463<br>464,690<br>251|Total<br>2020<br>£<br>19,487<br>68,612<br>7,623<br>450,501<br>256|Total<br>2020<br>£<br>19,487<br>68,612<br>7,623<br>450,501<br>256|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||89,318|466,488|**555,806**|**546,479**||
|||49,511<br>5,112<br>1,794<br>900|471,973|49,511<br>5,112<br>471,973|76,274<br>8,417<br>453,691||
|||||**526,596**||**538,382 **|
|||||1,794<br>900|1,710<br>900||
|||57,317|471,973<br>(5,485)<br>5,485<br>**-**|**529,290**|**540,992**<br>**5,487**<br>**19,227**<br>**24,714**||
|||32,001<br>19,229||**26,516**<br>**24,714**|||
|||**51,230**||**51,230**|||



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**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 

|**BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2021**<br>**Note**<br>**Fixed assets**<br>Tangible assets<br>6<br>**Current assets**<br>Debtors<br>7<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>**Creditors: amounts falling due within one**<br>**year**<br>8<br>**Net current assets**<br>**Net assets**<br>**Income Funds**<br>Unrestricted funds<br>Restricted funds<br>10<br>Pension reserve<br>9|**2021**<br>**£**<br>**-**||2020<br>£<br>5,354|
|---|---|---|---|
||**18,864**<br>**382,673**||31,558<br>272,285<br>303,843<br>41,483<br>262,360|
||**401,537**|||
||**107,307**|||
||**294,230**|||
||**294,230**||267,714|
||**51,230**<br>**-**<br>**243,000**||19,229<br>5,485<br>243,000|
||**294,230**||**267,714**|



The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 6 October 2021. 

Trustee 

- 17 - 



**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** 

Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** 

## **1.  INCOMING RESOURCES FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES** 

|West Oxfordshire District Council<br>Contract<br>Grant<br>Food grant<br>Helen Roll trust<br>Parish council grants<br>Oxfordshire Community Foundation<br>Citizens Advice<br>BEIS<br>RAF Brize Norton<br>Oxfordshire County Council<br>Pension Wise<br>Money Advice Service<br>MS Society<br>Energy projects<br>Benefits in Practice<br>Oxford Specialist Advice Service<br>Cottsway Debt and Benefit<br>GreenSquare<br>Community Connect<br>Universal Credit – Help to Claim<br>Citizens Advice Oxfordshire shared<br>staff member|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**Restricte**<br>**d funds**<br>**Total**<br>**2021**<br>Total<br>2020<br>£<br>£<br>**£**<br>£<br>-<br>80,000<br>80,000<br>79,640<br>58,700<br>-<br>58,700<br>56,000<br>4,000<br>-<br>4,0**0**0<br>-<br>-<br>4,000<br>4,00 <br>-<br>10,000<br>-<br>10,000<br>10,000<br>2,894<br>-<br>2,894<br>4,085<br>-<br>3,500<br>3,500<br>-<br>-<br>5,178<br>5,178<br>-<br>-<br>16,667<br>16,667<br>-<br>-<br>15,000<br>15,000<br>2,183<br>-<br>10,000<br>10,000<br>-<br>-<br>103,534 103,534<br>165,165<br>-<br>21,608<br>21,608<br>-<br>-<br>1,756<br>1,756<br>2,886<br>-<br>10,830<br>10,830<br>13,680<br>-<br>17,000<br>17,000<br>17,000<br>-<br>57,092<br>57,092<br>55,014<br>-<br>50,000<br>50,000<br>50,000<br>-<br>15,500<br>15,500<br>12,500<br>-<br>20,945<br>20,945<br>21,864<br>-<br>32,080<br>32,080<br>30,569<br>3,035<br>-<br>3,035<br>6,1050<br>**74,629**<br>**464,690 539,319**<br>**526,736**|
|---|---|



Unrestricted funds are allocated as to 90% for generalist advice and 10% for social policy work.  All restricted fund projects are used to provide targeted advice services 

These incoming resources have been allocated as follows: 

|Generalist advice<br>Social policy work<br>Restricted fund projects – Targeted advice|**2021**<br>2020<br>**£**<br>£<br>67,166<br>68,612<br>7,463<br>7,623<br>464,690<br>450,501|
|---|---|
||**539,319**<br>**526,736**|



- 18 - 



**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** 

## **2.  CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS** 

|Employee costs<br>Travel and<br>subsistence<br>External training<br>Recruitment<br>Rent<br>Insurance<br>Repairs and<br>renewals<br>Utilities and rates<br>Telephone<br>Office supplies<br>Postage<br>Information<br>systems<br>Computer support<br>Citizens Advice<br>membership fee<br>Miscellaneous<br>Depreciation<br>Reallocation of<br>costs<br>**TOTAL**|**2021**2020<br>**Generalist**<br>**Advice**<br>**Social**<br>**policy**<br>**work**<br>**Targeted**<br>**advice**<br>**Total**<br>Total<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>£<br>**117,370**<br>**13,041 298,775**<br>**429,186**<br>420,924<br>**500**<br>**56**<br>**568**<br>**1,124**<br>20,545<br>**585**<br>**65**<br>**-**<br>**650**<br>1,867<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>40<br>**15,130**<br>**1,681**<br>**-**<br>**16,811**<br>30,765<br>**3,516**<br>**391**<br>**-**<br>**3,907**<br>3,311<br>**4,466**<br>**496**<br>**-**<br>**4,962**<br>7,010<br>**4,122**<br>**458**<br>**-**<br>**4,580**<br>4,654<br>**13,911**<br>**1,546**<br>**1,319**<br>**16,776**<br>8,982<br>**1,391**<br>**155**<br>**1,400**<br>**2,946**<br>6,566<br>**1,832**<br>**204**<br>**302**<br>**2,338**<br>1,519<br>**2,890**<br>**321**<br>**163**<br>**3,374**<br>3,162<br>**14,062**<br>**1,563**<br>**9,739**<br>**25,364**<br>15,540<br>**4,916**<br>**546**<br>**-**<br>**5,462**<br>4,094<br>**3,518**<br>**-**<br>**244**<br>**3,762**<br>3,293<br>**4,819**<br>**535**<br>**-**<br>**5,354**<br>6,110<br>**(143,517)**<br>**(15,946)**<br>**159,463**<br>**-**<br>-|
|---|---|
||**49,511**<br>**5,112 471,973**<br>**526,596**<br>538,382|



Employee costs have been allocated on the basis of time spent and other costs on an estimated basis in accordance with resources used. 

## **3. PAYMENTS TO TRUSTEES AND CONNECTED PERSONS** 

No trustee or person with a family or business connection with a trustee received remuneration in the year, directly or indirectly, from either the charity or an institution or company controlled by the charity. 

- 19 - 



**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** 

## **4.  RETIREMENT BENEFITS** 

The charity participates as an admitted body in the Oxfordshire Pension Fund which is administered by Oxfordshire County Council.  The assets of this fund, which exceed £1,450 million, are administered by trustees in a fund independent from the charity. 

Pension costs are assessed in accordance with the advice of a qualified actuary. 

The pension cost charge for the year covering one employee was £505 at a contribution rate of 18.1%. 

Further information about this scheme and the treatment of the charity’s share of the total assets and liabilities is contained in note 9 

## **5. EMPLOYEES** 

|**5. EMPLOYEES**|||
|---|---|---|
|Wages and salaries<br>Social security costs<br>Pension contributions<br>The average number of employees (FTE) during the year was:<br>Managers<br>Advice coordinators, training officers and project workers<br>Administration|**2021**<br>**£**<br>**391,904**<br>**21,940**<br>**15,342**|2020<br>£<br>381,180<br>20,653<br>19,991|
||**429,186**|**421,824**|
||<br>**2021**<br>**Number**<br>**3**<br>**13**<br>**1**|2020<br>Number<br>3<br>11<br>1|
||**17**|**15**|



Included in total employee costs of £429,186 is £900 (2020: £900) which has been allocated to governance costs.  No employee earned £60,000 per annum or more in the current or preceding year. 

- 20 - 



**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** 

## **6.  TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS** 

|Cost<br>At 1 April 2020 and 31 March<br>2021<br>Depreciation<br>At 1 April 2020<br>Provided in the year<br>At 31 March 2021<br>Net book amount at 31 March<br>2021<br>Net book amount at 31 March<br>2020|**Leasehold**<br>**Improve-**<br>**ments**<br>**£**|**Office**<br>**equipment**<br>**and**<br>**furniture**<br>**£**|**Computer**<br>**equipment**<br>**Total**<br>**£**<br>**£**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**73,784**|**492**|**24,030**<br>**98,306**|
||73,784<br>-|492<br>-|18,676<br>92,952<br>5,354<br>5,354|
||**73,784**|**492**|**24,030**<br>**98,306**|
||**-**|**-**|**-**<br>**-**<br>**5,354**<br>**5,354**|
||**-**|**-**||



All tangible fixed assets were used for charitable purposes. 

## **7. DEBTORS** 

|Grants<br>Sundry debtors|**2021**<br>**£**<br>**18,503**<br>**361 **<br>**18.864**|2020<br>£<br>**30,053**<br>**1,505**<br>**31,558**|
|---|---|---|



## **8.  CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR** 

|Grants received in advance<br>Other creditors|**2021**<br>**£**<br>**76,766**<br>**30,541**|2020<br>£<br>10,164<br>31,219|
|---|---|---|
||**107,307**|**41,483**|



- 21 - 



**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** 

## **9.  DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION SCHEME** 

As is stated in Note 4 the charity participates as an admitted body in the Oxfordshire Pension Fund (“OPF”) which is administered by Oxfordshire County Council. An actuarial report has been obtained of the financial position of the charity’s portion of the assets and liabilities of the scheme at 31 March 2017 and is the most up to date information to hand. 

One of the assumptions used in this actuarial report is that salary increases from 31 March 2017 will be at a rate of 4.2% pa.  Salary increases have been awarded at both 1 April 2017 and 1 April 2018.  These were both at the rate of 1%pa and thus throw some doubt on the appropriateness of this assumption and consequently the conclusions reached by the actuaries. 

The actuaries concluded that on the basis of a cessation of the charity’s activities there would be an excess of pension liability over related assets for the charity’s part of the scheme amounting to £243,000. 

In accordance with the requirements of FRS 102 this has been incorporated into the balance sheet. 

The position is further complicated by the fact that the charity’s last contributing member retired from its employment on 1 July 2020.  This means that a Cessation Notice can be issued by Oxfordshire County Council on behalf of the OPF.  The effect of this would be to require the charity to pay to OPF its share of the excess of the pension liability over related assets for the charity’s part of the scheme. No such notice has been received from Oxfordshire County Council and the charity has received no advice as to what this sum might be. Informally it is believed that this sum could be in excess of the £243,000 balance sheet pension reserve. 

Whilst any such liability would be substantial it is believed that OPF would agree to a plan to defer payments over a period of several years and thus it is believed that this uncertainty is not so significant as to invalidate the adoption of the going concern method of accounting in these financial statements. 

- 22 - 



**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 10.  RESTRICTED FUNDS** 

||At 1 April<br>2020|Incoming<br>Resources|Expenditure|At 31<br>March<br>2021|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||£|£|£|£|
|WODC contract|-|80,000|80,000|-|
|WODCfood grant|-|4,000|4,000|-|
|Pension Wise|-|103,534|103,534|-|
|Oxfordshire Community<br>Foundation|-|3,500|3,500|-|
|RAF BrizeNorton|-|15,000|15,000|-|
|Oxfordshire County<br>Council|-|10,000|10,000|-|
|CitizensAdvice|-|5,178|5,178|-|
|GreenSquare|-|15,500|15,500|-|
|Benefitsin Practice|-|17,000|17,000|-|
|Community Connect|-|20,945|20,945|-|
|Universalcredit|-|32,080|32,080|-|
|Oxford Specialist<br>Advice Service|-|57,092|57,092|-|
|Energy projects|-|10,830|10,830|-|
|Cottsway Debt and<br>Benefit|-|50,000|50,000|-|
|MS Society|-|1,756|1,756|-|
|Money and Pensions<br>ServiceICDebtAdvice|-|21,608|21,608|-|
|BEIS IC Adviceline||16,667|16,667|-|
|Friends of WOCA|5,485|1,798|7,283|-|
|Total|5,485|466,488|471,973|-|



Details of these restricted funds are as follows: 

**West Oxfordshire District Council contract and grant –** services are provided to WODC for debt, housing, benefits and employment under the terms of a negotiated contract.  In addition, we provide wider generalist advice services to those that need us through an unrestricted grant awarded by WODC. In addition, this year we were asked to administer the Emergency Food and Support scheme and the Winter Grant scheme on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council and West Oxfordshire District Council. 

**West Oxfordshire District Council food grant–** In addition to the above, this year we were asked to administer the Emergency Food and Support scheme and the Winter Grant scheme on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council and West Oxfordshire District Council.  CAWO was asked to distribute Food vouchers and help with fuel payments on their behalf and WODC paid a small grant to cover our administration costs for the Winter Grant scheme. 

- 23 - 



**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 10.  RESTRICTED FUNDS (Continued)** 

**Pension Wise** is a project funded by the Department of Work and Pensions through Citizens Advice   It provides pension guidance on defined contribution pensions following the significant changes to pensions legislation effective on 1 April 2015. 

**Oxfordshire Community Foundation** – Grant to purchase additional IT equipment to enable us to provide our services remotely during lockdowns. 

The **RAF Brize Norton** project is funded mainly by a grant from the RAF Benevolent Fund and allows CAWO to provide 18 hours of weekly outreach services for serving and contracted personnel at RAF Brize Norton and their families at the RAF base in Brize Norton, and in Carterton 

**Oxfordshire County Council** – CAWO was asked to administer the Emergency Food and Support scheme on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council and West Oxfordshire District Council.  We distributed Food vouchers and help with fuel payments on their behalf and we were paid an administration grant to cover our costs. 

**Citizens Advice** Grant for additional IT equipment to enable us to provide remote services during lockdowns. 

**GreenSquare Debt and money advice** is a project funded by GreenSquare Housing Association and is delivered in partnership with Citizens Advice Oxford. It provides money and debt advice and support to Greensquare tenants in West and North Oxfordshire. 

**Benefits in Practice** is a project funded by Public Health which provides advice sessions in GP surgeries in Shipton-under-Wychwood and at Broadshires Health Centre in Carterton. During the year we began a pilot to create a new virtual advice team and started recruiting new digital coaches to support food banks and other community partners as we move to the new Benefits in Practice service 

**Community Connect** is a social prescribing service delivered in partnership with Citizens Advice North Oxfordshire and South Northants.  It is funded for 4 years from 2018-19 through the national Health and Wellbeing Fund, Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, Cherwell District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council. 

**Help to Claim (Universal Credit)** is a service funded by DWP to assist claimants that need support through the universal credit claim process to first payment. 

**Oxford Specialist Advice Service** is a project funded by Oxfordshire County Council delivered in partnership with Age UK, Citizens Advice Oxford and Oxfordshire Welfare Rights. The project provides advice on benefits and debt by telephone, email and home visits to people throughout Oxfordshire whom are eligible for assessment and support by Social Care. 

- 24 - 



**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 MARCH 2021** Company no. 4361560 Charity no. 1092539 


## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 10.  RESTRICTED FUNDS (Continued)** 

**Energy Advice Programme** . Funded through Citizens Advice this project provide one to one advice sessions for consumers to enable them to understand the energy market, switch providers and become more energy efficient. 

**Cottsway Debt and Benefits Project** is funded by Cottsway Housing and provides a telephone and face to face debt and benefits advice service for tenants of Cottsway living in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. 

**MS Society.** Funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society we provide generalist and specialist advice and support to people with MS in West Oxfordshire. 

**Friends of WOCA** have provided funds to complete our transition to voice over internet telephone provision. 

**Money and Pensions Advice: Increasing Capacity in Debt Advice:** We received funding to recruit and train a completely new full time debt adviser for one year. 

**BEIS Increasing capacity for Adviceline:** This funding has enabled us to recruit and train a new Adviceline Adviser and support our succession plans in bringing new people into the advice sector. 

## **11.  LEASING COMMITMENTS** 

Operating lease payments amounting to £17,000 (2020: £17,000) are due in the next twelve months, all of which is in respect of a lease for land and buildings which expires in more than five years. Under the terms of this lease the charity is committed to further payments amounting to £92,089 after 31 March 2021. 

## **12.  CAPITAL COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES** 

The charity had no capital commitments or contingent liabilities at 31 March 2021 or 31 March 2020 

## **13.  INDEMNITY INSURANCE** 

The charity holds a trustee indemnity insurance policy.  The cost cannot be determined as it is part of a larger combined insurance policy. 

## **14.  MEMBERS GUARANTEES** 

Members of the company are obliged to each pay an amount of £1 in the event of the company's insolvency. 

- 25 -