2021-10-31-accounts - English Ceramic Circle

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The English Ceramic Circle

Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31st October, 2021

Registered Charity Number 1097063

THE ENGLISH CERAMIC CIRCLE ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

This report has been prepared in accordance with the Charity Commission's publication "Financial Reporting Standard 102" ("FRS 102") and guidance note "Charity reporting and accounting (CC15d)" applicable to reporting periods beginning on or after 1st November 2016

1. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity Name: The English Ceramic Circle (also known as the "ECC")

Registered Charity Number: 1097063 Website address: www.englishceramiccircle.org.uk Charity's principal postal address: BM Box 7246, London WC1N 3XX.

Trustees

Charles Dawson - President (resigned 18 August 2021) Jonathan Gray - Programme Secretary: Appointed President (from 9 September 2021) Mark Francis - Marketing manager and Webmaster Patricia Macleod - Membership Secretary Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth Stephen McManus - Librarian James Peake (co-opted 27 March 2021) Jacqui Pearce - Joint Editor of the Transactions publication Rosemary Pemberton - Events Organiser Tom Smith (appointed 20 March 2021) Alan Walden - Treasurer Jo Whitehead - Publications manager

2. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

The Charity is an unincorporated association, governed by the Rules of The English Ceramic Circle ('The Rules'), which were revised at and took effect from the Annual General Meeting held on 19 March 2016. A copy of the Rules can be found on the Charity's website.

The Trustees of the Charity form the Committee of the English Ceramic Circle. The Committee comprises not more than fifteen members who are elected (for a term of not more than 3 years with the right to re-election) . The Committee has power to co-opt not more than three members, and a list of the current Trustees is set out above.

The Charity has no employees. The Accounts have been subject to Independent Examination as required by Part 8 of the Charities Act 2011.

The Circle complies with the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation. Data is held by only the Treasurer and the Membership Secretary and is used only to communicate matters of interest to members, to solicit subscription renewals, and to mail Transactions and Newsletters to them

3. A FINANCIAL REVIEW

Bankers : Natwest Bank plc, Shawbrook Bank and United Trust Bank Independent Examiner: Mr John Beetwell Financial Year: 1 November 2020 to 31 October 2021

The Circle posted a surplus of £2,265 for the year (2019/20 - deficit of £2,931). Income increased by £7,141, largely through the increased subscriptions and associated gift aid generated by the influx of new members following the introduction of Zoom lectures in April 2020. Expenditure also increased, by £1,945 to £30.209, with the increase of £5,903 in publication costs partially offset by saving in other areas, notably mailings, meetings and website costs. The publication costs were particularly high this year as the Transactions journal contained around 100 more pages than the average. Three research grants totalling £3,350 (2019/20 - Nil) were awarded during the period but the cost was charged to the Research Reserve created for this purpose.

The ECC is a registered charity and we encourage donations and bequests from both members and the public to enable the Circle's activities to continue. Supplementary categories of membership, comprising, Friends, Sponsors and Benefactors, were introduced during 2019 and these produced additional income of £1,713 during the current year (2019/20 £1,127). This income is credited to the Research Reserve fund from which three grants totalling £3,350 were awarded during the period, reducing the fund to £847 at year end.

The committee considers the existing free reserve of £56,425 to be more than adequate to meet the medium term requirements of the Circle. However the Circle will reach its 100th annniversary in 2027 and the Committee will wish to mark this with a special event. To fund this it has been decided to create a new designated reserve to be credited with the annual surpluses until further notice, hence the £2,265 surplus for the current year has been transferred to the new reserve

4. OBJECTIVES

The Objectives of the Charity, as defined in section 2 of The Rules, are:

a) To advance the public knowledge and appreciation of ceramics and enamels manufactured, decorated, or used in the British Isles.

b) To promote research and study in all matters relating to ceramics and enamels manufactured, decorated, or used in the British Isles and to disseminate the useful knowledge gained for the public benefit.

The Charity provides public benefit through its Transactions and other publications, which are available in a variety of libraries and also for sale to the public, and through its public meetings and seminars. The general public are also invited to view those of our on-line Zoom lectures which are not restricted to members only.

5. ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS

No Saturday lecture meetings were held during the year (2019/20 - 3) nor was it possible to hold the regular evening lectures held in the lecture theatre of Bonham's in Montpelier Street, London. It is expected to resume the Saturday meetings in March 2022. Arrangements have been made to move these from the Kensington & Chelsea Library to a new venue at the Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ.

No external visits were organised this year, but the study day on London Stonewares, postponed from 2020, was held at the Museum of London Archaeology in October. This was well attended and six papers were presented covering five centuries of stoneware production.

In April 2020 the Circle pioneered the introduction of video lectures by ceramic societies using Zoom technology. During the year 21 lectures were delivered by this means (2020 - 17) of which 6 were restricted to members only with the remaining 15 open to all. The links to the open lectures are distributed to other ceramic bodies for circulation to their members and also publicised via the Circle's Facebook page. The lectures are also available on the ECC website to which all members have access.

Using Zoom has proved extremely popular with the membership at large as many, particularly those living overseas, had never previously been able to attend meetings. It also widens the list of potential speakers as they can give papers from their own homes or workplaces. The Circle receives frequent invitations from other ceramic societies, such as the French Porcelain Society, to participate in their Zoom lectures and these are passed on to both ECC members and other societies. The introduction of on-line lectures has provided a valuable boost to membership.with a net increase of 121 achieved during the past two years

The Circle maintains a printing reserve to cover the anticipated costs of printing the papers delivered to members but not yet published. This has been increased by £2.000 this year to £18,500 to cover the anticipated cost of the 2021/22 edition of Transactions to be published in the late summer of 2022

Regular Publications

The English Ceramic Circle publishes an annual publication, The Transactions of the English Ceramic Circle, together with two newsletters. Members are also advised by email of significant events in the ceramic world, such as exhibitions, auctions and seminars.

The Circle maintains a library of ceramic publications and literature to which members have access and which, in most cases, is available on loan to members for short periods.

Membership

The Circle offers annual subscription membership which entitles Members to attend meetings, to receive the annual Transactions, two newsletters, invitations to Zoom lectures including those provided by other bodies to which ECC members are invited and sometimes (at the discretion of the Committee) other publications without further charge. Membership is offered to individuals, joint membership to two individuals at the same address, and Institutional Membership. The latter category entitles Institutions to send any nominated individual to meetings organised by the ECC.

Payable membership subscription numbers increased by 44 during the year (last year 77). The majority of UK individual members gift aid their subscriptions and the committee urges any UK tax payer who has not done so to consider doing this, thus providing valuable additional income to the Circle.

Membership numbers at 31 October 2021 were as follows:

UK members Europe USA and Canada Australia & New Zealand Rest of World	Single Dual Institutional Total Last Year 306 85 18 409 379 15 0 10 25 25 92 8 21 121 108 13 3 2 18 18 5 0 0 5 4
	431 96 51 578 534

On behalf of the Trustees

Jonathan Gray

Alan Walden

1st February 2022

Statement of Financial Activities for theYear Ended 31st October 2021

£ £ 23,021 18,147 1,713 1,127 (1,713) - (1,127) - 3,652 2,689 438 27,111 739 21,575 729 917 489 554 1,752 - 2,393 1,800 - 288 - 4,634 199 2,841 32,474 25,333 21,030 17,127 2,000 23,030 0 17,127 1,763 2,660 1,331 2,431 2,021 3,042 3,350 (3,350) - - 305 1,181 355 314 - - 1,030 - - 144 - 500 374 30,209 865 28,264 30,209 28,264 2,265 (2,931) (2,265) - 56,425 59,356 56,425 56,425 2020-21 2019-20 £ £ £ £	£ £ 23,021 18,147 1,713 1,127 (1,713) - (1,127) - 3,652 2,689 438 27,111 739 21,575 729 917 489 554 1,752 - 2,393 1,800 - 288 - 4,634 199 2,841 32,474 25,333 21,030 17,127 2,000 23,030 0 17,127 1,763 2,660 1,331 2,431 2,021 3,042 3,350 (3,350) - - 305 1,181 355 314 - - 1,030 - - 144 - 500 374 30,209 865 28,264 30,209 28,264 2,265 (2,931) (2,265) - 56,425 59,356 56,425 56,425 2020-21 2019-20 £ £ £ £	£ £ 23,021 18,147 1,713 1,127 (1,713) - (1,127) - 3,652 2,689 438 27,111 739 21,575 729 917 489 554 1,752 - 2,393 1,800 - 288 - 4,634 199 2,841 32,474 25,333 21,030 17,127 2,000 23,030 0 17,127 1,763 2,660 1,331 2,431 2,021 3,042 3,350 (3,350) - - 305 1,181 355 314 - - 1,030 - - 144 - 500 374 30,209 865 28,264 30,209 28,264 2,265 (2,931) (2,265) - 56,425 59,356 56,425 56,425 2020-21 2019-20 £ £ £ £
	554 - 1,800 288 199
	17,127 2,660 2,431 3,042 - 1,181 314 - - 144 500 865
		25,333
		28,264
-

		28,264
		(2,931) - 59,356
		56,425

Balance Sheet at 31st October

- 3,861 7,677 20,526 - 55,000 87,064 9,027 78,037 78,037 56,425 18,500 2,265 77,190 847 78,037 2021 £ £	- 3,861 7,677 20,526 - 55,000 87,064 9,027 78,037 78,037 56,425 18,500 2,265 77,190 847 78,037 2021 £ £	- 2,474 14,109 20,343 51,308 - 88,234 12,825 75,409 75,409 56,425 16,500 - 72,925 2,484 75,409 2020 £ £	- 2,474 14,109 20,343 51,308 - 88,234 12,825 75,409 75,409 56,425 16,500 - 72,925 2,484 75,409 2020 £ £
87,064 9,027		88,234 12,825
56,425 18,500 2,265		56,425 16,500 -
	78,037		75,409
	77,190 847		72,925 2,484

	78,037		75,409

The Financial Statements were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Jonathan Gray (President)

Alan Walden (Treasurer)

1st February 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31st October, 2021

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

(a) Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared using the historic cost convention and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The statements have been voluntarily compiled on an accruals basis to comply with the principle recommendations of the Charity Commission's publication "Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities" [2015].

Income from Members' subscriptions, which entitles members to receive the annual Transactions publication and to attend both public and members' meetings, is recognised in the year in which those meetings take place.

Income from Gift Aid is accounted for in the financial year in which the refund claim is submitted. Income from publication grants, provided such grant is committed, is accounted for in the year in which the relevant publication costs are incurred.

The Circle holds stocks of past Transactions which it sells to the public and to members. Some of these publication are many years old and the trustees take the view that maintaining a stock recording system to maintain these relatively low valued stocks would not be justified. Accordingly, subject to the matters set out below, publication costs are expensed in the accounts in the year in which they are printed.

The Circle maintains a Printing Reserve to make allowance for the cost of unpublished Transactions, or supplements to Transactions, where the relevant papers have been presented by Members to the Circle but the printing not yet undertaken.

(b) Statutory Disclosures

During the year no committee members were reimbursed for travel and accommodation costs incurred on behalf of the Circle and no other trustee expenses were incurred.

(c) Depreciation

The Circle's computer and projection equipment is fully written down. It was depreciated on a straight line basis over its expected useful life, namely 3 years.

2 Tangible Fixed Assets Cost Opening balance at 1st November 2020 Additions Closing Balance at 31st October 2021 Depreciation Opening balance at 1st November 2020 Charge for the year Debtors and prepayments Net Book Value at 31st October 2021 3 As at 31st October: Amounts falling due within one year: Meetings expenses paid in advance Mailing and postage paid in advance Seminar income due Insurance Website expenses paid in advance General expenses paid in advance Accrued bank interest receivable 4 Creditors and accruals As at 31st October: Subscriptions received in advance Seminar receipts received in advance Seminar expenses Meetings expenses Publication expenses Mailings and postage General expenses Grants awarded Donations 5 Research reserve As at 31st October: Balance brought forward Receipts Grants awarded Balance carried forward	2,021 £ 2,320 54 - 60 763 - 664	Computer, Software, and Projection Equipment £ 1,220 -
		1,220
		1,220 -
		1,220
		-
		2,020 £ 663 54 - 53 778 86 840
	3,861	2,474
	2,021 £ 6,301 - 45 - 657 924 - 1,100 -	2,020 £ 8,483 824 - 73 732 2,463 190 - 60
	9,027	12,825
	2,021 £ 2,484 1,713	2,020 £ 1,297 1,187
	4,197 (3,350)	2,484 -
	847	2,484

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of

The English Ceramic Circle For the year ended 31st October 2021

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the English Ceramic Circle (“The Circle”) for the year ended 31 October 2021.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Circle you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Circle’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Society as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

John Beetwell c/o BM Box 7246 London WC1N 3XX

26th January 2022