OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

← The European Society For Neurochemistry

2024-12-31-accounts

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Charity number 1098662

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024

Contents Page
Trustees' report 2 to 9
Examiner's report 10
Receipts and payments account 11
Statement of assets and liabilities 12
Notes to the accounts 13 to 14

Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO

1

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors

The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates Marcus Rattray Company Secretary Johannes Hirrlinger Past-President Natalia Nalivaeva Anthony Turner Illana Gozes President Carlos Duarte Treasurer Dimitra Mangoura Secretary Charity number 1098662 Registered in England and Wales Registered and principal address Bankers University of Bradford Co-operative Bank plc Sparkasse Nienburg Richmond Road P.O. box 101 Goetheplatz 4 Bradford 1 Balloon Street 31582 Nienburg BD7 1DP Manchester Germany

Independent examiner

Katy Sargeant West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW

Structure, governance and management

The charity is governed by a constitution adopted on 3 June 2003 and amended 25 May 2021 and 10 August 2023.

Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees

The preferred practice of the Society is to appoint the Secretary and the Treasurer in rotation as the President. In accordance with this practice, each of the Secretary and the Treasurer is elected by ballot for a four-year-term and the appointments are staggered so that the Treasurer is appointed two years after the appointment of the then Secretary.

Having served for four years the Secretary or the Treasurer as appropriate shall be appointed by the Council as the President.

The President is appointed for a two-year-term. All such appointments shall take effect from the Business Meeting.

If this practice cannot be followed in any particular case the Council shall be empowered to implement alternative arrangements until new arrangements have been approved by the Ordinary Members and are fully implemented.

2

The European Society

for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Structure, governance and management (continued)

Until 2023 trustees were appointed by ESN council on an ad-hoc basis from the members elected to the ESN Scientific Council. The constitution now defines the number of trustees and their selection.

No less than 5 and no more than 7 members of the Council shall be appointed by Council as named ESN trustees including current officers, a past president, company secretary and some UK based ESN members in good standing. The trustees have specific responsibilities associated with this role. The board of trustees reports to ESN Council and shall keep minutes of trustee meetings.

The Charity’s overall governance is by a board of trustees. Day to day operations of ESN are determined by the ESN officers: President, Secretary and Treasurer who are advised by the ESN council.

The terms of appointment for officers and council as well as the role of the Company Secretary is defined in the ESN constitution.

We note that currently four ex-officio (co-opted) roles on ESN council:

Company Secretary: role defined in constitution.

ESN Past-President: On the Council meeting 2017 in Paris, France, it was decided to establish the position of the Past-President, to maintain the experience of the former president within the leadership of the society for two more years. When stepping back from the position as President after the two years term, the President becomes the Past-President. The Past-President is an appointed member of ESN Council ex officio. (Ex Presidents, are former Presidents of ESN, an unofficial position).

ESN Historian: An ESN Historian is appointed by ESN Council and becomes an appointed member of ESN Council ex officio.

Chair of ESN Young Scientist Steering Committee (YSSC): The ESN Young Scientist Steering Committee (YSSC) is a group of early career scientists within ESN, who are actively engaged in ESN activities. The Chair of the YSSC is appointed by ESN Council and becomes an appointed member of ESN Council ex officio.

New trustees are introduced to their duties by the other trustees.

ESN has a close relation with its sister society International Society for Neurochemistry, based on common interests in advancing research in Neurochemistry and supporting early career researchers in Neurochemistry.

3

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Objectives and activities

The charity's objects

The advancement of the science of Neurochemistry for the public benefit.

According to the Society’s constitution, the Society shall endeavour to:

The charity's main activities

The major activities of ESN in 2024 were: 1] ESN Young Scientist Satellite Conference to FENS Forum 2024, Vienna, Austria, entitled “Neurodevelopment in Health and Disease”, which was accompanied by a special issue with >10 publications of the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience; 2] the 3rd ESN-ISN Neurochemistry School “Neurodegeneration, Inflammation, and Cancer” in Athens, Greece; 3] three “Neurochemistry Initiative Meeting Support” namely, 5th International Conference of the Trisomy 21 Research Society (T21RS), Epic2024 – Epilepsy Conference and 2nd Neurodevelopmental Disorders Conference: ADNP and more. 4] “Meet ESN” initiative taken by the Young Scientist Steering Committee of ESN, webinars introducing established and young ESN scientists.

Tel Aviv University – with funding provided by Prof. Moussa Youdim to support this ESN activity, paid the rental of the Historical Reading Room of Josephinum, the museum that houses collections of the Medical University of Vienna, audiovisual equipment and technician, offered refreshments and supported some travel from Israel and covered the meeting insurance. These funds were used directly (i.e. not provided to ESN) and were 5774 USD.

4

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

The charity's main activities (continued)

The ESN Young Satellite Conference had two sessions, Neurodevelopment in health and Neurodevelopmental disorders, with welcome remarks by Prof. Illana Gozes, ESN President. The speakers were Milena Tucić, University of Belgrade, Serbia, Irene Martínez Gallego, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain; Charoula Peta, Biomedical Research Foundation Academy of Athens, Greece; Adva Hadar, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; Maram Ganaiem, Tel Aviv University, Israel; Elisa Corti, University of Coimbra, Portugal; Roberto Oleari, University of Milan, Italy. These speakers were all early career scientists: graduate students or postdoctoral fellows and each had a 15 min talk. Milena Tucić, Irene Martínez Gallego, and Elisa Corti received full financial support from ESN travel awards, Maram Ganaiem and Roberto Oleari received funding from their own institutions and Dr Peta received a FENS Travel Award. Adva Hadar gave her lecture online as she was unable to travel.

An additional four travel awards were provided to attend the ESN Young Scientist Satellite Conference and the main FENS Forum 2024. These were awarded competitively with 18 applications 9 from graduate students and 9 from postdocs. Applicants were from France -1, Germany 1, Italy 4; Nigeria 2, Poland 1; Portugal 6, and Serbia, 3. The selected awardees who received between 375-700 Euro each were David Brito, University of Algarve, Portugal; Devina Legrand-Ung, Universite de Tours, France; Maria Francesca Palmas, University of Cagliari, Italy; Luise Schlotterose, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany.

In all 40 people registered for the satellite and 29 abstracts were submitted, from which 12 were chosen to give a short talk: Antonio González Matute, University of Seville, Spain; Federica Amoruso, Milan, Italy; Anat Mavashov Arzuan, Tel Aviv University, Israel; Claudio D’Incal, University of Antwerp, Belgium; Devina Ung, Université de Tours Tours, France; Mor Yam and Daniel Galber, Tel Aviv University, Israel; Gianluca Masella, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Leonie Boesch, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, USA; David Brito, Faro, Portugal; Katarina Živančević, Belgrade, Portugal; Dimitrios Gkikas, BRFAA, Athens, Greece; Marialuisa de Ceglia, Camerino, Italy.

Participants received full support for travel and all expenses for accommodation, meals, transportation, and museum visits, and engaged in 19 Advanced Scientific Lectures and 5 Advanced Technical Lectures, along with discussions. They worked in 13 hands-on laboratory modules based on their preferences and presented posters on their research. All necessary information was shared through emails and a dedicated website.

The school arranged two nearby hotels, and participants were transported daily by bus to BRFAA. On the first day, attendees received school materials and a welcome message. From June 3 to June 7, they attended lectures and participated in discussions. After lectures, they worked in the labs for 3 hours, following the guidance of supervisors. In the evenings, they enjoyed meals at local restaurants and had a farewell dinner near the Acropolis. Two special lectures were also included, while students visited the Acropolis and its museum.

5

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

The charity's main activities (continued)

Posters were displayed, with lively discussions following each presentation. Two Poster Prizes of 200€ were awarded to Izabela Lepiarz Raba, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Poland and to Elisa Perciballi, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, and all participants received certificates. Despite rising costs, the Organizing Committee was just over the budget of USD 40,000 that had been provided by the International Society for Neurochemistry, requiring a contribution from ESN funds of 262€.

Feedback indicated that the school was a success, with participants valuing the program and laboratory modules. We note that there were a good number of applicants and postdoctoral attendees, suggesting that this School series is gaining prestige and is getting known.

Eight applications were received, sent them along with a scoring sheet and criteria to the Council; as our budget uncertainty only allowed us to support three applications for 1,000.00 € each. The top three were selected and funded as noted below.

  1. 5th International Conference of the Trisomy 21 Research Society (T21RS) organised by Eugenio Barone and Antonella Tramutola, Rome, Italy was hosted at Sapienza University & “La Nuvola” Convention Ctr on 5-8 June, 2024. There were 600 attendees from 20 counties.

  2. Epic2024 – Epilepsy Conference was organised by Sara Xapelli and Sandra Vaz of University of Lisbon, Portugal and hosted in Lisbon on 5-7Jun 2024. There were 120 attendees from across Europe.

  3. ADNP in Helsmoortel Van der Aa syndrome Conference was organised by Frank Kooy, University of Antwerp, Belgium and hosted there between 11-13 Sept 2024. The meeting had 150 delegates, 75% of whom were from outside Belgium.

  4. 4] The “Meet ESN” initiative was organised by the Young Scientist Steering Committee (YSSC) of ESN. This was started by Sara Grassi and continued by the current Chair Adva Hadar, aimed at bringing together ESN members virtually, particularly during years in which no ESN conference is held. For 2024 it took place on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, 5–6 pm (CEST) with two talks: The role of protein quality control system in motor neuron diseases from Prof. Riccardo Cristofani, University of Milan and One gene, many phenotypes: investigating KIF5A-linked neurodegeneration mechanisms from Marta Cozzi, University of Milan.

The event was received with enthusiasm and had significant attendance by the ESN membership (75 zoom attendees). It was run at zero cost for ESN, as all electronic material, posters and announcements were produced by YSSC members voluntarily, electronic distribution was done by the Secretary, and the President, Prof. Gozes, via the Tel Aviv University, provided the zoom platform for free.

Public benefit statement

ESN Trustees are aware of the definition of public benefit and take this into account in their decision making. There has been no departure from this guidance.

Contribution made by volunteers

6

ESN is a Society fully run on a volunteer basis. Neither ESN officers, Council members nor members are paid for their work done for the Society (the only payments are reimbursement for, e.g., travel costs).

7

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Achievements and performance

ESN activities in 2024 covered all Europe and adjacent countries and included a broad international exposure. The main achievements of ESN in 2024 to advance neurochemistry relate to scientific meetings, education and supporting individual scientists in mobility. These are delineated in the section above namely 1] the major event of the ESN satellite meeting at the FENS Forum in Vienna, Austria where we directly supported 11 early career scientists and provided opportunity to present work to 36 early career researchers, 2] the ESN Advanced Neurochemistry School in Athens, Greece where we directly supported 70 scientists to attend, of whom 23 were early career scientists. A major focus of ESN is on education of students and early career scientists that contribute to the development of them as individuals to develop independent scientific lines of research and their scientific careers. This individual development is expected to have a wider public benefit through the production of new knowledge in neurochemistry that contributes to society, including but not limited to, a better understanding of neurological and psychiatric illnesses and their treatment.

We also promoted Neurochemistry through providing funding for three Neurochemistry Initiatives, that part funded and badged other meetings. Thus, the ESN reached an additional 870 scientists. These activities therefore promote neurochemistry as a discipline and supports the sustainability of ESN by introducing early career scientists to the society.

The sustainability of ESN, and therefore the contribution that ESN can make to the public good is dependent on membership and bringing in new members, particularly early career scientists. Membership of ESN in December 31st, 2024, was 414, compared to 389 on December 31st, 2023. Membership is from 45 countries. ESN is very pleased with the increase in membership, without membership fee structure changes (25 Euro/year/member). Most represented countries are Italy (73), Portugal (52), Germany (49), Russia (44), UK (24), Spain (22), with largest changes compared to 2023 coming from Serbia and Germany (+5 new members each), while we have members, one each, from three additional countries, Uganda, Brazil, and Thailand. However, we have no more membership from Egypt and the Netherlands. ESN members receive regular updates and were invited to participate in the meet ESN webinar and the annual business meeting.

We note that while we have numerous members based in Russia, due to the current conflict, their membership is frozen – since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 we have not and will not accept membership fees, nor will be able to fund scientists based in Russia with travel awards or provide funding to meetings or conferences in Russia.

Financially ESN's position at the end of 2024 (despite changes in the arrangements with ISN) is sufficient to plan for activities in 2025 and 2026 that aim to advance Neurochemistry. These include multiple Neurochemistry Initiatives; travel support an ESN-ISN School and Meet ESN Events. The major event in 2025 is our ESN biannual meeting to be in Naxos, Greece that marks the 50th anniversary of ESN. One of the major activities for the Officers and council in 2024 has been preparation for the ESN Biennial Meeting, Naxos 2025. The ESN Past-President Johannes Hirrlinger is Chair of the Program Committee (PC) working with the Program Committee of 17 people, including members of the Hellenic Society for Neuroscience (HSN) who are co-hosting the meeting. The Bachelard Award will be given to Anthony J. Turner. There have been 29 suggestions for Plenary Speakers with speakers chosen including Tom Südhof and Giovanna Mallucci. In addition, a special lecture by Moussa Youdim is included in the program. Further, 25 symposia with more than 100 speakers covering numerous aspects of neurochemistry and neuroscience were selected by the PC from the submitted proposals. Finally, two Young Member Symposia will feature short talks of early career scientists who have been chosen by ESN Council based on scientific excellence from applications.

8

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Financial review

The net receipts for the year were £5,351, including net payments of £951 on unrestricted funds and net receipts of £6,302 on restricted funds.

The main sources of income of the Charity are the following:

The 2024 funding from ISN which was budgeted for was not received in 2024 but was in January 2025. The Charity is in a good financial position on Dec 31, 2024, with a financial reserve sufficient to cover 2025 events and plans until 2026 that are in budget.

Reserves policy

The charity's free reserves, at the year end were £83,299.

ESN’s policy (adopted in August 2023) is as follows:

The Council shall decide annually what financial reserve should be held by ESN. The reserve held should be a contingency fund sufficient for no less than 1 and no more than 2 years of regular ESN business without additional income e.g. to allow for payment in advance for meetings that have been approved for funding and/or to accommodate interruptions or lack of budgeted funding from external bodies. Use of reserves is defined in the ESN Policy on use of reserves.

ESN Policy on Use of reserves:

iii. To cover financial loss to ESN due to cancellation of meetings or other unforeseen circumstances.

In August 2023 the Council decided the reserve (end of year balance) should be 80,000 € in 2023.

9

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2024

Amount of reserves held

The actual amount held in reserve is 80,000 €, with an end of year balance of 98 977.41€. The difference related to the unexpected uncertainty around ISN funding which is detailed in our trustees’ minutes. Essentially, we had to reduce the commitment to spending in 2024 in case we received not all the expected funding from ISN. ESN council agreed to use reserves for 2025 activities, but we expect this not be necessary since ISN agreed to support ESN in 2024, in a message received on October 30th, 2024.

Going concern

Membership

ESN relies on its members and a constant or increasing number of members. In the recent years membership steadily increased, but this cannot be guaranteed for the coming year(s). To mitigate this, ESN officers and Council members continue to develop ways to increase membership. All events supported by ESN are obliged to inform about ESN and advertise the advantages of being and ESN member. Therefore, the number of members in the future is an uncertain but we consider it a relatively small risk for the Charity.

Financial support by ISN

In 2025 the arrangements with ISN are changing to a per annum funding request rather than a MOU. We do not consider this to be a major risk but will not commit funds until we have agreement in principle with ISN for our plans to use their grant.

The trustees are confident with the current bank balance and anticipated funding to be able to continue its activities at the levels planned until at least the end of 2026.

Approved by the board of trustees on 5/7/2025

Antonio Roriguez Moreno (Trustee)

10

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The European Society

for Neurochemistry

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 11 to 14.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees 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 charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. 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:

1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Charities Act; 2 the accounts do not accord with those records.

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.

Katy Sargeant

15/7/25

West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO

Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW

11

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Receipts and payments account for the year ended 31 December 2024

Notes
2024
Unrestricted
funds
£
Receipts
Grants
(2)
-
Subscriptions
5,942
Conference fees
2,114
Total receipts
8,056
Payments
Conference costs
1,867
Accounts and independent examination
495
Membership fees
652
Bank charges
140
Website hosting
477
Scholarships and bursaries given out
3,598
Trustee and Council expenses
1,778
Website development
-
Office expenses
-
Total payments
9,007
Net receipts / (payments)
(951)
Transfers between funds
-
Net movement in funds
(951)
Exchange difference
(1,193)
Fund balances brought forward
85,443
Fund balances carried forward
(3)
83,299		 2024
Restricted
funds
£
37,444
-
-
37,444
31,065
-
-
-
77
-
-
-
-
31,142
6,302
-
6,302
(243)
(6,059)
-		 2024
Total
funds
£
37,444
5,942
2,114
45,500
32,932
495
652
140
554
3,598
1,778
-
-
40,149
5,351
-
5,351
(1,436)
79,384
83,299		 2023
Total
funds
£
74,051
6,491
-
80,542
35,159
378
670
363
231
50,591
3,846
1,741
165
93,144
(12,602)
-
(12,602)
1,320
90,666
79,384

12

The European Society for Neurochemistry Statement of assets and liabilities

as at 31 December 2024
2024
Unrestricted
£
Cash funds
Cash at bank
83,299
Total cash funds
83,299
Debtors and prepayments
Accrued income
Liabilities
Creditors
Accruals
Deferred income		 2024
Restricted
£
-
-		 2024
Total
£
83,299
83,299
2024
£
24,048
24,048
2024
£
850
540
755
2,145		 2023
Total
£
79,384
79,384

The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 5/7/2025

Antonio Roriguez Moreno (Trustee)

13

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 31 December 2024

1 Accounting policies

Basis of accounting

The trustees have taken advantage of section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 and have prepared the accounts on a receipts and payments basis.

There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year.

No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.

Taxation

As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.

Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.

14

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Notes to the accounts continued

for the year ended 31 December 2024

Grants and donations
The International Society of Neurochemistry (ISN)		 2024
Unrestricted
funds
£

-
-		 2024
Restricted
funds
£
37,444
37,444		 2024
Total
funds
£
37,444
37,444		 2023
Total
funds
£
74,051
74,051

2 Grants and donations

3 Exchange difference

The European Society of Neurochemistry has a euro bank account and two PayPal accounts. The transactions through this account have been converted to sterling at the average exchange rate for the year. The exchange difference relates to the difference between the closing bank balance at 31 December 2023 using the average 2023 rate and the opening balance at 1 January 2024 using the average 2024 rate.

4 Restricted funds
ESN-ISN Faro School 2023
ESN-ISN Athens School 2024
Fund name
ESN-ISN Faro School 2023
ESN-ISN Athens School 2024		 Balance b/f
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
Balance c/f
£
£
£
£
£
(6,059)
6,302
243
-
-
-
31,142
31,142
-
-
(6,059)
37,444
31,385
-
-
Purpose of restriction
For the second of a series of EN-ISN Advanced Schools - this one held in
Faro.
Support for the organization of the ESN-ISN Neurochemistry School in
Athens (2024)

5 Related party transactions

Trustee expenses

During the year 2 trustees were paid a total of £1,400 in respect of travel (previous year: 1 trustee and £1,036).

Trustee remuneration and benefits

No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.

15

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Charity number 1098662

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024

Contents Page
Trustees' report 2 to 9
Examiner's report 10
Receipts and payments account 11
Statement of assets and liabilities 12
Notes to the accounts 13 to 14

Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO

1

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors

The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates Marcus Rattray Company Secretary Johannes Hirrlinger Past-President Natalia Nalivaeva Anthony Turner Illana Gozes President Carlos Duarte Treasurer Dimitra Mangoura Secretary Charity number 1098662 Registered in England and Wales Registered and principal address Bankers University of Bradford Co-operative Bank plc Sparkasse Nienburg Richmond Road P.O. box 101 Goetheplatz 4 Bradford 1 Balloon Street 31582 Nienburg BD7 1DP Manchester Germany

Independent examiner

Katy Sargeant West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW

Structure, governance and management

The charity is governed by a constitution adopted on 3 June 2003 and amended 25 May 2021 and 10 August 2023.

Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees

The preferred practice of the Society is to appoint the Secretary and the Treasurer in rotation as the President. In accordance with this practice, each of the Secretary and the Treasurer is elected by ballot for a four-year-term and the appointments are staggered so that the Treasurer is appointed two years after the appointment of the then Secretary.

Having served for four years the Secretary or the Treasurer as appropriate shall be appointed by the Council as the President.

The President is appointed for a two-year-term. All such appointments shall take effect from the Business Meeting.

If this practice cannot be followed in any particular case the Council shall be empowered to implement alternative arrangements until new arrangements have been approved by the Ordinary Members and are fully implemented.

2

The European Society

for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Structure, governance and management (continued)

Until 2023 trustees were appointed by ESN council on an ad-hoc basis from the members elected to the ESN Scientific Council. The constitution now defines the number of trustees and their selection.

No less than 5 and no more than 7 members of the Council shall be appointed by Council as named ESN trustees including current officers, a past president, company secretary and some UK based ESN members in good standing. The trustees have specific responsibilities associated with this role. The board of trustees reports to ESN Council and shall keep minutes of trustee meetings.

The Charity’s overall governance is by a board of trustees. Day to day operations of ESN are determined by the ESN officers: President, Secretary and Treasurer who are advised by the ESN council.

The terms of appointment for officers and council as well as the role of the Company Secretary is defined in the ESN constitution.

We note that currently four ex-officio (co-opted) roles on ESN council:

Company Secretary: role defined in constitution.

ESN Past-President: On the Council meeting 2017 in Paris, France, it was decided to establish the position of the Past-President, to maintain the experience of the former president within the leadership of the society for two more years. When stepping back from the position as President after the two years term, the President becomes the Past-President. The Past-President is an appointed member of ESN Council ex officio. (Ex Presidents, are former Presidents of ESN, an unofficial position).

ESN Historian: An ESN Historian is appointed by ESN Council and becomes an appointed member of ESN Council ex officio.

Chair of ESN Young Scientist Steering Committee (YSSC): The ESN Young Scientist Steering Committee (YSSC) is a group of early career scientists within ESN, who are actively engaged in ESN activities. The Chair of the YSSC is appointed by ESN Council and becomes an appointed member of ESN Council ex officio.

New trustees are introduced to their duties by the other trustees.

ESN has a close relation with its sister society International Society for Neurochemistry, based on common interests in advancing research in Neurochemistry and supporting early career researchers in Neurochemistry.

3

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Objectives and activities

The charity's objects

The advancement of the science of Neurochemistry for the public benefit.

According to the Society’s constitution, the Society shall endeavour to:

The charity's main activities

The major activities of ESN in 2024 were: 1] ESN Young Scientist Satellite Conference to FENS Forum 2024, Vienna, Austria, entitled “Neurodevelopment in Health and Disease”, which was accompanied by a special issue with >10 publications of the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience; 2] the 3rd ESN-ISN Neurochemistry School “Neurodegeneration, Inflammation, and Cancer” in Athens, Greece; 3] three “Neurochemistry Initiative Meeting Support” namely, 5th International Conference of the Trisomy 21 Research Society (T21RS), Epic2024 – Epilepsy Conference and 2nd Neurodevelopmental Disorders Conference: ADNP and more. 4] “Meet ESN” initiative taken by the Young Scientist Steering Committee of ESN, webinars introducing established and young ESN scientists.

Tel Aviv University – with funding provided by Prof. Moussa Youdim to support this ESN activity, paid the rental of the Historical Reading Room of Josephinum, the museum that houses collections of the Medical University of Vienna, audiovisual equipment and technician, offered refreshments and supported some travel from Israel and covered the meeting insurance. These funds were used directly (i.e. not provided to ESN) and were 5774 USD.

4

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

The charity's main activities (continued)

The ESN Young Satellite Conference had two sessions, Neurodevelopment in health and Neurodevelopmental disorders, with welcome remarks by Prof. Illana Gozes, ESN President. The speakers were Milena Tucić, University of Belgrade, Serbia, Irene Martínez Gallego, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain; Charoula Peta, Biomedical Research Foundation Academy of Athens, Greece; Adva Hadar, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; Maram Ganaiem, Tel Aviv University, Israel; Elisa Corti, University of Coimbra, Portugal; Roberto Oleari, University of Milan, Italy. These speakers were all early career scientists: graduate students or postdoctoral fellows and each had a 15 min talk. Milena Tucić, Irene Martínez Gallego, and Elisa Corti received full financial support from ESN travel awards, Maram Ganaiem and Roberto Oleari received funding from their own institutions and Dr Peta received a FENS Travel Award. Adva Hadar gave her lecture online as she was unable to travel.

An additional four travel awards were provided to attend the ESN Young Scientist Satellite Conference and the main FENS Forum 2024. These were awarded competitively with 18 applications 9 from graduate students and 9 from postdocs. Applicants were from France -1, Germany 1, Italy 4; Nigeria 2, Poland 1; Portugal 6, and Serbia, 3. The selected awardees who received between 375-700 Euro each were David Brito, University of Algarve, Portugal; Devina Legrand-Ung, Universite de Tours, France; Maria Francesca Palmas, University of Cagliari, Italy; Luise Schlotterose, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany.

In all 40 people registered for the satellite and 29 abstracts were submitted, from which 12 were chosen to give a short talk: Antonio González Matute, University of Seville, Spain; Federica Amoruso, Milan, Italy; Anat Mavashov Arzuan, Tel Aviv University, Israel; Claudio D’Incal, University of Antwerp, Belgium; Devina Ung, Université de Tours Tours, France; Mor Yam and Daniel Galber, Tel Aviv University, Israel; Gianluca Masella, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Leonie Boesch, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, USA; David Brito, Faro, Portugal; Katarina Živančević, Belgrade, Portugal; Dimitrios Gkikas, BRFAA, Athens, Greece; Marialuisa de Ceglia, Camerino, Italy.

Participants received full support for travel and all expenses for accommodation, meals, transportation, and museum visits, and engaged in 19 Advanced Scientific Lectures and 5 Advanced Technical Lectures, along with discussions. They worked in 13 hands-on laboratory modules based on their preferences and presented posters on their research. All necessary information was shared through emails and a dedicated website.

The school arranged two nearby hotels, and participants were transported daily by bus to BRFAA. On the first day, attendees received school materials and a welcome message. From June 3 to June 7, they attended lectures and participated in discussions. After lectures, they worked in the labs for 3 hours, following the guidance of supervisors. In the evenings, they enjoyed meals at local restaurants and had a farewell dinner near the Acropolis. Two special lectures were also included, while students visited the Acropolis and its museum.

5

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

The charity's main activities (continued)

Posters were displayed, with lively discussions following each presentation. Two Poster Prizes of 200€ were awarded to Izabela Lepiarz Raba, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Poland and to Elisa Perciballi, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, and all participants received certificates. Despite rising costs, the Organizing Committee was just over the budget of USD 40,000 that had been provided by the International Society for Neurochemistry, requiring a contribution from ESN funds of 262€.

Feedback indicated that the school was a success, with participants valuing the program and laboratory modules. We note that there were a good number of applicants and postdoctoral attendees, suggesting that this School series is gaining prestige and is getting known.

Eight applications were received, sent them along with a scoring sheet and criteria to the Council; as our budget uncertainty only allowed us to support three applications for 1,000.00 € each. The top three were selected and funded as noted below.

  1. 5th International Conference of the Trisomy 21 Research Society (T21RS) organised by Eugenio Barone and Antonella Tramutola, Rome, Italy was hosted at Sapienza University & “La Nuvola” Convention Ctr on 5-8 June, 2024. There were 600 attendees from 20 counties.

  2. Epic2024 – Epilepsy Conference was organised by Sara Xapelli and Sandra Vaz of University of Lisbon, Portugal and hosted in Lisbon on 5-7Jun 2024. There were 120 attendees from across Europe.

  3. ADNP in Helsmoortel Van der Aa syndrome Conference was organised by Frank Kooy, University of Antwerp, Belgium and hosted there between 11-13 Sept 2024. The meeting had 150 delegates, 75% of whom were from outside Belgium.

  4. 4] The “Meet ESN” initiative was organised by the Young Scientist Steering Committee (YSSC) of ESN. This was started by Sara Grassi and continued by the current Chair Adva Hadar, aimed at bringing together ESN members virtually, particularly during years in which no ESN conference is held. For 2024 it took place on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, 5–6 pm (CEST) with two talks: The role of protein quality control system in motor neuron diseases from Prof. Riccardo Cristofani, University of Milan and One gene, many phenotypes: investigating KIF5A-linked neurodegeneration mechanisms from Marta Cozzi, University of Milan.

The event was received with enthusiasm and had significant attendance by the ESN membership (75 zoom attendees). It was run at zero cost for ESN, as all electronic material, posters and announcements were produced by YSSC members voluntarily, electronic distribution was done by the Secretary, and the President, Prof. Gozes, via the Tel Aviv University, provided the zoom platform for free.

Public benefit statement

ESN Trustees are aware of the definition of public benefit and take this into account in their decision making. There has been no departure from this guidance.

Contribution made by volunteers

6

ESN is a Society fully run on a volunteer basis. Neither ESN officers, Council members nor members are paid for their work done for the Society (the only payments are reimbursement for, e.g., travel costs).

7

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Achievements and performance

ESN activities in 2024 covered all Europe and adjacent countries and included a broad international exposure. The main achievements of ESN in 2024 to advance neurochemistry relate to scientific meetings, education and supporting individual scientists in mobility. These are delineated in the section above namely 1] the major event of the ESN satellite meeting at the FENS Forum in Vienna, Austria where we directly supported 11 early career scientists and provided opportunity to present work to 36 early career researchers, 2] the ESN Advanced Neurochemistry School in Athens, Greece where we directly supported 70 scientists to attend, of whom 23 were early career scientists. A major focus of ESN is on education of students and early career scientists that contribute to the development of them as individuals to develop independent scientific lines of research and their scientific careers. This individual development is expected to have a wider public benefit through the production of new knowledge in neurochemistry that contributes to society, including but not limited to, a better understanding of neurological and psychiatric illnesses and their treatment.

We also promoted Neurochemistry through providing funding for three Neurochemistry Initiatives, that part funded and badged other meetings. Thus, the ESN reached an additional 870 scientists. These activities therefore promote neurochemistry as a discipline and supports the sustainability of ESN by introducing early career scientists to the society.

The sustainability of ESN, and therefore the contribution that ESN can make to the public good is dependent on membership and bringing in new members, particularly early career scientists. Membership of ESN in December 31st, 2024, was 414, compared to 389 on December 31st, 2023. Membership is from 45 countries. ESN is very pleased with the increase in membership, without membership fee structure changes (25 Euro/year/member). Most represented countries are Italy (73), Portugal (52), Germany (49), Russia (44), UK (24), Spain (22), with largest changes compared to 2023 coming from Serbia and Germany (+5 new members each), while we have members, one each, from three additional countries, Uganda, Brazil, and Thailand. However, we have no more membership from Egypt and the Netherlands. ESN members receive regular updates and were invited to participate in the meet ESN webinar and the annual business meeting.

We note that while we have numerous members based in Russia, due to the current conflict, their membership is frozen – since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 we have not and will not accept membership fees, nor will be able to fund scientists based in Russia with travel awards or provide funding to meetings or conferences in Russia.

Financially ESN's position at the end of 2024 (despite changes in the arrangements with ISN) is sufficient to plan for activities in 2025 and 2026 that aim to advance Neurochemistry. These include multiple Neurochemistry Initiatives; travel support an ESN-ISN School and Meet ESN Events. The major event in 2025 is our ESN biannual meeting to be in Naxos, Greece that marks the 50th anniversary of ESN. One of the major activities for the Officers and council in 2024 has been preparation for the ESN Biennial Meeting, Naxos 2025. The ESN Past-President Johannes Hirrlinger is Chair of the Program Committee (PC) working with the Program Committee of 17 people, including members of the Hellenic Society for Neuroscience (HSN) who are co-hosting the meeting. The Bachelard Award will be given to Anthony J. Turner. There have been 29 suggestions for Plenary Speakers with speakers chosen including Tom Südhof and Giovanna Mallucci. In addition, a special lecture by Moussa Youdim is included in the program. Further, 25 symposia with more than 100 speakers covering numerous aspects of neurochemistry and neuroscience were selected by the PC from the submitted proposals. Finally, two Young Member Symposia will feature short talks of early career scientists who have been chosen by ESN Council based on scientific excellence from applications.

8

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024

Financial review

The net receipts for the year were £5,351, including net payments of £951 on unrestricted funds and net receipts of £6,302 on restricted funds.

The main sources of income of the Charity are the following:

The 2024 funding from ISN which was budgeted for was not received in 2024 but was in January 2025. The Charity is in a good financial position on Dec 31, 2024, with a financial reserve sufficient to cover 2025 events and plans until 2026 that are in budget.

Reserves policy

The charity's free reserves, at the year end were £83,299.

ESN’s policy (adopted in August 2023) is as follows:

The Council shall decide annually what financial reserve should be held by ESN. The reserve held should be a contingency fund sufficient for no less than 1 and no more than 2 years of regular ESN business without additional income e.g. to allow for payment in advance for meetings that have been approved for funding and/or to accommodate interruptions or lack of budgeted funding from external bodies. Use of reserves is defined in the ESN Policy on use of reserves.

ESN Policy on Use of reserves:

iii. To cover financial loss to ESN due to cancellation of meetings or other unforeseen circumstances.

In August 2023 the Council decided the reserve (end of year balance) should be 80,000 € in 2023.

9

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2024

Amount of reserves held

The actual amount held in reserve is 80,000 €, with an end of year balance of 98 977.41€. The difference related to the unexpected uncertainty around ISN funding which is detailed in our trustees’ minutes. Essentially, we had to reduce the commitment to spending in 2024 in case we received not all the expected funding from ISN. ESN council agreed to use reserves for 2025 activities, but we expect this not be necessary since ISN agreed to support ESN in 2024, in a message received on October 30th, 2024.

Going concern

Membership

ESN relies on its members and a constant or increasing number of members. In the recent years membership steadily increased, but this cannot be guaranteed for the coming year(s). To mitigate this, ESN officers and Council members continue to develop ways to increase membership. All events supported by ESN are obliged to inform about ESN and advertise the advantages of being and ESN member. Therefore, the number of members in the future is an uncertain but we consider it a relatively small risk for the Charity.

Financial support by ISN

In 2025 the arrangements with ISN are changing to a per annum funding request rather than a MOU. We do not consider this to be a major risk but will not commit funds until we have agreement in principle with ISN for our plans to use their grant.

The trustees are confident with the current bank balance and anticipated funding to be able to continue its activities at the levels planned until at least the end of 2026.

Approved by the board of trustees on 5/7/2025

Antonio Roriguez Moreno (Trustee)

10

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The European Society

for Neurochemistry

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 11 to 14.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees 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 charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. 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:

1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Charities Act; 2 the accounts do not accord with those records.

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.

Katy Sargeant

15/7/25

West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO

Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW

11

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Receipts and payments account for the year ended 31 December 2024

Notes
2024
Unrestricted
funds
£
Receipts
Grants
(2)
-
Subscriptions
5,942
Conference fees
2,114
Total receipts
8,056
Payments
Conference costs
1,867
Accounts and independent examination
495
Membership fees
652
Bank charges
140
Website hosting
477
Scholarships and bursaries given out
3,598
Trustee and Council expenses
1,778
Website development
-
Office expenses
-
Total payments
9,007
Net receipts / (payments)
(951)
Transfers between funds
-
Net movement in funds
(951)
Exchange difference
(1,193)
Fund balances brought forward
85,443
Fund balances carried forward
(3)
83,299		 2024
Restricted
funds
£
37,444
-
-
37,444
31,065
-
-
-
77
-
-
-
-
31,142
6,302
-
6,302
(243)
(6,059)
-		 2024
Total
funds
£
37,444
5,942
2,114
45,500
32,932
495
652
140
554
3,598
1,778
-
-
40,149
5,351
-
5,351
(1,436)
79,384
83,299		 2023
Total
funds
£
74,051
6,491
-
80,542
35,159
378
670
363
231
50,591
3,846
1,741
165
93,144
(12,602)
-
(12,602)
1,320
90,666
79,384

12

The European Society for Neurochemistry Statement of assets and liabilities

as at 31 December 2024
2024
Unrestricted
£
Cash funds
Cash at bank
83,299
Total cash funds
83,299
Debtors and prepayments
Accrued income
Liabilities
Creditors
Accruals
Deferred income		 2024
Restricted
£
-
-		 2024
Total
£
83,299
83,299
2024
£
24,048
24,048
2024
£
850
540
755
2,145		 2023
Total
£
79,384
79,384

The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 5/7/2025

Antonio Roriguez Moreno (Trustee)

13

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 31 December 2024

1 Accounting policies

Basis of accounting

The trustees have taken advantage of section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 and have prepared the accounts on a receipts and payments basis.

There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year.

No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.

Taxation

As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.

Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.

14

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Notes to the accounts continued

for the year ended 31 December 2024

Grants and donations
The International Society of Neurochemistry (ISN)		 2024
Unrestricted
funds
£

-
-		 2024
Restricted
funds
£
37,444
37,444		 2024
Total
funds
£
37,444
37,444		 2023
Total
funds
£
74,051
74,051

2 Grants and donations

3 Exchange difference

The European Society of Neurochemistry has a euro bank account and two PayPal accounts. The transactions through this account have been converted to sterling at the average exchange rate for the year. The exchange difference relates to the difference between the closing bank balance at 31 December 2023 using the average 2023 rate and the opening balance at 1 January 2024 using the average 2024 rate.

4 Restricted funds
ESN-ISN Faro School 2023
ESN-ISN Athens School 2024
Fund name
ESN-ISN Faro School 2023
ESN-ISN Athens School 2024		 Balance b/f
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
Balance c/f
£
£
£
£
£
(6,059)
6,302
243
-
-
-
31,142
31,142
-
-
(6,059)
37,444
31,385
-
-
Purpose of restriction
For the second of a series of EN-ISN Advanced Schools - this one held in
Faro.
Support for the organization of the ESN-ISN Neurochemistry School in
Athens (2024)

5 Related party transactions

Trustee expenses

During the year 2 trustees were paid a total of £1,400 in respect of travel (previous year: 1 trustee and £1,036).

Trustee remuneration and benefits

No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.

15

The European Society for Neurochemistry

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The European Society

for Neurochemistry

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 11 to 14.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees 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 charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. 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:

1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Charities Act; 2 the accounts do not accord with those records.

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.

Cor

Signed: …………………………………… Name: Katy Sargeant

15/7/25

West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO

Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW

10