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2020-12-31-accounts

LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Company Number: 4800736 Charity Number: 1100126

LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

TRUSTEES

John Chandler (Chair) John Eustace (Treasurer) (appointed 24/08/2020) Tony Birtill Patrick Donnelly Prof. Mary Hickman Prof. Peter Shirlow Emma Walsh (resigned 3/11/2020) Paul Hogan Eamonn Lavin Michelle Rushforth (resigned 20/01/2020) Siobhan Noble (appointed 24/08/2020) Siubhán Macauley (appointed 24/08/2020) Martin Bond (appointed 24/08/2020)

SECRETARY

John Chandler

REGISTERED OFFICE

5 Rutherford Road Mossley Hill Liverpool L18 OHJ

COMPANY NUMBER

4800736

CHARITY NUMBER

1100126

BANKERS

NatWest Bank

ACCOUNTANTS

Adding Value Consultancy Ltd The 2030 Hub, 23 Argyle Street Liverpool L1 5BL

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

CONTENTS Page
Report of the Trustees 4
Independent Examiner's Statement 8
Statement of Financial Activities 9
Balance Sheet 10
Notes to the Accounts 11-15
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities
16

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

TRUSTEES' REPORT

The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020.

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES

The principal activity of the charity is to bring Liverpool and Ireland closer together using arts and culture.

LEGAL STATUS

Liverpool Irish Festival is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. It does not have a share capital.

ORGANISATION OF THE CHARITY

The charity has a board of trustees, who are also the members of the charity, who oversee the general management and control of the company. In setting policies, the trustees have complied with their duty in section 15 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. The board meets roughly 10 times per year to discuss and oversee the charity's financial, artistic and administrative activities. There are presently subcommittees for finance and heritage development, which meet when necessary and report back to the main board.

The day-to-day operations management is carried out by members of the board in a voluntary capacity, supported by a contracted Festival Director. A rolling contract for PR and Communications provision is in place, along with website management and security, each outsourced to trusted local contractors.

TRUSTEES

The names of the present trustees and of all who held office during the year are shown on Page 2 of these financial statements. No remuneration was paid to any trustee for their services as a trustee, nor did any trustee have a material interest in any of the charity's contracts. Patrick Donnelly, Prof. Mary Hickman and Prof. Peter Shirlow and were re-elected at the Festival's Annual General Meeting in keeping with the Festival's Articles of Association.

INDUCTION AND TRAINING OF TRUSTEES

Trustees are selected based upon their professional skills to complement those of the existing trustees or replace those of retiring trustees. Current trustees bring their skills and experience from a wide range of professions. All are committed to or experienced in the arts and cultural sector. Board induction involves attending a trustees' interview prior to appointment, meeting the trustees and receiving copies of policies, business plans and accounts. Training needs are continually assessed and implemented as required.

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OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

ln accordance with the charity's Articles of Association, the principal objectives are:

CONTRIBUTION OF VOLUNTEERS

The charity is supported by highly experienced and dedicated volunteer Board members. Additionally, the annual Festival is supported in its sub-group planning and delivery of events by a team of volunteers.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

Liverpool Irish Festival (LIF) provides a quality and wide-ranging Festival within Liverpool and the surrounding area, open to all of the community. Events range from music, film, education, literature, drama and performance. The programme is rich and varied and makes a serious attempt to create a Festival that showcases the breadth of contemporary Irish culture and the deep roots of Liverpool's relationship with Ireland.

REVIEW OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE FOR THE YEAR

This year has been undoubtedly one of the most challenging in the Festival’s 18-year history; fraught with immense difficulties including social distancing, isolation, technological advances and change. The impact of Covid-19 necessitated a complete overhaul of the planned programme and it is a tribute to our Director, Emma Smith, her team, the Board and our stakeholders that we were still able to deliver a strong set of events, discussions and written commissions. The world we live in continues to change rapidly, undeniably now more than ever with the recent global spread of coronavirus and its far-reaching and unpredictable consequences. The global economy faces further recession and uncertainty rules the roost.

Liverpool Irish Festival’s 2020 theme “exchange” moved on from “unique stories, creatively told”, “migration”, “what does it mean to be Irish?” and “conviviality”. We simplified the programme, reducing total events to 31 reflecting Covid-19 funding limitations, but also what can be expected of digital audiences during a 10-day period. Despite the difficulties, events were on-sale by mid/late September, with 20,000 newspapers distributed. The newspaper was a significant success because it created non-digital reach, made a gift to people in lockdown and extended storytelling with over 15

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commissions, in-depth articles and event cross-sells. The paper provides a Festival legacy, speaking to local and international audiences.

Like most things in 2020, our other events in the year, such as #GlobalGreening were C-19 affected, with visits down on 2019, not helped by government announcements causing confusion for some of our venues. Liverpool City Council was forced to cancel the River Festival, where we usually obtain a further 5000-6000 visitors, and Liverpool Pride was also cancelled.

In 2018 we developed the ambition to improve public realm, high-profile work, which improved in 2019 with In:Visible Women at Tate Exchange and our Palm House artistic residency with Art Arcadia. Social distancing suspended work on this in 2020, though our continued partnership with Bluecoat Display Centre and Design and Craft Council of Ireland, always provides a physical monthlong exhibit, this year featuring the work of ceramicist Mike Byrne.

Our public realm ambition was to have begun work on the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail , opening a five project/five-year programme, growing the Festival’s profile, developing city influence and inter/national links and events, growing a year-round offer. Potential international partners, such as the Strokestown National Famine Museum and Trail, were poised to come alongside us but Coronavirus caused the National Lottery Heritage Fund to close just as we intended to submit our application. The ambition remains on hold but, in the interim, involvement in the Festival’s online Great Famine Voices Roadshow proved tremendously successful, with over 4,000 watching the collected entries.

2020’s difficulties did bring some advances in community cohesion. The Festival helped create CARA - a network of Irish service providers for the North West, which was formed to create an activated network that signposts to member services and links communities.

The Festival undertook a recruitment drive in the summer and achieved its ambition to attract four new trustees, including a new trustee with financial responsibility, strengthening the Board’s ability to guide and support the organisation. We launched our new Business Plan and Black Lives Matter solidarity statement, made a significant and successful challenge to a national agency regarding Irish representation within arts and culture and created the Cultural Connectedness Network.

We made a substantial fundraising effort in 2020, making 22 applications requesting a total of £394k, up from £143k in 2019. Of those, we achieved total grants of £101k, including regular City Council funds (£20.4k) and Irish Government funding (£11.5k). We also received the UK

Government’s small business relief support (£10k) and DCMS’s Cultural Recovery Funding (£50.5k) as well as four funds from the Irish Government’s emergency, reconciliation, Christmas and creative community fund programmes (£9.6k). £5,907 was donated to the Festival by its Director using the first HMRC SEISS drawdowns and a further £3860 was saved in December, on account of access to the third round of the SEISS.

The Liverpool Irish Festival, despite being the smallest of its comparator local arts organisations, features in the top half of the ‘league table’ in terms of its partnerships, number of events, audience

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reach, percentage of income spent on performing/visual arts specialist services and in-kind support. These are extraordinary achievements.

We continue to believe we are unique in our field, as the only arts and culture led Irish festival in the world. Our specificity is our USP. Liverpool’s unique connection to Irish communities, its international standing and our determination to address Irishness, diasporic peoples and Irish culture as a spectrum of ideas and abilities really engages people. The location harnesses the stories, but the generosity of sharing them takes us beyond city perimeters. We have something exportable and meaningful that develops exchanges that ‘bring Liverpool and Ireland closer together using arts and culture’.

We thank our artists, partners and sponsors; collaborators and networks; venues, friends and every visitor and audience member for joining us for #LIF2020. We hope you will and join us next year - 2131 Oct 2021.

FUTURE PLANS

At the time of writing, the impact of Covid-19 continues to disrupt the operating environment, with continued restrictions on public gatherings, the need for social distancing and uncertainty over future funding. However, fundraising success during 2020 has grown reserves to enable LIF to navigate this disruption with confidence. Activity and events will shift according to what is possible within government guidelines. The Director and Trustees are continually reviewing the nature and timing of all future Festival events and activities and budget planning accordingly. With a new treasurer in place, a financial plan is being developed that will map out core and project projections and align growth plans with relevant funds to pursue. A range of grant funding opportunities are being pursued, and we are also looking to diversify our income by re-establishing and improving our corporate sponsorship opportunities, advertising sales, and donation opportunities.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The year ended 31st December 2020 saw incoming resources of £107,060 (2019: £78,330) Total outgoing resources were £57,424 (2019: £89,837) giving rise to net incoming resources of £49,637 (2019: net outgoing resources of £11,507), of which £35,601 is restricted for future activity.

RESERVES POLICY

The level of free reserves as at 31st December 2020 is £30,507 (2019: £16,471). As previously, the trustees seek to ensure that sufficient funds are held in reserve following the Festival in order to fund the post of a Festival Director for the following year’s work. Under no circumstances will the charity be allowed to go into deficit and the Festival programme will be adapted to reflect the level of funding received in any given year.

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RISK ASSESSMENT

The charity confirms that the Board regularly review the major risks faced by the charity to ensure that procedures and controls established by the organisation are designed to mitigate those risks. The risk of shortfalls of funding and other income has been given serious consideration. Projects are only undertaken if financially viable.

TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements in accordance with the United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the net incoming or outgoing resources of the charity for that period. ln preparing these financial statements the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking responsible steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

APPROVAL

The report was prepared in accordance with the special provisions within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 2[nd] March 2021.

John Chandler (Chair) Trustee

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

I report to the trustees on our examination of the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust 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 Trust’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:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. 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.

Matthew Brown, CPFA Adding Value Consultancy Ltd Accountants and Financial Management Consultants

Date: 2[nd] March 2021

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Income
Income from generated funds
Income from charitable activities
Total Income and endowments
Expenses
Cost of generating funds
Expenditure on charitable activities
Total Expenses
Net income (expenditure)
Net movement in funds:
Total funds brought forward
Transfer between funds
Net funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
funds
34,676
34,676
20,641
20,641
14,036
16,471
-
30,507		 Restricted
funds
72,384
72,384
36,783
36,783
35,601
-
-
35,601		 2020
2019
Total
Total
107,060
78,330
107,060
78,330
57,424
89,837
57,424
89,837
49,637
(11,507)
16,471
27,978
-
-
66,108
16,471

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

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2020

Notes 2020 2019
£ £
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors (amounts falling due within one year) 3 7,409 4,643
Cash at bank and in hand 64,505 12,548
71,914 17,191
CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year 4 5,807 720
NET CURRENT ASSETS 66,108 16,471
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 66,108 16,471
RESERVES
Unrestricted funds 6
General fund 30,507 16,471
Restricted funds 7 35,601 -
66,108 16,471

For the year ending 31 December 2020 the company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts. These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.

Approved by the board of trustees on 2 March 2021 and signed on their behalf by

John Chandler (Chair) Trustee

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1a. Basis of Accounting

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with FRS102 - The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland and the Companies Act 2006 and the requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities.

1b. lncoming Resources

Total incoming resources as shown in the Statement of Financial Activities represents the amounts earned by the charity during the year for services rendered, project grants received and receivable, donations, sponsorship and other sundry income. The charity is not registered for VAT.

lncome from donations and grants is included in incoming resources when receivable except as follows. When donors specify that donations and grants given to the charity must be used in future accounting periods, the income is deferred until those periods. When donors impose conditions that must be fulfilled before the charity becomes entitled to use such income, the income is deferred and not included in incoming resources until the pre-conditions for use have been met. When donors specify that donations and grants are for particular restricted purposes, which do not amount to preconditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in incoming resources as restricted funds when receivable.

1c. Resources Expended

Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis. All amounts expended are considered to be in the furtherance of the charitable objectives of the charity and are therefore considered to be direct charitable expenditure with the exception of accountancy costs shown as governance costs.

1d. Allocation and Apportionment of Costs

All costs relate to the single activity of the charitable company and are recognised accordingly.

1e. Fund Accounting

Funds held by the charity are either:

Unrestricted general funds, which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds, which can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for a particular purpose.

1f. Turnover

Turnover represents the invoiced value of goods and services supplied by the company.

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1g. lncome Recognition Policies

Items of income are recognised and included in the accounts when all the following are met (1) The charity has entitlement to the funds; (2) Any performance conditions attached to the income have been met or are fully within the control of the charity; (3) There is sufficient certainty that receipt of the income is considered probable and (4) The amount can be measured reliably.

1h. Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid after taking account of any discount due.

1i. Cash at Bank And ln Hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term liquid investments with a short maturity of 3 months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

1j. Creditors and Provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in a transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any discount due.

1k. Financial lnstruments

The charity has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

1l. Basis of Preparing the Accounts

At the time of preparing the accounts, the trustees have reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The trustees therefore continue to operate the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the accounts.

2. DIRECTORS AND EMPLOYEES

There were no employees during the year. No remuneration was paid to any trustee for their services as a trustee. The charity engages the Festival Director on a freelance basis.

3. DEBTORS
Employee costs during the year amounted to:
Amounts falling due within one year:
Prepayments
Other debtors		 2020
2019
£
£
-
-
2020
2019
£
£
324
-
7,085
4,643
7,409
4,643

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4. CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year:
Deferred Income
Other creditors		 2020
2019
£
£
5,087
0
720
720
5,807
720

5. LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

The company is limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. Each member gives a guarantee to contribute a sum not exceeding £5, to the company should it be wound up.

6. UNRESTRICTED FUNDS

General Fund Brought
Incoming
Outgoing
Carried
forward
resources
resources
Transfers
forward
£
£
£
£
£
16,471
34,676
(20,641)
-
30,507
16,471
34,676
(20,641)
-
30,507

7. RESTRICTED FUNDS

Irish Government Emigrant Support Programme
Arts Council England Cultural Recovery Fund
Writing on the Wall		 Brought
Incoming
Outgoing
Carried
forward
resources
resources
Transfers
forward
£
£
£
£
£
-
21,295
(15,545)
-
5,750
-
50,500
(20,649)
-
29,851
-
589
(589)
-
-
-
72,384
(36,783)
-
35,601

With thanks to our grant funders:

Irish Government Emigrant Support Programme:

DCMS via Arts Council England

Writing on the Wall

Liverpool City Council

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8. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

. OUTGOING RESOURCES
Net Current Assets
Direct Project Expenses:
Direct Event Costs
Indirect Project Costs:
Marketing, PR and Advertising
Festival Brochure and Distribution & Design
Domain licences and Website Design
Other Support Costs:
Freelance Festival Director
Expenses - Manager and Volunteers
Board Development
Other Overheads
Insurance
Total Costs of Charitable Activities
Governance costs - Accountancy
Total Outgoing Resources		 General
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
Funds
£
£
£
30,507
35,601
66,108		 General
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
Funds
£
£
£
30,507
35,601
66,108
2020
2019
£
£
3,507
33,172
3,507
33,172
2,130
2,403
7,710
7,444
311
284
10,151
10,131
38,644
40,605
-
157
250
-
4,152
4,170
-
822
43,046
45,754
56,704
89,057
720
780
57,424
89,837

9. OUTGOING RESOURCES

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10. INCOMING RESOURCES

Unrestricted Funds:
Merchandising and Events Income
LCC Business Relief Grant
Liverpool City Council CAIP
Sponsorship Income
Donations
Tourism Ireland Sponsorship
Other
Total Incoming Resources Unrestricted
Restricted Funds:
Irish Government Emigrant Support Programme
Arts Council England
Liverpool City Council annual commission programme
Writing on the Wall
Total Incoming Resources - Restricted
Total Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities		 2020
2019
£
£
658
12,035
10,000
-
15,260
23,560
-
4,436
6,083
-
-
2,500
2,675
-
34,676
42,531
21,295
12,500
50,500
17,299
-
6,000
589
-
72,384
35,799
107,060
78,330

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Detailed Statement of Financial Activities

Incoming Resources
for the year ending 31 December 2020
Incoming Resources
Incoming Resources from generated funds:
Charitable Activity
Merchandising and Events Income
Unrestricted Grant
Sponsorship Income and Donations
Restricted Grants for Festival and Projects
Expenses
for the year ending 31 December 2020
Expenses
Cost of generating funds
Charitable Activities
Direct Event Costs
Freelance Festival Director
Insurance
Manager & Volunteer Expenses
Board Expenses
Board Development
Office Expenses
Website
Marketing and PR
Subscriptions
Festival Brochure & Design
Sundry Expenses
Governance Costs
Governance Costs - Accountancy
Total Expenditure		 658
25,260
8,758
72,384		 2020
2019
£
£
12,035
23,560
6,936
35,799
107,060
78,330
107,060
78,330
2020
2019
£
£
3,507
33,172
38,644
40,605
-
822
-
78
-
79
250
-
3,714
4,170
311
284
2,130
2,040
438
363
7,710
7,444
-
-
56,704
89,057
720
780
720
780
57,424
89,837

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