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2023-12-31-accounts

LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Company Number: 4800736 Charity Number: 1100126

LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

TRUSTEES

John Chandler (Chair) Martin Bond Prof. Mary Hickman Eamonn Lavin Gerard Martin Diver Clare McGrath (appointed 14/06/2022) Patsy Connor (appointed 13/07/2022) Oliver Hall (Finance Lead Trustee) (appointed 28th August 2023) Dr Ann Hoskins (appointed 12th December 2023) John Eustace (Treasurer) (retired 30th April 2023) Siubhán Macauley (retired 22nd February 2023) Siobhan Noble (retired 29th March 2023)

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 Studio 6 Bluecoat Chambers Liverpool L1 3BX

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

CONTENTS Page
Report of the Trustees 4
Independent Examiner's Statement 10
Statement of Financial Actvites 11
Balance Sheet 12
Notes to the Accounts 13-18
Detailed Statement of Financial Actvites
19

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 TRUSTEES' REPORT

The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023.

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.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

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

PUBLIC BENEFIT

Liverpool Irish Festival provides a high quality and wide-ranging Festival, within Liverpool and the surrounding area, open to all 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.

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 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 Artistic Director and CEO. A rolling contract for PR and Communications provision is in place, along with website management and security, each outsourced to trusted local contractors.

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 TRUSTEES' REPORT

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.

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.

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.

REVIEW OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE FOR THE YEAR

Liverpool Irish Festival’s 2023 theme was “anniversary” marking our 21[st ] Festival and major event anniversaries, such as 25 years of The Good Friday Agreement, 100 years of Irish independence, and 175 years since the Irish Famine.

As ever, we drew people into discussions; shared new concepts and encouraged interaction to fight isolation, embrace technology and address change. The Festival programme was enriched by our perennial four strands of work: In:Visible Women, Nook and Cranny Spaces, Family Days and the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail.

The Festival was nominated for Best International Reach in the 2023 Liverpool City Region Creativity and Culture Awards and Emma Smith, the Festival’s CEO/Artistic Director, has been nominated for the Best Artist/Creative of 2023, the result of which is to be announced in the spring.

Working with a reduced budget in 2023, we still delivered 51 Festival events and six exhibitions, yielding 127 exhibition days. Combined , they created an audience of 46,592 with 148 views-to-date, representing a growth of 14%!

This year’s #GlobalGreening resulted in a 2023 visitor figure, doubled from 2021, of 37,586 (increased because of 17 venues being illuminated). Liverpool Pride expanded hugely in 2023, with a 20,000-strong march. We marched alongside other Irish services, and believe we were seen by more than 3.5k people. These figures mean the Festival attracted substantial numbers of people to its events, despite the ticket buying climate, cost of living crisis, and local/global politics.

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 TRUSTEES' REPORT

We made 10 funding applications with a 47% success rate and with 7 of the bids receiving some funding. The percentage increase in awards shows we are travelling in the right direction.

For eco-friendly and economic reasons we changed our printing approaches, distributing 60k leaflets and just 7k 56-page newspapers this year. We achieved a much wider reach for the same costs as 2022

With a new PR consultant, in a short space of time, we achieved 4,500,638 (2021: almost 3m) in press reach and strengthened our social media representation.

Our audience surveys revealed that our #LIF2023 top 3 descriptors matched #LIF2022’s as “fun”, “interesting” and “inspiring”

We worked with 98 artists/contributors in 2023, presenting work from at least 110 more (dancers, musicians, filmmakers). The Festival developed 32 commissions, one of which included 40 individual pieces of art, given away to the public. These included photo-stories, articles, podcasts, films and songs on a turnover (to date) of £114,869 (2022: £104,457, 2021: £89,050). An additional lever to our turnover in 2023 was a contribution from the National Lottery Heritage Fund much of which will contribute to work in 2024.

We continue to view our Festival as unique in its field, being the only arts- and culture-led Irish festival in the world. Our specificity is key: celebrating Liverpool’s unique connection to Irish communities, its international standing and our determination to address Irish representation (its diasporic peoples and Irish culture) that engages visitors. We aim to export this more and feel our representation helps change things for Irish people in England. The national Cultural Connectedness Exchange Network (#CCEN), a collective of Irish arts organisations chaired by our CEO/Artistic Director, is a marker of this.

To mark our 21st anniversary in 2023, and the success of the Famine Trail project, the Festival was given a reception at the Irish Embassy in London, attended by the ambassador. It was there that I publicly announced my intention to retire from the Board. I recall saying, at the inaugural meeting of our trustees in 2003, that I would serve for 3 years and I have well overstayed my welcome! I am pleased to say that we have an exceptional Board and Team and I am confident that my successor, to be elected in the forthcoming AGM, will have an abundance of experience and skills to take the Festival forward in the years to come.

So, ‘go raibh maith agat’ to all our stakeholders: the Board, Emma and her team, artists, partners and sponsors; collaborators and networks; venues, friends and every visitor and audience member that has joined us. We look forward to seeing you this year, particularly from 17-27 October 2024.

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 TRUSTEES' REPORT

FUTURE PLANS

With a new Financial Lead, and the rollover of a new financial year, comes the opportunity to upgrade our financial processes. Our Finance Lead and Artistic Director and CEO have begun building a new management accounts package. This benefits from stream-lined systems, which autopopulate fund allocations, providing clearer expenditure forecasting. The system reduces errors and saves time. Additionally, it presents the organisation’s working finances in a standard accounts format, rather than as a working cash book.

Alongside these new functions, the two will present and hone a new set of presentation formats for the trustees. Important within this, is the presentation of restricted funds versus earned income, accrual rather than cash views and improved annual planning that capitalises on what we know to inform and evidence what we need. This view will help us move from a project mindset to a year-onyear financial model. Trustee training will be given to read and query these new formats, adding to the robustness of the process, but also the quality of our oversight. During the year, we will build a case to present to the Board about funding and using a fully serviced proprietary accounting programme, such as Xero.

We’ll make an Arts Council England grant application for 2024-25. Having had success in 2022 with a £56,000 bid, we anticipate a new bid will be in the £65-70,000 band, meaning a 14-week decision turnaround. This will need to go in Q1 or Q2 to allow time for reapplication and delivery. We’re fortunate to know that we have c.£20,000 in Culture and Arts Investment Programme money to come, subject to satisfactory reporting. We hold no concerns that we can complete such reporting. Based on previous experience and satisfactory reporting (submitted in Jan 2024) we can expect to receive c.£25,000+ from the Irish Government in Q3. However, we will apply to them for more than this in Feb 2024, with a view to:

With the increased capacity the Festival Coordinator brings, and the improved skill of our Financial Lead, it’s intended we’ll work to increase sponsorship and advertising revenues in 2024. These will mainly link with Festival delivery opportunities, such as our print, posters and events. If we could lift this to £5k in 2024 we’d be doing well.

A fast-turnaround pilgrimage programme (being developed whilst writing this review), may lead to a Crowdfund for c.£7-10,000, run March-April. The pilgrimage transports a set of bronze shoes — by hand — from Strokestown to Liverpool, via 165km of the National Famine Way and sea, which will then be walked from Clarence Dock to the Liverpool Irish Famine Memorial. This is under consideration at the time of writing.

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With delivery of the Heritage Fund project in 2024-25, and our existing capacity being oversubscribed, the attainment of an Arts CouncilEngland grant is our biggest 2024 standalone funding goal. It’s worth noting, that work we do now should be considered in view of submitting a national portfolio organisation application when the new three-year round opens in 2025-26. This will hinge on our lobbying for Irish representation and maintain/increasing our artistic credibility and reputation.

Ideally, we’d make a large-scale application to the Paul Hamlyn or Esmée Fairburn foundations, to support a five-year plan with Liverpool’s Irish Travellers. However, a recent rejection of an expression of interest to the latter shows we need to spend some considerable time shaping project plans, aligning missions and finding common ground. This is a long-term goal, currently compromised by minimal capacity.

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.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The year ended 31st December 2023 saw incoming resources of £108,292 (2022: £107,164) Total outgoing resources were £111,642 (2022: £127,790) giving rise to net outgoing resources of £3,494 (2022: outgoing resources of £20,626). Total fund balances were £60,091 (2022 £63,440), of which £42,640 (2022: £6037) is restricted for future activity.

RESERVES POLICY

The level of free reserves as at 31st December 2023 is £17,450 (2022: £57,403). As previously, the trustees seek to ensure that sufficient funds are held in reserve following the Festival in order to fund the post of the Director for the following year’s festival. Under no circumstances will the charity be allowed to go into deficit and the Festival’s programme will be adapted to reflect the level of funding received in any given year. In accordance with funder needs, the Festival seeks to maintain unrestricted reserves at a level that covers 3-6 months of operational costs which equates to a range of £18k to £32k.

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 TRUSTEES' REPORT

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, enabling 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 12 February 2024.

John Chandler (Chair) Trustee

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101 Page

LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

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 2023.

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: 12 February 2024

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

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 2023

For the year ending 31 December 2023 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 12 February 2024 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 2023

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.

Income 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, which 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 restricted purposes, which do not amount to pre-conditions 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 in the furtherance of the charitable objectives of the charity and are therefore considered to be direct charitable expenditure except for 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:

1f. Turnover

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

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1g. Income 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. Debtor

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 Instruments

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.

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

2. DIRECTORS AND EMPLOYEES

During the year the Artistic Director/CEO, previously employed on a freelance basis was made an employee. They were the only employee during the year (2022: nil) with the employment costs shown below:

No remuneration was paid to any trustee for their services as a trustee.

3. DEBTORS

4. CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year:

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

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

7. RESTRICTED FUNDS

With thanks to our grant funders:

Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme:

Arts Council England

Liverpool City Council

National Lottery Heritage Fund

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

8. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

9. OUTGOING RESOURCES

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

10. INCOMING RESOURCES

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LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Detailed Statement of Financial Activities

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