2022-03-31-accounts

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Catton Park Trust Ltd Charity – year ended 31 March 2022

Registered Charity No: 1112444

Income in the Year: £71,174.57 Expenditure in the Year: £78,068.01

Reserves as at 31 March 2022: £41,043.62

1. Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Independent Examiner.

The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011. The Trustees require an independent examination.

As the Independent Examiner it is my responsibility to:

• a) examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011.

• b) follow all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145 (5)(b) of the Act and state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

2. Report for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The Charity Commission records the Charity’s Governing document as relating to a Memorandum and Articles of Association incorporated on 1 April 2004, amended by special resolution dated 2 December 2005 and again on 2 September 2019. The area the Charity can operate in, as set out in its governing document, is Catton Park. Old Catton, Norfolk.

The aims and activities of the Charity are ‘to promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of Catton Park. To advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of Catton Park’.

The Trustees (the Old Catton Parish Council) has a Scribe accounting system in place with detailed breakdown of receipts and payments recorded within the system. A Summary document recording the Receipts and Payments in the year of account has been constructed and presented to the Independent Examiner. The Independent Examiner attended the Old Catton Parish Council’s offices on 26 January 2023, when a sample of transactions in the year of account were examined on a sample basis.

TREVOR BROWN CPFA Internal Audit Services Charnwood, California, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4DE Tel: [phone] or 07587 523764 Email: [e-mail]

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The following observations are made:

• a) The Charity’s Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2022 have been prepared on an Income and Expenditure basis and have yet to be formally approved by the Trustees.

• b) The Treasurer has submitted the draft Annual Accounts to the Charity Commission (received by the Commission on 9 January 2023, within the due date). The Treasurer confirmed that she will be submitting the Trustees’ Annual Report and final Accounts following approval by Trustees.

• c) The Charity holds a Current Account at the Co-operative Bank. The Account stood at £41,043.62 as at 31 March 2022.

• d) The Independent Examiner has confirmed that the Bank Statement as at 31 March 2022 agreed and reconciled with the End-of-Year Accounts at that date, as follows:

Accounts Balance b/f at 1 April 2021: £47,937.06 (confirmed with Accounts and Bank Reconciliation at that date) Add Receipts in year 2021/22: £71,174.57 (confirmed with Transactions List)

Deduct Payments in year 2021/22: £78,068.01 (confirmed with Transactions List)

Accounts balance c/f at 31 March 2022: £41,043.62 (confirmed with Bank Statement at that date).

• e) The recorded Overall Receipts of £71,174.57 in the 2021/22 year of account included £39,489 from the Spooktacular Event, Grants of £11,092 from Broadland District Council and £3,066 from Natural England, Refreshment Income of £3,301, Re-cycling Income of £3,307 and Hire Receipts of £2,799. (This compares to £34,326 in total in the previous year which reflected income of £34,027 from Grants and Donations following the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a period over which regular income (from hirings etc) was curtailed due to the various lockdowns).

• f) Overall Payments in the year were recorded as £78,068.01 in the 2021/22 year of account and consisted of (inter alia) Employment Costs for Warden and Park Assistant (£42,077), Plant and Machinery (£4,941), Spooktacular Costs (£4,050) and Irrecoverable VAT (£3,278). (This compares to overall expenditure of £110,754 recorded in the previous year, 2020/21).

• g) The Reserves balance at the year-end 31 March 2022 amounted to £41,043 and reflected the overall deficit of £6,894 (from £47,937 to £41,043) in the 2021/22 year of account. As at 31 March 2022 the Charity held sufficient reserves and contingency sums to meet, within reason, any unforeseen items of expense that may occur. The Treasurer advised the Independent Examiner that the Trustees do not currently maintain a Reserves Policy document. In view of the cash balances available it is suggested that the Trustees consider constructing and approving a Reserves Policy to support and provide guidance upon the Charity’s use of current Cash Reserves and possible Investment Strategies for longer-term financial planning.

• h) The Charity is not registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a Fee Payer/Data Controller for Local Charity purposes. Organisations which are established for ‘not-for-profit’ making purposes can be exempt from registration; the exemption may apply to small clubs, voluntary organisations and some charities. The Treasurer confirmed that she had recently completed the ICO’s Registration Self-Assessment.

TREVOR BROWN CPFA

Internal Audit Services

Charnwood, California, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4DE Tel: [phone] or 07587 523764 Email: [e-mail]

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• i) The Charity is not registered with HMRC for VAT purposes. A net payment of £3,132.01 VAT is recorded in the Statement of Accounts. VAT is currently not being recovered from HMRC. Similarly, small amounts of VAT are being charged on some invoices but not being paid to HMRC . The Treasurer advised the Independent Examiner that she will be making enquiries to HMRC regarding possible registration with HMRC for VAT purposes and to confirm the position regarding reclaiming future VAT payments from HMRC and making payment to HMRC of the small amounts VAT charged to creditors.

• j) The Charity maintains an Asset Register listing buildings, equipment and machinery under the ownership of the Charity. The Asset Register describes each asset held and (where possible) lists details of the date of purchase, model/serial number and manufacturer’s name (where relevant) and the Initial (Purchase) Value and Insured Value. As at 31 March 2022 the Register recorded Assets of £652,655 at Insured Value.

• k) The Insurance Policy for the period 28 April 2021 to 27 April 2022 was presented to the Independent Examiner. The Policy was with Ansvar Insurance at a cost of £3,035.12. Cover for Employer’s Liability, Public Liability and Property Owners Liability each stood at £10m. The policy included cover for Buildings (£579,200) and Contents (£14,000). The current Insurance Policy with Hiscox Insurance (for the period 28 April 2022 to 27 April 2023 at a cost of £2,484.45) similarly provides for Employer’s Liability and Public Liability at £10m. Officials’ and Trustees’ Indemnity cover currently stands at £500,000, Total Buildings cover at £579,200 and Total Contents cover at £18,011.

• l) During the course of the 2021/22 year of account the Fidelity Guarantee (Fraud and Dishonesty) insurance cover under Ansvar Insurance stood at £5,000. Fidelity Guarantee Insurance normally covers the maximum amount of bank/cash sums held by a Charity at any one time. As the Cash/Bank in hand as at 31 March 2022 stood at £41,043 the sums held were significantly in excess of the cover in place at that time. However, the current Fraud and Dishonesty cover under the Hiscox insurance stands at £150,000 and the cover is now more appropriate to the Charity’s needs.

• m) The Council’s financial administration is undertaken by the Treasurer to a high standard through the use of the Scribe accounting system. End of Year financial statements (Income and Expenditure Account and Balance Sheet) have been prepared by the Treasurer. The Scribe Accounting system (operating a Receipts and Payments during the year) displays the date of payment, the method of payment, the payee (or person/organisation making payment to the Charity in the case of sums received) and the category/sub-category concerned. The Scribe accounting system secures the necessary financial control over transactions and provides clear evidence of each payment and receipt.

• n) The Independent Examiner undertook a sample check of the entries in the Scribe Payments Lists for each month of the year of account and confirmed the transactions with the Bank Statements. Individual invoices/vouchers supporting the payments made were examined. Invoices/vouchers were confirmed as held for each item of expenditure examined with an appropriate audit trail in place.

• o) The Treasurer confirmed that the Charity did not have Creditors (debts owed to any parties) as at 31 March 2022. Similarly, no Debtors (sums owed to the Charity) were recorded as at 31 March 2022.

• p) The Treasurer confirmed to the Independent Examiner that she was not aware of any issues (potential legal liabilities, financial or administrative issues) which the Charity faces which could impact upon the future finances or income streams of the Charity.

TREVOR BROWN CPFA

Internal Audit Services

Charnwood, California, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4DE Tel: [phone] or 07587 523764 Email: [e-mail]

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• q) The Annual Return and Accounts for the previous year ended 31 March 2021 are recorded by the Charity Commission as having been received on 18 July 2022 (168 days late from the due date for submission).

• r) I would like to record my appreciation to the Treasurer for her assistance during the course of this Examination and for the careful presentation of the Charity’s documents for the review.

3. Basis of independent examiner’s report.

My examination was carried out in accordance with the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission.

An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the Treasurer to the Charity and Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

4. Independent Examiner’s statement.

In connection with my examination:

• a) I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in any material respect the accounting records were not kept in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act 2011 or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records or comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts.

• b) 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 (other than those matters already listed at item 2 above) in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Trevor Brown

Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy

26 January 2023

TREVOR BROWN CPFA Internal Audit Services

Charnwood, California, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4DE Tel: [phone] or 07587 523764 Email: [e-mail]

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