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← Bliss Family Charity

2024-03-31-accounts

Registered Charity number: 1113165

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

31 MARCH 2024

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

CONTENTS

Page
Legal and administrative information 1
Trustees' report 2 - 5
Auditor's report 6 - 9
Statement of financial activities 10
Balance sheet 11
Notes to the financial statements 12 - 15

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees

Mr D M Bliss Mrs V D Bliss Mr W Mellor

Address

36 The Esplanade Frinton on Sea Essex CO13 9HZ

Registered Charity Number

1113165

Auditor

Sumer Auditco Limited 820 The Crescent Colchester Business Park Colchester Essex CO4 9YQ

Bankers

NatWest Bank plc 10 Station Road Clacton on Sea Essex CO15 1TA

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

TRUSTEES' REPORT

The Trustees present their annual report together with the audited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024.

The charity was registered on 6 March 2006.

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

The information on page 1 forms part of this report.

The Trustees set out below have held office during the whole of the period to the date of this report, unless otherwise stated:

Mr D M Bliss Mrs V D Bliss Mr W Mellor

Structure, governance and management

The financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Trust Deed and the recommendations of the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities and comply with applicable law. The financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

The charity is governed by its Trust Deed, dated 4 December 2005.

The Trustees are entitled to appoint new Trustees, of whom there must be at least three. Trustees are given the appropriate training on appointment as part of their induction. Decisions regarding the charity are made by the Trustees at Trustee meetings.

Principal risks

The Trustees have examined the risks faced by the charity and actively seek to mitigate these wherever possible. Whilst funds are principally received by the charity from Mr D M Bliss, the risks associated with the charity holding this money whilst the disbursement of the funds are awaited is mitigated by these monies being held at a reputable bank.

Objectives and organisational structure

The Charity was registered on 6 March 2006. Its charitable objectives are to support educational establishments for children under 18 years of age throughout the world but particularly in undeveloped countries and to support families with children in those countries in need of food, shelter, healthcare and sustenance. There are no plans to alter these charitable objectives in the future.

The Charity’s activities are of a wholly charitable nature and it does not operate with a view to profit.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (continued)

Public benefit

All activities are conducted for charitable purposes to benefit the public. In doing so the Trustees have complied with their duties in this area as set out in Section 17 of the Charities Act. Further details of charitable objectives are provided within the Objectives and organisational structure section of this report.

Achievements and key performance indicators

The Trustees are pleased with the level of expenditure on charitable activities during the year and the way in which this has helped the charity to continue to achieve its charitable objects.

Financial review

The results for the year to 31 March 2024 are set out within the Statement of Financial Activities.

The Trustees are satisfied with the results for the year. The fund balance at the year end is £81,996 which will be used in accordance with the charity’s objectives.

Funds

Funds restricted by the donor are treated as restricted funds. No restricted funds arose during the year.

All other unrestricted funds are primarily held to be expended on charitable activities that are planned for the future.

Going concern

The trustees' view is that the financial statements are correct to be prepared on the going concern basis as they consider that the charity will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. In forming this view, the trustees have considered the closing position of the charity at 31 March 2024, which demonstrates factors such as relatively strong levels of cash and unrestricted funds. The trustees also consider that ongoing donations should remain largely unaffected by global economic uncertainties.

Plans for the future

The intention is to continue operating the charity in a consistent, stable manner, so as to enable it to continue to meet its underlying objectives.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (continued)

Trustees' responsibilities statement

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK".

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that 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 Charities Act, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

As far as the Trustees are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity’s auditor is unaware. The Trustees have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s auditor is aware of that information.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (continued)

Auditor

Our auditors SB Audit LLP merged with Sumer Auditco Limited on 28 March 2024. Accordingly, SB Audit LLP formally resigned as the Charity’s auditor with the Trustees duly appointing Sumer Auditco Limited to fill the vacancy arising.

Approved by the trustees on 14/8/24 and signed on their behalf by

D M Bliss

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Bliss Family Charity (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees' responsibilities statement set out on page 4 the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charity's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditors under section 144 of the Charities Act and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our general commercial and sector experience, through discussion with the trustees (as required by auditing standards), inspection of any of the Charity's regulatory and legal correspondence and discussed with the members the policies and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulations. We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of noncompliance throughout the audit.

The potential effect of these laws and regulations on the financial statements varies considerably.

The Charity is subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements including financial reporting and other regulatory legislation, including the Charities Act, and we assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items.

Due to the size and nature of the Charity, it is not subject to other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify noncompliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Audit procedures undertaken in response to the potential risks relating to irregularities (which include fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations) comprised of: enquiries of management and those charged with governance as to whether the Charity complies with such regulations; enquiries of management and those charged with governance concerning any actual or potential litigation or claims, inspection of any relevant legal documentation, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and the performance of analytical review to identify any unexpected movements in account balances which may be indicative of fraud.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Irregularities that result from fraud might be inherently more difficult to detect than irregularities that result from error. As explained above, there is an unavoidable risk that material misstatements may not be detected, even though the audit has been planned and performed in accordance with ISAs (UK).

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditor's Report.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity's Trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's Trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and its Trustees, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Sumer Auditco Limited

Statutory Auditor

820 The Crescent Colchester Business Park Colchester Essex CO4 9YQ

15/8/24

Sumer Auditco Limited are eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Note
Income from:
Interest income
Donations and legacies
1
Total income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities:
Bank charges and similar fees
Other charitable activities
2
Total expenditure
Net income
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
funds
2024
£
250
194,320
194,570
102
184,158		 Total
funds
2024
£
250
194,320		 Total
funds
(unrestricted)
2023
£
389
263,987

194,570		 264,376
102
184,158		 150
247,000
184,260 184,260 247,150
10,310
71,686		 10,310
71,686		 17,226
54,460
81,996 81,996 71,686

Continuing operations

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

Total recognised gains and losses

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the period.

The notes on pages 12 to 15 form part of these financial statements.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY 10-

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2024

Note
Current assets
Debtors
3
Cash at bank
Net current assets
Funds
Unrestricted funds
4
Total funds
Approved by the Board of Trustees on 14/8/24
and signed on its behalf by		 £
-
81,996		 2024
£
81,996		 £
10,765
60,921		 2023
£
71,686
81,996 71,686
81,996 71,686
81,996 71,686

D M Bliss

Trustee

The notes on pages 12 to 15 form part of these financial statements.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

General information

The Bliss Family Charity is registered with the Charity Commission, registration number 1113165. Further details are provided within the Trustees’ Report.

Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, subject to the valuation of investments at market value. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" (as updated in October 2018); Financial Reporting Standard 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK”; and the Charities Act.

The financial statements have been prepared to give a "true and fair" view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a "true and fair" view. This departure has involved following Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102), rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice which has since been withdrawn.

As explained within the Trustees’ report, the charity is operated to provide public benefit.

Donation income and the funds of the charity

Donation income is accounted for when the charity is legally entitled to the income. It is grossed up in the accounts to include income tax recoverable when the gift aid claims are lodged with HMRC. Amounts lodged but not received are accrued accordingly.

Funds restricted by the donor are treated as restricted funds. All other receipts are treated as unrestricted funds.

Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay.

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount.

Taxation

The Bliss Family Charity is a charity within the meaning of the Charities Act and as such is a charity within the meaning of Part 11, Corporation Tax Act 2010. Accordingly the trust is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or gains received within categories covered by Part 11, Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to its charitable purposes.

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash equivalents are recognised as such and included with other cash balances where they represent short term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash without being subject to a significant change in value.

Functional and presentation currency

The charity’s functional and presentation currency is sterling.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the Trustees are of the view that the charity will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. In forming this view, the Trustees have also considered the charity's level of financial resources it has available and the ongoing security of its main income streams. As a consequence, the Trustees believe that the company is well placed to manage its business risks successfully for at least the next twelve months.

2. GRANTS AND DONATIONS

Moya Trust
Network for Africa
Build It International
Plan It International
World Child Cancer
Microloan Foundation
Orbis Charitable Trust
Guba Swaziland
Ripple Effect International (formerly Send A Cow)
The Big Give Trust
Total
DEBTORS
Other debtors







2024
£

89,970

20,000

20,000
-

-

-

10,000

25,000

16,500

2,688
184,158
2024

£
-		 2023
£
100,000
10,000
-
6,500
15,000
12,000
12,000
75,000
16,500
-
247,000
2023
£
10,765

3. DEBTORS

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

4. FUNDS

Statement of funds - current year

Unrestricted funds
Statement of funds - prior year
Unrestricted funds		 Balance at
1 April 2023
£
71,686
Balance at
1 April 2022
£
54,460		 Income
£
194,570		 Expenditure
£
(184,260)
Expenditure
£
(247,150)		 Balance at
31 March
2024
£
81,996
Income
£
264,376		 Balance at
31 March
2023
£
71,686

BLISS FAMILY CHARITY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

5. CONTROL

The Trustees have ultimate control of the charity

6. RELATED PARTIES

During the year, donations totalling £139,000 (2023 : £220,000) were received from Mr D M and Mrs V D Bliss, Trustees of the Bliss Family Charity. A balance of £Nil (2023 : £10,765), was owed by Mr D M and Mrs V D Bliss at 31 March 2024, as shown within debtors.

No Trustee received any remuneration or reimbursement for expenses from the charity during the year (2023 : £Nil). Similarly, the remuneration of the senior management team was £Nil (2023 : £Nil).