CITIZENS ADVICE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LTD
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
COMPANY NO: 06693405
CHARITY NO: 1126825
Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
CITIZENS ADVICE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LTD
Contents of Annual Report and Accounts
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Legal and Administrative Information | 2 |
| Report of the Directors/Trustees | 3 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 8 |
| Balance Sheet | 10 |
| Cash Flow | 11 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 12 |
| Independent Auditors Report | 22 |
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
CITIZENS ADVICE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LTD
Legal and Administrative Information
Year Ended 31 March 2025
Directors/Trustees:
Jane Mordue Chair Farrukh Siddiqi Treasurer Diana Davis Julian Ingram Karen Satterford Susan Webster Lesley Wilkin Michael Stratford
(appointed 06[th] June 2025)
Philip Bruce Lindsey Fealey Clare Waters
Chief Officer: Craig Glynn Registered Office: 2 Pebble Lane Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP20 2JH Company Number: 06693405 Charity Number: 1126825 Independent Auditors: Azets Westpoint Lynch Wood Peterborough Cambridgeshire PE2 6FZ
(resigned 12[th] September 2024) (resigned 15[th] October 2024) (resigned 30[th] April 2025) (appointed 1[st] June 2024)
BANK: CAF Bank Limited 25 Kings Hill Avenue West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ
WEBSITE: https://citizensadvicebucks.org.uk/
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES For the year ended 31 March 2025
The directors of the charity present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 which also meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.
The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2022, the Companies Act 2006, the Articles of Association, and Accounting and reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued in October 2019.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire is registered as Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Limited, company number 06693405 and its registered charity number is 1126825. It was renamed following the merger of the three previous Citizens Advice bodies in April 2021, having previously been named Citizens Advice Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern Citizens Advice Bureau and High Wycombe & District Citizens Advice Bureau.
The charitable company was established under a Memorandum of Association which set out its objectives and powers and is governed under its Articles of Association. The Articles were updated in May 2023 to reflect changes in the Charities Act 2022. It is a member of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (Citizens Advice) and is subject to regular quality audits as part of its membership requirements.
APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES
The directors of the company are also trustees of the charity for the purposes of charity law as defined by section 177 of the Charities Act 2011 and under the Company’s Articles are known as members of the Trustee Board. Under the requirements of the Articles of Association, elected directors serve for a period of three years after which they must be re-elected at the next Annual General Meeting.
Directors who served during the year are listed on the Administrative Information Page. They were recruited either from the previous, merged, organisations or by advertising vacancies through a specialist website and personal contact. All were interviewed by existing members of the trustee board.
New directors receive induction training, which covers Citizens Advice services and it aims, principles and policies. Trustees are given introductory information and can spend time meeting with staff and volunteers. There are explanations of the role of a director/trustee, the board, the business development plan, and issues including funding. They undertake mandatory training as necessary.
PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY
The principal activity of the company was the operation of a Citizens Advice service with offices in Aylesbury, Buckingham, Chesham and High Wycombe, with some outreach and a growing service online. CA Bucks gives free, independent and confidential advice to members of the public and is in a unique position to campaign for change when social injustices arise, based on real time information on current issues.
RELATED PARTIES
Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire is a member of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, company number 01436945 and registered charity no. 279057, known as Citizens Advice.
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
VISION, MISSION AND VALUES
Vision
To build a better Bucks, a caring community that responds when people need help. We know our services can transform our clients’ lives – practically, financially and emotionally. And if our clients’ lives are better, our communities, both urban and rural, are better and so is our county.
Mission
-
To focus help on those most in need, at risk, deprived and most vulnerable.
-
To help our clients resolve as many issues as we can by empowering them where possible and supporting where there is need.
-
To raise money to fund our services to meet the demand across the county.
-
To use technology to help us meet our clients’ needs more efficiently and effectively.
Values
Professional – Respect – Kind – Friendly – Client-centred.
REVIEW OF 2024-25
This year saw our best results yet again for the service we provide to Buckinghamshire residents since merger. Volunteer numbers increased both in quantity and range of roles and quality levels were high. The challenge continued to be demand for our advice, and especially complexity of issues brought to us. There was however an extremely competitive funding environment.
Cost-of-living and inflation continued to pressure our clients who were already behind the curve from previous years. Debt cases increased dramatically whilst benefits remained the highest. The switch to Universal Credit continued and increased the issues brought to us. Reimbursements were up 26% at £118,696. We achieved an income gain of £2,504,042 for our clients. 72% felt less stressed. A client commented, ‘I didn’t think there was going to be a way out, my adviser walked me through each stage’.
In other words, we are doing what we hoped, getting people’s lives back on track, and helping them back into the community to be active and positive. And lessening the pressure on all public services be it health, adult and child social care or even the justice system.
All this would not have been possible without our hard-working and highly trained volunteers, and we are grateful to all for their dedication and commitment. Supported by staff in more specialist case work and by supervisors to ensure we get it right, our volunteers are the backbone of what we do. This also includes wider roles for volunteers in administration and fundraising.
During the year, we started two major partnerships. One was with Bucks Mind where a longstanding ambition to provide mental health advice to support our clients was achieved through a major National Lottery grant. This project start in May 2025. We also secured half our funding when we won the contract to supply debt and benefits advice to Buckinghamshire Council’s Helping Hands clients. We faced a major challenge to secure other funding in a brutal fundraising climate last year but made it through by restructuring and cost cutting. Our senior management team used the opportunity to streamline delivery and reboot our fundraising activity which is already yielding good results.
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Overview
Total income: £1,271,422 Total expenditure: £1,424,952 (including one off restructuring cost of £40,159) Surplus / (Deficit): (£153,530)
Reserves
Unrestricted Reserves: £457,337
Citizens Advice Bucks reserves policy aims to maintain unrestricted reserves which reflect the cash needs of the 3 year business plan and are likely to be for 3 months of forecast expenditure. This amounts to £325,310 for the financial year 2025-26.
In 2025-26 we expect to break even, reversing the trend of recent deficits.
Investment policy
The directors aimed to maximise the interest earned on charity funds by minimising current account balances and maximising the amounts held on deposit.
Going Concern
After reviewing the organisation’s budgets and business plan, taking account of the current economic climate and its reserves position, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the organisation has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. They continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
Principal Risk and Uncertainty
The directors are responsible for risk management. A comprehensive annual planning and budgeting process is approved by the board, during which a thorough assessment of our key external and internal risks is undertaken, together with how these risks are being managed. In addition, the board received regular reports from the Finance and Risk Committee which receives risk registers from senior management. They assess the adequacy of internal control systems and risk management processes in place. The board reviews quarterly the key strategic risks, the adequacy of the actions being taken to address them and the advent of any new risks.
As an integral part of the risk management approach the board considers the following to be the principal risks and uncertainties for CA Bucks and the action we take to manage those risks.
-
Failure to maintain a strategic focus: mitigated by our business plan; effective board management and performance monitoring and a strategic transformation plan. This year our committee system showed its worth by enabling thorough monitoring of management with strategic discussions then focussed at board level.
-
Change management resulting in loss of staff and volunteers: mitigated by good communication of strategy; staff/volunteer engagement; recruitment and training; involvement in strategic planning. This year the board, senior management, staff and volunteers showed resilience and determination in working through the restructuring and how to communicate in a timely manner; lessons were learned.
-
Poor quality of advice resulting in reputational damage, complaints, action: mitigated by well-developed training plans; appropriate support; action taken to address poor quality advice and consistent quality checking processes. This year we secured funding to return to open our offices to drop-ins, although the majority of our clients now contact us by phone or online.
-
Failure to meet needs of stakeholders resulting in loss of funding: mitigated by effective engagement; effective performance measure. This year our major focus was on successful delivery of the new Bucks Council contract for debt and advice, resulting in two positive quarterly reviews.
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
- Not meeting funding targets and needing to use reserves: mitigated by the fundraising team and clear financial planning; aim to develop multi-year funding and diversification of courses/opportunities; effective service delivery planning. This year the risk was heightened due to a fiercely competitive market and funders offering later start dates. Mitigation came through a review and restructure of staff and costs resulting in a more streamlined service. We moved on to focus on a virtuous circle of cultivating stakeholder relationships through a formal fundraising structure of patrons and potential funders.
PRINCIPAL FUNDING SOURCES
The principal sources of funding received in the year was £508,976 from Buckinghamshire Council, and a diverse range of funding from other sources.
PUBLIC BENEFIT
The directors confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or duties.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are tremendously grateful to every funder who has made our work possible this year and would especially like to thank the following:
Buckinghamshire Council, Chiltern Foodbank, Citizens Advice, Fairhive, Oxford Safe Haven, Paradigm, Pension Wise, Santander, Talkback and Thames Water.
We would also like to thank each of the Parish and Town Councils who have recognised the importance of maintaining our service in their community.
STATEMENT AS TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO AUDITORS
So far as the directors are aware, there is no relevant information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware and each director has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a director in order to make them aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company’s auditors are aware of that information.
APPROVAL
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities SORP (FRS102).
Approved by the board on 20[th] August 2025 and signed on their behalf by
Cane Wordle Jane Mordue Chairman
……………………………………
Dated: 20[th] August 2025
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES
The directors are responsible for preparing the directors’ report and the accounts in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the directors to prepare accounts 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, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these accounts, the directors are required to:
-
Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
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Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP
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Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
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Prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation
The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies act 2006. 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.
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2025
Current Financial Year
| Current Financial Year | |
|---|---|
| Notes INCOME AND EXPENDITURE Incoming Resources Incoming resources from generated funds: Charitable activities - Grants 6 Donations and Fundraising 6 Investment income Other income Total income - Core Service Charitable activities - Pension Wise 18 Total Incoming Resources Resources Expended Charitable activities Payroll 7 Support costs 7 Charitable activities total Governance costs 8 Total Resources Expended Net Income/Expenditure Transfers between funds 15 Net Movements in Funds Total Funds brought forward 15 Total Funds carried forward 15 |
Unrestricted Restricted TOTAL 2023/2024 Funds Funds £ £ £ £ 310,619 618,203 928,822 1,287,131 38,568 - 38,568 44,423 13,708 - 13,708 15,219 867 - 867 2,018 |
| 363,762 618,203 981,965 1,348,791 - 289,457 289,457 297,460 |
|
| 363,762 907,660 1,271,422 1,646,251 |
|
| 334,767 823,523 1,158,290 1,324,239 77,399 176,889 254,288 349,130 |
|
| 412,166 1,000,412 1,412,578 1,673,369 1,598 10,776 12,374 18,171 |
|
| 413,764 1,011,188 1,424,952 1,691,540 |
|
| (50,002) (103,528) (153,530) (45,289) (96,846) 96,846 - - |
|
| (146,848) (6,682) (153,530) (45,289) 604,185 6,682 610,867 656,156 |
|
| 457,337 - 457,337 610,867 |
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2025
Prior Financial Year
| Prior Financial Year | |
|---|---|
| Notes INCOME AND EXPENDITURE Incoming Resources Incoming resources from generated funds: Charitable activities - Grants 6 Donations and Fundraising 6 Investment income Other income Total income - Core Service Charitable activities - Pension Wise 18 Total Incoming Resources Resources Expended Charitable activities Payroll 7 Support costs 7 Charitable activities total Governance costs 8 |
Unrestricted Restricted TOTAL 2022/2023 Funds Funds £ £ £ £ 717,867 569,264 1,287,131 1,197,560 44,423 - 44,423 18,099 15,219 - 15,219 6,663 2,018 - 2,018 2,291 |
| 779,527 569,264 1,348,791 1,224,613 - 297,460 297,460 269,215 |
|
| 779,527 866,724 1,646,251 1,493,828 |
|
| 539,995 784,244 1,324,239 1,238,065 157,817 191,313 349,130 336,172 |
|
| 697,812 975,557 1,673,369 1,574,237 8,700 9,471 18,171 20,414 |
|
| Total Resources Expended Net Income/Expenditure Transfers between funds Net Movements in Funds Total Funds brought forward 15 Total Funds carried forward 15 |
706,512 985,028 1,691,540 1,594,651 |
| 73,015 (118,304) (45,289) (100,823) (105,078) 105,078 - - |
|
| (32,063) (13,226) (45,289) (100,823) 636,248 19,908 656,156 756,979 |
|
| 604,185 6,682 610,867 656,156 |
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd Company Number 06693405 Balance Sheet at 31 March 2025
| **2024/2025 ** | 2024/2025 | 2023/2024 | 2023/2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| FIXED ASSETS | |||||
| Tangible assets | - | - | |||
| CURRENT ASSETS | |||||
| Debtors | 9 | 55,529 | 82,816 | ||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 531,729 | 687,556 | |||
| 587,258 | 770,372 | ||||
| CREDITORS | |||||
| Amounts falling due within one year | 10 | 129,921 | 159,505 | ||
| NET CURRENT ASSETS | 457,337 | 610,867 | |||
| TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES | 457,337 | 610,867 | |||
| THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY | |||||
| Unrestricted funds | |||||
| -general reserve | 15 | 457,337 | 604,185 | ||
| 457,337 | 604,185 | ||||
| Restricted funds | 15 | - | 6,682 | ||
| 457,337 | 610,867 |
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.
The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2025, although an audit has been carried out under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011.
The accounts were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 20[th] August 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:
Gane …………………………………… Word Jane Mordue Chairman
…………………………………… Farrukh Siddiqi Treasurer
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 March 2025
| 2025 £ Cash flows from operating activities Net income for the reporting period (153,530) (as per the statement of financial activities) Depreciation charges - Dividends, interest and rent from investments (13,708) (Increase)/decrease in debtors 27,287 Increase/(decrease) in creditors (29,584) Net cash (used in) operating activities (169,535) Cash flows from investing activities: Dividends, interest and rent from investments 13,708 Proceeds from sale of fixed assets - Purchase of fixed assets investments - Net cash (used in) investing activities 13,708 Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year (155,827) Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 687,556 Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 531,729 |
2024 £ (45,289) - (15,219) (4,755) (89,097) (154,360) 15,219 - - 15,219 (139,141) 826,697 687,556 |
2024 £ (45,289) - (15,219) (4,755) (89,097) (154,360) 15,219 - - 15,219 (139,141) 826,697 687,556 |
|---|---|---|
| 15,219 - - |
||
| (139,141) 826,697 |
||
| 687,556 |
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
Notes to the Financial Statements
1. COMPANY STATUS
Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd (formerly Citizens Advice Aylesbury Vale) is a private company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. The company's registered number and registered office can be found on the company information page. The presentation currency of the financial statements is Pound Sterling (£).
2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation and uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:
Accounting convention
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with: the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (issued in October 2019), Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2022, and the Companies Act 2006.
Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis
The Board has considered the future of the organization and assessed the financial position on 31st March 2025. Given the current level of reserves, the continuing service level agreement for 2025/26 and the expectation that the main sources of funding will continued without any significant reduction, the Board is confident that the organisation will continue to be a going concern for the 12 months after these accounts are approved.
Recognition of income and expenditure
All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to, and virtually certain to receive, the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy and all performance criteria have been met. Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
Allocation of Support Costs
Support costs are those functions which support the charity in carrying out its main activities. Accordingly each funded activity has to bear a proportion of these support costs to reflect the full cost of undertaking the work. Support cost are allocated to activities based on staff time and any specific cost items agreed with the funder.
Pension contributions
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed assets are items costing over £2,000 and are depreciated on a straight line basis over the useful life of the asset. Items with value of less than £2,000 are expensed in full in the year of acquisition.
Unrestricted Funds
Unrestricted reserves are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)
Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and in hand refers to amounts which are held by the business in the form of notes and coins (e.g. petty cash) or which are held at a bank in the form of on-demand deposits such as current accounts and savings accounts.
Debtors
Debtors and prepayments are recognised at the settlement amount due or paid.
Creditors
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has an obligation which will result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount can be measured or estimated with reasonable accuracy. Deferred income is income received in advance of the associated work being performed.
Redundancy and termination payments
Redundancy and termination payments are recognised when formal notice has been given to the employee(s) concerned.
Operating Leases
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.
Government grants
Government grants are recognised in the income statement so as to match them with the expenditure towards which they are intended to contribute.
Restricted Funds
Funding received for a particular project is kept in a restricted fund and spent on salaries and associated costs relating to that project. In addition support costs are allocated as noted above.
3. MAJOR FUNDERS
Buckinghamshire Council
Buckinghamshire Council, as the successor to the District Councils, provides the core funding for the advice service.
Pension Wise
Pension Wise provides free, impartial pensions guidance on clients’ pension options.
Santander UK Foundation
Funding for digital and financial empowerment and response to cost of living crisis.
The William Harding Charity
Long term supporter providing funding to support residents living in Aylesbury.
Parish and Town Councils
A number of local councils (town and parish) have also provided funds which in turn has enabled outreach and other services to be delivered in various locations.
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
Funding from other local organisations
Other funding for specific & core services comes from other local organisations, such as Paradigm Housing, Fairhive Homes Limited, Oxford Healthcare Trust, Chiltern Foodbank, Shanly Foundation, Thames Water, Talkback, Buckingham Area Community Advice Bureau, National Citizens Advice and Transition to eVisa Fund.
Unrestricted Funds
Other material grants and funds received are unrestricted as to purpose and have been used to provide the Core Services.
4. OPERATING SURPLUS
| 4. OPERATING SURPLUS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| The net income resources is stated after charging: | ||
| Audit | 12,192 | 18,000 |
| Operating lease rentals | 56,910 | 60,300 |
| Trustees expenses | - | - |
No travel expenses were paid to the trustees during the year (2024: £nil). No trustee received any emoluments or other benefits during the year (2024: £nil).
5. TAXATION
The company is a registered charity and is exempt from corporation tax.
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
6. INCOME
| Unrestricted Bucks Council - Core Advice Service Other income Restricted Benefits Advice - NHS Oxford Chiltern Foodbank Santander Money Matters Talkback Shanly Thames Water Trust via Citizens Advice West Northampton and Cherwell Paradigm Fairhive Thriving Communities Fund Cita Pot 2 Adviceline BC Tier 2 E Visa fund Money Matters NL Adviceline (Future of Advice) Heart of Bucks BC - Cost of Living Cardiomyopathy Cita Funding The Clare Foundation Mobbs Memorial Trust National Lottery Cost of living grant (plus £32,500 in unrestricted) BC Household support fund (Money Advice) Total income - Charitable activities - Grants, Donations & Fundraising Charitable activities - Pension Wise Total |
2024/25 2023/24 £ £ 182,833 545,050 166,354 217,240 349,187 762,290 45,360 45,000 33,670 32,375 50,000 50,000 11,658 27,980 2,500 2,500 20,542 6,375 46,134 38,850 3,750 10,000 65,708 31,125 326,143 - 12,738 - - 51,202 - 91,342 - 17,415 - 44,700 - 5,600 - 17,000 - 3,300 - 2,000 - 42,500 - 50,000 618,203 569,264 967,390 1,331,554 289,457 297,460 1,256,847 1,629,014 |
|---|---|
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
7. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
| (A) STAFF COSTS Salaries Social security costs Pension costs |
2025 2024 £ £ 1,026,190 1,176,895 76,739 84,355 55,361 62,989 |
|---|---|
| 1,158,290 1,324,239 |
The average monthly number of employees during the period was 47 (2024: 57). No employee was paid in excess of £60,000 during the year (2024: none). Key management personnel received total employment benefits of £106,447 - 1.8 FTE (2024: £180,194 - 3 FTE). Redundancy payments of £26,894 were made during the year which were fully charged to the Statement of Financial Activities for the year (2024: Ex-gratia payments of £12,750).
| (B) SUPPORT COSTS Telephone, IT and information Consultancy & payroll fees Rent, rates and water Stationery, equipment & office expenses Cleaning, repars and maintenance Recruitment, travel, training and events Insurance, heat, light & storage Fundraising events Publicity & Promotion Project expenses Sundry expenses Legal and professional fees Bank charges |
2025 £ 59,209 29,737 65,005 20,994 21,251 39,247 14,301 - 754 2,388 1,257 35 110 254,288 |
2024 £ 74,319 51,424 69,447 21,350 34,688 68,138 17,049 3,260 1,861 2,400 4,145 935 114 |
|---|---|---|
| 349,130 |
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
8. GOVERNANCE COSTS
| Audit Trustee expenses Other |
2025 £ 12,192 - 182 12,374 |
2024 £ 18,000 - 171 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18,171 | ||||
| 9. DEBTORS | ||||
| Debtors Other debtors Prepayments and accrued income |
2025 £ 17,000 21,184 17,345 55,529 |
2024 £ 38,923 26,682 17,211 |
||
| 82,816 | ||||
| 10. CREDITORS | ||||
| Trade creditors Deferred income Owing to/(from) payroll Pension creditor Staff holiday pay accrual Other creditors and accruals |
2025 £ 6,541 72,718 15,959 5,602 7,377 21,724 129,921 |
2024 £ 6,366 73,184 26,809 8,242 15,181 29,723 |
||
| 159,505 |
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Annual Report and Accounts 2025
11. DEFERRED INCOME
| Balance at 1 April 2024 Additions during the year Amounts released to income Balance at 31 March 2025 |
2024-2025 £ 73,184 72,718 (73,184) 72,718 |
2023-2024 £ 156,614 73,184 (156,614) |
|---|---|---|
| 73,184 | ||
| Income was deferred in respect of funding received where the work on the underlying activities was n completed in the financial year and the income was potentially returnable. 12. PENSION COSTS Employees of the charity are entitled to join a defined contribution money purchase scheme. The charity’ contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 7 as “Pension costs”. The outstandin contributions at the year-end are disclosed in note 10. 13. OPERATING LEASES |
||
| Annual minimum lease payments under operating leases fall due as follows: 2025 2024 £ £ Within one year 41,247 49,550 Within two and five years 18,247 49,500 In more than five years - - |
Income was deferred in respect of funding received where the work on the underlying activities was not completed in the financial year and the income was potentially returnable.
12. PENSION COSTS
Employees of the charity are entitled to join a defined contribution money purchase scheme. The charity’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 7 as “Pension costs”. The outstanding contributions at the year-end are disclosed in note 10.
13. OPERATING LEASES
These relate to the lease of the company's offices in Aylesbury, Buckingham, Chesham and High Wycombe.
14. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
During the year the charity received no donations without conditions from other related parties (2023/24:£nil) and £8,300 from Trustees (2023/24: £5,500).
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Annual Report and Accounts 2025
15. MOVEMENT OF FUNDS - CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR
| Restricted Funds 05 Pension wise (Pension Advice) 09 Benefits Advice 13 Chiltern Foodbank (Food vouchers, Benefits & Debt Advice) 14 Santander (Digital & Financial Capability) 16 Talkback (Benefits & General Advice) 19 Shanly (Disability benefits access) 22 Thames Water Trust (Money advice) 24 Paradigm (Customer support funding) 25 Fairhive Thriving Communities Fund (Money Advice) 26 Cita Pot 2 (Generalist Advice & telephone) 27 BC Tier 2 30 E Visa funding Unrestricted Funds General: General reserves BC - Core Advice service |
Balance Income Expenditure General Balance b/fwd subsidy c/fwd £ £ £ £ £ - 289,457 (350,627) 61,170 - 307 45,360 (49,074) 3,407 - - 33,670 (36,108) 2,438 - - 50,000 (50,158) 158 - - 11,658 (11,924) 266 - - 2,500 (2,500) - - 6,375 20,542 (27,118) 201 - - 46,134 (46,437) 303 - - 3,750 (3,750) - - - 65,708 (66,513) 805 - - 326,143 (336,964) 10,821 - - 12,738 (30,015) 17,277 - |
|---|---|
| 6,682 907,660 (1,011,188) 96,846 - |
|
| 604,185 180,929 (232,277) (95,500) 457,337 - 182,833 (181,487) (1,346) - |
|
| 604,185 363,762 (413,764) (96,846) 457,337 |
|
| 610,867 1,271,422 (1,424,952) - 457,337 |
The core service was funded by the Buckinghamshire Council service level agreement. The Council also contributed to specific services and balances by £nil (£97,560 in 2024). This funding ended in July 2025 and has been replaced in August 2025 by a commissioned grant to fund specific services (BC Tier 2)
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Annual Report and Accounts 2025
MOVEMENT OF FUNDS - PRIOR YEAR (2023-24)
| Restricted Funds 03 NL Money Matters (Money Advice & Financial Capability) 10 Money (formerly Debt) Advice 05 Pension wise Pension Advice) 06 NL Advice (Telephone Advice & web Chat) 07 Heart of Bucks (Benefits & General Advice) 09 Benefits Advice 13 Chiltern Foodbank (Food vouchers, Benefits & Debt Advice) 14 Santander (Digital & Financial Capability) 15 BC Cost of living DC bridging (Debt Advice) 16 Talkback (Benefits & General Advice) 17 Cardiomyopathy (Benefits Advice) 18 Cita Funding (Generalist Advice & telephone) 19 National citizens Advice - remote service delivery (Generalist Advice & Telephone) 19 The Clare Foundation (Generalist Advice) 19 Fairhive Thriving Communities Fund (Money Advice) 19 Shanly (Disability benefits access) 19 Mobbs Memorial Trust 20 National Lottery Cost of living grant (Generalist Advice) 21 BC Household support fund (Money Advice & Benefits) 22 Thames Water Trust (Money advice) Unrestricted Funds General: General reserves BC - Core Advice service |
Balance Income Expenditure General Balance b/fwd subsidy c/fwd £ £ £ £ £ 479 51,202 (60,083) 8,402 - 11,093 44,683 (62,386) 6,610 - - 297,460 (339,340) 41,880 - 8,336 91,342 (100,782) 1,104 - - 11,582 (13,799) 2,217 - - 45,000 (44,693) - 307 - 32,375 (37,775) 5,400 - - 50,000 (55,963) 5,963 - - 44,700 (46,468) 1,768 - - 27,980 (37,333) 9,353 - - 5,600 (7,044) 1,444 - - 17,000 (19,202) 2,202 - - 31,125 (40,267) 9,142 - - 3,300 (3,300) - - - 10,000 (12,000) 2,000 - - 2,500 (2,500) - - - 2,000 (2,000) - - - 42,500 (47,648) 5,148 - - 50,000 (52,445) 2,445 - - 6,375 - - 6,375 |
|---|---|
| 19,908 866,724 (985,028) 105,078 6,682 |
|
| 636,248 234,477 (135,007) (131,533) 604,185 - 545,050 (571,505) 26,455 - |
|
| 636,248 779,527 (706,512) (105,078) 604,185 |
|
| 656,156 1,646,251 (1,691,540) - 610,867 |
The core service was funded by the Buckinghamshire Council service level agreement. The Council also contributed to specific services and balances by £97,560 (2023: £54,890).
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Annual Report and Accounts 2025
16. ANALYSIS OF FUNDS
| Restricted funds -deferred income Unrestricted funds -designated -general reserves At 31 March 2025 At 31 March 2024 |
Bank and Cash Debtors (Creditors) Total £ £ £ £ - - - - 72,718 - (72,718) - - - - - 459,011 55,529 (57,203) 457,337 |
|---|---|
| 531,729 55,529 (129,921) 457,337 |
|
| 685,762 57,384 134,073 - 609,073 |
17. MEMBERS LIABILITY
Each member of the charity undertakes to contribute such amount as may be required, not exceeding £1, to the charity’s assets if it should be wound up while they are a member or within one year after they cease to be a member.
18. PENSION WISE
Pension Wise is a subcontracted initiative, which is distinct and operates independently from Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire’s (CAB) core services.
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Annual Report and Accounts 2025
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF CITIZENS ADVICE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LIMITED
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Limited (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cashflows and the 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:
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give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;
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have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;
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and
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have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
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 UK, 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.
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 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
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Annual Report and Accounts 2025
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
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
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the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees' report; or
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sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
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the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
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we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
Responsibilities of Trustees
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the Trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the 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 charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above and on the Financial Reporting Council’s website, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.
We obtain and update our understanding of the entity, its activities, its control environment, and likely future developments, including in relation to the legal and regulatory framework applicable and how the entity is complying with that framework. Based on this understanding, we identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. This includes consideration of the risk of acts by the entity that were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, we designed procedures which included:
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Enquiry of management and those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims as well as actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
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Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
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Assessing the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations considered to have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the entity through enquiry and inspection;
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Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
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Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire Ltd Annual Report and Accounts 2025 Performing audit work over the risk of management bias and override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjLSStments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimales for indicators of potential bias. Because of the inherent limitalions of an audit. there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatemenl in the financial statemenls or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements. as we will be less likely to become aware of inslances of non-compliance. The risk of not delecting a material misslatemenl resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error. as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions. misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. This report is made solely to the company's members, as a body, in accordance with section 391 of the Companies Act 2014. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to Ihem in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest exteni permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, orfor the opinions we have formed. Mr Mark Jackson FCA DChA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Azets Audit Services Chartered Accountants Slatutory Auditor Westpoint Lynch Wood Peterborough Cambridgeshire United Kingdom PE2 6FZ Azets Audit SeNtces is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virbje of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under seclion 1212 of the Companies Act 2006. 24