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2023-07-31-accounts

~~—7~~ LiverpoolGuild of

Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended

31 July 2023

Charity Number: 1137398 Company Number: 07324992

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Directors and Trustees

All directors of the company are also trustees of the charity, there are no other trustees. The trustees serving during the year and since the year end were:

Ella Hatch (Resigned 31[st ] July 2023)

Vasiliki Samuels (Appointed 1[st] August 2022) Kathryn Manley (Appointed 1[st] August 2022) Lina Dubbins (Appointed 1[st] August 2022) Rowan Bradbury (Appointed 1[st] August 2023)

Adam Dawkins (Resigned 31[st ] July 2023) Rachel Gnagniko

Rishi Jain Gabriella Tamas (Appointed 23[rd] November 2022) Alan Whittle (Appointed 1[st] August 2023)

Abhilash Kondraganti (Resigned 31[st ] July 2023) Jordan Wright (Resigned 31[st ] July 2023) Bryony Lainton (Resigned 31[st ] July 2023) Ammar Zafar (Appointed 1[st] August 2023) Ali Mohamed Othman Ibrahim (Appointed 1[st] August 2023) Gabriel Barbosa Pradal (Appointed 1[st] August 2023) Omar Baher Samir Tawfiq Hussein (Appointed 1[st] August 2023)

Company Secretary

Tricia O’Neill

Key Management Personnel Chief Executive Tricia O’Neill Director of Operations Ben Hedley (left 11[th] May 2023) Director of Membership Services Morven Proctor Director of Marketing & Communications Sian McGreary

Registered office

Liverpool Guild of Students 160 Mount Pleasant Liverpool Merseyside L3 5TR

Auditors

Haines Watts Liverpool Ltd. Pacific Chambers 11-13 Victoria Street Liverpool L2 5QQ

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Bankers

The Co-operative Bank p.l.c., P.O. Box 101 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP Deposit Accounts

Flagstone Group Ltd (Investment Platform)
1stFloor, Clareville House
26-27 Oxendon Street
London
SW1Y 4EL
Cambridge Building Society
PO Box 232
51 Newmarket Road
Cambridge
CB5 8FF
Finance and business advisors Counterculture Partnership LLP
Unit 115 Ducie House,
Ducie Street,
Manchester, M1 2JW
Insurance Brokers Endsleigh Business Insurance Services
The Quadrangle
Imperial Square
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL50 1PZ
Solicitors Governance, charity and corporate law
Bates, Wells and Braithwaite London LLP
2-6 Cannon Street
London
EC4M 6YH
Employment and commercial law
Weightmans LLP
India Buildings
Water Street
Liverpool
L2 0GA

As allowed under Section 60 of the Companies Act 2006 the company is exempt from the requirement to use “limited”.

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

1. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

Liverpool Guild of Students is a Students’ Union within the meaning of the Education Act 1994. The Guild is devoted to the educational interests and welfare of its members and is an independent representative body of students at the University of Liverpool. We are an Incorporated Charity and a Company Limited by Guarantee without Share Capital.

We are governed by a Memorandum & Articles of Association effective from 1 August 2010, and a set of Byelaws, both approved by the membership, the University of Liverpool, and the Charity Commission. We also have a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Liverpool. The Articles of Association state the Guild’s principal objectives as being:

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Appointment of Trustees

Our Board of Trustees is responsible for ensuring the organisation remains fit for purpose, and for setting the strategy of the organisation in consultation with senior staff. It also approves all policy, our annual budget, and monitors organisational performance against agreed key performance indicators (KPIs).

The membership of the Trustee Board is defined as follows:

The Student Representative Officer (SRO) Trustees are elected by the entire membership during a cross campus election and hold office for 12 months. As directed by the Education Act 1994, they can serve a maximum of two terms. The Student Representative Officers are the major union office holders described in the Education Act (1994).

The four Student Trustees are positions that are advertised and then appointed to by the Board and serve for a term of two years. They can serve a maximum of four terms, which may be either consecutive or non-consecutive. They must be a registered student at the University of Liverpool to hold office.

The four External Trustees are also positions that are advertised and then appointed to by the Board. They are recruited on the basis of their expertise and experience and hold office for a term of four years. External Trustees can serve for two terms. These can be consecutive or nonconsecutive.

Trustee Induction and Training

All new Trustees participate in a comprehensive induction programme, which includes:

On-going training needs for Student Representative Officer Trustees are monitored by the Chief Executive through 1-2-1s and regular catch-up meetings. Trustees are allocated into a Mentor group consisting of an External Trustee, a Student Trustee, and an officer Trustee.

Organisation

The Board of Trustees administers the charity. The Board meets on several occasions throughout the year and there are three standing subcommittees convened under Article 45 of the Articles of Association covering operational areas of the Board’s remit.

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

As laid out in Byelaw 5, the Resources & Audit Committee is responsible for all financial matters of the organisation.

As laid out in Byelaw 6, the Governance & Appointments Committee is responsible for appointing new Trustees, monitoring the effectiveness of the Board, and acting as a discursive forum for all matters relating to effective governance.

As laid out in Byelaw 2, there is a CEO Management Committee.

This year, a People, Culture and EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) Committee was introduced, and it is intended to take on the responsibilities of the CEO Management Committee. The Byelaws will be updated to reflect this during the 2023-24 Academic Year.

Guild Summit

The Guild Summit is made up of 50 students, who are selected by sortition to reflect the wider student body, and has the following authority (as set out in the Articles):

Annual Members Meeting

Under our articles, we are required to hold an Annual Members Meeting each year, presenting our accounts and the Trustees Annual Report to the membership. The Annual Members Meeting took place on 2[nd] May 2023.

Chief Executive

A Chief Executive is appointed by the Trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive has delegated authority, within terms approved by the Trustees, for operations including finance, employment, Guild operations, governance, membership services, marketing and communications, and other related activity.

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Related Parties and Co-operation with Other Organisations

The University of Liverpool is the parent institution of Liverpool Guild of Students. The Guild received a revenue block grant in the year from the University of Liverpool of £1,787,344.

The Guild also occupies a building owned by the University, which also pays for utilities. This non-monetary support is intrinsic to the relationship between the University and the Guild.

The Guild President is a member of University Council and, as of the 2022-23 academic year, a second Student Representative Officer also has a seat on University Council.

Although recommended by the Charities SORP, which has been adopted for this and future financial years for due compliance with the requirements for Students’ Unions provided for in the Charities Act 2011, it is not possible to identify an estimated value to the Guild for this free serviced accommodation as the University does not provide separate property values for its buildings to the occupiers. Although the Guild continues to generate supplementary funding from various mutual trading activities, it will always be dependent on the University’s support.

The Trustees consider it reasonable to anticipate that this or equivalent support from the University will continue for the foreseeable future, as the Education Act 1994 imposes a duty on the University to ensure the financial viability of its student representative body in one form or another. The Trustees therefore consider the Guild to be financially viable for the foreseeable future.

Pay Policies for Senior Staff

The remuneration of key management personnel is set by the Board, with the policy objective of ensuring that they are provided with appropriate incentives to encourage enhanced performance and are, in a fair and responsible manner, rewarded for their individual contributions to the Guild’s success. Delivery of the Guild’s charitable vision and purpose is primarily dependent on our key management personnel and staff costs are the largest single element of our charitable expenditure.

In 2022 an organisation wide pay-review was carried out to ensure salaries were in keeping with comparable roles in the sector, and more widely. Staff feedback was sought during this process.

Risk Management

The Board, through the Resources and Audit Committee, reviews the Guild’s current and planned future activities in the light of any major risks arising from time to time and the effectiveness of systems and procedures designed to manage them.

In 2023 the Board approved a new approach to assessing and managing risk, embedding that the risk register is an active document, which is regularly reviewed and provides focus on areas of greatest importance. The principal risks and uncertainties currently facing the Guild are considered to be:

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Our plans and strategies for managing risk include maintaining effective internal controls, risk registers, incident-reporting and monitoring systems and insurance cover wherever appropriate.

2. OUR PURPOSES AND ACTIVITIES

Purpose

The Guild’s Strategic Plan outlines how the organisation will achieve its mission to offer excellent opportunities, services and facilities which improve, enrich and develop the lives of all students at the University of Liverpool.

The plan was originally set to run between 2019 and 2022, but was extended for two additional years, because of the pandemic. As such, the current Strategic Plan is due to run to the end of July 2024.

The Guild’s Articles identifies its charitable objects as follows:

The advancement of education of Students at the University of Liverpool for the public benefit by: -

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Public Benefit

In pursuit of these aims for the public benefit, the Guild will ensure the diversity of its membership is recognised, valued, and supported and has established departments and services for use by its members and to support its work with the University of Liverpool and other organisations on behalf of students. These include membership services, social enterprise, and marketing and communications.

The Guild continues to represent the students of the University on relevant local, national, and international issues. The Student Representative Officers sit on over 60 University committees, covering a wide range of aspects of the student experience. In addition, officers sit on a number of committees within the city, focusing on topics such as student safety, and the night-time economy.

The Guild and University jointly runs a Course Representative System, which ensures student voices throughout University decision making.

Policies relating to grant making

Liverpool Guild of Students recognises the importance of student activity, and endeavours to provide meaningful support to students running societies. In addition to logistical support, and the provision of venue spaces, the Guild makes available a pot of money for societies to bid into.

Societies are invited to apply for funding from this pot to support their activity, through a process called Spend It. Since September 2014, a model of participatory budgeting, has been used to allocate these funds, putting decision making in the hands of student societies. In 2021, the Spend It process was split in two; Mini Spend It is open to bids of up to £350.00, while Big spend It provides funding of between £350.00 and £4000.00.

Agreed criteria help ensure that decisions are in line with the Guild’s charitable objects, whilst giving participants the flexibility to agree priorities and work collectively.

Since 2020-21 all societies are given £50 to fund welcome activity. Money that is not used is recouped by the Guild later in the year, so it can be redistributed through the process outlined above.

In previous years, societies had to charge membership fees of at least £3.00. Since 2020-21, in response to the anticipated impact of Covid on levels of activity, membership charges were stopped. This continues to prove successful in increasing societies memberships.

Activities

The Guild undertakes and facilitates a wide range of services and activities;

Social Enterprise

Social Enterprise brings together the retail, venues, and licensed trade activities of the Guild.

The Guild’s venues provide students with a place to meet, a Starbucks Coffee shop and bar space. The Guild works closely with Hospitality Liverpool, who provide a range of food within the Courtyard and Sphinx.

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The Guild houses Liverpool’s second largest live music venue, the Mountford Hall. This venue is used for external gigs, as well as awards ceremonies, performances, and formal dinners.

Space is available for societies to book for events for a range of activities, including performances, dinners, and external speakers. Venue staff provide advice and support to groups wishing to book this space and the necessary technical support to deliver their events.

The Guild also operates a shop, selling a range of pasties, confectionary, sandwiches, hot and cold drinks, stationery, clothing, and toiletries. In addition, the Guild runs an online shop selling a range of University crested clothing.

Membership Services

The Membership Services Department is made up of three main teams; Advocacy, Democracy and Campaigns, and Student Activities

The Advocacy Team’s work includes supporting and developing course representatives, providing academic, housing and wellbeing advice, and supporting Guild officers in committee activity.

The Democracy and Campaigns Team facilitates student-led campaigning. They also ensure the Guild is a democratic, involving organisation, through delivering elections, administering the Guild’s Change It platform and facilitating meetings of the Summit.

The Student Activities team supports the work of student societies and provide volunteering opportunities, offering students the chance to lead activities, develop new skills and meet other students. They work closely with the University to develop Hall Students Committees, ensuring that students have the best possible experience living in University accommodation.

The team also has a range of activities to support sustainability. Working closely with students, the University, and other stakeholders they offer opportunities for students to have a positive impact on the environment around them. Volunteers have worked with local schools, developed innovative approaches to sustainability challenges and worked to embed sustainability in the curriculum. Finally, the team also supports fundraising activity, and administers the Guild’s online volunteering platform.

Marketing

The Guild’s Marketing Team works across the organisations, to provide expert marketing support. This team coordinates the Guild’s main communication streams including all-student emails, and social media. They also manage the Guild’s website, which is used as a key communication tool, as well as being an outlet for ticket sales and the platform for Guild elections.

The team undertakes graphic design work, creating assets including Welcome materials, installations, campaign resources and promotional materials for events.

The team are also responsible for the generation of media sales income, offering opportunities to market their services and products to students during Welcome Week, and throughout the year.

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

The team manages relationships with the media, responding to enquiries as well as taking proactive steps to secure positive media coverage.

Supporting Services

The Guild also has a number of central services, including reception, facilities and building management, HR, Governance and Executive Assistant Support. There is also a Finance Department that manages the financial functions of the Guild including the payment of invoices, production of management accounts and other financial functions.

3. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

During 2022-23, the Guild focused on implementing the penultimate year of the current Strategic Plan. Throughout the year the Trustee Board was kept updated on work undertaken and progress towards achieving the plan.

Following on from success in 2021-22, a series of Work Streams were created, bringing together officers and key staff to focus on aspects of the Strategic Plan and officers’ manifesto commitments. These met regularly throughout the year.

The key achievements for each of the Strategic Promises are outlined below:

Support our members

The Guild is committed to ensuring members are supported throughout their time at the University. As a result of student feedback, work in this area has focused on providing access to high-quality, timely advice through the Guild’s Advice Team, positively contributing to a safe and welcoming campus environment, combating student loneliness, and enhancing wellbeing, and developing student employability.

Give it a Go activities ran throughout the year, offering students opportunities to meet new people, get to know the city and beyond, and learn new skills. We continued to work closely with the University to deliver a tailored programme for students living in University halls.

This year the Guild continued the success of the Student Leaders Conference, offering a series of workshops, speakers and activities aimed at improving employability, and with a particular focus on equality and diversity.

The Year in numbers

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

To put members at the heart of decision making

The Guild’s core function is to represent the interests of our members. The Guild ensures that the University, the city and, through its membership of the National Union of Students (NUS), national government, considers the views of students when they make decisions.

This involves a range of different methods, including lobbying politicians, supporting student activism, attending city-wide meetings, making written submissions to sector bodies, and playing an active role on University committees. This year, the Guild has ensured that students voices and options on a wide range of topics. This has included;

The Guild also supported course representatives to carry out enhancement projects in their departments. These involved identifying key student concerns and working with academic and professional services staff to develop recommendations and find solutions. Topics included methods of assessment, support for future career and communication methods.

The Year in numbers

Invest in our spaces

During 2022-23, the Guild building remained an important place for students to gather. To ensure the building remains welcoming, a liaison group between the Guild and University has met regularly, to consider building improvements. This has helped drive work forward and established a shared understanding of priorities. Over the past year this has delivered the Stanley theatre

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

dressing room refurbishment, the replacement of roofs in key areas, the renewal of the Reilly balcony/guttering, and the replacement of the Mountford floor.

We also invested in online spaces, tendering for a new website provider. Since the new provider was selected, implementation has been ongoing, and the new site will launch in time for the 202324 academic year.

The Year in numbers

Ensure all members benefit from the Guild

In November 2022, the Guild held a series of focus groups to better understand the views and experiences of specific groups of students. This feedback was shared with teams across the Guild and informed our offer to members.

During this year's officer elections, work was undertaken to encourage and enable candidates from under-represented groups including postgraduate students, Black students, Asian students, international students, and mature students. This led to an increase in international postgraduate students standing for election.

In May, in response to student feedback, the Guild held a consultation event to look at alternative names for the BAME Student Community. Following this event, the name REACH (Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage) was agreed.

The Year in numbers

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

4. FINANCIAL REVIEW

The principal income sources for the Guild are the block grant provided by the University of Liverpool and funds generated through commercial activity.

The Guild produced a surplus for the financial year of £41,303 before the movement on the pension scheme liability (2022: £616,438). Net liabilities at 31 July 2023 stood at £148,562 (2022: £132,701). The cash and current asset investments balance at the financial year end was £2,662,355 (2022: £2,177,760).

In summary the Guild is in a stable financial position however the Trustees are cognizant of future pension liabilities arising from the SUSS pension scheme – now closed to accrual for Guild staff – and the financial strategy of the Guild reflects this risk while adequately resourcing ongoing charitable activities.

Investment policy

The Investment Policy of the Guild is to hold the majority of its reserves in cash, spreading deposits between financial institutions in order to mitigate counterparty risk. Cash deposits are either instant access or fixed term with the balance being determined by cash flow requirements. The Guild has adopted an Ethical Investment Policy by which financial institutions are assessed against criteria before the Guild will make a deposit with them. Within the framework of managing risk, liquidity and ethical standards, the highest interest rates are selected to maximise investment return.

Reserves policy and going concern

The trustees have adopted a reserves policy, the objective of which is to protect the Guild and its charitable activities by ensuring adequate liquidity while the organisation adjusts to any short term (three to six months) changes it encounters in its financial and operating environment. Such changes might include:

At the same time the trustees want to ensure reserves are not too high in order to maximise the resources applied to the Guild’s charitable purpose, the ability to invest in the Guild’s fixed assets to maintain the quality and standards of its service provision, and the ability to meet the Guild’s contribution obligations to the Students’ Union Superannuation Scheme.

Following this policy, the trustees have set a target of the Guild holding a minimum of six months’ unrestricted operating costs in unrestricted funds (not including the pension deficit reserve). Based on the 2022/23 financial year this target figure would equate to £2,221,667.

At 31 July 2023 the Guild held unrestricted funds of £1,769,557 (2022: £1,901,931) equating to 80% of the target level, with a separate reserve fund established to account for the pension deficit. The pension deficit fund sits on the balance sheet as a negative reserve set up under FRS 102 to represent the net present value of the future contributions required over 15 years to clear the pension fund deficit. At the year end the value of this deficit was £2,500,387 (2022: - £2,632,215).

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

The trustees intend the Guild to maintain the target level of reserves through continued investment in the quality of the activities and services on offer to members, in order to generate sufficient financial surpluses to both reinvest in those services, and to support the reserves position. Ongoing monitoring of the reserves is carried out by the Resources and Audit Committee on a quarterly basis. The reserves policy itself is reviewed every three years to coincide with the funding cycle of the Students’ Union Superannuation Scheme.

The following designated reserves have been created by the Trustees as at 31 July 2023:

Going Concern

The Guild has net liabilities of £148,562, due to the recognition under Charities SORP (FRS 102) of the net present value of the funding deficit on the SUSS pension recovery plan. Further information is detailed in note 28 to the accounts. This is a long term commitment which ends in 2035 and the trustees are confident that annual payments towards this plan will be met out of income for each year.

After making appropriate enquiries including reviewing financial forecasts for the coming year, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Guild has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Fundraising statement

The Guild raises funds outside of the University block grant via commercial income through the operation of licensed premises, entertainments, catering, retail and third-party advertising. The Guild does not raise funds via the usual fundraising channels that other charities utilise. For example, funds are not raised via money collections, Just Giving (or similar) pages, lotteries, cold calling or legacy donations. Occasionally funds might be raised for a specific project via grant applications, such as funding from local community groups to facilitate activities.

No professional fund-raisers or commercial participator carried out any activities on behalf of the Guild. No person acting on behalf of the Guild was subject to an undertaking to be bound by any voluntary scheme for regulating fundraising and no voluntary standard of fund-raising in respect of Guild activities on behalf of the charity was undertaken. No persons acted on behalf of the Guild for the purpose of fundraising, and no complaints were received by the Guild about fund-raising activity by the charity. As the Guild does not undertake fund-raising activity outside of operating commercial outlets and grant applications, a strategy for protection of vulnerable people and members of the public in relation to fund-raising is not required.

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For the year ended 31 July 2023

5. FUTURE PLANS

In autumn 2019, the Guild launched its new Strategic Plan. It laid out the plan to “offer excellent opportunities, services and facilities which improve, enrich and develop the lives of all students at the University of Liverpool.”

To take this work forward several working groups were set up to carry out research and develop detailed project plans. This work was underway when Covid-19 levels started to rise in the UK, and it became clear that it would have a significant effect on activities.

In 2019-20, in light of the pandemic, the Board agreed that the Strategic Plan would be paused. This decision remained in place throughout the 2020-21 year.

In Summer 2021, the Guild restarted work on the current Strategic Plan, and updated plans to reflect the changed situation. Since then, the plan has been further extended due to the impact of Covid, and now runs until July 2024.

The plan outlines the four strategic objectives, or promises, the Guild is seeking to achieve. These are:

The four promises are underpinned by a commitment to developing the organisation in four key areas. The following Excellence Plans will drive this work forward through the lifetime of the strategic plan;

Underpinning this planned work was a commitment to the following values:

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT Forthe year ended 31 July 2023 W• promls• to support our m•mbars We promlse to put members at the Heart of W• pmmlso to Invest spaces in our Decision MaklrvJ We promlse to ensure all members beneflt from the Gulld 16

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS TRUSTEES REPORT

For the year ended 31 July 2023

6. STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The charity trustees (who are also the directors of the Guild for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing a trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the charity trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing these accounts, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Trustees’ statement of disclosure of information to the auditors

In so far as the trustees are aware at the date of approval of this report:

Approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on its behalf

Vasiliki Samuels Chair of Trustees 14 December 2023

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS AUDITORS REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Liverpool Guild of Students (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 July 2023 which comprises the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including 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 of 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 charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council'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 charitable company’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.

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS AUDITORS REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Other information

The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS AUDITORS REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' responsibilities, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes 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 charitable company’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

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.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.

We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including how fraud might occur. Audit procedures performed by the company engagement team include:

Despite the audit being planned and conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) there remains an unavoidable risk that material misstatements in the financial statements may not be detected owing to inherent

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LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS AUDITORS REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

limitations of the audit, and that by their very nature, any such instances of fraud or irregularity likely involve collusion, forgery, intentional misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls.

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 the auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members 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 charitable company and its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Francis Murphy

(Senior statutory auditor)

for and on behalf of Haines Watts Liverpool Limited, Chartered Accountants, Statutory Auditor.

Pacific Chambers 11 – 13 Victoria Street Liverpool L2 5QQ

14 December 2023

21

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

For the year ended 31 July 2023

r the year ended 31 July 2023
Note
Income from:
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable Activities
3
Other Trading Activities
4
Investments
5
Other Income
6
Pension Liability Gain
28
Expenditure on:
Raising Funds
Charitable Activities
Pension Deficit Costs
28
Total resources expended
7
Net Income/(expenditure)
8
Transfers between funds
22
Net Movement in Funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
31
Prior Year Adjustment
30
Total funds carried forward
22		 Unrestricted Funds
2023
2022
General
Funds
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
1,873,072
-
-
1,873,072
1,883,309
2,127,721
-
33,998
2,161,719
2,036,718
371,983
-
-
371,983
482,280
20,428
-
-
20,428
6,994
-
272
-
272
-
-
-
-
-
330,628
4,393,204
272
33,998
4,427,474
4,739,929
499,479
12,356
-
511,835
425,958
3,767,150
107,187
-
3,874,337
3,366,906
57,163
-
-
57,163
-
4,323,792
119,543
-
4,443,335
3,792,864
69,412
(119,271)
33,998
(15,861)
947,065
(69,958)
69,958
-
-
-
(546)
(49,313)
33,998
(15,861)
947,065
(730,284)
368,932
228,651
(132,701)
(1,123,264)
-
-
-
-
43,498
(730,830)
319,619
262,649
(148,562)
(132,701)

All amounts relate to continuing operations. All gains and losses recognised in the year are included above.

The notes on pages 25 to 40 form part of the financial statements.

22

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS BALANCE SHEET As at 31 July 2023

Note As at As at
31-Jul-23 31-Jul-22
£ £ £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 13 214,609 264,194
CURRENT ASSETS
Stock 14 99,143 83,161
Debtors 15 361,787 469,100
Investments 16 971,444 1,064,050
Cash at bank and in hand 1,690,911 1,113,710
3,123,285 2,730,021
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due
within one year 17 (1,184,511) (683,691)
NET CURRENT ASSETS
1,938,774		 2,046,330
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
2,153,384		 2,310,524
LIABILITIES
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due 18 (2,301,946) (2,443,224)
after more than one year
NET LIABILITIES **(148,562) ** (132,700)
FUNDS:
Restricted Funds 22 262,649 228,651
General Fund 22 1,769,557 1,901,932
Pension Deficit 22 (2,500,387) (2,632,215)
(730,830) (730,283)
Designated Funds 22 319,619 368,932
(148,562) (132,700)

The notes on pages 24 to 40 form part of the financial statements. Approved by the trustees of the Liverpool Guild of Students on 14 December 2023.

Vasiliki Samuels, Trustee

Gabriella Tamas, Trustee

23

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS For the year ended 31 July 2023

Note
24
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds on sale of fixed assets
Purchase of fixed assets
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
25		 2023
2022
Total
Total
£
£
554,553
427,498
-
-
(69,958)
(46,172)
(69,958)
(46,172)
484,595
381,326
2,177,760
1,796,434
2,662,355
2,177,760

The notes on pages 25 to 40 form part of the financial statements.

24

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

1 Accounting Policies

The Liverpool Guild of Students, which is a charitable company limited by guarantee and limited to £1 per member has adopted the following accounting policies:

a) Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the 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, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The Liverpool Guild of Students meets the definition of a public benefit charity under FRS 102. The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). The financial statements are prepared in Sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £.

b) Incoming resources

Incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

Income from charitable activities includes income received under contract or where entitlement to grant funding is subject to specific performance conditions and is recognised as earned. Grant income included in this category provides funding to support performance activities and is recognised where there is entitlement, certainty of receipt and the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty. Income received to deliver services over a specific period covering more than one financial year is accounted for over the specific period; related expenditure is accounted for when incurred.

Investment income relates to interest earned through holding assets on deposit.

c) Donated services and facilities

Donated services and facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated items have been met, and the receipt of economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) the general volunteer time is not recognised and refer to the Trustees report for more information about their contribution.

Donated services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent benefit on the open market, a corresponding amount is recognised in the expenditure for the period.

d) Support costs allocation

Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office & admin costs, facility costs and supporting marketing costs.

25

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

e) Governance costs allocation

Governance costs are those costs related to the governance of the entity, to allow it to operate, and to generate information for public accountability. Direct costs will include audit and accountancy, legal advice to trustees and costs of trustees meetings.

f) Funds

Unrestricted funds are funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objects of the entity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Directors for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds that are used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or that have been raised by the entity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

g) Fixed assets and depreciation

Fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Assets are not capitalised below £500 cost per item/set.

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:

h) Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.

i) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discounts offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

j) Current asset investments

Current asset investments are short term highly liquid investments and are held at fair value. These include cash on deposit and cash equivalents with a maturity of up to 3 years.

k) Cash at bank and in hand

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

26

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

l) 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 the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement after allowing for any trade discounts due.

m) Financial instruments

The charity only 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 with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

n) Pension costs

The Guild participates in the Students’ Union Superannuation Scheme (SUSS) and the University of Liverpool Pension Fund (ULPF). Both schemes are defined benefit schemes which are externally funded and contracted out of the State Second Pension. The funds are valued at least every three years by a professionally qualified independent actuary with the rates of contribution payable being determined by the trustees on the advice of the actuary. The schemes operate as a pooled arrangement, with contributions paid at a centrally agreed rate.

With effect from 30 September 2011 the SUSS Scheme has been closed to future accrual. Since that date only deficit contributions have been paid to the Scheme. As explained in note 28 the accounts include the net present value of the funding deficit as required by the Charities SORP (FRS 102).

As a consequence of the SUSS scheme closing to future accrual the Guild has set up a group personal pension scheme with Scottish Equitable PLC called the National Union of Students Pension Scheme (NUSPS) which is a money purchase scheme contracted into the State Second Pension. Since the Liverpool Guild of Students’ staging date of 1st April 2014, all permanent members of staff who are eligible jobholders are automatically enrolled into the scheme after a postponement period of 3 months.

A National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) has been set up in order to auto enrol any casual members of staff who become eligible jobholders.

o) Going Concern

The Union has net liabilities of £148,562 (2022: £132,701), due to the recognition under Charities SORP (FRS 102) of the net present value of the funding deficit on the SUSS pension recovery plan. Further information is detailed in note 28 to the accounts. This is a long-term commitment which ends in 2037 and the trustees are confident that annual payments towards this plan will be met out of income for each year.

After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Union has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

p) Significant judgements and estimates

Preparation of the financial statements requires management to make significant judgements and estimates. The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include assumptions around the financial assets and liabilities of pension scheme commitments, and the discount rate applied thereto, and the valuation of stock.

27

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

General Funds Designated
Funds		 Restricted
Funds		 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
2 Donations
University Block Grant 1,787,344 - - 1,787,344 1,751,516
Arts Council Funding – Culture Recovery Fund
-		 -
 - - 48,653
Other Voluntary Income 85,728 -
 - 85,728 83,140
1,873,072 - - 1,873,072 1,883,309
3 Income from charitable activities
Bar 955,060 - - 955,060 999,304
Coffee Shop 629,076 - - 629,076 571,593
Student Shops 366,733 - - 366,733 287,113
Entertainments 22,234 - - 22,234 15,117
Catering Facility Fee 30,000 - - 30,000 30,000
NUS Extra, Bus Pass & Graduate
Portrait Commissions		 119,130 - - 119,130 118,052
Student Services e.g. Give it a Go 5,488 - - 5,488 5,698
Net Clubs & Societies Income - - 33,998 33,998 9,842
2,127,721 - 33,998 2,161,719 2,036,718
4 Income from other trading activities
Venue Hire and Staff Recharges 240,265 - - 240,265 385,100
Media Sales 131,718 - - 131,718 97,180
371,983 - - 371,983 482,280
5 Investments
Interest received from Bank &
Building Society Accounts		 20,428 - -
 20,428 6,994
20,428 - - 20,428 6,994
6 Other Income
Income from Paypal Giving 272 - - 272 0
272 - - 272 0

28

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

7 Analysis of Expenditure

2023 Cost of
Sales		 Staff
Costs		 Other Costs Governan
ce Costs		 Support
Costs		 2023 Total
Cost		 2022
Total
Cost
£ £ £ £ £ £
 £
Raising Funds - 162,519 213,725 3,296 132,295 511,835 425,958
Charitable Activities:
Bars 306,096 352,938 189,949 7,437 298,518 1,154,938 1,115,946
Coffee Shop 222,131 267,297 109,367 5,246 210,548 814,589 643,345
Student Shops 249,691 127,183 30,865 3,572 143,368 554,679 450,107
Entertainments - 41,309 23,298 566 22,716 87,889 111,686
Student Services E.g.
Give it a Go		 - 760,689 167,171 8,128 326,254 1,262,242 1,045,822
Student Societies Net
Expenditure - - - - - - -
777,918 1,549,416 520,650 24,949 1,001,404 3,874,337
 3,366,906
Other:
Pension Deficit Cost 57,163 - - 57,163 -
777,918 1,711,935 791,538 28,245 1,133,699 4,443,335 3,792,864
2022

2022		 202
2022 Cost of
Sales		 Staff Costs Other Costs Governance
Costs		 Support
Costs		 2022
Total
Cost		 2021
Total
Cost
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
Raising Funds - 105,936 246,000 3,899 70,123 425,958 301,996
Charitable Activities:
Bars 296,545 317,924 227,550 8,361 265,566 1,115,946 439,641
Coffee Shop 176,951 215,945 92,529 4,820 153,100 643,345 482,657
Student Shops 179,267 134,078 26,276 3,372 107,114 450,107 187,047
Entertainments - 38,236 46,035 837 26,578 111,686 81,295
Student Services E.g.
Give it a Go		 - 678,887 110,220 7,836 248,879 1,045,822 1,191,034
Student Societies Net
Expenditure
- - - - - - 2,001
652,763 1,385,070 502,610 22,226 801,237 3,366,906 2,685,671
652,763 1,491,006 748,610 29,125 871,360 3,792,864 2,685,671

29

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

7 Analysis of Expenditure (cont.)

Of the total expenditure £4,443,335 was unrestricted (2022: £3,792,864) and £nil was restricted (2022: £nil).

The support costs and governance costs are allocated to activity based on the proportion of that activity’s direct costs to total costs.

In addition to the staff costs above, there are a further £855,207 (2022: £659,022) which are included in governance costs and support costs.

Governance and support costs can be analysed as follows:

Staff costs
Staff Recruitment, training & social costs
Facility Costs
Office & finance costs
Travel, subsistence & conference costs
Legal, professional & consultancy
Marketing/Website costs
Equipment purchase, hire & maintenance
Irrecoverable VAT
Depreciation
Sundry costs		 2023
2022
£
£
855,207
659,022
32,863
10,787
54,737
40,195
52,036
39,168
6,668
2,001
35,810
29,005
40,056
15,495
26,442
27,099
33,778
39,747
23,296
24,984
1,031
12,982
1,161,944
900,485

8 Net income/(expenditure) for the year

8 Net income/(expenditure) for the year
This is stated after charging: 2023 2022
£ £
Depreciation 119,542 128,827
Bad Debts incurred/(recovered) 2,641 5,418
Auditors remuneration:
Audit 9,000 9,000
Other Services 450 450

30

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

9 Analysis of staff costs and the cost of key management personnel

nalysis of staff costs and the cost of key management personnel
Staff costs were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Social Security costs
Employer’s contribution to a defined contribution pension
Other employee benefits		 2023
2022
£
£
2,332,101
1,944,984
171,060
144,066
53,952
51,798
10,029
9,180
2,567,142
2,150,028

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) during the year between:

£70,000 - £79,999
£80,000 - £89,999		 2023
2022
No
No
-
-
1
1

The total employee benefits including pension contributions of the key management personnel were £329,978 (2022: £334,528).

10 Trustees’ remuneration and expenses

Trustees’ remuneration and expenses
Trustees' remuneration and employer's NI costs
Trustees' expenses		 2023
£
2022
£
92,624
87,418
9,488
5,903
102,112
93,321

Each of the sabbatical officers received a salary of £22,864 per annum (2022: £20,238) as authorized in the Articles of Association of the Liverpool Guild of Students for the representation, campaigning and support work they undertake as distinct from their trustee responsibilities. The work includes voicing student opinion with the University and local community, defending and extending the rights of students through petitions, and discussions with local MP’s.

The trustees’ expenses were incurred by 11 (2022: 12) trustees in respect of travel and subsistence costs in the course of their duties.

No Trustee received remuneration for work undertaken in the delivery of commercial services unrelated to their role as Trustee (2022: nil).

31

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

11 Staff Numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was made up as follows:

Raising Funds
Bars
Coffee Shop
Entertainments
Student Shops
Student Services
Governance
Support Services		 2023
No
2022
No
18.0
9.3
113.7
83.1
38.7
32.4
13.0
3.9
25.0
23.2
38.0
34.0
0.5
0.5
35.2
33.4
282.1
219.8

Of the above staff numbers, 210 (2022: 153) are staff employed under a zero hours contract.

12 Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all of its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

13 Tangible Fixed Assets

ngible Fixed Assets
Cost
At 1 August 2022
Additions
Disposals
At 31 July 2023
Depreciation
At 1 August 2022
Charge for the year
Disposals
At 31 July 2023
Net Book Value
At 31 July 2023
At 31 July 2022		 Office
Equipment and
Fixtures &
Fittings
Specialist
Equipment
Computer
Equipment
Total
£
£
£
£
1,001,070
78,045
106,780
1,185,895
19,077
47,881
3,000
69,958
-
-
-
-
1,020,147
125,926
109,780
1,255,853
775,965
60,676
85,060
921,701
98,761
9,400
11,382
119,543
-
-
-
-
874,726
70,076
96,442
1,041,244
145,421
55,850
13,338
214,609
225,105
17,369
21,720
264,194

32

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

For the year ended 31 July 2023
14 Stock
Bars
Coffee Shop
Shops
15 Debtors
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments & accrued income
16 Current Investments
Carrying value and market value at beginning of year
Additions to investments at cost
Disposals at carrying value
Carrying value and market value at end of year
17 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Social Security and other taxes
University creditor
Other creditors
Pension liability
Accruals & deferred income		 2023
£
2022
£
25,236
19,052
10,053
9,028
63,854
55,081
99,143
83,161
2023
£
2022
£
188,498
184,521

13,734
11,183
159,555
273,396
361,787
469,100
2023
£
2022
£
1,064,050
1,072,850
69,958
964,050
(162,564)
(972,860)
971,444
1,064,050
2023
£
2022
£
176,964
84,592
23,603
26,478
410,110
70,013
202,503
206,143
198,441
188,991
172,890
107,474
1,184,511
683,691

33

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

18 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year

Pension Liability 2023
£
2022
£
2,301,946
2,443,224
2,301,946
2,443,224

19 Deferred Income

Deferred income comprises of venue hire sales invoiced in advance, event tickets sold in advance and the discount relating to future periods from pension deficit contributions paid in advance .


relating to future periods from pension deficit contributions paid in adva
nce.
Balance brought forward
Amounts released from previous year
Amounts deferred during the year
Balance carried forward
0 Financial Instruments
Financial assets measured at amortised cost
Financial assets measured at fair value
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
Financial liabilities measured at fair value through the
Statement of Financial Activities		 2023
£
2022
£
842
2,600
(842)
(2,600)
49,565
842
49,565
842
2023
2022
£
£
296,233
441,681
2,662,355
2,177,760
(963,818)
(493,858)
(2,500,387)
(2,632,215)

20 Financial Instruments

Financial assets held at amortised cost comprise trade debtors and other debtors excluding prepaid costs. Financial assets measured at fair value comprise short term investments and cash at bank and in hand. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise trade creditors, other creditors and accruals. Financial liabilities measured at fair value through the Statement of Financial Activities comprise the pension deficit contribution liability.

The charity’s income, expense, gains and losses in respect of financial instruments are:

2023 2022
£ £
Total interest income for financial assets held at amortised cost 20,428 6,994
Total interest expense for financial liabilities held at amortised cost
 5,582 4,104

34

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

21 Capital Commitments

At 31 July 2023 there were no capital expenditure commitments.

22 Statement of funds movement

tatement of funds movement
Unrestricted funds:
General Fund
Pension Deficit
Designated funds:
Fixed Asset Fund
Guild Strategic Development Fund
Elizabeth Gidney Fund
Restricted Funds:
Societies own income
NUS General Election Fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 Transfer
Balance
01-Aug
Movement in Funds
Between
31-Jul
2022
Income
Expenditure
Funds
2023
£
£
£
£
£
1,901,931
4,393,204
(4,266,629)
(258,949)
1,769,557
(2,632,215)
-
(57,163)
188,991
(2,500,387)
(730,284)
4,393,204
(4,323,792)
(69,958)
(730,830)
264,194
-
(119,543)
69,958
214,609
50,000
-
-
-
50,000
54,738
272
-
-
55,010
368,932
272
(119,543)
69,958
319,619
224,460
33,998
-
-
258,458
4,191
-
-
-
4,191
228,651
33,998
-
-
262,649
(132,701)
4,427,474
(4,443,335)
-
(148,562)
Unrestricted funds:
General Fund
Pension Deficit
Designated funds:
Fixed Asset Fund
Guild Strategic Development Fund
Elizabeth Gidney Fund
Restricted Funds:
Societies own income
NUS General Election Fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 Transfer
Balance
01-Aug
Movement in Funds
Between
31-Jul
2021
Income
Expenditure
Funds
2022
£
£
£
£
£
1,389,165
4,399,459
(3,664,037)
(222,656)
1,901,931
(3,139,327)
330,628
-
176,484
(2,632,215)
(1,750,162)
4,730,087
(3,664,037)
(46,172)
(730,284)
346,849
-
(128,827)
46,172
264,194
50,000
-
-
-
50,000
54,738
-
-
-
54,738
451,587
-
(128,827)
46,172
368,932
214,618
9,842
-
-
224,460
4,191
-
-
-
4,191
218,809
9,842
-
-
228,651
(1,079,767)
4,739,929
(3,792,864)
-
(132,701)

35

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

22 Statement of funds movement (cont.)

Unrestricted funds

Designated funds

The designated funds are unrestricted funds that are created by the trustees for specific purposes.

Restricted funds

The restricted funds comprise:

Reserve transfers

Transfers are made from general reserves to other reserves in order to ensure that adequate funds are available in order to fulfil the purpose of each fund.

23 Analysis of net Assets between funds – current year

Tangible Fixed Assets
Cash & short term investments
Other net current assets/(liabilities)
Defined benefit pension liability		 General
Designated
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
£
£
£
£
-
214,609
-
214,609
2,344,696
55,010
262,649
2,662,355
(575,139)
50,000
-
(525,139)
(2,500,387)
-
-
(2,500,387)
(730,830)
319,619
262,649
(148,562)

36

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Analysis of net Assets between funds – prior year

Tangible Fixed Assets
Cash & short term investments
Other net current assets/(liabilities)
Defined benefit pension liability		 General
Designated
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
£
£
£
£
-
264,194
-
264,194
1,894,371
54,738
228,651
2,177,760
7,560
50,000
-
57,561
(2,632,215)
-
-
(2,632,215)
(730,284)
368,932
228,651
(132,701)

24 Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

24 Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash flow from
operating activities
Net movement in funds
Add back depreciation charge
(Increase)/decrease in stocks
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Increase/(decrease) in deferred benefit pension liability
25 Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash in hand
Current accounts
Deposit accounts
26 Operating Lease Commitments
Within one year
Within two to five years
After more than five years		 2023
£
2022
£
(15,860)
990,564
119,542
128,827
(15,982)
(16,880)
107,314
(367,925)
491,367
200,024
(131,828)
(507,112)
554,553
427,498
2023
£
2022
£
13,514
15,337
1,677,397
1,098,373
971,444
1,064,050
2,662,355
2,177,760
2023
£
2022
£
-
359
-
-
-
-
-
359

37

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

27 Related Party Transactions

The following have been identified as related party transactions per the requirements of FRS 102.

28 Pensions

The Guild participates in three pension schemes: the Students' Union Superannuation Scheme (SUSS), the National Union of Students Pension Scheme (NUSPS) and the National Employment Savings Trust NEST.

SUSS

The Guild participates in the Students’ Union Superannuation Scheme, which is a defined benefit scheme whose membership consists of employees of students’ unions and related bodies throughout the country. Benefits in respect of service up to 30 September 2003 are accrued on a “final salary” basis, with benefits in respect of service from 1 October 2003 accruing on a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) basis. With effect from 30 September 2011 the scheme closed to future accrual.

The most recent valuation of the scheme was carried out as at 30 June 2022 and showed that the market value of the scheme’s assets was £106.7m with these assets representing 44% of the value of benefits that had accrued to members after allowing for expected future increases in earnings. The deficit on an ongoing funding basis amounted to £133.6m.

The assumptions which have the most significant effect upon the results of the Valuation are those relating to the rate of return on investments and the rates of increase in salaries and pensions. The following assumptions applied at 30 June 2022:-

The 2022 valuation extended the scheme’s recovery plan until May 2037, and recommended a monthly contribution requirement by each Participating Employer. This was expressed in monetary terms intended to clear the ongoing funding deficit over a period of 15 years and increased by 5% in October 2023 and at least 5% each year thereafter. These contributions also include an allowance for cost of the ongoing administrative and operational expenses of running the Scheme. These rates will be formally reviewed following completion of the next valuation due with an effective date of 30 June 2025. Surpluses or deficits which arise at future valuations will also impact on the Guild’s future contribution commitment. In addition to the above contributions, the Guild also pays its share of the scheme’s levy to the Pension Protection Fund.

38

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

SUSS is a multi employer scheme and as such it is not possible to account for it as a defined benefit scheme because the share of the overall deficit cannot be allocated to individual participants. The liability included in the accounts is therefore calculated as being the net present value of future funding payments.

In accordance with FRS 102, the net present value of the future contributions required over 13 years to clear the funding deficit is £2,500,387 (2022 - £2,632,215). In calculating this net present value, annual increases of 5% have been made and a discount rate of 5.1% representing the typical yield of high quality corporate bonds has then been applied. The calculation of the net present value in 2023 resulted in pension deficit costs of £57,163 (2022 Pension Liability gain £330,628).

NUSPS

As a consequence of the SUSS scheme closing to future accrual on the 30 September 2011 the Guild has made available to permanent staff the National Union of Students Pension Scheme (NUSPS) with Scottish Equitable PLC which is a money purchase scheme. Eligible jobholders are automatically enrolled into the scheme after a postponement period of 3 months and can choose their level of contributions between 4% and 6%. The employer contribution was 3% and 6% for former members of the SUSS scheme to March 2019 and 4% and 6% thereafter. The total contributions paid into the scheme by the Guild for the year to 31 July 2023 amounted to £109,387 (2022 - £103,884).

NEST

As a consequence of auto- enrolment, a National Employment Savings Trust has been set up in order to auto enrol any applicable Casual staff.

To date no payments have been made to the scheme.

29 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. In the event of winding up the liability of each member is limited to £1.

30 Prior Year Adjustments

There have been no prior year adjustments made.

39

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 July 2023

31 Comparative statement of financial activity

Note
Income from:
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable Activities
3
Other Trading Activities
4
Investments
5
Other Income
6
Pension Liability Gain
28
Expenditure on:
Raising Funds
Charitable Activities
Total resources expended
7
Net Income/(expenditure)
8
Transfers between funds
22
Net Movement in Funds

Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
22		 Unrestricted Funds
2022
General
Funds
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total
£
£
£
£
1,883,309
-
-
1,883,309
2,036,876
-
9,842
2,036,718
482,280
-
-
482,280
6,994
-
-
6,994
-
-
-
-
330,628
-
-
330,628
4,730,087
-
9,842
4,739,929
417,585
8,373
-
425,958
3,246,452
120,454
-
3,366,906
3,664,037
128,827
-
3,792,864
1,066,050
(128,827)
9,842
947,065
(46,172)
46,172
-
-
1,019,878
(82,655)
9,842
947,065
(1,793,660)
451,587
218,809
(1,079,767)
(730,284)
368,932
228,651
(132,701)

40