## **St Philip’s Church Annual Report for 2023** ## **Aim and Purposes** The aim and purpose of St Philip’s Church Parochial Church Council (PCC) is to co-operate with the minister, Revd Ruth Barry, in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for maintaining the church building at 185 Mill Road and the church’s other properties. ## **Objectives and Activities** The PCC is committed to supporting the ministry and mission of St Philip’s Church, so that the church congregation and others in the parish can worship God, grow together as disciples of Christ, serve the local community, and enable others to encounter Jesus. To achieve these objectives, the PCC maintains an overview of worship services and community activities in the church building; encourages discipleship through small groups and prayer meetings at home and online; builds partnerships with other organisations, like Cambridge Sustainable Food and St Philip’s School; and seeks to support the local ministry of the incumbent and others, for example in pastoral visiting and friendship and connections with local charities. The PCC also oversees the hiring of the church building by community groups and individuals, and works with the Operations Manager to maintain the fabric of the building, improve it as a welcoming space, and make the church’s activities environmentally sustainable. The PCC is responsible for maintaining three properties belonging to St Philip’s Church, and makes decisions about charitable giving. In November 2023, the PCC began a process of reflection and discernment, assisted by Mark Rodel, the Diocese of Ely’s Development Officer for Fresh Expressions and Pioneer Ministry. From this, a renewed vision statement for the life of the church will emerge in 2024. 1 ## **Achievements and Performance** ## Worship Services St Philip’s seeks to offer varied opportunities for different groups in the parish to worship and learn together. In 2023, the main Sunday service at 10.30 was typically attended by about 60 people. Alternating each week between All Age worship and a Holy Communion service with a children’s group, this service has provided a welcoming space for families and single people of all ages. The children’s group, ‘Explorers’, is led by Tatiana Santos, Bea Ridley and Lucy Sixsmith and has grown in number over the year. A fortnightly Sunday morning Holy Communion service at 8.30 offers a space for quiet reflection, and a new Midweek Communion service at noon on Wednesdays is a similarly peaceful time in the middle of the week. This year, Revd Ruth also began a monthly service at Brook House Care Home, where residents have appreciated the music, connection and opportunity to receive communion. The St Philip’s youth group, The Edge, continues to meet each fortnight for games, hot chocolate, discussion and prayer. ## Special Events On Easter Sunday, over 90 people attended the St Philip’s sunrise service and 10.30 Communion service, where the children enjoyed an Easter egg hunt and everyone joined together to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. There were quieter services on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, to mark the stages of our journey through Easter week. Later in the year, St Philip’s offered an All Souls service for the first time, as well as a Blue Christmas service, creating room in the church for sadness and remembering. A small group joined in Advent devotions in the run-up to Christmas, while the annual Carol Service brought together many from the church and the wider community, and the Crib Service engaged children in an active retelling of the Christmas story. This was followed by Midnight Communion and a joyful Christmas Day service. ## Community Activities Warm Spaces has remained open on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year, since a warm welcome is just as 2 important in the summer months as in winter. A friendly community of regular guests attend this group, and it has provided support and encouragement for many of them in different ways. Some guests come on Wednesdays and stay on for Communion, while others arrive early on Fridays for a relaxed Bible discussion group. These sessions are overseen by the Parish Assistant, Lucy Sixsmith, supported by Revd Ruth and volunteers from the local community and the church. A number of Warm Spaces guests also attend ‘Phil’s People’, our monthly community meal on a Monday evening. All these spaces provide a relaxed, homelike space where everyone is welcome. In December, the church opened as a choir venue for Mill Road Winter Fair, and saw many enthusiastic singers and their audiences pass in and out, as well as others who were glad of a tea or coffee on a cold day. We are grateful for the hard work of Warm Spaces and CSF volunteers who help to cook, make tea and coffee, chat to guests and make sure everyone is safe and welcome. ## Partnerships Our community work has benefited from an ongoing partnership with Cambridge Sustainable Food, who have used the church kitchen through much of the year. CSF have cooked for Phil’s People and begun a pay-as-you-feel pop-up café on Wednesdays, as well as preparing food at St Philip’s for their holiday lunch clubs and other projects. The café space has also proved useful, along with the main auditorium, as a venue for Romsey Music Project’s classical and folk concerts, which bring many musical residents of Romsey together, followed by tea and conversation. One of the church’s properties, Melbourne House, represents an ongoing partnership with Jimmy’s Night Shelter. The church also maintains a friendly relationship with Romsey Mill, where Revd Ruth visits once a week to pray with staff. Ruth also visits St Philip’s School regularly to support the staff and parents and lead Collective Worship for the children. Church members support the school in prayer and on the board of governors, and the church building has hosted the school for leavers’ and Christmas services. ## Maintenance 3 The fabric and functioning of the building was supervised throughout the year by our Operations Manager, Rosemary Barrett, with practical support from Alan Syrop. For example, a roof leak was repaired; new blinds were installed in the café; maintenance work, e.g. on toilets and door locks, was undertaken; and a new security alarm system was installed. The church garden was maintained by Peter Andrews, who also supported Alan in maintenance tasks around the building. ## Giving The church donated 10% of members’ giving to the St Philip’s mission partners, which the church also prays for month by month: Wycliffe Bible Translators, Romsey Mill, Friends International, Tearfund, Cambridge Youth for Christ, Concrete Rose, GenR8, Langham Partnership, Cambridge Money Advice, Cambridge Street Pastors, Church Pastoral Aid Society and Leprosy Mission. ## Hiring Throughout the year, the church’s rooms have been regularly used by hirers for a range of activities, including educational and community work, individual and group therapy, drama, dance, yoga and concerts. We appreciate our hirers not only as a source of income but also for the sake of ongoing relationships and the opportunity to support others in Cambridge who are contributing to community and individual well-being. ## Pastoral Care Beyond the church building, regular members of the church community have supported each other in small groups and through friendship. Revd Ruth has regularly visited people at home and in hospital during illness and difficult times, and has supported several families through the funerals of their loved ones. One wedding was also celebrated in St Philip’s, including an unprecedented Zoom link to the bride’s family in Ukraine, and a number of local couples had their banns read at St Philip’s. The church also celebrated the baptisms of two of its youngest members in July. ## Safeguarding 4 Safeguarding at St Philip’s is overseen by Revd Ruth and the Parish Safeguarding Officer, Alan Syrop. We are grateful that Celia Phipps has undertaken safeguarding administration in 2023, to improve and streamline our practice. Several PCC members and other church volunteers have upgraded their safeguarding training, and basic principles and information about safeguarding are now on display on a church noticeboard (along with the posters which were already on display). The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (i.e. to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). ## **Financial Review** (by Jim Griffiths) ## Members Giving The level of members’ giving in 2023 totalled £82k, which was a 7% increase on 2022 and an improvement over our budget forecast. The giving value includes an amount of £13.5k of income tax recovered from HMRC because of members gift aiding their gifts. Several new church members began regular giving during the year which is very encouraging. Grateful thanks to all those who give generously and sacrificially to enable the work of the church to continue. ## Mission and Good Causes Our mission support continued with 10% of undesignated income being given from PCC funds to a variety of home and overseas mission partners, amounting to £7.6k. Each year the church reviews which organisations it supports. One notable change in 2023 was that we began to financially support Concrete Rose, a Cambridge based charity with a Christian ethos, that seeks to support young people with accommodation and educational needs. ## Rent and Hire of Buildings In 2023 we achieved a record level of income from hire of buildings including £21k rents from the 2 houses owned by the church. The income from hiring the church building was also a 5 record of almost £60k, although some of this was due to our decision at the end of 2022 to cancel our VAT registration. By and large we were able to retain the VAT saving achieved, by not having to pay over to HMRC one sixth of our hire income as in previous years. We must again express our grateful thanks to Rosemary, our Operations Manager, for all her hard work and efficiency in looking after our church building and dealing with the numerous hirers of our rooms and facilities. ## Parish Share At the end of 2022, and in the light of the good state of our church finances, the PCC felt challenged to review the level of Parish Share that we pay to the Cambridge Deanery. The Deanery were only seeking a 4% increase from us for 2023, but the PCC decided to volunteer to pay an extra 12%, thus narrowing the gap between our Parish Share and the total “all in” cost of a full-time minister. ## Employee Costs Apart from Parish Share, employee costs are the biggest area of cost for the church and this totalled £49k in 2023. Our 2 employees are an Operations Manager and a Parish Assistant, and we are much blessed in having Rosemary and Lucy performing these roles. The Parish Assistant position was a newly created position which commenced on 1st April 2023. ## Other Expenditure Most categories of expenditure were well within the budget allowances. We saw reductions in our energy costs due mainly to the closure of the café in May 2022, as the café used a considerable amount of electricity. Building repair and maintenance costs were well below budget, but this was mainly due to a deferral of certain planned expenditure. We did however incur some unbudgeted cost on fixtures and fittings, including blinds to the café windows and some extra chairs. ## Summary 6 The Budget agreed by PCC for 2023, forecast a deficit of £11k but in the event, God gave us yet another surplus, this time £7k! The church finances are very healthy, and we are now well placed to tackle some of the longer-term repairs and improvements that the church needs. Our strong finances should also help us with the cost of refurbishments to the house at 13 Thoday Street. Our dear friend Stan Downing, who died in 2023, bequeathed 13 Thoday Street and other estate to the church. We expect the house to be formally transferred to the church by the executors, early in 2024; because the house does not yet legally belong to the church, its value is not included in the 2023 accounts. Our grateful thanks to Anke Friedrich our Treasurer for all her diligence and hard work during 2023. Many thanks also to Rosemary for all that she does with the financial management of the church. Grateful thanks also to our Independent Reviewer, Mick Lumsden, who has been carrying out our Review for over 30 years. Mick now lives in the Netherlands, so these days the whole Review process needs to take place via Zoom meetings and email exchanges. We are so grateful that Mick is willing to continue for the moment despite having a new life in Enschede, Netherlands. ## **Reserves Policy** (agreed March 2019 and revised in 2021) The agreed policy of the PCC is to retain minimum unrestricted revenue in the general fund equivalent to three months’ expenditure, based on the annual budget set each year. Whereas the PCC consider it unnecessary to create a new reserve fund within the balance sheet, we will ensure that we never approve an annual budget that would threaten the general revenue fund dropping below the equivalent of three months’ expenditure. The PCC will review the level of reserves necessary, on an annual basis, in the light of our intended mission and ministry activities, and also the level of our 7 staffing; and then decide whether three months’ cover remains sufficient. The PCC, in carrying out any review, will also take into account other designated Funds that have been set up. ## **Plans for Future Periods** The church’s activities in ministry and mission continued to strengthen in 2023, and we hope that in 2024 we will see further growth in our services, Warm Spaces community gatherings, small groups, pastoral support network, community partnerships, and other connections across the parish. The PCC and others will also continue the Discerning Together process, which we hope will integrate the many different aspects of life at St Philip’s through a sense of shared vision and purpose. Working with the Operations Manager, the PCC hopes to begin a series of maintenance and refurbishment activities over the next five years, and a schedule for these will be developed early in the year. These projects will increase the sense of welcome, ease and comfort we offer in the building, and will be designed to improve our status as an eco-church. ## **Structure, Governance and Management** The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is a Registered Charity. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At St Philip’s the membership of the PCC consists of the vicar, the churchwardens, the licensed lay minister, deanery synod reps, and nine lay members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church. All those who regularly attend our services are encouraged to register on the electoral roll and stand for election to the PCC. 8 The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on matters of general concern and importance to St Philip’s Church, including deciding how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. All PCC members undertake safeguarding training and are subject to a DBS check. The PCC meets monthly, except in August, December, and the month in which there is an APCM. Each PCC member acts as Link Person for an area of church life (e.g. discipleship and small groups, buildings and equipment, health and safety). The Link Person liaises with those who are active in this area and reports back to the PCC. The PCC also hears reports from the incumbent, the operations manager, the parish safeguarding officer and the financial overseer. ## **Administrative Information** St Philip’s Church is situated on Mill Road, Romsey Town, Cambridge. It is part of the Diocese of Ely within the Church of England. The correspondence address is: St Philip’s Church, 185 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 3AN. The St Philip’s Church Charity Registration Number is 1142474. PCC members who have served at any time from 1 January 2023 until the date this report was approved are: Ex officio members: - Incumbent: The Revd Ruth Barry (chair) - Associate Vicar: Catherine Ievins (until May 2023) - Licensed Lay Minister: Michael Priestley - Churchwardens: Jane Batten (until May 2023), David Brown (from May 2023), Martin Clark Elected members: - Polly Macartney, Deanery Synod representative - Jim Griffiths - Chris Illingworth - Jane Batten (from May 2023) - David Brown (until May 2023) - Bea Ridley 9 - Robin Nelson - Tatiana Santos - Peter Andrews - Eric Chen - Alan Syrop - Andrew Stannard (until May 2023) - Elaine Skidmore (until May 2023) - Lucy Sixsmith (until May 2023) Our bank is: CAF Bank Ltd., 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling ME19 4JQ. Our Independent Examiner is: Mr M. E. Lumsden, Haarspithoek 63, 7546 KH Enschede, Netherlands. Day-to-day management of St Philip’s Church is delegated to the incumbent, Revd Ruth Barry, and the operations manager, Rosemary Barrett, and the parish assistant, Lucy Sixsmith. 10 ROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. PHILIP CAMBRIDGE STATEMENT OF ACC UNTS YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2023 #r Istrallon Number: 1142474 TREASURER .. ANKE FRIEDRICH Accounts & Statements JIM Grlfflth Prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and the Church Accounting Regulats'ons 2006 CCOUNTING POLICIE and DISCL asis of Fin ncial Sts The financial slalements have teen prepared under the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 in accordance with applicable accounting standards and the current stalemerrt of Recommended Prncticg Accounting and Reporting by Charities ISORP} 2015 The financi81 statements have been prepared under the histonol eosl convention except for investment assets, whlch are shown at market value. The financial statements indude 811 transacbcms, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not ir￿ude the accounts of church groups thal owe their affiliation to another body. n¢y those that are infcrfmal gatherirvJs ol church Ir￿lber$. The PCC has opted to prepare the Accourrts on an AcGNals b￿3 even I￿gh there Is r￿ requirement to do so. Flxed In 2007, Clarence Melboume a fom)er chur¢h member, bequeathed a house and this 15 registered in the name of 'The Parochial Church Council of the Parish of St.Phllip. Cambridge". These accounts include the house at 6, Broxboum6 Clo$•, cam￿ld9$. ¢)n the Balanca Sh881 at Net Valuation as estimated by Jim Griffiths. In F8bruary 2014 thé church purchawj 12. Stourtyidgè Grove, Cambridg0- S•e Not• 7 Stanlty Downlng, a l(higstandlng memter of the church (tied In January 2023, beql￿8thad his entire estate to St. Phllip's Church. Stan's only real asset 1$ hls IKyJse at 13, Tfrt)day Street. Cambridge, and we are currently wailing lor hls Executors to arr8ry transfer of the legal title. The house is in a very poor Stale of repalr and tho PCC18 CUTrenUy reviewing fLtture options for the refU￿1￿hmerrt of the hwse alon9 th il's future use. The currgnl net value of the house 18 probably at least £300,000. Tho hou88 do68 not legalty belong lo the PCC at the a¢¢ounts date and ltr￿ is DQI indLKled In these a¢¢ounl5. The regul8llon8 require an Annual Réport wthich links and relates the Finanaal Stalem8r)ts to the aims, objectlves and acliwlies of the Church. The Annual Report is published separatdy lo these financ¢al stal¢mont8 bLrt wll contain a Ravi*w of the Flnanud Activitses for Year En￿3 31st December 2023. èxtracted from those account8. Tr Demk and MgrgaTrt Rewlings are Chwrtt membeTS and are also tenants (effthty INe tanants) of 8, Broxboume Clo•e; they pald rnnt durlng tho yoar totalllng £6.249.66 {soe al80 Note8 4 and 5 to Ihg Ac¢ounl8> owm•n Fun The late Rev. A.G.L. Hunt e¥fj¢ar of St. Phlllp8 192&196318poofi6d in hi8 Will that the I￿oM¢ 8rl8ing from the Capital invested, mu81 onty be used for fitmenls. rep•iTr arKI m8inlenance of Parish Buildings. The PCC has r control or rights regarding the Cawtsl vknKh is thgreft)re exdudèd from th880 accounts.. The PCC de-re9l8tefed for VAT witH effect from Dec4nber 3181 2￿22. and thus VAT wa$ n¢A payable on Hire Income in 2023, nor was VAT redalm8ble on pur¢h8688. The a8reed Poli¢y of the PCC FS to retain minimum unrestrTrcied revenue In the General Fund equlvalent to 3 months expenditure. based on the Annual 8ud8et set each year. Whereas the PCC conslder it unnece$5ary to actually create new Reserve Fund wtthln the Balan￿ Sheet. we wlll ensure ihat we never approve an Annual Budget that would threaten the General Revenue Fund dropplng below the equr¥alent of 3 months eXpend￿￿re. The PCC will review the level of Reserves necessary, on an annual basis. in the Ilght of our intended misslon and mlnlstry activities. and also the level of our staffin& and then decide whether 3 month5 cover remains sufficient. The PCC in tarrying out any review, will abo take into account other designatsd Funds that have been set up. Page I PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. PHILIP CAMBRIDGE ATEMENT OF FIIIANCIAL ACTIVITIES Y￿r Ended D•cemb•r 2023 INCOP41 nrostric Funds End Fun TOT MOTE In¢ome from Memtmlcongreg. 1[*] 82.239 82,239 76,743 Other Voluntsry Income 1{bl 2.226 1.850 £ 2,460 6,535 3.584 Rents & Hire of Buildings 81,171 81,171 96.507 Sundry Income 6.805 6,805 4,195 1.850 2,460 176.751 181.029 DIr￿1 Church A¢tlvttl•s 76,924 76.924 93,802 Bulldlngs & E81ab118hmenmt 2tb] 27.939 £ 2.460 30,398 25,692 Home & Over8•a8 Mission 2[c] 7,650 7,650 8,847 Church Management & Admin. 2[d] 62.636 52,638 33,494 165,149 2,460 167.609 161,634 Balance8 BIFwd at 181 January 2023 972.644 972,644 953.249 Revaluallon & Tran8fers of Furhjs at Dec 23 BALANCES CIFWD at 31st D•c 2023 979,937 1.850 981787 972,644 Page 2 PAROCHIAL CH RCH COUNCIL OF ST. PHILIP CAMBRIDGE BALANCE SHEEr 2023 2022 FIXED ss No 8. 8roxtJoum8 Ckn60 Ho￿& at De¢ 23 valUat￿n 12, Slourbrklge Grove Hert￿e at Dec 23 Valuati¢)n £ 425.CK £ 39),C(O £ WJ5.CO) £ 425,C £ 380.O¢JJ É 805,LI)O RRENT 4t-" Debtors & Prèpayments Petty Cash- Offic8 and Cglé C88h ot Bank 14.355 592 £ ISO,394 (Not• 31 £ 173.446 £ 188.(h)8 £ 171,942 LESS CURREKf LIABILM Crgdilors & Accrual¥ 11.221 NETC 176.787 187,844 Valuabon of Broytsum8lStoufork1g8 23 RoV81ualbn8 al l)8c 2023 £ 805.CrfK) £ 780.(hJJ £ 45,C(Q £ 805,CX)O 1¢ tNot• 41 CambrithJ• Cty Ccwnril- CSF Coc*ary Cl•88 Balaneo At 181 January 2W23 Surplu8 IDeficf(I for Yoar N8t PayM•nts from Pastoral Fund £ 145,754 7.293 £ 125,371 19,39S 988 £ 145,7S4 £ 153.046 Inkl Tr¥n•leffOd in from Ganwd Fwld 16.¢XKI 18,OCQ m•nt Fund Transferred in from Gèneral Fund 2,OC#) na Balance at 1st January 2023 Net Paymants out dufiThJ Year 4.878 174,937 187.844 981.787 972.644 Page 3 PAROCH CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. PHILIP CAMBRIDGE STOTHE ¢COUNT t December NOTE 1 - INC ME Unrnstrl Funds Restrlet•d Fun ndowment Funds Total Funds mber8 Iv 2023 2022 Gfft ￿dad Giving Non Gfft ￿"ded Gr￿n9 Church Cdlections Members Eannarked Gfv In¢ome Tax on Glft Ak1 0th8r Donation8 52.947 7,870 754 52.947 7,870 7$4 49.300 8.800 1.047 13.725 5.406 13,518 7.149 13.518 7.149 82.239 r Volu Hunt Legacy Incom Grants Recefvèd Camb. Sustalnablo Foods- Energy Contrfl¥Jt £ 2.480 2.484 1,1CQ 1.850 2.750 1,326 1.326 228 £ 1800 £ 2,460 HI St Phlllps Centre- Room Hlrg Stourbrklg• Grove Rent Broxboume Ck)6e Rent Café Taklngl £ 59,808 15,173 6,250 141 59,608 15,173 6,250 141 48.389 15.173 5.715 27,231 •] 81.171 PCC F••8 Recer¥ed B8nk Interè81 Fetd In Tarlff Paymen18 Ml8cellanoous1Sncl. Groups C￿l￿1)U￿￿9) 858 856 2,9e6 2,269 713 917 528 2.163 587 713 £ 17 442 £ 17 751 £ 181029 Pa8e 4 PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. PHIUP CAMBRIDGE NOTES T EACC 31 E2-EXP NDITURE Un vSti T(*tal Fund• Fund• 2022 Mknisty.. Parish Shar& Clergy Expenses SubKriptions Café Food & Wages Costs Young Pwle Work Pa$lor81 Payrnent$ 0￿hIp & SeNte8 Refre8hmenl8 Outreath & Lookout CoB18 74.247 19 74.247 19 836 86,158 392 638 22.490 1.995 1,488 481 481 780 312 312 337 £ 76.924 Ingur8nce Church Ullll Church Housekeewng Church Repalr8 & Malntenance VAT Re¢overed- Church Centre Prolect Costs re Broxbourn8 & Slourbridge Hou8 Furnllure & Fhdng8 2.826 7.463 8.278 9.403 2,517 8,642 11,375 9,890 7,431 125 573 8.278 2.223 2.223 £ 27.939 2,480 M•rnb8r8 Eamiarked Gmng P.C.C. Glvlng: 797 8,050 7.680 7,650 Offlco & Management Sala￿3 Staff Tralning Sothyare & IT Support Tel8phon8llnlemel Printin9 & Station•ry Ml8eellaneou8 £ 49.016 49,018 359 28,708 511 2,482 587 273 407 587 273 407 473 415 £ 51636 52.636 23.494 £ 165.149 167,609 £ 161.634 Page 5 PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. PHIUP CAMBRIDGE NOTES TO THE ACC UNTS - 31st December 2023 NOTE 3 - Cash at Bank: A¢¢ouThts Dec-22 CAF Current Account Café TSB Business Acxourrt CambrKlge Building Sco'ety 71.818 78,759 185 71,450 £ 101.628 150.394 NOTE 4- Re8tTlctod Fund8: as defined in the Church Accounting Regulations 1997120061. are sum5 that have been restricted by the Donors or sum$ that have been raised lor a specFfi¢ pu￿OSe. (See also Accounting Policies) In May 2023 the church received a Grant from Cambridge City Council. spécrficalty to fund Cookery Classes to be provided by Cambridge Sustainable Foods {CSF}. This Grant was unu8ed at 31112r2023. but has bèen Invoiced by CSF in March 2024. - Endowmen Fund- Hunt L The Church poI￿Y 1$ to use all annual income as an offset against our Repairn and Maintenance expendrture and thus there 1$ no Fund lo be carried forward. The PCC ha8 no att888 lo, or nghts over. the Capital in the Hunt Bequest Fund, however we are advised from ts'me lo lime of the value of the underlying InVestr￿nts, which at 3181 De¢¢mber 2022, amountad to £83,723.97 TE6-P•rS h The Parish Share paid to the Cambridge Deanery In 2023 wa8 £74.247. The PCC volunteernd to pay a hlghor pgrcentage increase for 2023 than was requested by the Deanery. u•e On 28th February 2014. the churth purchased 12. Stourbridge Grove Cambridge for the sum of £287.607 In May 2014 the church entered Into a 3 year lease with Jimm￿• Cambndge. a charfty providing emergency a¢commodation for people who woukj othewse have to sleep rough. The house is used to provide "move on" a¢¢ommodation for guests, generally for periods of about 6 month$, a8 part of tM prLfaS8 of helplng residents to re4ake control of their lives again and regain confidence & sew esteem. Further 3 year agreem8nls were contracted in May 2017. May 2020 & May 2021 The valuation of 12, StourbrKlge Grove shown on the BaL8nce Sheet 1$ the martet value as estimated by Jim Grlffiths. NOTE - Corna The Café c106ed on 20th May 2022 following the departure of the Chef Manager & 80me key volunteers. On 25th September 2022, the PCC decid￿ that the Café r￿t reopen as a Commrcial Café. Page 6 PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF T. PHILIP CAMBRIDGE NOTES TO THE ACCO pirs - 31st December 2023 NOTE -Hom me MIs810 2023 2022 Total Funds Givln Romsey Mill Friends Inlemalional IKairos Trust) C.P.A.S. Cambridge Y.F.C. £ 1,0(M) 650 3C £ 1,000 650 300 500 £ 1,720 550 3CwJ 500 Wycliffe B.T. - TIM & Magglo Gaved TEAR Fund Emmanuel Intemallonal Leprosy Mission Langham Partnership £ 1,650 £ 850 £ 1,650 £ 650 £ 1,500 £ 1,427 700 650 500 800 500 Cambridge Money Advic• Centre Street Pastors Open the Book GenR8 Concrete Rosa Gifts for deparbng Clergy 400 300 300 300 100 300 500 500 100 Page 7 Par Chu I roport on tho wxounts for yew ended 31st Decethi 2023 oul ￿ pwJes 1 to 8. A8 trustee8 olthe charity, tho oflhe PCC gre for the pwrat*Jn of the acLOUrt They ec￿¥KIe1 It￿t an audit is not ￿Ul[0d tr th18 year urrtlerl wbon 14412} of the Charilies Act 2011 and that On IndepuKl•nt Exanmnakn l• needod. 11 * my r8spon$ibilty lo ' ex8mine the accounts under seclk>n 145 of the 2011 Art . folknv the procthluffjs Latd in the General D*xtt#)8 by tha Ch•iity CommbMwx•r• 8ecl*Jn 14515llbl of the 2011 Act.. and • 8t8t• whèther p•rtkul•r matters C¢￿ to ffly attthkn. Audlt R•qulf•m•nt Under the Chariim Act. chorit*s tmth a gw bncn. An •xamlnatton Includm a of th• 4tt4)untiw rKMl• k•pt by th Ch•rity oThyarrdon of the ao>Junts wlth thoge r¢eord$. 11 akn Indudes r￿n8￿1•n.n9 #ny unu•u•l item$ ar diKlosur88 in ts •o>)unts and 888king •xpLgnBtion8 frc¥n ycw B• Tnth8 iy)n¢eming swh matt•r•. Tho prrKxdure8 und•rt*k•n do not proYid• all thg eVk1•n￿ that wouhl be requlrtd In an audft, and l **) exy••J w a￿11 tylnlon ￿ th• vlaw given by the K¢ounts. 111 whtch 9lve8 me r•a8onabKI to ￿￿#¥* that In •ny ff•t•rlAf rwecl rnquliwnfjnt• . lo keep *c￿￿nI￿9 re¢ord8 In aCLx*dwK• &￿t1)Th 130 01 the 2011 Chgrmkns Art or 121 to vthKh, kn my alt•nlkn •houkl ￿ drv*n kn ryowto •nabl• • propor understandlng of th• 8CC4Xtnt• to b• f•ach•l. D*: q-.rf AAi2cg Zc)XS& Mr, M.E. Lumsd Haarspithoek 83 7546 KH En8¢h•d• Nothgrfands PaB• 8 **Saint Phillips Church, Cambridge. Report to the PCC Accounts, year ended 31st December 2023. Independent examination.** ## **INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND** I have carried out an independent examination of the accounts of the church which shows net assets of £979,937. I am happy to sign the report. This report is prepared for the PCC. It seeks to put the work done in the context of the church accounts. There are comments both on the work done and on the accounts themselves. In carrying out my detailed work I have liaised primarily with Jim Griffiths who I have known for over 30 years. I have always found him to be competent and honest but the PCC should be aware that there is a risk that my own judgement could be clouded by this relationship. Further, the PCC needs to be aware that they hold collective responsibility for the accounts. ## **Nature of a formal independent review.** You should be aware that an independent review is not an audit. An independent review focuses on testing a number of transactions in order to determine whether the system is working and thus forms a valid basis for the accounts. In addition it tests the validity of some transactions. It gives the PCC some confidence that the financial reporting is under control. By contrast an auditor gives an opinion that the accounts give a “true and fair view“. An audit is a much more rigorous process. ## **Limitation of an independent examination and refinement of my work** In my opinion a simple independent examination would give little value to the PCC. The church is very fortunate to have a very experienced accountant involved (Jim Griffiths) who is not only very able and experienced but has proved his commitment to Saint Philip’s church for more than 50 years. In my opinion the expertise applied to the church account is probably better than 90% of comparable churches. In my view, with this level of expertise and experience applied to the accounting system, it is extremely unlikely that any independent examiner would find any problems at all by following the normal formulaic independent examination process. Put bluntly, if Jim does his work honestly, a process of Independent Examination would be unlikely to find an error that Jim had missed; if Jim were dishonest, it’s unlikely that the process of Independent Examination would bring this to light. ## **How I have refined my work** I have learned from experience that the best way to find problems within the financial system is to understand the systems and ask pertinent questions. This has never failed to lead me to the important/problematic areas in the accounts. I have therefore held Zoom meetings with Jim Griffiths to discuss the accounts (one of which also involved the treasurer, Anke Friedrich) and the accounting process and I have inspected relevant evidence where I considered it appropriate. I have also attempted to apply general auditing principles in order to give a little more assurance to the PCC. ## **My credentials and limitations of the work I have done.** I was a member of St Philips church for several years in the 1990s, initially when Ray Smith was the vicar. Having moved house in 1992 we moved on from Saint Phillips and I have been the independent examiner for many years thereafter. I qualified as a chartered accountant in 1991 and spent my career mostly in the field of audit, retiring in 2017. I am no longer a member of the ICAEW, and do minimal accounting/audit work, so it could be argued that there is a danger that I am “out of touch“. However, I do not think this has adversely affected my work; the basic principles have not changed, and I am not seeking to verify compliance with new rules and regulations. I am now living in the Netherlands and therefore the work has been facilitated with the use of email and zoom. Again, I do not think this has adversely affected my work. ## **THE WORK DONE** ## **The Balance Sheet – Statement of Assets** The balance sheet is a statement of the assets and liabilities of the church. I seek to give assurance that the assets exist and are fairly valued, and that the liabilities are complete. The focus is thus on testing the possibility that the balance sheet overstates the value of the net assets; I believe this to be more important than under valuation. ## **Existence and valuation of assets** The most valuable assets are the two properties. It is self-evident that these properties exist – for example rent is received! I have done no work to verify legal title. You will be aware that the properties have not been re-valued in the year. This appears reasonable but I have not checked the valuation. The values assigned are largely academic as I understand there are no plans to sell, at least in the short term. The other principal asset is bank balances and these have been tied into third-party evidence – bank statements or equivalent. I have reviewed the debtors, which all appear reasonable, and consistent with the previous years. I have not carried out any detailed testing. ## **Completeness of creditors or liabilities** Creditors have increased considerably. The principle item was a sum of over £4,500 in respect of roof repairs. The other increases recorded all seemed reasonable, and in any case, the focus of the work was on understatement of creditors. All significant items from the previous year were considered – an appropriate creditor had in all cases been included in the 2023 schedule. ## **Income and expenditure** This is set out on page 2 of the accounts in the Statement of Financial Activities. Details are given in notes 1 and 2. ## **Completeness of income** In a formal audit one seeks to gain assurance that all income is captured and recorded accurately in the accounting system. With a church there are some unique difficulties, particularly uncertain levels of donations. I will comment on the main sources of income below: ## **Congregational giving** Traditionally this has been difficult to control because there have been large amounts of cash and giving has been private and anonymous. When large amounts of cash are collected it is notoriously difficult to manage. However, over the last few years there has been a move away from cash to direct bank transfers. This eliminates the risk associated with cash. As congregational giving in cash has continued to fall, the risk is reduced further in this area. ## **Rent and hire of buildings** This is a very significant source of income for the church. Invoices are raised by the centre manager who receives advice from Jim and Anke and reports to the Centre Management Committee. When customers settle their invoice, it is mostly by direct transfer into the relevant bank account. It is theoretically possible that occasionally invoices are not raised but given the experience of the centre manager and her “supervisor“, if there are any such omissions it seems to me they are likely to be rare. In addition there has been a significant increase in income from room hire in line with expectations resulting from the VAT deregistration – it was explained to me that prices have been increased so that customers continue to pay the same price (in other words the church has the benefit of the VATderegistration. ## **Sundry donations** These can be significant. It is difficult to find an easy way to verify such donations because it is difficult to know what to expect! However, as such donations are usually paid directly into the church bank account there seems little cause for concern. ## **Expenditure –for the beneft of the church?** An auditor would seek to establish that the expenditure recorded is genuinely applied to the church. I have sought to consider the main items of expenditure and verify these as follows: ## **Parish share £74,247** This was agreed to the notice/receipt from the Ely Diocese dated 18[th] January 2024. It is a significant increase on last year which was apparently a PCC decision. ## **Other Costs** I requested and received the following: A breakdown of the Fixtures & Fittings cost of £2,223 A breakdown of the Salaries costs shown in the accounts amounting to £49,016. A breakdown of the Repairs and Maintenance £9,403 A breakdown of the church houses costs £406 From each of these I selected to or3 invoices or equivalent and was able to agree the specific invoices to the breakdown provided. ## **Other expenditure** I have reviewed for reasonableness and checked some figures and transactions and found no problems. Of course, the fact that I found no problems does not mean that there are no problems; I was not carrying out an audit! ## **IMPORTANT CHANGES IN THE YEAR** 1. **Café and Cambridge Sustainable Foods** . The facilities retained when the Café project was terminated have been utilised at a much lower level in part through a partnership with Cambridge Sustainable Foods. This work involving “Warm Spaces” does not seem to have a significant financial impact. 2. **Parish Assistant** . With the closure of the Café I had expected salaries to fall; in fact there has been a large increase owing to the appointment of a Parish Assistant. 3. **Reserves** . The church has very considerable cash reserves. This is of course not a problem in itself. However, all charities do have to be aware of the requirements placed on them by the Charities Commission to have purposes for the reserves held. The comments in 4. below are relevant here. 4. **Vision and bequeathed property** . With the new vicar having been in place for over a year now, there may well be some changes in direction. Or not! It appears that very shortly there will be a need for decisions to be made regarding the property in Thoday Street to which the Church should shortly acquire legal title. Given the amount of work which may be needed to upgrade the property, these decisions would be expected to be very important. 5. **Vicar’s Expenses.** The vicar is entitled to claim appropriate expenses, but the levels seem to have fallen dramatically. This matter was discussed and rather than reflecting significantly different levels of expenditure incurred by the former and current vicar, it seems that they operate in a different way. The method used by the current minister enables the accounting team to assign expenditure to a specific category – this explains why the sum in the “general pot” entitled vicar’s expenses has again fallen dramatically. There seems to be no easy way to compare the expenditure of the current and former ministers – but there appears no reason to want to do this! ## **Impact of changes** Last year it was noted that the closure of the café, the reduction in the number of employees, the implementation of a more appropriate accounting package and the VAT deregistration all made the accounting process simpler and significantly reduced the pressure on the finance team. It appears that 2023 has indeed been significantly more straightforward for both Jim and Anke. ## **OTHER ISSUES** ## **Risk of fraud or error.** If the accounts do contain inaccuracies, these would be caused by either fraud or error. The financial system is now much less complicated but it is staffed by unqualified volunteers. It is therefore inevitable that some errors do occur. However, the work done by Jim Griffiths is by way of high-level review and I believe that his review would uncover any significant errors, particularly now as the financial system has become much simpler. With regard to fraud, it seems to me that the only person who would be in a position to carry out any significant fraud would be Jim himself. I think in all likelihood any fraudulent activity by another individual would be detected by Jim. I have known Jim Griffiths for over 30 years, and I have enormous respect for him and his work. I suspect that most if not all of the PCC members share my view. But I would remind them of the fundamental principle “trust is not a control “. I have therefore discussed the system with Jim and Anke and it appears to me from our discussions that the system is set up in such a way that Jim is not able to process transactions – particularly he is not a signatory on any of the bank accounts. This was confirmed by Anke and the importance of this situation has been stressed to the PCC. It appears to me that if a fraud were to be carried out it would have to involve collusion between Jim and Anke and one of Roy, Robin or Tom. In my opinion that risk is very low. ## **Jim’s ongoing role** I reported in March 2022 as follows: _“Jim has served the church for many years as the “financial guru“. However he is no longer a young man and he has responsibilities as a husband, father and grandfather. The large amount of work that he continues to put in for the church appears to be a burden to him and his family._ _Steps have been taken so that in the long run the high-level input should be reduced (particularly as a result of the installation of the Liberty system)._ _However, in my opinion, the PCC does need to be urgently considering how the burden can be lifted from Jim and his family – or at least reduced._ _A starting point would be to consider the action that would be necessary if Jim were to be incapacitated. A second step might be discussing with Jim a provisional end date for his input, and a plan to enable him to put down the burden._ _I know that the Queen of England is still working hard at the age of 95. In the Netherlands the monarch retires…….in my opinion Jim should not be expected to go on forever!”_ This comment was added last year – in March 2023 _While the pressure has been significantly reduced and Jim has expressed satisfaction at the changes (and willingness to continue), it continues to be my opinion that the PCC need to have a clear idea of what would need to be managed if Jim were not available on a temporary or permanent basis._ 2024. I have again discussed the current position with Jim. It is clear that the system and the whole accounts preparation process is very much more straight forward than it has been for many years. If Jim were not available it appears that it would be not too difficult for the accounts to be prepared by a professional firm of accountants. For the record, my personal view is that Jim has served St Philip’s Church way beyond the call of duty. My hope is that in the near future he will be able to retire form this position and devote his time to his family and friends and enjoy his well-earned retirement. M E Lumsden Enschede The Netherlands 8th March 2024