**REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 07538636 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1143727** ## **Report of the Trustees and** **Unaudited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** **for** ## **Essex Book Festival** Fisher Michael Chartered Accountants The Old Grange Warren Estate Lordship Road Writtle Essex CM1 3WT **Essex Book Festival** **Contents of the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** |||**Page**|| |---|---|---|---| |**Report of the Trustees**|1|to|2| |**Independent Examiner's Report**||3|| |**Statement of Financial Activities**||4|| |**Balance Sheet**||5|| |**Notes to the Financial Statements**|6|to|9| |**Detailed Statement of Financial Activities**||10|| **Essex Book Festival** ## **Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 May 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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) (effective 1 January 2019). ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** ## **Objectives and aims** The objectives of the charity are to advance the education of the public in Essex by promoting literature, reading for pleasure and supporting and developing writers. The objectives are met, primarily, through an annual Essex Book Festival, which offers opportunities for local, national and international authors to discuss their works, writing workshops and competitions for budding authors. ## **Significant activities** The period covering 1st June 2020 to 31 May 2021 marks an exceptional period of activity for Essex Book Festival. As a result of Covid-19, Essex Book Festival moved the festival from March 2021, to take place over an extended period June-September 2021. This decision was taken to ensure that the festival was able to present a wide range of events and activities, some online and some in person, in 40+ venues across Essex, including two digital international events in partnership with organisations based in Abuja (Nigeria) and Melbourne (Australia). This had a direct impact on our income and expenditure for this accounting period. Most significantly, there was no festival in that accounting period and with that no income from ticket sales or other earned sources, i.e. book sales commissions. However, it also meant that there was no festival expenditure other than ongoing administration director and coordinator fees, that is, despite grant income from Arts Council England for our #WordsMatter Despite the many challenges over the last 18-months, Essex Book Festival has proved to be financially robust while also supporting a range of creative project across the county out of the festival 'season'. ## **Public benefit** Our main activities and who we try to help are described above. All our charitable activities focus on the education of the public and are undertaken to further our charitable purposes for the public benefit. ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** ## **Reserves policy** The Essex Book Festival maintained two reserves during the year. The general reserve is maintained at a level which the board of Trustees believe is required in order to continue to run the charity as a going concern. It is the Trustees' opinion that a relatively high general reserve is required in order to mitigate the risks around future grant and other support income. The current reserve level will offer some certainty to provide future festivals through to 2022. The charity also maintains restricted reserves generated from the Arts Council England. The reserves will be used to develop specific projects, partnerships and audiences with the aim to embed diversity into all our festival events. ## **Going concern** No material uncertainties exist regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** ## **Governing document** The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. ## **Recruitment and appointment of new trustees** The directors of the company are also charity trustees for the purposes of charity law. The trustees are elected to serve at Annual General Meetings. ## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS** ## **Registered Company number** 07538636 (England and Wales) Page 1 **Essex Book Festival** ## **Report of the Trustees** ## **for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** **Registered Charity number** 1143727 ## **Registered office** 125 High Street Colchester Essex CO1 1SZ ## **Trustees** P B Donaldson Mrs S M Ford J R Lucas J A Macdonald Ms P A Gaudin Ms C Shestopal ## **Independent Examiner** Fisher Michael Chartered Accountants The Old Grange Warren Estate Lordship Road Writtle Essex CM1 3WT This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. ## 14/10/2021 Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by: ........................................................................ J A Macdonald - Trustee Page 2 **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Essex Book Festival** ## **Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Essex Book Festival ('the Company')** I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 May 2021. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act'). Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act. ## **Independent examiner's statement** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe: 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or 4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)). I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Mrs A S Kaley Fisher Michael Chartered Accountants The Old Grange Warren Estate Lordship Road Writtle Essex CM1 3WT 14/10/2021 Date: ............................................. Page 3 **Essex Book Festival** ## **Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** |Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
Notes
£
£
**INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM**
Donations and legacies
17,441
61,225
**EXPENDITURE ON**
**Charitable activities**
Event Costs
3,751
26,263
Governance costs
-
-
Other
13,617
34,962
**Total**
17,368
61,225
**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**
73
-
**RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS**
**Total funds brought forward**
27,299
-
**TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD**
27,372
-|2021
Total
funds
£
78,666
30,014
-
48,579
78,593
73
27,299
27,372|2020
Total
funds
£
77,256
43,212
900
48,128
92,240
(14,984)
42,283
27,299| |---|---|---| The notes form part of these financial statements Page 4 **Essex Book Festival** ## **Balance Sheet** ## **31 May 2021** |Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
Notes
£
£
**CURRENT ASSETS**
Debtors
4
365
-
Cash at bank
28,007
-
28,372
-
**CREDITORS**
Amounts falling due within one year
5
(1,000)
-
**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
27,372
-
**TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT**
**LIABILITIES**
27,372
-
**NET ASSETS**
27,372
-
**FUNDS**
6
Unrestricted funds
**TOTAL FUNDS**|2021
Total
funds
£
365
28,007
28,372
(1,000)
27,372
27,372
27,372
27,372
27,372|2020
Total
funds
£
9,539
47,060
56,599
(29,300)
27,299
27,299
27,299
27,299
27,299| |---|---|---| The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 May 2021. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2021 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for - (a) ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and - (b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime. The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on ............................................. and were signed on its behalf by: 14/10/2021 ............................................. J A Macdonald - Trustee The notes form part of these financial statements Page 5 **Essex Book Festival** ## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** ## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES** ## **Basis of preparing the financial statements** The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. ## **Income** All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. ## **Expenditure** Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. ## **Taxation** The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities. ## **Fund accounting** Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements. ## **2. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS** There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 May 2021 nor for the year ended 31 May 2020. ## **Trustees' expenses** There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 May 2021 nor for the year ended 31 May 2020. ## **3. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** |Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
£
£
**INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM**
Donations and legacies
38,146
39,110
**EXPENDITURE ON**
**Charitable activities**
Event Costs
25,468
17,744
Governance costs
900
-
Other
17,262
30,866
**Total**
43,630
48,610|Total
funds
£
77,256
43,212
900
48,128| |---|---| ||92,240| Page 6 continued... **Essex Book Festival** ## **Notes to the Financial Statements - continued** ## **for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** |**3.**|**COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - continued**|**COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - continued**|**COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - continued**|**COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - continued**||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||Unrestricted||Restricted||Total| |||funds||funds||funds| ||||£|£||£| ||**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**|(5,484)||(9,500)||(14,984)| ||**RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS**|||||| ||**Total funds brought forward**|32,783||9,500||42,283| ||**TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD**|27,299|||-|27,299| |**4.**|**DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**|||||| |||||2021||2020| |||||£||£| ||Trade debtors|||-||8,814| ||Prepayments|||365||725| |||||365||9,539| |**5.**|**CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**|||||| |||||2021||2020| |||||£||£| ||Other creditors|||-||3,300| ||Accruals and deferred income|||1,000||26,000| |||||1,000||29,300| |**6.**|**MOVEMENT IN FUNDS**|||||| |||||Net||| |||||movement||At| |||At 1.6.20||in funds||31.5.21| |||£||£||£| ||**Unrestricted funds**|||||| ||General fund|27,299||73||27,372| ||**TOTAL FUNDS**|27,299||73||27,372| continued... Page 7 **Essex Book Festival** ## **Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** ## **6. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued** Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: ||Incoming|Resources|Movement| |---|---|---|---| ||resources|expended|in funds| ||£|£|£| |**Unrestricted funds**|||| |General fund|2,441|(2,368)|73| |Essex County Council Arts Development|15,000|(15,000)|-| ||17,441|(17,368)|73| |**Restricted funds**|||| |Arts Council Grant|61,225|(61,225)|-| |**TOTAL FUNDS**|78,666|(78,593)|73| |**Comparatives for movement in funds**|||| |||Net|| |||movement|At| ||At 1.6.19|in funds|31.5.20| ||£|£|£| |**Unrestricted funds**|||| |General fund|32,783|(10,512)|22,271| |Essex County Council Arts Development|-|5,028|5,028| ||32,783|(5,484)|27,299| |**Restricted funds**|||| |Arts Council Grant|9,500|(9,500)|-| |**TOTAL FUNDS**|42,283|(14,984)|27,299| Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: ||Incoming|Resources|Movement| |---|---|---|---| ||resources|expended|in funds| ||£|£|£| |**Unrestricted funds**|||| |General fund|20,646|(31,158)|(10,512)| |Essex County Council Arts Development|17,500|(12,472)|5,028| ||38,146|(43,630)|(5,484)| |**Restricted funds**|||| |Arts Council Grant|39,110|(48,610)|(9,500)| |**TOTAL FUNDS**|77,256|(92,240)|(14,984)| continued... Page 8 **Essex Book Festival** ## **Notes to the Financial Statements - continued** ## **for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** ## **6. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued** A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows: |||Net|| |---|---|---|---| |||movement|At| ||At 1.6.19|in funds|31.5.21| ||£|£|£| |**Unrestricted funds**|||| |General fund|32,783|(10,439)|22,344| |Essex County Council Arts Development|-|5,028|5,028| ||32,783|(5,411)|27,372| |**Restricted funds**|||| |Arts Council Grant|9,500|(9,500)|-| |**TOTAL FUNDS**|42,283|(14,911)|27,372| A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: ||Incoming|Resources|Movement| |---|---|---|---| ||resources|expended|in funds| ||£|£|£| |**Unrestricted funds**|||| |General fund|23,087|(33,526)|(10,439)| |Essex County Council Arts Development|32,500|(27,472)|5,028| ||55,587|(60,998)|(5,411)| |**Restricted funds**|||| |Arts Council Grant|100,335|(109,835)|(9,500)| |**TOTAL FUNDS**|155,922|(170,833)|(14,911)| ## **7. ULTIMATE PARENT COMPANY** There is no ultimate controlling party. ## **8. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES** There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 May 2021. Page 9 **Essex Book Festival** ## **Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 May 2021** ||2021|2020| |---|---|---| ||£|£| |**INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS**||| |**Donations and legacies**||| |Other income|515|14,346| |Grants|78,151|62,910| ||78,666|77,256| |**Total incoming resources**|78,666|77,256| |**EXPENDITURE**||| |**Charitable activities**||| |Marketing and audience development|17,846|21,985| |Artistic expenditure|11,268|19,807| |Ticket sale costs|-|1,420| ||29,114|43,212| |**Support costs**||| |**Other**||| |Insurance|1,025|998| |Accountancy|900|900| |Development manager fees|47,554|47,130| ||49,479|49,028| |Total resources expended|78,593|92,240| |**Net income/(expenditure)**|73|(14,984)| This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements Page 10