Knowledge 4 All Foundation
Annual report and Unaudited Financial Statements For the year ended 31 March 2023
Charity Registration No. 1146318 Company Registration No. 07013555 (England and Wales)
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Contents
| Knowledge 4 All Foundation Contents |
|
|---|---|
| PAGE | |
| Legal and Administrative Information | 1 |
| Report of the Directors and Trustees | 2 - 4 |
| Independent Examiners' Report | 5 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 6 |
| Balance Sheet | 7 |
| Notes forming part of the Financial Statements | 8 - 13 |
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Contents
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Legal and Administrative Information
Directors
C. De La Higuera D. Mladenic J. Shawe-Taylor M. Jermol M. Grobelnik R. Ghani
Charity Number
1146318
Company Number
07013555
Registered Office
Betchworth House 57-65 Station Road Redhill Surrey RH1 1DL
Principal Office
Department of Computer Science University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT
Independent Examiners
Moore Kingston Smith LLP Betchworth House 57-65 Station Road Redhill Surrey RH1 1DL
Page One
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Report of the Trustees For the year ended 31 March 2023
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 March 2023. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the 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 issued in July 2014.
Constitution and objects
Knowledge 4 All Foundation (also known as K4A) is a charitable company limited by guarantee, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 9 September 2009, which were amended by a special resolution on 8 February 2013. Charitable status was awarded on 9 March 2012 and the company started to operate as a charity from 1 April 2012. The company is referred to as "the charity" throughout this report.
The objects of the charity are to advance education by promoting and facilitating equality of access to scientific and academic knowledge of educational value, without discrimination of any particular kind. This is to be done by the use of electronic media and particularly (but not exclusively) for developing countries.
Trustees (Board of Directors)
C. De La Higuera, D. Mladenic, J. Shawe-Taylor, M. Jermol, M. Grobelnik and R. Ghani were Trustees of the charity throughout the year ended 31 March 2023. They are also directors for the purposes of company law. The range of expertise of the trustees is reviewed periodically to ensure it remains suitable for the needs of the Charity. If additional expertise is required, targeted recruitment takes place. If expertise is considered superfluous then discussions are held with the trustees to discuss their interest in remaining involved in the Charity.
Public Benefit
We have referred to the guidance in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on Public Benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.
Achievements and performance
The Knowledge 4 All Foundation promotes the spread of knowledge and vivid academic debate to anyone with access to the internet anywhere in the world. It therefore benefits all those interested in academic knowledge and debate, where they do not currently have immediate access to such resources and debate. It also helps to develop more widespread interest in such resources and debate. The Foundation promotes the open access to academic resources (such as video lectures, learning objects, paper, reports, books, and scientific data), together with tools to give users access to these resources and to match them to their needs. Furthermore, the Foundation aims to help overcome the barriers of limited discoverability and accessibility, as well as enable interaction between users and providers, and among users with common interests. It is a forum where creators, technology developers, managers and users of such resources and tools can meet to actively promote the free availability and distribution of such content and tools, as well as develop strategies for fostering interactions between users and providers and among users with common interests.
In this period the Foundation was heavily involved in delivering work in the HumaneAI, ELISE and ENCORE+ which are projects funded by the European Commission through the H2020 Programme for research and technological development and Erasmus+, EAC/A02/2019, KA2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices - Knowledge Alliances. All are European Networks with ENCORE+ being a network of OER Centres, HumaneAI-Net and ELISE are networks AI Excellence Centres. The researchers in HumaneAI-Net are coming from 53 institutions across 20 European countries, with coverage stretching comprehensively from east to west and from south to north. ELISE which stands for "European Learning and Intelligent Systems Excellence" and has scientific partners including 23 institutions from 10 EU countries. ENCORE+ is the "European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education" with 9 parners in the field of open education.
Furthermore, the Foundation was successful in investing and strengthening relationships with AI research excellence centres across the Global South to facilitate their collaboration and networking. Specifically working closely with the Internatioanl Research Centre in Aritificial Intelligence (IRCAI) in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The objective of this partnership is to assist IRCAI in developing international projects.
Page Two
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Report of the Trustees (Continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023
Financial Performance and Reserves Policy
The Charity's income decreased this year to £211,166 (2022: £475,852). Total expenditure increased to £456,404 (2022: £286,051), resulting in a deficit of £245,238 (2022: surplus £189,801).
The charity’s reserve policy is to aim to retain sufficient funds to cover the operational costs for the following year. These would include any legal, insurance and accountancy fees together with other costs associated with the maintenance of the charity. We judge that this will ensure a sufficient cushion with respect to unexpected expenditure and delays in securing additional income. At the Balance Sheet date unrestricted funds had decreased to a deficit of £8,030.
The Charity's business model is dependent on successful bidding in European Commission research projects, therefore the spending commitments, potential model is dependent on liabilities and financial forecasts are in line with the Commission's funding cycles.
Plans for the future
The Foundation will invest in strengthening relationships with AI research excellence centres across the Global South in its International Development Programme. To this purpose K4A is one of the founding members of the NAiXUS project which stands for "Network for Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge and SUStainable development". The consortium includes 41 members from 23 countries across the world.
A decision has been taken by the Trustees to work towards closing the Charity following operational difficulties caused by our bank account being closed at very short notice by Santander. Efforts to open a new institutional business account were not successful and this difficulty was only resolved with a temporary solution that has enabled operation until the closure is completed.
Trustees' responsibilities in relation to the financial statements
The Trustees (who are also directors of Knowledge 4 All for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.)
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charitable company and of the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
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 enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They 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.
Page Three
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Report of the Trustees (Continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023
Small Companies Exemption
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:
J. Shawe-Taylor
Date: June 6, 2024
Page Four
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Knowledge 4 All Foundation ('the Company')
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2023.
Responsibilities of 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 - Matter of concern identified
Since the Company's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am member of the ACCA, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I have identified a matter of concern as explained in note 2 (b) to the financial statements and record it here - the trustees have taken the decision to close the Foundation and therefore the financial statements are being prepared on a basis other than going concern.
I confirm that no other matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect:
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1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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2) the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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3) except for the matter of concern noted above 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; and
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4) except for the matter of concern noted above 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 confirm that there are no other matters to which your attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Betchworth House 57-65 Station Road Redhill Surrey RH1 1DL
JAMES SAUNDERS
For and on behalf of Moore Kingston Smith LLP Chartered Accountants
Date:
Page Five
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) For the Year to 31 March 2023
| For the Year to 31 March 2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS Donations and Legacies 3 Charitable Activities 4 Total Operating Income EXPENDITURE Charitable activities 5 Total Operating Expenditure Net Operating Income |
Unrestricted Funds 2023 £ 8,338 - 8,338 55,628 55,628 (47,290) |
Restricted Funds 2023 £ 172,002 30,826 202,828 400,776 400,776 (197,948) |
Total Funds 2023 £ 180,340 30,826 211,166 456,404 456,404 (245,238) |
Total Funds 2022 £ 467,239 8,613 475,852 286,051 286,051 189,801 |
| Transfers between funds | (77,014) | 77,014 | - | - |
| Net movement in funds Total Funds bought forward Total Funds carried forward |
(124,304) 116,274 (8,030) |
(120,934) 189,810 68,876 |
(245,238) 306,084 60,846 |
189,801 116,283 306,084 |
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year and all income and expenditure derives from continuing activities.
Page Six
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2023
| Note Current Assets Debtors 9 Cash at bank Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 10 Total Assets Less Current Liabilities Funds Unrestricted funds: Restricted funds Total Funds |
£ £ 54,782 45,026 99,808 (38,962) 60,846 (8,030) 68,876 60,846 2023 |
£ £ 3,994 312,932 316,926 (10,842) 306,084 116,274 189,810 306,084 2022 |
|---|---|---|
For the financial year ended 31 March 2023 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of the financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.
The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Reporting Standard 102.
June 6, 2024 Approved by the Board on ….................................. and signed on their behalf by:
................................................................ J. Shawe-Taylor Trustee
Company Registration No. 07013555
Page Seven
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2023
1. Status
The company is limited by guarantee and does not have share capital. Every member of the company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of the same being wound up during the time that he is a member or within one year after he ceases to be a member, for the payment of the debts and liabilities of the company contracted before he ceased to be a member, such amount as may be required not exceeding £10.
The company is a registered charity.
2. Accounting Policies
(a) Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). The Charitable Company is a public benefit entity for the purposes of FRS 102 and a registered charity established as a company limited by guarantee and therefore has also prepared its financial statements in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standards applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (The FRS 102 Charities SORP), the Companies Act 2006 and Charities Act 2011.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charitable Company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounding to the nearest pound.
(b) Going Concern
Since the Balance Sheet date the trustees have taken the decision to close the Foundation. These financial statements have therefore been prepared on a basis other than going concern as the Foundation is likely to be closed within a year from the date of approval of these financial statements.
(c) Incoming Resources
All income is recognised when there is entitlement to the funds, the receipt is probable and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income is deferred when the donor attaches conditions outside the Charity's own control or specifies that the resources are to be used in a future accounting period.
(d) Rescources Expended
Expenditure is included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis, inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered. Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is analysed between Direct and Support costs based on the nature of the expense.
Governance costs comprise the cost of running the charity, including external accountancy, Trustees' legal advice and constitutional and statutory compliance costs. These have been included in support costs.
(e) Fund Accounting
Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.
Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for charitable purposes.
(f) Foreign Currency
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated to sterling at the exchange rate on the date of the transaction.
Page Eight
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the Year Ended 31 March 2023
(g) Critical Accounting Estimates and Areas of Judgement
In the view of the trustees, in applying the accounting policies adopted, no judgements were required that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements nor do any estimates or assumptions made carry a significant risk of material adjustment in the next financial year.
(h) Cash Flow Statement
The charity has taken the exemption available in paragraph 7.1B of FRS102 and has not prepared a cash flow statement.
(i) Financial Instruments
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents include cash at bank and in hand and short term deposits with a maturity date of three months or less.
Debtors and creditors
Debtors and creditors receivable or payable within one year of the reporting date are carried at their transaction price. Debtors and creditors that are receivable or payable in more than one year and not subject to market rate of interest are measured at the present value of the expected future receipts or payment discounted at a market rate of interest.
3. Voluntary Income - Donations and Legacies Year to 31 March 2023
| European Commission:Encore+ Unesco Low Resource African Languages Grant Lacuna: Masakhane Deep Learning Indaba 2022 European Commission:Elise Hewlett Foundation: OEWB4 HumanE AI Net Year to 31 March 2022 European Commission: MicroHE European Commission: X5GON AI4D & AI4D2 Cooperative Workshop AfricaNLP OEWB4 Masakhane Other donations |
Unrestricted Funds 2023 £ 6,361 - - - 1,977 - - 8,338 Unrestricted funds 2022 £ - - 2,456 701 1,635 17,616 64,494 21,370 108,272 |
Restricted Funds 2023 £ 19,083 14,198 15,222 63,204 7,908 83 52,304 172,002 Restricted funds 2022 £ 7,156 84,142 16,437 - 4,904 52,846 193,482 - 358,967 |
Total Funds 2023 £ 25,444 14,198 15,222 63,204 9,885 83 52,304 180,340 Total Funds 2022 £ 7,156 84,142 18,893 701 6,539 70,462 257,976 21,370 467,239 |
|---|---|---|---|
Page Nine
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the Year Ended 31 March 2023
4. Income from Charitable Activities
| Year to 31 March 2023 Event sponsorship Year to 31 March 2022 Event sponsorship Expenditure Year to 31 March 2023 Expenditure directly allocated to activities Wages and salaries Direct travel expenses Consultancy Computer Expenses Adveritising Charitable Activities Uncategorised Expense Support costs allocated to activities Independent examiner fees Legal and professional fees Bank charges Year to 31 March 2022 Expenditure directly allocated to activities Wages and salaries Direct travel expenses Consultancy Support costs allocated to activities Independent examiner fees Legal and professional fees Bank charges |
Unrestricted funds 2023 £ - - Unrestricted funds 2022 £ - - Unrestricted funds 2023 £ 16,067 3,573 22,015 - - - 800 6,480 4,593 2,100 55,628 Unrestricted funds 2022 £ 8,145 - 56,634 6,480 8,041 2,892 82,192 |
Restricted funds 2023 £ 30,826 30,826 Restricted funds 2022 £ 8,613 8,613 Restricted funds 2023 £ 64,267 38,208 181,874 2,111 24,337 13,329 76,650 - - - 400,776 Restricted funds 2022 £ 75,378 4,324 124,157 - - - 203,859 |
Total Funds 2023 £ 30,826 30,826 Total Funds 2022 £ 8,613 8,613 Total Funds 2023 £ 80,334 41,781 203,889 2,111 24,337 13,329 77,450 6,480 4,593 2,100 456,404 Total Funds 2022 £ 83,523 4,324 180,791 6,480 8,041 2,892 286,051 |
|---|---|---|---|
5. Expenditure Year to 31 March 2023
Included within support costs are governance costs of £15,117 (2022: £14,521).
Page Ten
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the Year Ended 31 March 2023
6. Employee Costs
| Wages and salaries Employer's NIC Employer's Pension Contribution |
2023 £ 50,249 27,003 3,082 80,334 |
2022 £ 77,000 5,202 1,321 83,523 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
There was one part time employee (2022: 1) and one full time employee (2022: 1) employed by the charity in the year: 1 (2022: 1) employee earned over £60,000 during the year.
7. Trustees and Key Management Personnel
Key management personnel include the Trustees of the Charity and the principal Researcher. The total employee emoluments of the charity's key management personnel were £75,000 (2022: £75,000).
During the year no expenses were reimbursed to trustees (2022 £Nil). Trustees received no remuneration during the year.
8. Taxation
The Company is not liable to Corporation Tax as the income is of an exempt nature.
9. Debtors
| Accrued income Other debtors 10. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Trade creditors Tax and social security Accrued expenses |
2023 £ 52,304 2,478 54,782 2023 25,364 7,118 6,480 38,962 |
2022 £ - 3,994 3,994 2022 £ 4,106 256 6,480 10,842 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
All creditors with the exception of tax and social security are financial instruments and are measured at present value.
Page Eleven
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the Year Ended 31 March 2023
11. Movement in Funds
| Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds UNESCO University College London Deep Learning Humaneai European Commission: Elise European Commission: Encore+ Google: Question Answers Hewlett Foundation: OEWB4 Lacuna: Masakhane Total Funds |
At 1 April 2022 £ 116,274 - - (8,712) 6,168 30,616 13,174 8,080 52,012 88,472 - 189,810 306,084 |
Incoming Resources £ 8,338 14,198 - 63,204 52,304 7,908 19,083 30,827 83 15,221 202,828 211,166 |
Outgoing Resources £ (55,628) (6,886) (12,846) (63,157) (78,265) (13,947) (11,000) (23,224) (57,999) (133,452) (400,776) (456,404) |
Transfers £ (77,014) 12,846 8,712 19,793 - - - 5,904 29,759 - 77,014 - |
At 31 March 2023 (8,030) 7,312 - 47 - 24,577 21,257 15,683 - - - 68,876 60,846 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unrestricted funds comprise those funds which the trustees are free to use in accordance with the charitable objects.
The Encore+, HumaneAI and Elise projects are funded by the European Commission in the Erasmus+ and H2020 work programme, respectively ending in 2023. The UNESCO project has been in the process of finalisation. Encore+ aims to produce a European Network for Catalysing Open Resources in Education and the uptake and innovation of Open Educational Resources, HumaneAI aims to lay the basics for a new science in Artificial Intelligence, University College London was for the Global Disability Innovation Hub project and ELISE is a network of artificial intelligence research hub. The Deep Learning Indaba is a community of researchers with the aim of “Strengthening African Machine Learning” and it acts as a vehicle to support Africa's community in AI to be owners and shapers of the advances in technology and artificial intelligence.
Google: Question Answers: The aim of the project is to advance knowledge in the cross-lingual question answering space and to inspire others working in this field to work on Sub-Saharan African languages by integrating relevant datasets into XTREME.
Hewlett FoundationOEW4B is a mentoring programme focussing on building next-generation Open Eduaction project developers and communities.
Lacuna: Masakhane: Development of African lanaguage datasets.
The transfers between restricted and unrestricted funds represent the balance of funds on projects that have now closed. Where funds have been transferred from restricted funds to unrestricted funds, this was with the agreement of the funder.
Page Twelve
Knowledge 4 All Foundation Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued) For the Year Ended 31 March 2023
12. Allocation of Net Assets between Funds
| Allocation of Net Assets between Funds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted fund Restricted funds |
Fixed Assets £ - - - |
Current Assets £ 59,885 39,923 99,808 |
Current Liabilities £ (38,962) - (38,962) |
Total £ 20,923 39,923 60,846 |
Page Thirteen