**Company registration number:  08031469 Charity registration number:  1146962** 

**Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (A company limited by guarantee)** 

**ANNUAL REPORT** 

**YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021** 



## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **ANNUAL REPORT** 

## **YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021** 

## **CONTENTS** 

||Page|
|---|---|
|Directors’ Report|1|
|Statement of Directors & Trustees' Responsibilities|4|
|Independent Examiners' Report|6|
|Accounting Policies|7|
|Statement of Financial Activities|8|
|Balance Sheet|9|
|Statement of Cash Flows|10|
|Notes on Accounts|11|





## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30 APRIL 2021** 

The Trustees and Directors of the charitable company present their report along with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 April 2021.  The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on page 7 of the financial statements and  comply  with  the  charity’s  Memorandum  and  Articles,  the  Charities  Act  2011  and  the requirements  of  the  Statement  of  Recommended  Practice  2019:  Accounting  and  Reporting  by Charities. 

## **Legal and administration details** 

**Official name of charity:** Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation **Charity registration number:** 1146962 **Company registration number:** 08031469 **Registered Office:** Riverside East 2 Millsands Sheffield S3 8DT **Directors and Trustees:** Mr Adrian Budgen Mrs Emma Eames Mr David Harlington Ms Anne Kavanagh (appointed 17 November 2020) Ms Kate Rawlings (appointed 17 November 2020) Mrs Margaret Ryan Ms Leigh White 

**Chief Executive:** Mr Adrian Budgen **Bankers:** Charities Aid Foundation 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ **Independent Examiner:** Hawsons Chartered Accountants Pegasus House 463a Glossop Road Sheffield S10 2QD 

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## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30 APRIL 2021 (continued)** 

## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

## **Governing document** 

Irwin  Mitchell  Charities  Foundation  (IMCF)  is  a  company  limited  by  guarantee  governed  by  its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 5 April 2012.  It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. 

## **Related Parties** 

Donations into the charity are made by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors LLP, an entity in which all of the trustees are either employees or members. 

## **Objects** 

The primary objects of the charity specified in the Memorandum and Articles of Association are: 

1. Promotion of charitable purposes for the benefit of the community generally; 

2. The relief of poverty in cases of need, hardship or distress; and 

3. General charitable purposes where the Trustees have discretion as to the charities selected. 

## **Organisation** 

The trustees meet at least 2 times per year and there are also regular local and national meetings held by volunteers who are employees of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors LLP where ideas for fund raising activities are discussed. Requests for donations are considered and authorised by the trustees. 

## **Appointment of trustees** 

The trustees are all either employees or members of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors LLP and must support the  objects  of  the  charity.  Trustees  are  appointed  at  board  meetings  attended  by  the  current directors / trustees of the charity. 

## **Policies adopted for the induction and training of trustees** 

The trustees have all been in place for a substantial period and no procedure is in place as yet but in the event there was a change this would be sourced externally and potentially provided by our main sponsor Irwin Mitchell LLP. 

## **Risk management** 

Principal risks and uncertainties facing the charity: 

- Apathy in fund raising 

- Home working environment 

- Continued reduction in event opportunities due to COVID-19 

However, on the basis our charity has no out goings and is in effect only an awarding body the risk is to the good we are able to do as opposed to any risk to stakeholders. 

The trustees are committed to the identification and management of the major strategic, business and  operational  risks  which  the  charity  faces.   A  multi-function  team  of  managers  within  the organisation is tasked with communicating with all levels of the organisation to identify risk and regularly  update  a detailed risk register identifying likelihood and impact together with actions necessary to mitigate the risk.  The Charity is currently working with is primary fund raiser on its strategic aims and how they can continue to support IMCF and is considering alternative ways of continuing to provide charitable relief to good causes that meet its objectives. 

## **Grant making policies** 

The Charity has a simple rule book to set out when and how it will make a donation to a good cause, these are over seen by its committees which are spread across the UK regionally, each committee 

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meets monthly and they also come together nationally every two months to collaborate on bigger projects. The trustees hold bi monthly meetings for matters raised by the committees and routine trustee business including financial review and strategic discussions 

## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30 APRIL 2021 (continued)** 

## **Public benefit** 

The board of trustees have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission. 

## **Objectives and activities** 

The charity aims to relieve poverty and to provide aid in cases of need, hardship or distress, or for the general benefit of persons resident in regions surrounding the offices of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors LLP, in particular where staff have close links or affiliations with the cause.  Income has been raised and received from the Members and staff of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors LLP along with monies raised at events and from sundry donations. 

## **Strategies for achieving objectives** 

The work to re define the focus of the Charity is ongoing, in the interim the charity will continue to offer top up funds to colleagues of IM who are raising funds for causes that meet it objectives, encourage its committees to continue to raise funds for their current nominated annual charities, will make its annual donation to homeless causes and where possible will run the previously individual committee events that took place regionally on a national basis. 

## **Achievements and performance** 

The number of IM staff donating between £2.50 and £100.00 per month from their salary to the charity during the year to April 2021 was 896 (2020: 917). Up to £20.00 per staff member per month is matched by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors LLP. 

During the year ending 30 April 2021 105 (2020: 130) donations were made between £55 and £40,700 to a variety of causes to a number of locations both locally and nationally. Gifts or donations of over £1,000 were made to; Arthur Rank Hospice, Brainwave Centres, Cambridge City Food Bank, Cambridge Housing Society, Caring in Bristol Ltd, Cathedral Archer Project Ltd, Crawley Open House, Emmaus Cambridge, Enable Scotland, First Light Trust, Genesis Trust Bath, Glasgow City Mission, Glasgow NE Foodbank, Greater Manchester Youth, Grief Encounter, Harbour, Headway, Headway Southampton, Heel and Toe, Holbeck Together, Homeless and Rootless, Home-Start Chichester, Hope for Food, Launchpad Reading, Leeds Cares, Leeds Community Foundation, Leeds Playhouse, Leeds Women's Aid, Loose Ends Newbury, Macmillan Cancer Support, Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centres  Trust,  Maggie's,  Manchester  Central  Foodbank,  Mancunian  Way,  Midland  Freewheelers, National Animal Welfare Trust, Newcastle West End Foodbank, Outreach Angels, Portsmouth Food Bank, Promiseworks Ltd, Random Act of Kindness - Solent, READLEY, Rehouse to Rehome, Renewed Hope Trust, Roundabout Limited, S2 Food Poverty Network, Safe In Sussex, Sebastian's Action Trust, SIFA Fireside, Simon on the Streets, SNAPS, Society of St James, Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support, Special Needs and Parent, Spread A Smile, St Catherine's Hospice, St George's Crypt, Stonepillow, Stopgap Supported Housing, Street Paws, StreetVet, The Children's Hospital Charity, The North Northumberland Hospice, Tom's Trust, Walking With The Wounded, West Berks Food Bank, Whitechapel Mission, Women’s Aid Federation of England, Yellow Door. 

## **Financial Review** 

During 2020/21, Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation generated a surplus on unrestricted funds of £462,789 (2019/20: £127,360).  Revenue grants of £nil (2020: nil) were received. 

Receipts totaling £772,910 (2020: £479,230) were received from the members and staff of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors LLP, via the GAYE scheme, donations and various fund raising activities throughout the period. This figure includes £26,693 (2020: £216,651) of small and miscellaneous client account balances. 

## **Investment powers and policy** 

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Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the charity has the power to invest in any way the trustees wish. 

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## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30 APRIL 2021 (continued)** 

## **Reserves policy** 

It is the trustees’ objective that Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation should maintain a positive level of reserves at all times. Free reserves currently stand at £862,688. Support in our communities local to the  offices of  Irwin Mitchell  LLP remains  one  of the  LLP’s  key strategic  pillars  and  the  LLP  is committed to ensuring that the IMCF can sustain its work for many years to come. IMCF will launch a new Inclusion and Sustainability Fund to award grants to good causes dedicated to these agendas in our communities. This will be funded by the £500,000 donation that was received from Irwin Mitchell LLP during the financial year. The remaining funds will continue to be used to support the nominated charities  of  the  offices,  homeless  charities  near  each  office  at  Christmas,  provide  top  ups  to colleagues when they've done personal fundraising, and donate to disaster relief appeals. 

## **Directors** 

The directors, who are also trustees of the charity, during the year and to the date of this report, were as follows:- 

Mr Adrian Budgen Mrs Emma Eames Mr David Harlington Ms Anne Kavanagh (appointed 17 November 2020) Ms Kate Rawlings (appointed 17 November 2020) Mrs Margaret Ryan Ms Leigh White 

## **Constitution** 

The company is a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital.  Each member gives a guarantee to contribute a sum not exceeding £1 to the company should it be wound up. At 30 April 2021 there were 7 members. 

## **Statement of Directors’ and Trustees’ Responsibilities** 

The trustees (who are also directors of Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (FRS102). 

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements 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 charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: 

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 

- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP (FRS102); 

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 

- prepare  the  financial  statements  on  the  going  concern  basis  unless  it  is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation. 

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate 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. 

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## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30 APRIL 2021 (continued)** 

## **Covid-19** 

Covid19 has had a social and economic impact on all charities and organizations. The pandemic has restricted the number of fund raising activities, including dress down days, during 2020 and this will reduce our incoming resources to some extent. However, the staff of Irwin Mitchell LLP continue to donate via it’s Give As You Earn scheme and this has remained relatively unaffected throughout the pandemic and the Partners of Irwin Mitchell LLP, increased their annual donation from the usual £50,000, to £110,000 to support us during the pandemic. Therefore the trustees believe that the charity has adequate incoming funds to continue operating throughout this financial year and is confident that fund raising activities will resume to normal levels once the pandemic is over. In addition it should be noted that as a donation making entity there is no obligation on the Charity to donate any funds in excess of those raised and due to its trustees and committee members being volunteers it has limited operating costs. 

## **By order of the Board** 

## **A Budgen Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation** 

## **18[th] January 2022** 

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## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS’ REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charitable company for the year ended 30[th] April 2021 which are set out on pages 7 to 12. 

## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As the charity 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 company’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. 

## **Basis of independent examiner's report** 

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 that in any material respect: 

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. 

S L Bladen FCA 

Hawsons Chartered Accountants Pegasus House 463a Glossop Road Sheffield S10 2QD 

………………………….2022 

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## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES** 

## **(a) General information and basis of preparation** 

Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation is a company registered in England. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 1 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are as set out in the Trustees’ report. 

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended  Practice  applicable  to charities preparing  their accounts  in accordance  with  the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) issued in October 2019, the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011 and  UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. 

The charity has applied Update Bulletin 1 as published on 2 February 2016 and does not include a cash flow statement on the grounds that it is applying FRS 102 Section 1A. 

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity. 

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated. 

## **(b) Funds** 

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes. 

## **INCOMING RESOURCES** 

Incoming resources primarily represent funds generated from events such as dress down days and general fund raising activities. The charity also receives monies from the staff of Irwin Mitchell LLP via it’s Give As You Earn scheme as well as a donation of £110,000 (2020: £50,000) from the Partners. 

## **CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES** 

Charitable activities include dress down days held regularly throughout the year where staff of Irwin Mitchell LLP is asked to contribute £1 and other general fund raising activities. 

## **GOVERNANCE COSTS** 

Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements. 

## **GOING CONCERN** 

After  due  consideration  of  all  relevant  factors,  including  the  ongoing  COVID-19  pandemic,  the trustees are confident that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual report and accounts. 

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## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021** 

|Notes<br>**Incoming Resources**<br>Incoming resources from generated funds:<br>Voluntary income<br>1<br>Incoming resources from charitable activities<br>**Total incoming**<br>**resources**<br>**Resources expended**<br>**Charitable activities**<br>3<br>**Total resources**<br>**expended**<br>**Net incoming resources**<br>Fund balances brought forward at 1 May 2020<br>**Fund balances carried forward at 30 April 2021**|Year<br>Ending<br>30 April<br>2021<br>Unrestricte<br>d<br>Funds<br>£<br>742,981<br>29,929<br>772,910<br>310,121<br>310,121<br>462,789<br>399,899<br>862,688|Year Ending<br>30 April<br>2020<br>Unrestricted<br>Funds<br>£<br>375,065<br>104,165|
|---|---|---|
|||479,230|
|||351,870|
|||351,870|
||||
|||127,360|
|||272,539|
|||399,899|



There are no recognised gains and losses other than the results for the year as set out above. There is no difference between the amounts stated above and their historical cost equivalents. 

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## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 08031469** 

## **BALANCE SHEET** 

## **AS AT 30 APRIL 2021** 

|Notes<br>**CURRENT ASSETS**<br>Debtors<br>Cash at bank and in<br>hand<br>4<br>**CREDITORS**<br>Amounts falling due within one year<br>**NET CURRENT ASSETS**<br>**NET ASSETS**<br>**RESERVES**<br>General fund<br>6|30 April<br>2021<br>£<br>-<br>862,688<br>862,688<br>-<br>862,688<br>862,688<br>862,688<br>862,688|30 April<br>2020<br>£<br>-<br>399,899|
|---|---|---|
|||399,899<br>-|
|||399,899|
|||399,899|
|||399,899|
|||399,899|



For the financial year in question the company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. 

No members have required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. 

The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts. 

These financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and in accordance with the provisions of FRS 102 Section 1A Small Entities, were approved and authorised for issue by the Board on 18[th] January 2022 and signed on its behalf by: 

A Budgen - Director 

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## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS** 

## **YEAR ENDED APRIL 2021** 

|Note<br>**Net cash fow from operating**<br>**activities**<br>8<br>**Net cash fow from investing activities**<br>**Net cash fow from fnancing activities**<br>**Net increase in cash and cash equivalents**<br>**Cash and cash equivalents at 1 May**<br>**Cash and cash equivalents at 30 April**|2021<br>£<br>462,789<br>-<br>-<br>462,789<br>399,899<br>862,688|2020<br>£<br>127,360<br>-<br>-|
|---|---|---|
|||127,360<br>272,539|
|||399,899|



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## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **NOTES ON ACCOUNTS** 

## **YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021** 

|**1**|**VOLUNTARY INCOME**|Year|Year Ending|
|---|---|---|---|
|||Ending||
|||30 April|30 April|
|||2021|2020|
|||£|£|
||**Unrestricted income**|||
||Payroll & General Donations|742,981|375,065|



## **2 STAFF PARTICULARS** 

There were no employees during the financial year. 

The trustees neither received nor waived any remuneration during the year (2020: £nil). One trustee reclaimed £13 of expenses during the year for reimbursement of filing fees (2020: £nil). 

|**3**<br>**COST OF CHARITABLE**<br>**ACTIVITIES**<br>Donations<br>**4**<br>**CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND**<br>Cash at bank<br>**5**<br>**TAXATION**|£<br>310,121<br>£<br>862,688|£<br>351,870|
|---|---|---|
|||£<br>399,899|
||||



The company is a registered charity and as such is not normally liable to corporation tax. 

## **6 FUND RECONCILIATION** 

|Balance at<br>1 May<br>2020<br>General<br>399,899<br>Designated<br>Sub-Trust<br>-<br>399,899<br>**ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS**|Income<br>272,910<br>500,000<br>772,910<br>Unrestricte<br>d<br>funds<br>£|Expenditur<br>e<br>(310,121)<br>-<br>(310,121)<br>Designed<br>funds<br>£|Balance at<br>30 April 2021<br>362,688<br>500,000|
|---|---|---|---|
||||862,688|
||||Total<br>£|



**7 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS** 

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Cash at bank 

362,688 

500,000 

862,688 

## **IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION** 

## **NOTES ON ACCOUNTS** 

## **YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021** 

## **8 RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOMING RESOURCES TO NET CASH INFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES** 

|Net incoming resources<br>Net cash infow from operating activities|2021<br>£<br>462,789<br>462,789|2020<br>£<br>127,360|
|---|---|---|
|||127,360|



## **9 TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PARTIES** 

Donations into the charity are made by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors LLP, an entity which all of the trustees are employees or members. 

## **1 ULTIMATE CONTROLLING PARTY 0** 

The ultimate controlling party are the trustees. 

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