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← Imperial College Union

2024-07-31-accounts

2024

¢” imperial *e@ college

IMPERIAL COLLEGE UNION

REGISTERED CHARITY 1151241

Table of Contents

Section Page
Structure, Governance & Management 2
Trustees’ Annual Report 5
Financial Review 9
Affiliations and Donations 12
Independent Auditors' Report 13
Statement of Financial Activities 17
Balance Sheet 18
Cashflow Statement 18
Notes to the Financial Statements 20
Appendices to the Financial Statements 30

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Structure, Governance & Management

Charitable Objects & Public Benefit

Imperial College Union is an unincorporated association and a registered charity (number 1151241). The Union’s objects are the advancement of education of students at Imperial College London for the public benefit by:

Democratic Structure

ICU is a membership organisation that is governed by a written constitution and via democratic structures detailed within it. Students at Imperial College London automatically become members of ICU as soon as they enrol at the College. Students have the right (under the Education Act 1994) to opt-out of Union membership; once their student status at Imperial College ends, they lose their membership of ICU. They can however apply to join as associate members, with some of the rights to services but none of the democratic rights of full members.

Governance

As set out in charity law and within the governing document, the Board of Trustees is ultimately legally responsible for the organisation’s activities. The Board is made up of the following members:

An External Trustee serves as the Chair of Trustees.

The Officer Trustees work full-time for the Union, receiving an allowance and completing a portfolio of duties, alongside their role as trustee of the Union. External and Student Trustees do not receive any allowance. Officer Trustees may stand for re-election for a second year but, under the Education Act 1994, may only serve for two years in total. The Student Trustees are either elected or appointed by and from the membership, but the Student Trustees are not employed by the Union and do not receive an allowance. They serve a one-year term of office. The External Trustees are appointed via an open recruitment process and serve a three-year term of office and can be reappointed for further terms subject to Board of Trustees and Union Council approval.

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

All Trustees receive a comprehensive induction co-ordinated internally by the Managing Director and Union President.

Board Members

The Trustee Board for the 2023/24 year had the following members:

Officer Trustees

Camille Boutrolle Andreea Cojocea Christian Cooper Yi Yang Stephanie Yeung

Student Trustees

Thomas Fernandez Debts Dylan Hughes Anthea Macintosh-Larocque Christian Oldfield Nathalie Podder

External Trustees

Professor Stephen Richardson (Chair) Professor Dorothy Griffiths Daniel Wagner Genevieve Landricombe Jane Coulson

Alumni Trustees

Philip Power

Board Subcommittees

The Trustees make use of a number of constitutional subcommittees to help manage the business of the Board. In a usual year, the Union runs the following subcommittees:

Management Team Information

ICU employs staff to work alongside the trustees, elected students, and other volunteers in order to run the charity. These are led by a Managing Director, who in turn acts as the head of the Senior Management Team.

Managing Director Tom Newman Director of Membership Services Cat Turhan Director of Support Services Ashley Cory Director of Commercial Services Rob Pegg

Key management personnel comprise the Officer Trustees and the Managing Director. The Officer Trustees are remunerated in accordance with Imperial College London pay scales, with individual pay rates benchmarked and equal pay audits conducted annually. The Managing Director's starting salary is set by a sub-group of Trustees (comprised of the President, Chair and chairs of Finance and Risk and Governance and Membership sub-committees) with reference to College grades and market considerations, and agreed via Trustee Chair authorisation.

Relationship with Imperial College London

The relationship between the College and ICU is established in the Regulations of the College and detailed in the ICU Constitution and approved by both organisations. Under the Education Act 1994, Imperial College London has a statutory duty to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure that ICU operates in a fair and democratic manner and is held to proper account for its finances. ICU therefore works alongside Imperial College London in ensuring that the affairs of ICU are properly conducted and that the educational and

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

welfare needs of Imperial members are met. The formal relationship with the College is governed by a Code of Practice.

ICU receives a block grant from the College, and occupies buildings owned by the College, which also pays for utilities and the provision of basic services such as the maintenance of the fabric of the buildings. The funding model and block grant for future years were renegotiated as part of the transformation programme. A new partnership agreement was developed to inform the relationship between the College and Union. This was formally agreed by both parties in October 2021.

The additional non-monetary support is intrinsic to the relationship between the College and ICU. As recommended by the Charities SORP, an estimated value to ICU for this serviced accommodation has been included in the Financial Statements. Although ICU continues to generate supplementary funding from various mutual trading activities, the organisation is primarily dependent on grant income from the College to run its core services.

There is no reason to believe that this or equivalent support from the College will not continue for the foreseeable future, as the Education Act 1994 imposes a duty on the College to ensure the financial viability of its student representative body.

Key Information

Principal Address Imperial College Union Beit Quadrangle Prince Consort Road South Kensington SW7 2BB

Auditors

Buzzacott LLP 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

Bankers National Westminster Bank PLC PO Box 592 18 Cromwell Place London SW7 2LB

Insurance Brokers

Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited The Quadrangle, Imperial Square Cheltenham GL50 1PZ

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Trustees’ Annual Report

B1. High-Performing Students’ Union Strategy

As a membership charity it’s critical that we demonstrate to students and our other key stakeholders the positive impact that we have.

In October 2023 we launched our Strategic Plan – a High Performing Students’ Union. Delivery of this plan is supported by a funding model, agreed in partnership with Imperial College London, which continues to see our core activity funded by grant and any surpluses generated through enterprise activity funding incremental and strategic projects.

The academic year 2023/24 is the first year of this strategy, we have made good progress, explored in more detail in section B2.

Our Vision

For every student to have a transformational experience at Imperial College London.

Our Mission

To be a high-performing Students’ Union run by and for students, with exceptional services and people, which positively transforms the lives of all Imperial College Students.

Our Strategic Plan 2023-28

Our new strategy 2023-28 is called High Performing Students’ Union and it has three goals, each with their own core themes of work.

  1. Effective Advocacy and Influence

  2. Health and Happy Students

  3. Fun and Inclusive Communities

Our Theory of Change

Our Theory of Change sets out the overarching contextual framework for how our impact will be achieved.

Our Enablers

Our Enablers outline what we will need in the future to become a successful organisation.

  1. A positive, equitable and collaborative working culture for high performing staff

  2. Sustainable, ethical resources and infrastructure

  3. A future-focused relationship with the College

  4. Strong, accessible democracy and effective governance

  5. Engaging communication and strong identity

  6. Integrated and innovative use of technology and data

  7. Comprehensive research, policy and insight.

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Our Values

We also have three core values that sit at the heart of the organisation and help guide how we will go about achieving our impact.

  1. Integrity

  2. Inclusive 3. Innovative

B2. Our Impact

Student Voice, Representation and Democracy

Representing the student voice to the College is the core role of the Union. Our new Strategy 2023-28 aims for the Union ‘To be an effective influence and advocate for all students’. Across the 2023/24 academic year, representation around issues related to improving PGR supervision, enhancing the international student experience resulted in regular 1-1 PhD supervision and increased bookings for the Centre for Academic English. Continued efforts to improve academic feedback in the context of post covid return to in person learning, teaching and research has also been a core focus. The Union continues to elect hundreds of reps at every level who have been proactive in discussions around education and the wider student experience.

National Student Survey

In 2023/24, we produced NSS reports which included recommendations for the College and coordinating separate recommendations for different departments. Buy-in to the recommendations at the College level was high with staff assigned to ensure these were progressed. Strong progress was made in several key areas, including overall satisfaction, learning opportunities and teaching.

Some progress was made on the issue of assessment and feedback however this is still a priority for 2024/25.

Strengthening the Rep Network

During 2023/24 we worked to strengthen our network of academic reps by increasing the regularity of meetings and providing greater levels of support. We recognised and celebrated the successes of our reps via our Rep of the Month and Rep of the Year awards. Areas we have highlighted to continue improvement for the 2024/25 academic year include developing our training and developing an impact framework to better demonstrate the changes reps achieve. High staff turnover in this team has now been stabilised and we are able to further add value to our rep network in 2024/25.

Elections

Our elections are the vehicle through which we ensure we are a democratically led organisation with the student interests at our heart. They allow us to ensure representatives are in place at all levels across the College and give students an opportunity to raise their voice and engage in the democratic process.

Between 11 March 2024 and 15 March 2024 we held elections for the variety of positions including all 5 Full Time Officer Positions, Council Chair, Student Trustees and CSP Committee Positions. For the Leadership Elections, there were a total of 5,402 voters; equating to a 21.77% voter turnout. There were 15 candidates across the Officer Trustee positions.

The Union ran CSP elections concurrently with the main elections. This year 2,899 positions were available in the election. This election saw a 31.7% turnout.

Student Advice & Support

Imperial College London is a high-pressure environment, and a Union priority is helping students not only to survive, but to thrive. The 2023/24 academic year again saw the added pressure of the cost-of-living crisis impact students. Our Deputy President Welfare was an active member of the College project group working to implement positive policies to support students. This included better advertising for students to student bursaries and the introduction for a small Union run hardship fund in 2024/25.

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Liberation and Community

We continued to support minority groups at Imperial through our Liberation and Community Officers. These officers cover the ‘traditional’ minority groups (LGBT+, BME, Gender Equality, Disabilities) and four community/interest groups (International, Interfaith, Mental Health, Ethics & the Environment, Working Class). Our officers represented their particular groups on College committees, organised activities to build communities and acted as a point of contact for welfare related issues experienced by those they represent.

Advice

The Advice service provides students with academic advice, support for complaints and disciplinaries, and advice for students in College halls of residence. In 2023/24 the service dealt with 321 student cases and enquiries. The advice service has renewed its focus on health and wellbeing, with proactive engagement with University wellbeing services to promote positive mental health during exams, and instigating a project around holistic student health to commence in the 2024/25 academic year.

Wellbeing Representation Network

Our Wellbeing Representation Network had a successful sixth year in existence. The Deputy President welfare worked collaboratively with the College to develop the mental health strategy implementation plan. The Mental Health Officer also helped improve EDI and First Aider training for staff in departments so they can best support students who are struggling.

Student Activities & Development

Clubs, Societies & Projects

The Union continues to have high participation and engagement with our 380+ Student Groups.

We provided significant levels of support to our Student Groups to ensure student led activities could take place on and off campus. This involved working to review processes and systems that support Clubs, Societies and Projects.

Student Group policies, processes, and procedures

Following consultation with our Student Groups, we established a process improvement roadmap to make it easier for members to manage their finances and activities. This resulted in changing over 50 processes for CSPs to help ensure a more efficient and responsive service and included a new Annual Budgeting system and Email Ticketing system implementation. We have been successful in a request for further funding for Student Group support which will increase the team by 3 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) staff.

Welcome Fair

The Welcome Fair is an opportunity for our members to engage with our Clubs, Societies, Projects, Constituent Unions, Campaigns and Liberation and Community Groups. We saw over 10,000 students attend on the day with 13,128 annual membership to student groups, a record number that indicates a higher demand for CSP activity post pandemic.

Student Experience Fund

The Student Experience Fund (SEF) enables students to take part in activities and events at ICU which would otherwise be inaccessible due to cost. This is a match fund by ICU, the College and Imperial College Trust. All students on an imperial bursary have access to the fund and can use their allocation on all products sold by student groups and ICU events such as the Summer Ball. 988 students accessed the fund in 2023/24 and spent £35,713. ICU will run the fund again in 2024/25.

Our Venues and Events

In 2023/24 our Venues and Events were stabilised and able to build upon the previous years’ work.

In 2023/24 we implemented a new structure for commercial with the recruitment of a permanent and full time Director of Commercial leading the directorate. We recruited a number of permanent staff roles to our new structure which also included a new permanent digital and marketing support, as well as a larger number of casual workers who are absolutely core to our ability to deliver services through our venues. We saw casual worker satisfaction decrease by 1% to 65% in staff recommending the Union as a good place to work (the

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

remainder being either dissatisfied or neither satisfied nor dissatisfied). There is work being undertaken in the commercial strategy to improve engagement with casual venues staff.

Whilst significant focus was on delivering the day-to-day operation of our venues, a new commercial three year strategy has been developed during the year launching in 2024/25. This includes development of our existing commercial services and new initiatives to diversify our income streams.

Our Retail

Union Shop has gone from strength to strength in 2023/24. The College undertook a rebrand which the retail team supported with a new merchandise range and offer. In April 2024 the Union launched its new range and website, and has seen excellent engagement from the community and a marked improvement in sales. In 2023/24 the retail team were able to develop an improved graduation offer with in person shops offered at each ceremony.

Our Culture and Staff

This year is the fourth time we have taken part in the NUS Staff Engagement Survey. It was available to all fulltime and casual staff employed in a role with the Union, plus our Officer Trustees. There were 47 full-time staff and Officer Trustees included in the survey. The response rate of permanent staff was 87%. This is a 9% increase on the response rate of last year’s permanent staff.

Our key staff satisfaction metric remained steady with 68% of permanent staff answering positively when asked if they would recommend our organisation as a good place to work. Overall, permanent staff team satisfaction across all results a had an 14% improvement on our baseline results gathered in 2021.

We remain committed to improving our culture and the working environment for our staff and know there are areas in which we need to focus. These are being addressed through our People & Culture Development Plan which will be refreshed and implemented in 2024/25.

We launched our EDI strategy to all staff in December 2023. This laid out our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion for both our members and our staff. A programme of work has been established and worked towards. The number of staff who think the organisation values diversity rose by 11% to 88% of all permanent staff in 2023/24.

Sustainability

In 2023/24 the Union developed and finalised its Sustainability Strategy 2023-28. This strategy sets out the Union’s ambition to be a model of sustainability, leading by example in our own services and community, whilst providing proactive collaboration and challenge to our institution. 2024/28 will present the first year of strategy implementation that will include ICU participation in Green Impact, and the launch of a sustainability champions scheme for students.

The Union hosted the London Student Sustainability Conference, providing a forum and learning experience for students across London to enhance their learning and work to help make their own institutions and organisations more sustainable.

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Financial Review

The financial performance in the year is summarised below:

Statement of Financial Activities

Total income of £11,023k (2023: £10,410k) was £613k (6%) higher than prior year, mainly due to increases in Social Enterprise income (of £246k), largely driven by retail growth, and Student Activities income (of £314k), which was mainly restricted.

Expenditure was £219k (2%) higher than last year, which mainly due to a £300k (6%) increase in Student Activities expenditure. This was offset by a £118k (12%) reduction in Student Voice expenditure, which mainly related to staff vacancies.

The Statement of Financial Activities includes a decrease in the long term defined benefits pension schemes deficit provision of £288k (2023: £91k), which has a positive financial impact.

On an operating basis, the Union’s general fund surplus was £198k (2023: £204k) excluding changes in the pension deficit, after designated fund allocations. This was ahead of budget mainly due to a commercial contribution of £294k in year, which was £157k higher than budgeted due to growth and releases of commercial contingencies, which are no longer being budgeted. There were also unplanned recruitment delays in year which resulted in a £55k positive variance on core activities.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet remains healthy, with net current assets of £3,074k (2023: £2,808k). Net assets have increased to £3,193k (2023: £2,656k) mainly as a result of the financial performance in year and reduction in the pension liability.

The General Reserve stands at £993k (2023: £506k), an increase driven primarily by the financial performance in year and decrease in the long-term pension fund liability to £0k (2023: £288k). The increase excluding pension liability was £198k.

Reserves Policy

The Union reviews its reserves policy annually using a risk-based approach which considers whether the minimum level of free reserves, which are unrestricted funds excluding fixed assets and designated funds.

The current General Funds balance is £993k (2023: £795k excluding pensions). Following the reserves review undertaken in November 2024 the Trustees determined a target level of £620k (2023: £545k). The Union’s capital budget for FY24/25 includes £102k of planned capital designations, which means there is approximately £271k available for future strategic investment.

The Union is currently reviewing options for future strategic investment from its surplus reserves, including capital investment and student projects being developed following the balance sheet date. This may result in future capital investment including minibus replacement, or other projects.

Investment Policy

The Union does not hold any investments, nor does it have any immediate plans to purchase new investments in the future.

Risk Management

In September 2024 the Board of Trustees reviewed and approved the Strategic Risk Register. The principal residual risks facing the charity identified from this process were:

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Risk Union Response
Securing access to longer term capital
investment funding requirements and
ensuring that access, security and
building management arrangements of
Beit building remain effective to ensure
safe and appropriate use of the space.		 A Building Management Plan is being implemented, though there
are some financial risks to implementing this fully with regards to
CCTV and access control.
It has been budgeted to extend the Helpdesk opening hours to
manage bookings when the building is open.
Lack of funding for access control remains a significant problem for
managing the building effectively, however.
Risk of a major health and safety
incident within a Union, or Club,
Society or Project (CSP) activity,
event, service or space, that causes
harm to either a member or member of
the public or attracts negative media
attention due to poor conduct.		 The Union’s health and safety committee is now well established
and supported. Department level risk register now complete for
Student Activities. A full management review to be completed
based off this, which may result in further mitigations.
The Union code of conduct, disciplinary and complaints policy was
updated and streamlined. Behaviour project currently being
undertaken which will complete the bye law work.
CSP training undertaken and this included health and safety
aspects. Bronze and Silver group continues to meet.
The Union is reviewing the vehicles in the minibus fleet and is likely
to upgrade pending financial business case in 2024/25.
Risk of a significant reduction in the
income generated by
our social
enterprise, or a significant increase in
the costs associated with operating
them.		 Mitigated through the funding model agreed with the College and
plans to diversity income streams through the Commercial
Strategy.
Negative student satisfaction with
Union
services
results
in
low
participation and engagement with
core Union activity.		 Union strategy sets out priorities to develop a transformational
student experience. A range of KPIs to measure services and
impact of the course of the strategy are in place. Each team has a
balanced scorecard clearly establishing team level objectives and
measures linked to the strategic priority.
New block grant funding agreement enabling investment in core
services such as Activities.

The risk register is reviewed regularly throughout the year by the Management Committee. This enables new and emerging risks to be identified and considered, a recent example being the impact of the recent budget announcement which is being discussed with the College.

Going Concern

The Trustees have considered going concern and are satisfied that with the current level of reserves, new funding model and the budget position that the organisation has sufficient resources to be able to continue as a going concern for at least the next 12 months. The ability to operate as a going concern is subject to the continued support of Imperial College London, the Board of Trustees are very grateful for this support and have no reason to believe that it will cease or reduce in the foreseeable future.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under charity law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the profit or loss of the charity for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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

Approved on behalf of Imperial College Union on 8 December 2024 by

Professor Stephen Richardson (Chair of the Board of Trustees)

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Affiliations and Donations

In the 2023/24 financial year, the Union made the following affiliation payments and donations to external organisations:

Affiliations Donations
£
£
British Universities and Colleges Sport 8,304
Right To Play UK
28,000
Lasham Gliding Society 7,056
Hridayam Foundation
10,800
Thames Valley Harriers 3,630
Refuge
10,669
Marylebone Rifle and Pistol Club 2,678
Miracles
10,000
British Shorinji Kempo Federation 2,530
Imperial Health Charity
10,000
United Hospitals Rugby Football Club 800
Mind
8,869
Wembley Sailing Club 680
Ocean Stars Trust
8,500
National Rifle Association 666
Vision Of Love
7,750
Amateur Football Alliance 656
Kivuli Trust
4,589
British Fencing 546
Centrepoint
3,467
British Rowing 510
CALM
3,202
British Canoeing Union 369
Refugee Action
3,125
Advice UK 340
Rays of Sunshine
2,500
The Jitsu Foundation 330
Matt Hampson Foundation
1,789
England Boxing 278
Cancer Research UK
1,384
Surrey Rifle Association 265
Hope for Children
1,384
United Hospitals Lawn Tennis Club 250
Medecins sans Frontieres (UK)
985
British Caving Association 205
World Vision UK
950
Barnes Rugby Football Club 200
Musical Boroughs Trust
515
British Universities Sailing Association 185
Cardiomyopathy UK
474
British Mountaineering Council 184
The British Red Cross Society
350
Archery GB 180
Silver Fern Coaching Ltd
300
UK Ultimate 166
Islamic Relief UK
205
Erasmus Student Network UK 165
The St Giles Christian Mission
160
England Athletics 150
Mermaids
139
London Hockey Limited 125
MindOut
139
British Powerlifting 125
Clothing Collective
120
UK Cinema Association Ltd 123
Water Aid UK
86
British Dodgeball 100
UNICEF UK
80
British Universities Ice HockeyAssociation
79
120,531
IVDA Blackpool 65
Warrior Boxing 55
Shadow Sports LTD (UGC) 50
British University Skydiving 50
Historic Commercial Vehicle Society 50
British Weight Lifting 40
British Judo 38
Middlesex County Archery Association 36
Bullnose Morris Group 35
BYSA Ltd 33
British Kendo 20
South East Archery League 20
English Bridge Society 4
32,369

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Independent auditor’s report to the trustees of Imperial College Union

Opinion

We have audited the accounts of Imperial College Union (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 July 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statements of cash flows, principal accounting policies and the notes to the accounts. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the accounts:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the accounts section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the accounts in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the accounts, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the accounts is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the accounts are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, including the trustees’ report, other than the accounts and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the accounts does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the accounts or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the accounts themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of accounts that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the accounts, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the accounts

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the accounts as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these accounts.

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

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

The engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

We assessed the susceptibility of the Charity’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the accounts is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Buzzacott LLP Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

Date: 11 December 2024

Buzzacott LLP is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

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Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Statement of Financial Activities as at 31[st] July 2024

Note
Income and endowments
Donations and legacies
Block Grant
Serviced Accommodation
& Support Services
2
Charitable activities
Social Enterprise
3
Student Activities and
Development
5
Student Voice
6
Other trading activities
Room Hire
Other
4
Total income and endowments
Expenditure
Charitable activities
Social Enterprise
3
Student Activities
and Development
5
Student Voice
6
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Net movements in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 2024
2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
General
Designated
Funds
Student
Activities/
Halls
Capital
Grants
Total
Funds
Total
Funds
£
£
£
£
£
£
2,767,153
-
-
-
2,767,153
2,676,228
2,058,035
-
-
-
2,058,035
2,032,955
2,983,602
-
-
62,228
3,045,830
2,800,277
25,675
-
2,981,226
-
3,006,901
2,693,502
-
-
1,982
-
1,982
-
136,427
-
-
-
136,427
118,635
6,990
-
-
-
6,990
88,234
7,977,882
-
2,983,208
62,228
11,023,318
10,409,831
(3,937,437)
(19,689)
-
(6,433)
(3,963,559)
(3,925,335)
(2,504,523)
(71,365)
(3,066,366)
(21,759)
(5,664,013)
(5,365,373)
(849,340)
(6,562)
(1,480)
(1,543)
(858,925)
(976,364)
(7,291,300)
(97,616)
(3,067,846)
(29,735)
(10,486,497)
(10,267,072)
686,582
(97,616)
(84,638)
32,493
536,821
142,759
(199,765)
206,432
(6,667)
-
-
-
486,817
108,816
(91,305)
32,493
536,821
142,759
506,194
237,059
1,873,065
40,196
2,656,514
2,513,755
993,011
345,875
1,781,760
72,689
3,193,335
2,656,514

All operations are continuing.

The notes on pages 20 to 33 form part of these accounts.

17

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Balance Sheet as at 31[st] July 2024

Note 2024 2023
£ £ £ £
Tangible Fixed Assets 11 118,936 118,293
Current Assets
Stocks 12 278.662 362,278
Debtors & Prepayments 13 159,471 186,279
Cash and bank balances 14 3.560.239 2,873,198
3,998,372 3,421,755
Creditors: Amounts falling due within
one year		 15 (923.973) (613,903)
Net Current Assets 3,074,399 2,807,852
Creditors: Amounts falling due after 15
more than one year - (269,631)
Total Net Assets 3,193,335 2,656,514
Represented By: 18
Restricted Funds
Capital Grants 72,689 40,196
Student Activities/Halls 1,781,760 1,873,065
1,854,449 1,913,261
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds 345,875 237,059
General Reserve 993,011 506,194
1,338,886 743,253
3,193,335 2,656,514

The notes on pages 20 to 33 form part of these accounts.

Approved on behalf of Imperial College Union on 8 December 2024 by:

Professor Stephen Richardson (Chair of the Board of Trustees)

18

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Cash Flow Statement as at 31[st] July 2024

Cash flows from operating activities
Net movement of funds for the period
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Decrease/(increase) in stock
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash used in operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Payments to acquire fixed assets
Net cash used in investing activities
Change in cash and equivalents in the period
Cash and equivalents at the start of the period
Cash and equivalents at the end of the period		 2024
£
536,821
65,764
83,616
26,808
40,439
753,448
(66,407)
(66,407)
687,041
2,873,198
3,560,239		 2023
£
142,759
76,625
(21,993)
210,185
(432,430)
(24,854)
(8,121)
(8,121)
(32,975)
2,906,173
2,873,198

Analysis of changes in net debt

At start of year Cash-flows At end of year
£ £ £
Cash 2,873,198 687,041 3,560,239
Total 2,873,198 687,041 3,560,239

The notes on pages 20 to 33 form part of these accounts.

19

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements as at 31[st] July 2024

1 Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are laid out below.

Basis of preparation

These financial statements have been prepared for the year to 31 July 2024 and are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest pound.

The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including FRS102 “the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland”, and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (Charities SORP) Second Edition effective 1 January 2019. Imperial College Union meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below and have been applied consistently throughout the period.

Going Concern

The charity has cash resources and is supported by Imperial College. The Trustees have also considered how future pandemics or other shocks could affect the accounting policies that underlie these financial statements and have reviewed income budgets and made assessments regarding possible uncertainties and the adequacy of disclosures. Following this review, the trustees consider that there are sufficient reserves as at 31 July 2024 to manage any foreseeable downturn in the UK and global economy and that there is a reasonable expectation the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and for this reason, the Trustees continue to adopt the ‘going concern’ basis in preparing the accounts.

Taxation

No provision is made in these financial statements for corporation tax as the Union is exempt from such tax as a result of its charitable status.

Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Tangible Fixed Assets

Fixed assets are depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives. The threshold for capitalisation is £3,000 and the useful life for each asset is determined as shown below:

Freehold property 50 years
Building improvements (major) 10 years
Building improvements (minor) 5 years
Fixtures and fittings 5 years
IT Equipment 3 years

The Clubs and Societies’ fixed assets are fully depreciated in the year of acquisition as individual clubs and societies may not continue in existence for the foreseeable future.

Investments

Investments are stated at market value at the balance sheet date.

Pensions

The Union participates in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and Superannuation Arrangements for the University of London (SAUL). Both are multi-employer defined benefit schemes and are externally funded. Provision is made in the accounts, appropriately discounted, for the total contributions payable to fund past service deficits. The Statement of Financial Activities reflects the contributions payable for the year in respect of current service and any movement in the provision in respect of past service.

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.

Creditors

Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the Union anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material.

Income and Expenditure

Income is recognised in the accounts when the Union is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable certainty. Income is stated net of VAT and trade discounts. The most material items in the year were the block grant as disclosed in the SoFA and free serviced accommodation as disclosed in the note on Donated Services hereunder and which is accounted for at a value estimated by the College.

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that a transfer or economic benefits will be received in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

20

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Expenditure is stated net of VAT and trade discounts and includes irrecoverable VAT unless it relates to a capital asset in which case the irrecoverable VAT is included as part of the cost of the asset. Expenditure comprises the direct and indirect costs of delivering the Union’s activities. Governance costs are those incurred for compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, such as the annual audit, annual elections, and training for sabbatical officers. The value of free serviced accommodation and other premises and equipment costs are apportioned to the Union’s activities on estimated floor space occupied. Governance and Administration & Finance Costs are apportioned on a time basis. The value of free Support Services costs (HR and IT) are apportioned on a staff headcount basis.

Funds

Restricted Funds are held for restricted purposes and include capital grants received to fund fixed assets, and the unspent balances of funds self-generated by clubs and societies.

Designated Funds are held for particular purposes at the discretion of the Trustees.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Preparation of the financial statements requires the Trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates.

The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

Financial instruments

The Union only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

Donated Services
Serviced Accommodation
HR and Payroll
IT Services
Audit Fees		 2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
1,821,857
-
-
1,821,857
151,499
-
-
151,499
64,679
-
-
64,679
20,000
-
-
20,000
2,058,035
-
-
2,058,035		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
1,795,950
-
-
1,795,950
153,366
-
-
153,366
65,189
-
-
65,189
18,450
-
-
18,450
2,032,955
-
-
2,032,955

2 Donated Services

The Union building is provided by the College free of charge together with the provision of support services including HR, Payroll & IT

Social Enterprise
Sales
Cost of Sales
Gross Profit
Other Income
Staff Salaries &
Wages
7
Other Direct Costs
Support Costs
8		 2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
2,983,602
-
-
2,983,602
(1,084,815)
-
-
(1,084,815)
1,898,787
-
-
1,898,787
-
-
62,228
62,228
(1,002,133)
-
-
(1,002,133)
(604,085)
-
-
(604,085)
(1,266,093)
-
(6,433)
(1,272,526)
(973,524)
-
55,795
(917,729)		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
2,800,277
-
-
2,800.277
(1,080,266)
-
-
(1.080.266)
1,720,011
-
-
1,720,011
-
-
-
-
(1,105,058)
-
-
(1,105,058)
(503,321)
-
-
(503.321)
(1,225,659)
(4,718)
(6,313)
(1,236.690)
(1,114,027)
(4,718)
(6,313)
(1,125.058)

3 Social Enterprise

Social Enterprise encapsulates the activities of our licenced trade and retail outlets.

21

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

4 Other income

In the year ended 31[st] July 2024, no Government grants were received. (2023: £nil)

5
Student Activities
& Development
Income
Direct Costs
Staff Salaries & Wages
7
Support Costs
8		 2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
25,675
2,981,226
-
3,006,901
(445,414)
(3,007,949)
(8,777)
(3,462,140)
(376,852)
(58,417)
-
(435,269)
(1,753,622)
-
(12,982)
(1,766,604)
(2,550,213)
(85,140)
(21,759)
(2,657,112)		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
93,900
2,599,602
-
2,693,502
(500,230)
(2,708,941)
(8,778)
(3,217,949)
(347,848)
(63,155)
-
(411,003)
(1,718,786)
(4,718)
(12,917)
(1,736,421)
(2,472,964)
(177,212)
(21,695)
(2,671,871)

Student Activities and Development captures all our work around volunteering and the activities of clubs, societies and projects.

2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
-
1,982
-
1,982
(28,659)
(1,480)
-
(30,139)
(265,064)
-
-
(265,064)
(562,179)
-
(1,543)
(563,722)
(855,902)
502
(1,543)
(856,943)		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
-
-
-
-
(27,643)
765
-
(26,878)
(320,980)
-
-
(320,980)
(620,486)
(6,292)
(1,728)
(628,506)
(969,109)
(5,527)
(1,728)
(976,364)

6 Student Voice

Staff Salaries & Wages
Salaries & Wages
Employers National
Insurance Costs
Pension Costs
Apprenticeship Levy
Allocated to:
Social Enterprise
Student Activities
& Development
Student Voice
Administration &
Finance Costs
Governance		 2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
(2,460,840)
(46,862)
-
(2,507,635)
(192,931)
(3,929)
-
(196,860)
(367,046)
(7,400)
-
(374,446)
(10,797)
(226)
-
(11,023)
(3,031,614)
(58,417)
-
(3,090,031)
(1,002,133)
-
-
(1,002,133)
(376,852)
(58,417)
-
(435,269)
(265,064)
-
-
(265,064)
(1,296,022)
-
-
(1,296,022)
(91,543)
-
-
(91,543)
(3,031,614)
(58,417)
-
(3,090,031)		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
(2,473,647)
(60,109)
-
(2,533,756)
(187,258)
(5,197)
-
(192,455)
(376,094)
(8,223)
-
(384,317)
(10,595)
(281)
-
(10,876)
(3,047,594)
(73,810)
-
(3,121,404)
(1,105,058)
-
-
(1,105,058)
(347,848)
(63,155)
-
(411,003)
(320,980)
-
-
(320,980)
(1,179,899)
(10,655)
-
(1,190,554)
(93,809)
-
-
(93,809)
(3,047,594)
(73,810)
-
(3,121,404)

7 Staff Salaries & Wages

22

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Pensions costs are directly attributed to the activity and fund in which the originating salary costs resides, where salary costs are apportioned between charitable activities pension costs are apportioned on the same basis. In year no salary or pension costs were apportioned across different funds.

The average number of permanent staff during the year was 47 (2023: 49) The average number of casual staff during the year was 87 (2023: 94)

There were 3 employees earning between £60,000-£69,999 at the year end (2023: 1) There was 1 employee earning between £70,000-£79,999 at the year end (2023: 0) There was 1 employee earning between £80,000-£89,999 at the year end (2023: 1)

The total remuneration of key management personnel, consisting of the Managing Director and 5 Officer Trustees, in the year was £361,837 (2023: £345,033)

During the year Imperial College Union made non-contractual severance payments of £nil (2023: £nil). These payments were approved by the trustees for payment.

8
Support Costs
Premises &
Equipment Costs
Administration &
Finance Costs
Governance
9
Human Resources
& Payroll
IT Services
Apportioned to:
Social Enterprise
Student Activities
& Development
Student Voice
9
Governance
Audit
Staff Salaries &
Wages
7
Trustees Expenses
Apportioned to:
Social Enterprise
Student Activities &
Development
Student Voice		 2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
(1,846,185)
-
(20,958)
(1,867,143)
(1,407,494)
-
-
(1,407,494)
(112,037)
-
-
(112,037)
(151,499)
-
-
(151,499)
(64,679)
-
-
(64,679)
(3,581,894)
-
(20,958)
(3,602,852)
(1,266,093)
-
(6,433)
(1,272,526)
(1,753,622)
-
(12,982)
(1,766,604)
(562,179)
-
(1,543)
(563,722)
(3,581,894)
-
(20,958)
(3,602,852)
2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
(20,000)
-
-
(20,000)
(91,543)
-
-
(91,543)
(494)
-
-
(494)		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
(1,818,689)
-
(20,958)
(1,839,647)
(1,414,480)
(15,728)
-
(1,430,208)
(113,207)
-
-
(113,207)
(153,366)
-
-
(153,366)
(65,189)
-
-
(65,189)
(3,564,931)
(15,728)
(20,958)
(3,601,617)
(1,225,659)
(4,718)
(6,313)
(1,236,690)
(1,385,574)
(1,718,786)
(4,718)
(12,917)
(620,486)
(6,292)
(1,728)
(628,506)
(3,564,931)
(15,728)
(20,958)
(3,601,617)
2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£

(18,450)
-
-
(18,450)

(93,809)
-
-
(93,809)

(948)
-
-
(948)

(113,207)
-
-
(113,207)

(33,962)
-
-
(33,962)

(33,962)
-
-
(33,962)

(45,283)
-
-
(45,283)

(113,207)
-
-
(113,207)		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£
(1,818,689)
-
(20,958)
(1,839,647)
(1,414,480)
(15,728)
-
(1,430,208)
(113,207)
-
-
(113,207)
(153,366)
-
-
(153,366)
(65,189)
-
-
(65,189)
(3,564,931)
(15,728)
(20,958)
(3,601,617)
(1,225,659)
(4,718)
(6,313)
(1,236,690)
(1,385,574)
(1,718,786)
(4,718)
(12,917)
(620,486)
(6,292)
(1,728)
(628,506)
(3,564,931)
(15,728)
(20,958)
(3,601,617)
2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Capital
Total
£
£
£
£

(18,450)
-
-
(18,450)

(93,809)
-
-
(93,809)

(948)
-
-
(948)

(113,207)
-
-
(113,207)

(33,962)
-
-
(33,962)

(33,962)
-
-
(33,962)

(45,283)
-
-
(45,283)

(113,207)
-
-
(113,207)







(112,037)
-
-
(112,037)		 (113,207)
-
-
(113,207)
(33,611)
-
-
(33,611)
(33,611)
-
-
(33,611)
(44,815)
-
-
(44,815)		 (33,962)
-
-
(33,962)
(33,962)
-
-
(33,962)
(45,283)
-
-
(45,283)
(112,037)
-
-
(112,037)		 (113,207)
-
-
(113,207)

Trustees' Expenses paid in the year were £494 (2023: £9,487)

23

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

10 Trustees' Remuneration

The Union's Officer Trustees' received the following amounts in the reporting period, as authorised in the Union's governing document:

Pay Pension Total
£ £ £
President 38,560 6,170 44,730
DPCS 38,560 6,170 44,730
DPFS 38,560 6,170 44,730
DPW 38,560 6,170 44,730
DPE 40,092 6,415 46,506

These amounts are for the representation, campaigning and support work they undertake as distinct from their trustee responsibilities. This work includes voicing student opinion with the College and local community, defending and extending the rights of students through petitions, discussion with MPs and also organising and supporting student volunteers and service provision for them.

There were no other trustee benefits for the year.

11
Tangible Fixed Assets
Cost as at 31 July 2023
Additions
Disposals
Cost as at 31 July 2024
Accumulated Depreciation as at 31 July 2023
Depreciation
Disposals
Accumulated Depreciation as at 31 July 2024
Net Book Value as at 31 July 2023
Net Book Value as at 31 July 2024
12
Stock
Stock		 Building
Refurbishment
£
6,785,668
-
-
6,785,668
6,758,455
25,120
-
6,783,575
27,213
2,093
2024
£
278,662
278,662		 Fixtures,
Fittings &
Equipment
£
2,408,197
66,407
-
2,474,604
2,317,117
51,505
-
2,357,761
91,080
116,843
2023
£
362,278
362,278		 Total
£
9,193,865
66,407
-
9,260,272
9,075,572
65,764
-
9,141,336
118,293
118,936

The amount of stock recognised as an expense in the year was £1,032,924 (2023: £1,080,266)

24

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

13
Debtors and Prepayments
Trade Debtors
Other Debtors
Provision for Bad Debts
Prepayments
Accrued Income
14
Cash and Bank Balances
Bank Accounts
Cash Floats
Petty Cash
15
Creditors
Due within one year
Trade Creditors
Other Creditors
Imperial College Creditor
VAT
Accruals
Deferred Income
16
Staff benefits accrued
Pension Schemes Deficit Provision
17
Due after one year
Pension Schemes Deficit Provision
17
16
Deferred Income
Opening Balance
Income Received
Income Utilised
Closing Balance		 2024
£
34,583
19,895
(10,957)
95,950
20,000
159,471
2024
£
3,559,806
-
433
3,560,239
2024
£
94,733
52,705
457,836
71,811
210,679
-
36,209
-
923,973
-
923,973
2024
£
-
-
-
-		 2023
£
53,310
28,015
(14,759)
72,664
47,049
186,279
2023
£
2,872,565
-
633
2,873,198
2023
£
49,846
51,429
282,860
32,514
149,797
-
28,600
18,857
613,903
269,631
883,534
2023
£
44,269
-
(44,269)
-

Deferred income relates to advance payments for goods/services that will be supplied by the Union in the new financial year.

25

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

17
Defined Benefits Pension Schemes
Deficit Provision
Opening balance
Additional staff costs
Interest payable		 2024
£
288,488
(295,124)
6,636
-		 2023
£
379,311
(103,378)
12,555
288,488
18
Funds
Restricted Funds
Student Activities / Halls
Capital Grants
Total Restricted Funds
Designated Funds
Fixed Assets Fund
Activities Development Fund
Student Experience Fund
Corporate Governance Review Fund
Digital Transformation / SUMS Project
Temp Agency
Partnerships Agency
Hard To Reach Student Groups
Total Designated Funds
General Reserves
General Reserve
Pension Fund Deficit
Total General Reserves
Total Reserves		 Opening
Balance
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Revaluations
Closing
Balance
£
£
£
£
£
£
1,873,065
2,983,208
(3,067,846)
(6,667)
-
1,781,760
40,196
62,228
(29,735)
-
-
72,689
2,110,343
2,619,713
(2,816,795)
(6,667)
-
1,913,261
78,097
-
(36,029)
50,372
-
92,440
98,962
-
(46,797)
47,835
-
100,000
-
-
(5,102)
25,102
-
20,000
-
-
(9,688)
30,000
-
20,312
60,000
-
-
(60,000)
-
-
-
-
-
57,000
-
57,000
-
-
-
40,000
-
40,000
-
-
-
16,123
-
16,123
237,059
-
(97,616)
206,432
-
345,875
794,682
7,977,882
(7,579,788)
(199,765)
-
993,011
(288,488)
-
288,488
-
-
-
506,194
7,977,882
(7,291,300)
(199,765)
-
993,011
2,656,514
11,023,318
(10,486,497)
-
-
3,193,335

Unrestricted Funds which require the sale of investments to realise £nil (2023: £nil)

The Restricted Student Activities Fund represents the unspent balances of all Clubs, Societies, Projects and Student Hall Committees.

The Restricted Capital Grants Fund represents the balance of funds, received to finance Capital purchases and to which their depreciation is charged.

The Fixed Assets Fund represents the balance of Fixed Assets not covered by Capital Grants.

19 Pension Schemes

The Union participates in two separate, independently managed, defined benefit occupational pension schemes, which were contracted out of the State Second Pension (S2P) until 31 March 2016. Each is valued triennially by professionally qualified and independent actuaries. The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL) are multiemployer schemes and it is not possible to identify the Union's share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the schemes on a consistent and reasonable basis. Hence, as required by Section 28 of FRS 102, contributions to the schemes are accounted for as if they were defined contribution schemes. This means the amounts charged to the statement of financial activities (SOFA) represent the contributions payable

26

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

to the schemes in respect of the accounting period. For both USS and SAUL, in the event of the insolvency of any of the participating employers, the amount of any pension funding shortfall (which cannot otherwise be recovered) in respect of that employer may be spread across the remaining participant employers and reflected in the next actuarial valuation.

USS

Staff paid on academic and academic-related scales (who are otherwise eligible), can acquire pension rights through USS, which is a national scheme administered centrally for UK universities. With effect from 1 October 2016, the scheme changed from a defined benefit only pension scheme to a hybrid pension scheme, providing defined benefits (for all members) as well as defined contribution benefits, above a threshold amount of salary. The assets of the scheme are held in a separate fund administered by the Trustee.

The total cost for the Union for the year ended 31 July 2024 was £54,221 (2023: £55,782). Since the institution cannot identify its share of scheme assets and liabilities, the following disclosures reflect those relevant for the scheme as a whole. The latest available complete actuarial valuation of the Retirement Income Builder section of the Scheme is at 31 March 2023 (“the valuation date”), which was carried out using the projected unit method. At the valuation date, the value of the assets of the scheme was £73.1 billion and the value of the scheme's technical provisions was £65.7 billion, indicating a surplus of £7.4 billion. The assets were therefore sufficient to cover all of the benefits which had accrued to members, after allowing for expected future increases in earnings.

The deficit recovery plan has ended in year, and the pension deficit provision in the accounts has been removed.

SAUL

The Union participates in the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (“SAUL”), which is a centralised defined benefit scheme within the United Kingdom and was contracted out of the Second State Pension (prior to April 2016). SAUL is an independently managed pension scheme for the non-academic staff (including Union staff) of over 50 colleges and institutions with links to higher education. Pension benefits accrued within SAUL currently build up on a Career Average Revalued Earnings (“CARE”) basis.

The total cost to the Union of participating in SAUL for the year ended 31 July 2024 was £320,225 (2023: £328,536). The latest actuarial valuation of the scheme as at 31 March 2023, shows total assets of £3,096 million and total liabilities of £2,962 million, or a net surplus of £134m. As a result of this surplus, SAUL employer contributions will reduce from 21% to 19% of salaries from 1 September 2024.

20 Capital Commitments

There were no capital commitments at the year end (2023: Nil)

21 Contingent Liabilities

HMRC is currently challenging the application of the catering concession by Students’ Unions if they consider the establishment to be a pub or bar. Whilst the Union believes it has complied with the concession in good faith, the subjective nature of the interpretation of the concession could mean that HMRC take a different view. No contingent liability has been quantified.

22 Analysis of assets between funds

Restricted Funds

Tangible Fixed Assets
Investments
Current Assets
Creditors		 Capital Grants
£
72,689
-
-
-
72,689		 Student
Activities
£
-
-
1,781,760
-
1,781,760		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
46,247
-
2,216,612
(923,973)
1,375,812		 Total Funds
£
118,936
-
3,998,372
(923,973)
3,193,335

23 Related Party Transactions

Imperial College London

A block grant from Imperial College of £2,767,153 (2023: £2,676,228) was receivable by the Union in the year.

Transactions throughout the year resulted in a trading balance as at 31 July 2024 of £615,540 (2023: £312,875) due to the College. There was also a balance of £165,164 (2023: £30,015) due from the College.

27

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

In addition, the Union building is provided by the College free of charge together with the provision of support services including HR, Payroll & IT. This donation of serviced accommodation is valued by the Union at £2,038,035 (2023: £2,014,505), see Note 2 Donated Services for details.

Trustees Expenses & Remuneration

Trustees’ expenses for the period are detailed in Note 9, and remuneration of the elected officer trustees in Note 10.

28

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

24 Comparative SOFA for 2023

2023

Income and endowments
Donations and legacies
Block Grant
Serviced Accommodation & Support Services
Charitable activities
Social Enterprise
Student Activities and Development
Student Voice
Other trading activities
Room Hire
Investments
Other
Total income and endowments
Expenditure
Charitable activities
Social Enterprise
Student Activities and Development
Student Voice
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Net movements in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total Funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
Restricted
General
Designated
Funds
Student
Activities/
Halls
Capital
Grants
Total
£
£
£
£
2,676,228
-
-
-
2,676,228
2,032,955
-
-
-
2,032,955
2,800,277
-
-
-
2,800,277
93,900
-
2,599,602
-
2,693,502
-
-
-
-
-
118,635
-
-
-
118,635
-
-
-
-
-
68,123
-
20,111
-
88,234
7,790,118
-
2,619,713
-
10,409,831
(3,884,279)
(30,025)
(4,718)
(6,313)
(3,925,335)
(2,491,540)
(75,324)
(2,776,814)
(21,695)
(5,365,373)
(962,327)
(6,782)
(5,527)
(1,728)
(976,364)
(7,338,146)
(112,131)
(2,787,059)
(29,736)
(10,267,072)
451,972
(112,131)
(167,346)
(29,736)
142,759
(157,066)
157,066
-
-
-
294,906
44,935
(167,346)
(29,735)
142,759
211,288
192,124
2,040,411
69,932
2,513,755
506,194
237,059
1,873,065
40,196
2,656,514

29

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Appendices to the Financial Statements as at 31[st] July 2024

A1
Clubs, Societies & Projects
Arts & Entertainments Sector
Income
Expenditure
CGCU (City & Guilds College)
Income
Expenditure
Community Sector
Income
Expenditure
Culture Sector
Income
Expenditure
ICSMSU (School of Medicine)
Income
Expenditure
Imperial Athletes
Income
Expenditure
Knowledge Sector
Income
Expenditure
NAI (New Activities Incubator)
Income
Expenditure
RCSU (Royal College of Science)
Income
Expenditure
Recreation Sector
Income
Expenditure
RSM (Royal School of Mines)
Income
Expenditure		 2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
-
311,709
311,709
(31,933)
(327,385)
(359,318)
(31,933)
(15,676)
(47,609)
-
407,363
407,363
(11,633)
(428,265)
(439,898)
(11,633)
(20,902)
(32,535)
-
57,024
57,024
(1,337)
(51,970)
(53,307)
(1,337)
5,054
3,717
-
282,289
282,289
(763)
(243,663)
(244,426)
(763)
38,626
67,863
-
508,693
508,693
(59,623)
(563,641)
(623,264)
(59,623)
(54,948)
(114,571)
-
7,106
7,106
-
(27,778)
(27,778)
-
(20,672)
(20,672)
-
54,902
54,902
(696)
(71,251)
(71,947)
(696)
(16,349)
(17,045)
-
25,431
25,431
(372)
(4,990)
(5,362)
(372)
20,441
20,069
-
126,163
126,163
(482)
(123,653)
(124,135)
(482)
2,510
2,028
-
240,424
240,424
(75,273)
(248,969)
(324,242)
(75,273)
(8,545)
(83,818)
-
42,792
42,792
(3,693)
(51,893)
(55,586)
(3,693)
(9,101)
(12,794)		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
5,722
226,824
232,546
(42,296)
(233,167)
(275,463)
(36,574)
(6,343)
(42,917)
4,758
341,031
345,789
(13,336)
(435,010)
(448,346)
(8,578)
(93,979)
(102,557)
988
46,145
47,133
(11)
(53,600)
(53,611)
977
(7,455)
(6,478)
450
244,139
244,589
-
(302,660)
(302,660)
450
(58,521)
(58,071)
3,439
439,379
442,818
(67,855)
(412,852)
(480,707)
(64,416)
26,527
(37,889)
-
16,861
16,861
-
(10,211)
(10,211)
-
6,650
6,650
3,265
31,446
34,711
(1,845)
(35,562)
(37,407)
1,420
(4,116)
(2,696)
4,588
14,299
18,887
(740)
(16,676)
(17,416)
3,848
(2,377)
1,471
-
109,112
109,112
-
(131,500)
(131,500)
-
(22,388)
(22,388)
13,955
212,406
226,361
(81,807)
(214,558)
(296,365)
(67,852)
(2,152)
(70,004)
3,343
37,073
40,416
(3,603)
(39,814)
(43,417)
(260)
(2,741)
(3,001)

30

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Silwood (Silwood Park)

Silwood (Silwood Park)
Income - 5,356 5,356 - 2,654 2,654
Expenditure (1,456) (3,291) (4,747) (1,885) (3,308) (5,193)
(1,456) 2,065 609 (1,885) (654) (2,539)
Sports Sector
Income - 511,575 511,575 20,199 391,239 411,438
Expenditure (206,352) (532,493) (738,845) (112,841) (335,325) (448,166)
(206,352) (20,918) (227,270) (92,642) 55,914 (36,728)
All Clubs, Societies & Projects
Income - 2,580,827 2,580,827 36,238 2,529,393 2,565,631
Expenditure (393,613) (2,679,242) (3,072,855) (419,387) (2,455,518) (2,874,905)
(393,613) (98,415) (492,028) (383,149) 73,875 (309,274)
Student Halls 2024 2023
Restricted Restricted
Income Expenditure Total Income Expenditure Total
£ £ £ £ £ £
Beit 35,287 (40,533) (5,246) 27,787 (26,831) 956
Falmouth & Keogh 16,341 (18,595) (2,254) 15,432 (16,168) (736)
Gabor 13,571 (15,814) (2,243) 17,152 (10,290) 6,862
Kemp Porter 74,438 (82,971) (8,533) 74,398 (76,159) (1,761)
Linstead 13,824 (16,090) (2,266) 13,895 (12,352) 1,543
Selkirk 12,844 (12,405) 439 11,231 (6,162) 5,069
Silwood Halls 9,461 (8,167) 1,294 10,817 (11,871) (1,054)
Tizard 14,074 (10,959) 3,115 15,660 (16,624) (964)
Wilkinson 22,537 (17,650) 4,887 17,605 (21,740) (4,135)
Wilson House 40,080 (49,377) (9,297) 37,101 (34,864) 2,237
Woodward Hall 71,107 (80,874) (9,767) 73,897 (74,607) (710)
Xenia 3,300 (3,078) 222 16,927 (17,717) (790)
326,864 (356,513) (29,649) 331,902 (325,385) 6,517

A2 Student Halls

A3 Premises & Equipment Costs
Premises & Equipment Costs 2024 2023
Unrestricted Capital Total Unrestricted Capital Total
£ £ £ £ £ £
Cleaning (20,166) - (20,166) (18,577) - (18,577)
Building Redevelopment
Depreciation		 (4,162) (20,958) (25,120) (4,162) (20,958) (25,120)
Serviced Accommodation (1,821,857) - (1,821,857) (1,795,950) - (1,795,950)
(1,846,185) (20,958) (1,867,143) (1,818,689) (20,958) (1,839,647)
Apportioned to:
Social Enterprise (566,662) (6,433) (573,095) (549,810) (6,313) (556,123)
Student Activities & Development (1,143,552) (12,982) (1,156,534) (1,118,359) (12,917) (1,131,276)
Student Voice (135,971) (1,543) (137,514) (150,520) (1,728) (152,248)
(1,846,185) (20,958) (1,867,143) (1,818,689) (20,958) (1,839,647)

31

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

A4 Administration & Finance Costs
Administration & Finance Costs
Bad Debt Expense
Bank Charges
Depreciation of Fixtures,
Fittings & Equipment
Irrecoverable VAT
Office Equipment
Officer Training
Other Staff Costs
Printing, Stationery & Postage
Staff Salaries
Telephone and Fax
Training
Miscellaneous
Pension scheme deficit expense
Staff benefits accrued
Apportioned to:
Social Enterprise
Student Activities & Development
Student Voice		 2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
672
-
672
(25,747)
-
(25,747)
(20,784)
-
(20,784)
(12,210)
-
(12,210)
(36,854)
-
(36,854)
(2,551)
-
(2,551)
(31,311)
-
(31,311)
(10,221)
-
(10,221)
(1,296,022)
-
(1,296,022)
(3,073)
-
(3,073)
(26,635)
-
(26,635)
(223,637)
-
(223,637)
288,488
-
288,488
(7,609)
-
(7,609)
(1,407,494)
-
(1,407,494)
(556,083)
-
(556,083)
(510,099)
-
(510,099)
(341,312)
-
(341,312)
(1,407,494)
-
(1,407,494)		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
9,940
-
9,940
(24,500)
-
(24,500)
(21,139)
-
(21,139)
(36,964)
-
(36,964)
(48,133)
-
(48,133)
(4,412)
-
(4,412)
(22,536)
-
(22,536)
(13,201)
-
(13,201)
(1,190,554)
(10,655)
(1,201,209)
(4,467)
-
(4,467)
(17,597)
-
(17,597)
(126,719)
(5,073)
(131,792)
90,822
-
90,822
(5,020)
-
(5,020)
(1,414,480)
(15,728)
(1,430,208)
(534,602)
(4,718)
(539,320)
(506,341)
(4,718)
(511,059)
(373,537)
(6,292)
(379,829)
(1,414,480)
(15,728)
(1,430,208)

A5 Human Resources & Payroll

Human Resources & Payroll
HR Rate / FTE
FTEs (including casual workers)
Apportioned to:
Social Enterprise
Student Activities & Development
Student Voice
IT Services
IT Rate / FTE
FTEs (including casual workers)		 2024
Unrestricted
£
(2,873)
52.74
(151,499)
(84,208)
(42,457)
(24,834)
(151,499)
2024
Unrestricted
£
(1,833)
35.29
(64,679)		 2023
Unrestricted
£
(2,833)
54.14
(153,366)
(82,904)
(38,633)
(31,829)
(153,366)
2023
Unrestricted
£
(1,746)
37.34
(65,189)

A6 IT Services

32

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024

Apportioned to:
Social Enterprise
Student Activities & Development
Student Voice		 (25,529)
(23,903)
(15,247)
(64,679)		 (24,381)
(21,491)
(19,317)
(65,189)
Trade Debtors
Debtor control
Debtors with credit balances
Trade Creditors
Credit control
Creditors with debit balances
Debtors with credit balances
Prepayments
Prepayments
Creditors with debit balances		 2024
Unrestricted
£
27,277
7,306
34,583
2024
Unrestricted
£
18,468
68,959
7,306
94,733
2024
Unrestricted
£
26,991
68,959
95,950		 2023
Unrestricted
£
47,361
5,949
53,310
2023
Unrestricted
£
(6,166)
50,063
5,949
49,846
2023
Unrestricted
£
22,601
50,063
72,664

A7 Trade Debtors

A8 Trade Creditors

A9 Prepayments

33

Imperial College Union Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024