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2022-03-31-accounts

Company number: 5870623 Charity Number: 1152499

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31[st] March 2022

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Reference and administrative information

for the year ended 31[st] March 2022

Company number 5870623 Charity number 1152499 Registered office and operational address No. 3 Planetree House, 21-31 Oldham Street Manchester, M1 1JG

Management committee The members of the management committee, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Kirit Patel Chair Sivamohan Valluvan Secretary Marie-Claire Emecheta Treasurer (resigned 15/02/2022) Julia Davis Dr Shahireh Sharif (resigned 09/11/2021) Bethan Galliers (appointed 09/11/2021) Laura Stewart (appointed 09/11/2021) Marcia Hutchinson (appointed 21/06/2022)

Key management Peter Kalu Co-Director personnel Cheryl Martin Co-Director Bankers Bank of Scotland The Mound Edinburgh, EH1 1YZ Independent Christy Lau FCCA CTA DChA Examiner Slade & Cooper Limited, Beehive Mill Jersey Street Ancoats Manchester M4 6JG

1

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Management committee’s annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2022

The management committee presents their report and the unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2022. Included within the management committee’s report is the directors’ report as required by company law.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Objectives and activities

Objects

The Objects of the charity as set out in its Memorandum of Association are:

To advance education for the benefit of the public in the subject of creative writing, literature and the Arts; to formulate, prepare and establish schemes therefore; and to co-operate with other charitable organisations having similar objects and to establish, promote or assist such charitable organisations.

Our Vision

Mission

Our mission is to help emerging and mid-career writers become more successful.

Our Charitable Activities

The management committee reviews the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The management committee reports the success of each key activity and the benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the management committee ensure the charity's aims, objectives and activities remained focused on its stated purposes.

The management committee has referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the management committee considers how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

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Commonword Enterprises Limited

Management committee’s annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2022

Activities undertaken for public benefit in relation to objects 1 April 21 - 31 March 22

Commonword’s writing development programme continues to blossom in different ways, based on our quest to innovate, to be inclusive and responsive to the feedback-evidenced evolving aspirations of emerging writers and consistently with the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

This year our National Black Writers Conference brought some great writers and some burning issues to prominence. Under the broad theme of “we want to dream”, panel discussions included: black and brown queer stories from today and yesterday; Going Digital - exploring future literature; no more ivory towers – decolonising University literature courses as well as the academic institutions themselves. There was a film element – “dreaming on screen’’ as well as sessions on how to use social media and a generative short story workshop. The international writers, Berlin based Divya Ghelani and the USA/Germany based Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi also featured in the programme.

‘Small Circles’, our England based Twine digital storytelling development project saw seven writers dive into the delights of born-digital story development, birthing numerous multi-media, online accessible Twine Games which simultaneously worked as literary stories, and gave pleasure as Games.

Our core Identity Black/Global Majority Writers Group saw significant growth in numbers and some of its current and former members have lit up the regional and national literature world with excellent literary achievements and prizes.

The Queer Black Book Club has attracted national attention on social media and continues to forge a unique path of appreciation of LBGT+ literature and provide a ground rock for LGBT+ writers to feel safe and to emerge with their own writing.

Achievements and performance

The charity’s main activities and who it tries to help are described below. All its charitable activities focus on writer development and are undertaken to further Commonword Enterprise Limited’s charitable purposes for the public benefit. The following are our eight main achievements:

Black Writers Conference 2021

Commonword provided an innovative 2021 Conference programme which focused attention on matters of deep concern for black and brown writers especially those identifying as women and non-binary. Commonword’s aims for the 2021 National Black Writers Conference were threefold: to create an accessible, international, virtual conference that addressed accessibility and affordability issues for our audience especially those impacted by Covid; to make it easier to add international panellists and audiences; to create a platform specifically for Global Majority women and non-binary writers. We delivered these aims with a series of panels and events including two workshops – a social media presence workshop, run by the media-savvy Chanje Kunda. And a Generative Short story workshop run by the ever-popular Divya Ghelani. Said Chanje, “The people involved were great. The sense of solidarity and comradely made us feel like a positive artistic community. The female and non-binary elements were refreshing as most black history and black events are male dominated.” Said Divya: “Both my workshops were very moving. (People began to cry when sharing their stories in the second one!) I felt we’d cocreated a soft and intimate space in which to write, and it was thanks to them as well as Commonword’s excellent management via Radhaika, Jayne Compton etc., and Cheryl. The ‘View From Berlin’ panel felt like a warm and relaxed chat – very pleasurable, and I hope viewers enjoyed it as much as me.”

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Commonword Enterprises Limited

Management committee’s annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2022

Feedback on the National Black Writers Conference 2021

From Panellists and Artists:

“I really enjoyed the conference as a panelist, judge and as a member of the audience. The speakers were inspiring and I felt really motivated and energised by the conference. It is the first time that I have attended a Writers’ conference with all Black speakers and for them all to be women was extraordinary. “

“I think holding a black writers conference is one of the major highlights for many emerging black writers. It is a fantastic opportunity for black writers to have a platform and space to meet and discuss the challenges they meet as writers in Britain. It is also an opportunity to come up with solutions to our shared challenges and to share experiences and strategies. For me, as a product of the Cultureword initiative, I am so proud to return every time and see the initiative thriving, to see eager emerging writers and be in conversation with other authors. I think the wider world is not aware of the fantastic job you do in terms of reaching out in the community to identify new writers, nurture and put them on the way to realizing their dreams. Thank you to the team. “

“I really love engaging with BIPOC writers and readers. I always find the level of discussion to be very high – and this was no exception. I loved that this conference focused on global majority women and non-binary BIPOC authors – this sort of radical programming allows a focused spotlight on artists and issues that don’t often get heard. Well done. I fully respect the extra work involved to make such a shift in focus possible. “

“I was really impressed by the tech support and how organised the conference was behind the scenes. As a panelist, I was provided with all the links to promote event through my social media beforehand.”

‘Small Circles’ – digital literature project, with various authors

‘Small Circles’ is part of our digital platforms initiative and is available online here: - https://www.cultureword.org.uk/small circles/ With this project, we forged a strong relationship with some key Games makers and coders. In particular, in the UK, we now may have a new strategic partner in story-world and augmented reality creative projects, Visioning Lab. Visioning Lab worked with us on our Twine stories, introduced us to the possibilities of Mozilla Hubs

https://hubs.mozilla.com/), and have agreed to deepen their collaboration with us. This will position us as a leading digital literature organisation in the UK. More generally, we have increased excitement in the north of England around digital storytelling methods and grown a cohort of writers who can provide content for Games.

The pandemic, the Lebanon economic crisis and the Beirut port explosion made scheduling, logistics, communication and money transfers from UK to Lebanon problematic. See project Videocast One for details: https://youtu.be/ug5UB_6vMk8 Yet we persevered. We accelerated digital and online collaboration tools and the modularisation of our Project. See Videocast Two for details: https://youtu.be/3hBn-ht2-0w

The collaboration with Falafel games proved smooth and innovative. See the two YouTube videocasts, in which the project is discussed by Mehmood, Ghossoub, Burgess and Kalu, as well as by Lebanese students and artists for details:

Falafel Video One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjvpXB0tAuQ&t=2399s

Falafel Video Two https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY_t3bWi2WI&t=3057s

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Commonword Enterprises Limited

Management committee’s annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2022

In the UK, we successfully recruited seven writers for Twine and sustained our engagement with them resulting in seven Twine stories published on the Cultureword Digital Platform: https://www.cultureword.org.uk/small-circles This success augurs well for future development of Twine and other digital format stories.

The Project galvanised activity in other areas of digital literature. The Commonword YouTube site now hosts an expanding range of video poetry while the Commonword website now has a Digital Literature page that hosts a variety of digital literature experiences.

We will continue to grow our network of writers who are at ease with digital literature and who are keen to develop in this area. We will continue to expand our digital literature reach including by seeking more international partners.

*‘Loose Connections’ – digital pamphlet by Identity workshop contributors

Regular Identity workshop attendees came together with editor-writer Clare Ramsaran to produce this digital magazine of their creative writing. It is hosted on Commonword’s website here: https://www.cultureword.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Loose-Connections.pdf. It contains poetry and fiction from eleven emerging writers within its 66 pages. As Clare writes in the introduction, “The cover reflects the history of the group, which started in the 1980’s (era of the mix tape), as well as our future, with an online ‘mix tape’ of us reading our words. The title speaks of ‘loose connections’, between families and also between people with histories of migration, and the lands and cultures that we, or our ancestors, moved from. Identity has taken many forms. Sometimes a performance group, reading in local pubs, sometimes a writing/feedback group. And now, during lockdown, we meet online, seeing each other’s faces and writing via screens. Toni Morrison is often quoted as saying "If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." This is exactly what the writers in Identity are doing – telling the stories we don’t often read, that aren’t often published, but that we definitely need to hear.”

‘So’ – poetry by John Siddique

Delayed by Covid and lockdown, this collection was well worth the wait. It is a ‘beautiful’ (T.S. Eliot Prize) book which query the boundaries between nature and human, between self and selves. It has garnered praise from national journals such as Writers Mosaic: “Siddique’s deceptively simple stanzas as he draws our attention to the magnificence in the seemingly mundane; the sparkle of sunlight on water, the wheeling of gulls between bridges…” Writers Mosaic . ‘So’ is available nation-wide via all major online retailers, as well at good bookshops and from our own website.

The Cultureword YouTube site has been expanded significantly this year as a development of our digital literature development aspirations, and in particular benefitting from the boost given to it by our online Black Writers Conference. This year it has been populated with panel debates , poetry performances, book reviews, short story trailers and information videos and our playlists include: Interviews, How To, Black Writers Conference 2021, We Want To Dream, Going Digital Films, 90 Second Book Reviews and Locations, Locations. More here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Cultureword

Picture Books Project

The first year flew by of our Picture Book Project launched in collaboration with the mainstream publisher, Hachette Children’s, and seeking to discover and nurture PoC Picture Book writers who are under-represented in this genre. Forty writers joined the project, seven were given extensive feedback on their work and three (Elayne Ogbeta, Ashleigh Nugent and Darren Pritchard) were chosen by Hachette for development of their stories for publication by Hachette.

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Commonword Enterprises Limited

Management committee’s annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2022

Writers Workshops

We continued to deliver creative writing workshops online throughout his year. We delivered ** Black Queer Book Club workshops, ** Identity Writers Workshops, and ** Notes on a Mic Drop Workshops.

Identity Global Majority writers workshop

In June 2021 Identity launched an online magazine of writing by the group called, ‘Loose Connections’. The group continues to run its own Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/groups/commonwordidentitywriters and meets on Zoom at 6.00pm every Wednesday. Forty-five Identity workshop meetings were held over the year. Participants were writers of colour working in genres that ranged from spoken word to the short story to the novel. Being online boosted attendance and the average session is now attended by eight people, up from six last year.

Queer Black Book Club

The monthly Queer Black Book Club has been a continuing success and also serves as a strong complement to the Identity Writers Workshop Online . Both workshops have been meeting throughout the Covid dislocations, and have been an excellent and necessary means for Commonword to enhance the literary and professional development of new writers.

Financial review

The charity’s unrestricted liquid reserves at year end stand at £64,963.

Commonword’s financial model has proved robust enough to survive the impact of the Covid restrictions that have prevailed through the year. The milestones and targets that are key to the drawing down of funding for the charity have been met.

A modified fundraising strategy has been implemented and approaches are now being made to several hitherto unapproached Trust funds.

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Commonword Enterprises Limited

Management committee’s annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2022

Reserves Policy

Reserves are required to cover any disparity between spending on our programme and the income we generate though grants and private income generation and to ease transitions between one source of funding and another. Reserves are also maintained to guard against exceptional, unplanned expenditure. The reserves also function as a means to mitigate main risks to the organisation such as the withdrawal of a significant funder.

In reaching our target reserve amount we took into account the following:

  1. forecasts for levels of income in future years, taking into account the reliability of each source of income and the prospects for opening up new sources

  2. forecasts for expenditure in future years on the basis of planned activity

  3. analysis of future needs, opportunities, contingencies and risk

  4. assessment, on the best evidence reasonably available, of the likelihood of each of those needs and risks arising and the potential consequences for the organisation of not being able to meet them

  5. consideration of wind-up arrangements and the financial consequences arising from this

Based on these considerations our pre-pandemic policy was to maintain sufficient free reserves to provide cover for 6 months in relation to known liabilities, along with a smaller additional provision of one month of free reserves for unforeseen liabilities. Post Covid-19, our policy is to maintain sufficient free reserves to provide cover for 5 months in relation to known liabilities, with the expectation that cost-cutting measures and renewed funding will over the next 18 months enable us to recover our reserve to the pre-pandemic 6 months + 1 month.

Our pre-pandemic total target reserve amounted to 7 months running costs. On this basis our target reserve was £71,774. Our post-Covid-19 target reserve amounts to 5 months running costs. On this basis our target is £57,728.

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Commonword Enterprises Limited

Management committee’s annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2022

Structure, governance and management

Recruitment and Appointment of Management Committee

The management committee makes wide general appeal to find those who are willing to serve as members on the Committee. The recruitment strategy takes cognisance of the particular skill sets of existing members and attempts to ensure a well-rounded, diverse membership with excellent expertise who can individually and collectively assist the charity in furthering its aims.

New management committee members are appointed by ordinary resolution according to articles 34 to 38 of Commonword Enterprise Ltd’s constitution. There is no upper limit to the number of management committee members but there is a minimum threshold of 3.

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee having no share capital. It was incorporated on 10th July 2006 and registered as a charity on 19 June 2013. The company is established under a Memorandum of Association which establishes the object and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The members of the management committee are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The members have no beneficial interest in the charity.

All members of the management committee give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 9 to the accounts.

8

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Management committee’s annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2022

Statement of responsibilities of the management committee

The members of the management committee (who are also directors of Commonword Enterprises Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the management committee’s annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the management committee 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 management committee is required to:

The management committee is responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The management committee is responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime of the Companies Act 2006.

The management committee’s annual report has been approved by the members of the management committee on 15[th] November 2022 and signed on their behalf by

Kirit Patel

Chair

9

Independent examiner’s report

to the trustees of

Commonword Enterprises Limited

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31[st] March 2022 which are set out on pages 11 to 27.

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.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe 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.

Christy Lau FCCA CTA DChA Slade & Cooper Limited Beehive Mill Jersey St Ancoats Manchester M4 6JG 23[rd] December 2022

10

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2022

Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
35
Charitable activities:
4
Education
96,515
Total income
96,550
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities:
5
Education
98,975
Total expenditure
98,975
(2,425)
7
(2,425)
Transfer between funds
-
Net movement in funds for the year
(2,425)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
69,756
Total funds carried forward
67,331
Net income/(expenditure) before
net gains/(losses) on investments
Net income/(expenditure) for the
year		 Restricted
funds
£
-
53,900
53,900
53,155
53,155
745
745
-
745
-
745		 Total funds
2022
£
35
150,415
150,450
152,130
152,130
(1,680)
(1,680)
-
(1,680)
69,756
68,076		 Total funds
2021
£
-
96,445
96,445
123,664
123,664
(27,219)
(27,219)
-
(27,219)
96,975
69,756

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

A full comparative SOFA is available on the last page of the financial statements.

11

Commonword Enterprises Limited Company number 5870623

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2022

Note
£
£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
12
2,368
Total fixed assets
2,368
Current assets
Stock
581
Debtors
13
595
Cash at bank and in hand
14
70,479
Total current assets
71,655
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling
due in less than one year
15
(5,947)
Net current assets
65,708
Total assets less current liabilities
68,076
Net assets
68,076
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
16
745
Unrestricted income funds
17
67,331
Total charity funds
68,076
2022		 £
£
1,976
1,976
581
389
68,952
69,922
(2,142)
67,780
69,756
69,756
-
69,756
69,756
2021		 £
£
1,976
1,976
581
389
68,952
69,922
(2,142)
67,780
69,756
69,756
-
69,756
69,756
2021
1,976
67,780
69,756
69,756
-
69,756
69,756

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

Directors' responsibilities:

These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and in accordance with FRS102 SORP, and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company.

The notes on pages 13 to 26 form part of these accounts.

Approved by the trustees on 15/11/2022 and signed on their behalf by:

Kirit Patel (Chair)

12

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022

1 Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgments and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

a Basis of preparation

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 (FRS 102), second edition - October 2019 (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The charity has applied the exemption available to small charities in the Charities SORP (FRS 102) and does not include a Statement of Cash Flows in these Financial Statements.

Commonword Enterprises Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

b Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.

The trustees have made no key judgments which have a significant effect on the accounts.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

13

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

c Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Income received in advance of a provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

d Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised; refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

e Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.

14

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

f Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose.

Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity’s work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

g Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

h Operating leases

Operating leases are leases in which the title to the assets, and the risks and rewards of ownership, remain with the lessor. Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

i Tangible fixed assets

Individual fixed assets costing £250 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives on a straight line basis as follows:

Computer equipment 25% straight line Office furniture & equipment 20% straight line

j Stock

Stock is included at the lower of cost or net realisable value. In general, cost is determined on a first in, first out basis. Net realisable value is the price at which stocks can be sold in the normal course of business after allowing for the costs of realisation. Provision is made where necessary for obsolete, slow moving, and defective stocks. Donated items of stock are recognised at fair value which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay for the items on the open market.

15

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

k Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

l Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

m Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due

n Financial instruments

The charity 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 with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

o Pensions

Employees of the charity are entitled to join a defined contribution ‘money purchase’ scheme. The charity’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 8. There were no outstanding contributions at the year end (2021: £Nil).

2 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales and has no share capital. 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 registered office address is disclosed on page 1.

3 Income from donations and legacies

Current reporting period
Donations
Total
Previous reporting period
Donations
Total		 Unrestricted
£
35
35
Unrestricted
£
-
-		 Restricted
£
-
-
Restricted
£
-
-		 Total 2022
£
35
35
Total 2021
£
-
-

16

4 Income from charitable activities

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

Current reporting period
Grants
Arts Council England, North West
British Council, Digital Collaboration Fund
Muli Amaye Grant
Fees and other income
Sales of publications
Total
Previous reporting period
Grants
Arts Council England, North West
Fees and other income
Sales of publications
Total		 Unrestricted
£
95,981
-
95,981
534
534
96,515
Unrestricted
£
95,981
95,981
464
464
96,445		 Restricted
£
-
53,500
400
53,900
-
-
53,900
Restricted
£
-
-
-
-
-		 Total 2022
£
95,981
53,500
400
149,881
534
534
150,415
Total 2021
£
95,981
95,981
464
464
96,445

17

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

5 Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Current reporting period
Salaries
Premises
Development
Book production
Administration
IT and software
Depreciation
Restricted expenditure
Unrestricted expenditure
6
Analysis of governance and support costs
Current reporting period
Basis of
apportionment
Accountancy services
Governance
Legal and professional
Governance
Previous reporting period
Basis of
apportionment
Accountancy services
Governance
Legal and professional
Governance
Governance costs (see note 6)		 Total 2022
£
81,975
14,703
45,721
992
1,512
3,868
1,208
2,151
152,130
2022
£
53,155
98,975
152,130
Governance
£
1,575
576
2,151
Governance
£
1,500
662
2,162		 Total 2021
88,558
21,094
7,312
324
1,024
1,138
2,052
2,162
123,664
2021
£
26,009
97,655
123,664
Total 2022
£
1,575
576
2,151
Total 2021
£
1,500
662
2,162

18

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

7 Net income/(expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging/(crediting): 2022 2021
£ £
Depreciation 1,208 2,052
Operating lease rentals:
Property 10,150 13,800
Independent examiner's fee
Accountancy 1,050 1,000
Independent examination 263 250
Payroll 439 512

8 Staff costs

Staff costs during the year were as follows:

ff costs during the year were as follows:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2022
£
78,831
1,710
1,434
81,975		 2021
£
86,832
330
1,396
88,558

No employees has employee benefits in excess of £60,000 (2021: Nil).

The average number of staff employed during the period was 6 (2021: 7). The average full time equivalent number of staff employed during the period was 2.42 (2021: 3).

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees and Co-Directors. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £52,271 (2021: £35,035).

19

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

9 Trustee remuneration and expenses, and related party transactions

No (2021: One) members of the management committee received any fees during the year (2021: Dr Shahireh Sharif, £50, fee for Crime Friction short story).

No (2021: Nil) members of the management committee received travel and subsistence expenses during the year (2021:£Nil).

No aggregate donations from related parties (2021: £Nil).

There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties.

No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity, including guarantees, during the year (2021: nil).

10 Government grants

The government grants recognised in the accounts were as follows:

Arts Council England, North West 2022
£
95,981
95,981		 2021
£
95,981
95,981

11 Corporation tax

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within Chapter 3 of Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the charity.

20

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

12 Fixed assets: tangible assets

Cost
Additions
Depreciation
Charge for the year
Net book value
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2022
At 1 April 2021
At 31 March 2022
At 1 April 2021
At 31 March 2021		 Equipment
£
14,113
1,600
15,713
12,137
1,208
13,345
2,368
1,976		 Total
£
14,113
1,600
15,713
12,137
1,208
13,345
2,368
1,976

21

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

13 Debtors

13
Debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
14
Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and on hand		 2022
£
595
595
2022
£
70,479
70,479		 2021
£
389
389
2021
£
68,952
68,952

15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Other creditors and accruals 2022
£
5,947
5,947		 2021
£
2,142
2,142

22

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

16 Analysis of movements in restricted funds

Total
HLF Lottery
Total
Muli Amaye Grant
Awards for All -
Silence Will Not
Protect You
Awards for All -
Coordinate
British Council,
Digital
Collaboration
Fund
Current reporting
period
Previous reporting
period		 Balance at
1 April
2021
£
-
-
Balance at
1 April
2020
£
3,843
1,294
9,220
14,357
 Income
£
53,500
400
53,900
Income
£
-
-
-
-		 Expenditure
£
(52,755)
(400)
(53,155)
Expenditure
£
(15,495)
(1,294)
(9,220)
(26,009)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
Transfers
£
11,652
-
-
11,652		 Balance at
31 March
2022
£
745
-
745
Balance at
31 March
2021
£
-
-
-
-

23

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

16 Analysis of movements in restricted funds (Continued)

Name of
restricted fund Description, nature and purposes of the fund
British Council, In 2021, Commonword, based in the UK, and the American University of
Digital Collaboration Beirut (AUB), based in Lebanon, joined together to develop a digital
Fund literature in a project sponsored by the British Council. The project aims
were (1) to pioneer interactive digital storytelling generated primarily by
black creatives of the North West and boost collaboration with our
overseas partner, American University of Beirut. (2) to seed
experimentation and further digital innovation by galvanizing digital
literature production, especially by black writers and coders. (3) to grow
the Commonword digital lab experiments and to enthuse, innovate and
foster the growth of_born-digital_ literature. The collaboration with Falafel
games proved smooth and innovative and led to a demo RPG Game being
jointly developed. The UK digital project outcomes included seven new
Twine (Digital Storytelling) Games produced.
Muli Amaye Grant Writer Dr. Muli Amaye hosted a black girls end of year get together in
Ardwick. It was an evening for women of colour to talk, read, listen and
write. Providing a nourishing space for literary joy after a difficult few
years. The event was held at the ARMR Store in Ardwick and was very
well attended.
HLF Lottery The Commonword Community Archive Project is an outreach, curation
and engagement project based on the Commonword Archive. The project
will use our archive to engage the general public in the literary activist
history of Manchester, and to promote creative writing in marginalised
communities. The archive will also be made available to the general
public online.
Awards for All - Silence Will Not Protect You is a six month empowerment, development
Silence Will Not and advocacy project for women who are seeking asylum, are refugees, or
Protect You who experience domestic violence. The project utilises drama, poetry and
film to enable participants to develop the skills and confidence necessary
to advocate for themselves and their communities.
Awards for All - Coordinate is a 10 month project to create a location based online map of
Coordinate Manchester and Salford documenting the experiences of people from
marginalised groups who live with social isolation. The project will also
provide advocacy/campaign training to help participants work together,
disseminate their experiences and advocate for change.

24

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

17 Analysis of movement in unrestricted funds

General fund
Name of
unrestricted fund
General fund
Current reporting
period
Previous reporting
period		 Balance at 1
April 2021
Income
Expenditure
£
£
£
69,756
96,550
(98,975)
69,756
96,550
(98,975)
Balance at
1 April 2020
Income
Expenditure
£
£
£
82,618
96,445
(97,655)
82,618
96,445
(97,655)
Description, nature and purposes of the fund		 Invesment
gains /
(losses)
-
-
Invesment
gains /
(losses)
-
-		 Transfers
£
-
-
Transfers
£
(11,652)
(11,652)		 As at 31
March 2022
£
67,331
67,331
As at 31
March 2021
£
69,756
69,756

General fund The free reserves after allowing for all designated funds

25

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (continued)

18 Analysis of net assets between funds

Current reporting period
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total
Previous reporting period
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total		 General
fund
£
2,368
64,963
67,331
General
fund
£
1,976
67,780
69,756		 Designated
funds
£
-
-
-
Designated
funds
£
-
-
-		 Restricted
funds
£
-
745
745
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
-		 Total
£
2,368
65,708
68,076
Total
£
1,976
67,780
69,756

19 Operating lease commitments

The charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods:

Less than one year
One to five years		 2022
2021
£
£
6,456
3,450
1,614
-
8,070
3,450
Property		 2022
2021
£
£
6,456
3,450
1,614
-
8,070
3,450
Property
3,450

26

Commonword Enterprises Limited

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2021

Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Income from:
Charitable activities:
3
Education
96,445
Total income
96,445
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities:
4
Education
97,655
Total expenditure
97,655
(1,210)
-
6
(1,210)
Transfer between funds
(11,652)
Net movement in funds for the year
(12,862)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
82,618
Total funds carried forward
69,756
Realised gains/(losses) on investments
Net income/(expenditure) for the
year
Net income/(expenditure) before
net gains/(losses) on investments		 Restricted
funds
£
-
-
26,009
26,009
(26,009)
-
(26,009)
11,652
(14,357)
14,357
-		 Total funds
2021
£
96,445
96,445
123,664
123,664
(27,219)
-
(27,219)
-
(27,219)
96,975
69,756		 Total funds
2020
£
106,145
106,145
154,010
154,010
(47,865)
(326)
(48,191)
-
(48,191)
145,166
96,975

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

27