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2022-03-31-accounts

ECONOMY

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Year Ended 31 March 2022

Charity registation - 1166046

Year ended 31 March 2022

Economy Annual report and financial statements

Contents

Contents
Trustees annual report 4
Objectives and activities 4
Plans for future periods 11
Financial review 12
Governance and management structures 12
Reference and administrative details 13
Statement of Board of Trustees’ responsibilities 14
Independent examiner’s report 16
Statement of fnancial activities 18
Balance sheet 19
Notes to the fnancial statements 20

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Trustees annual report

The Board of Trustees submit their annual report and the financial statements of Economy for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The Board of Trustees confirms that the annual report and financial statements of the Charity comply with current statutory requirements, including the Charity Act 2011, as well as the requirements of the Society’s governing document and the provisions of the ‘Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) second edition (effective 1 January 2019)’, and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

The Trustees have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s objectives and activities, and when planning activities.

Objectives and activities

Economy’s objective is ‘to advance education in economics for the public benefit.’ Economy’s goals and areas of activity are set out in our Theory of Change and Strategy 2019-2022.

We support communities – particularly those furthest from power – to shape the economy to achieve what matters to them. We do this through:

While we are proud of what we have achieved in the six years since Economy was founded, we know we have a long way to go to achieve our vision of an economy which everyone has the power to influence. In 2021, polling we did with Opinium, found that less than one in five people felt they were able to influence decisions about the economy which affected their lives. This is the context in which we have developed an ambitious new five year strategy which we outline in the future plans section below.

In this annual report, we summarise progress on our strategy in Public Interest News and Entertainment, Public Education and Training, making economic campaigns more inclusive and accessible, engaging economic decisionmakers, research, publishing, and organisational development, and we outline our future plans.

Across all our areas of activity, we have gradually reincorporated in-person work when public health conditions have allowed while retaining the best aspects of online delivery developed over the last two years, to create exciting new hybrid models of delivering our work.

The 2021/22 year was the last of our current three-year strategy period and so a significant focus of the year has been to develop our next five-year strategy. The Board of Trustees approved Economy’s new strategy in April 2022. We will spend the first half of the 22/23 financial year preparing the organisation to be able to deliver effectively on the new strategy. We summarise the key points of the new strategy in the plans for future years section below.

Overall, it feels like Economy’s foundations are increasingly healthy, while recognising that our operating environment continues to be challenging and volatile, and this puts us in a strong position to begin delivering our new strategy in what is a positive and exciting period of transition and evolution for the organisation.

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Public-Interest News and Entertainment

Voices of the economy

In September 2021, we completed phase one of Economy’s voices of the economy programme (VOTE) and in the second half of the year we planned how to take the programme forward. Phase one of VOTE was a two-year programme, supported by the John Ellerman Foundation, to diversify whose voice and experience is represented in media coverage of the economy in the UK. VOTE hands over the mic to the people behind ‘stats & figures’ like GDP, inflation and productivity so we can build a better picture of what is happening in the economy and what it means for them and their communities.

In focusing on working with marginalised communities, we’re aiming to work with people who are currently structurally excluded from mainstream conversations and economic decision making, typically due to intersecting disadvantages. This includes groups marginalised due to their gender, ethnicity, health, socio-economic background, migration status and geography.

We work with them as co-producers to create digital content that sheds light on their lived experiences of the economy and their ideas or hopes for change. Coproducers have an opportunity to develop a range of skills and experience including: confidence, editing, story/ narrative crafting, interview techniques, economic literacy, reasoning skills, communication skills and teamwork. We have developed infrastructure to do this in three main ways:

Articles: The most traditional form of content, we have worked with contributors to provide three options for co-production: in depth support, light touch feedback and interview style. This is to accommodate the different levels of need, interest and confidence our contributors might have.

Podcast: Our podcast series ‘We Need to Talk about the Economy’ used a panel conversation format with experts and community voices to cover a range of topics about how Covid-19 was impacting the economy, from looking at gender differences and the impact on BAME lives, to issues such as jobs, housing, business, the impact on young people and how the government spending would be paid for. We produced 10 podcasts, with 27 contributors and 364 minutes of communityled conversation about the economy, with over 5000 downloads.

Videos: In the second year of the grant we piloted and developed a video model of coproducing our content. Our video producer worked in depth with 10 co-producers to create 6 videos. Video co-producers had the opportunity to develop a range of technical skills including: documentary filmmaking, documentary form, camera and sound recording. A key challenge to video production has been the dropout rate after initial interest and enabling avenues for people who wish to remain anonymous to produce compelling video content. We are working to understand and reduce barriers to becoming a video co-producer.

I didn’t feel like I was talking economy-economy, like in the scary way where you feel like you should have a degree. If I was on some finance program on the BBC, I would have looked like a moron. But with you guys, it’s a conversation where we’re talking about things that are to do with finances, but also to do with life.

VOTE contributor

Over the two years of the Phase 1 programme we worked with 118 contributors to co-produce 91 pieces of content across written, audio and video formats which were published on ecnmy.org and received over 850,000 visitors in that period. Here are some examples of this content:

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I want to work. But without my legal refugee status I’m not allowed.

Read here.

Before the lockdown, I had everything covered.

Watch here.

Young people are very vulnerable to change. -Faiza Rezai

Watch here.

We will continue to develop our ‘Voices of the Economy’ network, whom our editorial team work with to co-produce written and video content (comment, analysis, local news) for social, local and national media. We will work with media partners to develop, test and scale the network into a flexible and sustainable infrastructure which facilitates changemakers creating multimedia content to have an authentic and trusted public voice on the economy.

Ecnmy.org

Economy’s news and entertainment platform ecnmy.org has reached over two million unique users to date and we have built relationships across a broad range of media organisations. Our media partnerships help us identify and share best practice in economic communication across the media. Economy’s work has pushed the importance

of economic communication up the political agenda, contributing to a cultural shift in the UK, towards more accessible economics coverage.

Great content combined with high profile media partnerships and our sustained focus on search engine optimisation has led to Economy appearing third or fourth on Google searches for ‘economy’ behind only the BBC, Wikipedia and the Cambridge Dictionary. For some search terms ecnmy.org ranks first.

In the “Learn” section of ecnmy.org we provide accessible, pluralist economic literacy materials. By accessible, we mean that it’s both free and understandable without any specialist knowledge. By pluralist, we mean that it acknowledges a range of economic perspective and asks the user to make their own individual judgements.

Our Learn content is designed to ground economic theories within the context of people’s everyday lives and tangible lived experiences. This is important because we know from a 2021 Opinium poll that only 1 in 4 people believe that politicians and the media talk about economics in a way that is accessible and understandable. To date, we have created 300+ Learn articles for ecnmy.org.

Media futures

In early 2022, Economy received funding from Media Futures, an EU based funder that is interested in supporting projects that propose innovative ways of using data, to develop a Citizens Economy Dashboard (CED).

The CED is a free tool that journalists can use to help them locate, understand and analyse economic data. In the first development phase of the project, we are focusing on cost of living data in London. As part of this work, we have been

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building relationships with data providers such as the Office of National Statistics and media organisations including the BBC Shared Data Unit.

Public education and training

I am filled with hope about this opportunity to discuss the economy in ordinary terms. If this type of discussion group could happen in other places and situations, it would be amazing.

Economy training participant

One-off workshops

Over the year, Economy continued to run public education workshops and training to build the knowledge, skills, confidence and power of communities who want to influence the future of the economy. In the first half of the year, we continued to run monthly online workshops in partnership with the Ella Baker School of Organising on topics including Universal Basic Income, the environment, reshaping the economy after Covid, childcare and how to pay for Covid. Participants gave the sessions an average score of 4.3 out of 5 for usefulness and 4.2 out of 5 for increasing knowledge.

Over the year we ran three half day workshops for Trust for London grantees on topics including housing, work and pay and government spending. Over 70 people attended the three workshops and feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

We also ran a workshop for the Women’s Budget Group network, on how to tell stories using data, and two workshops for the Bank of England Hub on: ‘the environment and the economy’, and ‘how to write an opinion piece’. The latter was for members of the Bank’s Youth Forum.

Place-based work in Birmingham

Economy has been developing a place-based programme of work in Birmingham since May 2019.

In 2021/22, we co-organised a procurement workshop and regular ongoing meetings with Big Local, Northfields Neighbourhood Network Scheme and the Centre for Economic Strategies (CLES) attended by Birmingham Council’s Deputy Director of Procurement. This was our latest experiment bringing together communities and economic decision makers to facilitate more participatory forms of economic conversation and practice.

We also Developed the Shift Birmingham programme for changemakers in partnership with the Neighbourhood Development and Support Unit at Birmingham City Council and other civil society partners. It will consist of 9 twohour online sessions monthly from Summer 2022 to Spring 2023 for up to 20 participants. The sessions will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to engage with and influence local decisions about ‘where the money goes’.

We plan to co-design the programme with participants to ensure that it meets their needs and priorities and through initial research, potential participants told us how the programme could help them with their changemaking work across Birmingham. Their responses have informed the development of the programme:

• “The course could help support the work that we do by offering us a chance to develop our skills and target a wider audience living in Birmingham”

• “I hope to develop my skills and network further, share ideas, information and experiences to help support the change in the community. I welcome any support that I feel would be beneficial in helping me help to build a better community.”

Shift Birmingham constitutes a new model of programme for our adult education offer- namely a year-long

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programme for a cohort of changemakers across Birmingham. It is also a new model for our media and influencing work given the inclusion of skills development sessions for effective influencing of the media and decision makers.

We also continue to run standalone workshops across the West Midlands, most recently an introductory workshop for Community Connectors across Birmingham - professionals providing early years support in the area.

Young People

In 2021/22, we developed teaching resources for ‘Subject in a Box’ in partnership with the Bank of England and Loughborough University; developed teaching resources for British Science Week 2022 and delivered writing workshops for young people in partnership with the Barnet Post.

Towards the end of the year we began working in partnership with the University of East London who are carrying out a project using the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) methodology to elicit how young people in the London Borough of Newham want to shape the council’s flagship Community Wealth Building strategy.

Economy’s role on the project will be to help with elements of workshops with young people that explain Community Wealth Building as an economic policy, and then to work with the young people after the first stage of YPAR to help them take forward their proposals for shaping Newham’s Community Wealth Building work, for example (depending on what they want to do) by influencing decision-makers or generating media attention.

Making economic campaigns more accessible and inclusive

During the year, Economy has continued to work with a group of civil society organisations campaigning for audit reform in the UK, US and South Africa - supporting them to communicate technical economic concepts and arguments in engaging and accessible ways, and to support a wider, more diverse cross-section of civil society to engage with and shape the campaign.

We have supported the development of communications and messaging, education resources and content around the UK White Paper ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’ and other key events.

The areas of accounting, audit and corporate governance are interesting spaces for Economy because they represent a body of knowledge and skills that are usually seen as highly specialised and will therefore benefit considerably from our work to make them accessible and relevant to

more people’s everyday lives.

Resources to lower barrier to engagement with audit reform

We have produced 13 public facing topic explainers covering everything from ‘What’s going wrong with accounting?’ to ‘What can good auditing achieve?’. They were produced in consultation with the core group to develop topics, identify relevant resources and fact check the final products.

As far as our research indicates, the explainers are the first of their kind to break down these topics specifically for a non-expert audience and lower the barriers to engagement. In creating them we applied Economy’s research and key principles on what makes effective economic communication.

They are available online here and have been disseminated to a range of stakeholders and civil society organisations. They have been made available to the coalition directly so they can be used and repurposed in their work to help them reach and engage new audiences.

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We ran two engaging and interactive workshops for 20 journalists called ‘Getting behind the numbers, together with accounting expert Professor Sukhdev Johal (Professor of Accounting and Strategy at Queen Mary University)’. The workshops broke down the problems with audit reform and accounting and calls for change from the core group. Then they explored three different case studies on scrutinising company accounts.

Improving language and framing

At Economy expertise lies in drawing out human stories of what are considered ‘technical issues’ in a compelling and ethical way. We applied this here to produce a series of case studies that demonstrated the human impact of audit failure in the four high profile cases of BHS, Carillion, Patisserie Valerie and Thomas Cook.

Engaging Economic Decision Makers

Since March 2021, we have been partnering with the Bank of England to launch and develop their digital community platform ‘The Economy Hub’. The platform aims to be a connected and diverse community that is empowered to build an evolving picture of their experiences and views on the UK economy.

We’ve worked with the Bank to craft a space that values lived experience. It is for discussing community members’ experience of the economy, what matters to them, what issues they think the Bank should be prioritising and how we might all address the wider economic challenges and opportunities on the horizon.

The content aims to support members to explore, share and collaborate together. The digital infrastructure we have built to co-produce content has been a key offer on the platform. We are exploring developing user-generated and co-produced content with community views on different topics that can be shared with Bank of England staff.

Research

During the year we partnered with Opinium to conduct a poll of 2,000 UK adults (weighted to be nationally and politically representative) updating previous Economy research on how different parts of the UK public think and feel about the economy. The poll findings covered a range of areas:

• Decision makers - Only 1 in 5 people felt UK politicians making decisions about the economy understood and cared about the lives of people in their community.

• Autonomy - Less than 1 in 5 people feel able to influence decisions about the economy that affect their lives.

This research provides further compelling evidence of the urgent need for Economy’s work and going forward we will use it to strengthen the case for change.

Publishing

Economy staff members have contributed to the following books which were published in the last year:

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Annual report and financial statements

• Reclaiming economics published in January 2022 about creating a better economics for a world where all our children can flourish regardless of their gender, background or birthplace.

These publications provide a valuable public education resource and strengthen further the case for the social change Economy wishes to see in the world.

Organisational Development

Over the past two years Economy has invested significantly in organisational development in order to prepare the organisation for the next stage of its life. This decision has been motivated by a desire to strengthen the organisation’s capacity, resilience, financial sustainability, participatory governance and diversity, inclusion and anti-oppression ahead of launching our new strategy in the 2022-23 financial year.

Strategy

A main focus of the year has been developing a new five-year strategy for Economy (2022-2027). As part of this process we have reviewed learning from the current strategy, mapped our environment, conducted a horizon scanning exercise and developed a participatory process which allowed us to gather input and feedback from people we work with while also centring diversity, inclusion, and anti-oppression.

The participatory process involved: 12 staff team strategy sessions (4 full day and 8 half days), six community ambassador board meetings (see below), four trustee Board meetings and an away day, two public strategy meetups, a public survey, desk research and many one-to-one conversations. Overall, the strategy has incorporated input and feedback from over a hundred participants, partners, funders and friends of Economy.

Our online strategy meet-ups have been a key part of building and renewing relationships with groups we work with ahead of our new strategy. Providing space for people to reflect on and influence Economy’s future direction was a conscious decision to attempt to be the change we want to see and was widely welcomed, as highlighted in this feedback:

Diversity, inclusion and anti-oppression and participatory governance

Supported by additional funding from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), we have invested significantly in developing our diversity, inclusion and anti-oppression (DIAO) and our participatory governance work this year. A focus on DIAO has been a key element in our strategy process and the strategy document now has sections throughout discussing how DIAO is being embedded.

We have completed an organisational review and update of our DIAO policy and now separate recruitment policy and these are now published on our website. We commissioned

the Social Justice Collective to work with us over this year and next. As part of this work, the Social Justice Collective have undertaken interviews with staff and trustees, run a focus group with staff, and are reviewing a comprehensive selection of Economy’s operational documents. They are due to report back from this phase early in the 22/23 financial year, which will then inform the focus for the subsequent learning and development phases of the project.

Governance

In addition, we have worked on our governance in terms of sharing power with the communities we’re working with so we can be the change we’re working to create and ensure that we have strong and trusting relationships and are viewed as legitimate.

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In October 2021, we recruited a paid Community Ambassador Board consisting of seven people who are from communities experiencing economic injustice (all of whom have worked with us previously to co-produce content). Over the last six months we held monthly Ambassador meetings as well as less formal ‘office hours’ sessions twice a month and have focused on working with them to develop our new strategy.

Next year, we will work with the Ambassadors to develop thinking and proposals for the trustees around how Economy’s governance can be made more participatory over the longer term, in ways which redistribute power over organisational decision-making and resources to the communities Economy works with.

Union recognition

Late in the year, we began discussions with the staff team about recognising Unite as the union at Economy and a recognition agreement was signed in April 2022. In parallel Economy and the Union began negotiations around costof-living pay increases (agreeing on an 8.2% cost of living rise in April) and consultation on policy updates including on changes to Economy’s processes and guidance around professional development reviews.

Operations

We have continued to prioritise setting up and developing our core organisational systems and processes. This year we found a new office and managed the transition back into office working for the staff team after 1.5 years of pandemic-enforced homeworking. We developed a hybrid working policy and regularly reviewed covid procedures to facilitate safe and effective working. We also invested in our organisational communications, developing a new organisational website (weare.ecnmy.org), starting to publish a regular community newsletter and refining our social media output.

Plans for future periods

In the 2022-23 financial year, we will move into an implementation phase of our new organisational strategy culminating in a public launch in early 2023. In our new strategy we describe our work as follows:

• Vision - A world with economies that meet the needs and priorities of people currently experiencing economic injustice.

Interpreting Economy’s charitable purpose of advancing education in economics for the public benefit in this way allows us to meaningfully focus our work on ways which will make it more impactful.

We have outlined three strands of work for the new strategy which are:

Objective 1: Build deep, long-term relationships with communities experiencing economic injustice and work together to achieve economic change - Enable people who are trying to achieve change and are deeply embedded in communities experiencing economic injustice, to build the economic knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to develop their own analysis of the economic root causes of, and solutions to the issues they are working on. Support them to empower themselves and their communities, build alternatives and influence dominant institutions.

Objective 2: Developing and spreading practice that creates better conditions for communities experiencing economic injustice to achieve economic change - Create the broader social conditions in which economic change work led by communities experiencing economic injustice can be effective through changing the way society thinks, talks and makes decisions about the economy.

Objective 3: Invest in the sustainable development of Economy to scale our impact and live our values - Ensure that Economy has infrastructure in place to deliver the strategy with effectiveness and impact, and in full alignment with our values.

As part of the implementation phase of our new organisational strategy, Economy will conduct a light touch staff structure review to explore how the staff team can most effectively organise itself to deliver the new strategy. We are also planning a brand and communications review to explore how we can most effectively communicate the Economy’s purpose and work.

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Financial review

The Charity achieved its planned end of year position, by drawing on restricted reserves to cover a deficit of £7,764 to achieve a balanced budget (2021 – surplus £68,815). This resulted in total funds at the year-end of £117,551 (2021 - £125,315).

Of the funds held at year end £88,740 (2021 - £74,344) were unrestricted as to use. This is in line with the annual planned increase to unrestricted funds approved by trustees, that is set out in the reserves policy below. Fund levels fall comfortably between the targeted level and upper stretch goal noted below.

Reserves policy

Economy’s reserves policy sets out the intended uses of reserves as:

The policy sets out for the current and following three financial years:

It then calculates the expected annual contribution to reserves each year based on budgeted and estimated

expenditure and income for each of these financial years.

The planned deficit of £7,764 was covered by income received in the prior year, as a deferred sum to be drawn down in this financial year. Over the last two financial years we have added to our unrestricted organisational reserves which at the end of 19/20 were £56,500. During 2020/21, a £14,265 contribution was made to reserves and a further £13,375 contribution was made in 2021/22 bringing them up to £58,000. We plan to make a further £12,000 contribution to reserves in the 22/23 financial year to bring our reserves up to £70,000.

The reserves policy is reviewed by the board annually as part of the organisational budget setting process.

Governance and management structures

Economy is a foundation charitable incorporated organisation administered by a board of trustees and governed by its amended constitution dated 20th July 2021. It was registered with the Charity Commission on 14th March 2016.

In the 2021/22 financial year Economy changed its constitution from an association charitable incorporated organisation with one member (the charity Rethinking Economics - REPCE) to a foundation charitable incorporated organisation. This decision was made as a result of a governance review which began in the 20/21 financial year and which we reported in our last accounts.

All trustees are appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. A charity trustee who has served for two consecutive terms may not be reappointed for a third consecutive term but may be reappointed after an interval of at least one year. The minimum number of trustees permitted under the constitution is six, and the maximum number is twelve.

The trustees of Economy perform the usual duties of trustees, including appointing and managing the Chief Executive,

setting the strategy, and ensuring compliance with financial and other obligations.

We have continued to invest in our governance and over the year developed an annual Board meeting cycle, revamped our Board committee structure and developed our organisational risk register.

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Three trustees have stepped down this year and two more are coming to the end of their terms at the end of the 22/23 financial year. Therefore, early in the 2022/23 financial year we will begin a trustee recruitment process for four to five new trustees.

Key management personnel

During 2021/22 day to day management of the organisation was delegated to the Chief Executive and Deputy CEO who are responsible for ensuring the operations of the charity are managed efficiently.

The DCEO is responsible for:

Risk management

The board of Trustees and key management personnel have a rigorous approach to risk management, and the key risks facing the organisation are reviewed on an ongoing basis, with mitigating actions put in place to minimise the ongoing risk to the charity. This year we have developed a new risk register to summarise the key risks facing the charity and mitigating actions being taken, and review this at every board meeting. Key risks we have identified and are working to mitigate include:

Reference and administrative details

Registered ofce

Space 4 113-115 Fonthill Road London N4 3HY

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Trustees

Ben Hughes Chairperson (from 27 April 2020) Meena Bharadwa Ann Don Bosco (resigned 3 March 2022) Ken Hayes Matt Giugni William Jeffwitz (resigned 28 April 2022) Aoife O’Leary (resigned 23 September 2021) Rachel Straus Louise Russell-Prywata (resigned 19 Ocotber 2021) Mehroosh Tak Caroline Appleton (appointed 20 October 2022) Lydia Mbogoro (appointed 20 October 2022) Anjali Raman-Middleton (appointed 20 October 2022) Rebecca Baron (appointed 20 October 2022) Jonathon Prasad (appointed 20 October 2022) Gwen Thirsk (appointed 20 October 2022)

Chairperson (from 27 April 2020)

Independent examiners

Andy Nash Accounting & Consultancy Ltd Units 24 & 25 Goodsheds Container Village Hood Road Barry CF62 5QU

Principal banker

Triodos Bank UK Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS

Statement of Board of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations. Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law they are required to prepare the financial statements in accordance with UK Accounting Standards and applicable law (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

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 excess of expenditure over income for that year. 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

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Charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the Charity and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Charity’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. In addition, the Trustees confirm that they are happy that content of the annual review in pages 3 to 15 of this document meet the requirements of the Trustees’ Annual Report under charity law.

They also confirm that the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the notes to the accounts and comply with the Charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102, The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland published on 16 July 2014.

This report was approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on 9 December 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Ben Hughes

Ben Hughes (Dec 19, 2022 10:57 GMT)

BEN HUGHES

CHAIRPERSON

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Independent examiner’s report

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Economy (Charity number 1166046) for the year ended 31 March 2022 which are set out on pages 18 to 30.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act). The Charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

This report, including my statement, has been prepared for and only for the Charity’s Trustees as a body. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the Charity’s Trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an independent examiner’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charity and the Charity’s Trustees as a body for my examination work, for this report, or for the statements I have made.

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the Trustees concerning any such matters.

The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since the Charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

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

• the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.

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Economy

Annual report and financial statements

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.

ANDREW PHILIP NASH ACA

MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES – 2461833

DATED:19 DECEMBER 2022

Andy Nash Accounting & Consultancy Ltd Units 24 & 25 Goodsheds Container Village Hood Road Barry CF62 5QU

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Statement of financial activities

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Notes
Income from:
Donations & legacies
3
Charitable activities
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
4 & 5
Charitable activities
Community
4 & 6
Digital & campaigns
4 & 6
Schools
4 & 6
Total charitable activities
Total expenditure
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
10 & 11
Total funds carried forward
10 & 11		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
2022
2022
2022
2021
£
£
£
£
47,520
160,263
207,783
283,445
71,325
-
71,325
36,348
70
-
70
68
118,915
160,263
279,178
319,861
15,658
22,781
38,439
33,154
18,785
43,014
61,799
68,063
49,364
99,674
149,038
106,245
20,712
16,954
37,666
43,584
88,861
159,642
248,503
217,892
104,519
182,423
286,942
251,046
14,396
(22,160)
(7,764)
68,815
74,344
50,971
125,315
56,500
88,740
28,811
117,551
125,315

The notes on pages 20 to 30 form part of the financial statements.

Charity number 1166046

18

Year ended 31 March 2022

Economy Annual report and financial statements

Balance sheet

As at 31 March 2022

Notes
Current assets:
Debtors
8
Cash at bank and in hand
Total current assets
Creditors:
Amounts falling due within
one year
9
Total net assets
Funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
10 & 11
Unrestricted funds
10 & 11		 14,351
163,749		 Total
funds
2022
£


178,100
(60,549)		 7,956
162,054		 Total
funds
2021
£


170,010
(44,695)




117,551 125,315
28,811
88,740		 50,971
74,344
117,551 125,315

The notes on pages 20 to 30 form part of the financial statements.

These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on 9 December 2022 and signed on their behalf by:

Ben Hughes

Ben Hughes (Dec 19, 2022 10:57 GMT)

BEN HUGHES

CHAIRPERSON

Charity number 1166046

19

Economy Annual report and financial statements

Year ended 31 March 2022

Notes to the financial statements

1. Accounting policies

Basis of preparation of the financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with ‘Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) second edition (effective 1 January 2019)’, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), including Update Bulletin 1, and relevant charities law.

The effect of any event relating to the year ended 31 March 2022, which occurred before the date of approval of the financial statements by the Board of Trustees has been included in the financial statements to the extent required to show a true and fair view of the state of affairs at 31 March 2022 and the results for the year ended on that date.

Under the exemption available to smaller charities the Board of Trustees has chosen not to include a Statement of Cash Flows within the financial statements.

The functional currency of the Charity is sterling and amounts in the financial statements are rounded to the nearest pound.

Legal status

Economy is a charitable incorporated organisation registered in England & Wales, and meets the definition of a public benefit entity. The registered office is Space 4, 113-115 Fonthill Road, London, N4 3HY.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis as the Board of Trustees is confident that future reserves and future income is more than sufficient to meet current commitments. There are no material uncertainties that impact this assessment, and the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic has had no material impact on this assessment.

Fund Accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds that are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or that have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in note 10 of the financial statements.

Income

Income is recognised when the Charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance indicators 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.

Donations are recognised in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when entitled, receipt is probable and when the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Gift aid receivable is included when claimable – i.e. when the eligible donation is received.

Grant income is credited to the Statement of Financial Activities when received or receivable whichever is earlier, unless the grant relates to a future year, in which case it is deferred.

Income from charitable activities is credited to the Statement of Financial Activities when received or receivable whichever is earlier, unless it relates to a specific future period or event, in which case it is deferred.

Charity number 1166046

20

Year ended 31 March 2022

Economy Annual report and financial statements

1. Accounting policies (continued from previous page)

Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been included under expense categories that aggregate all costs for allocation to activities.

Indirect costs, including governance costs, which cannot be directly attributed to activities, are allocated between activities proportionate to the direct costs incurred in those activities.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of expenditure for which it was incurred.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Any assets costing more than £500 are capitalised other than those purchased using restricted funds.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash in hand, deposits with banks and funds that are readily convertible into cash at, or close to, their carrying values, but are not held for investment purposes.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount is applied.

Creditors

Creditors 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.

Financial instruments

Basic financial instruments are measured at amortised cost other than investments which are measured at fair value.

Critical estimates and judgements

In preparing financial statements it is necessary to make certain judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts recognised in the financial statements. The treatment of tangible fixed assets is sensitive to changes in useful economic lives and residual values of assets. These are reassessed annually.

In the view of the Trustees in applying the accounting policies adopted, no judgements were required that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements nor do any estimates or assumptions made carry a significant risk of material adjustment in the next financial year.

Charity number 1166046

21

Economy Annual report and financial statements

Year ended 31 March 2022

2. Comparative statement of fnancial activities

3. Income from donations and legacies
Income from:
Donations & legacies
Charitable activities
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Community
Digital & campaigns
Schools
Total charitable activities
Total expenditure
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Grants
HMRC CJRS Grants
Donations		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2021
2021
2021
£
£
£
54,162
229,283
283,445
36,348
-
36,348
68
-
68
90,578
229,283
319,861
33,154
-
33,154
4,856
63,207
68,063
7,581
98,664
106,245
3,110
40,474
43,584
15,547
202,345
217,892
48,701
202,345
251,046
41,877
26,938
68,815
32,467
24,033
56,500
74,344
50,971
125,315
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2022
2022
2022
£
£
£
45,000
160,263
205,263
1,801
-
1,801
719
-
719
47,520
160,263
207,783

3. Income from donations and legacies

Charity number 1166046

22

Year ended 31 March 2022

Economy Annual report and financial statements

3. Income from donations and legacies (continued from previous page)

Total expenditure
Grants
HMRC CJRS Grants
Donations
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Community
Digital & campaigns
Schools
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Community
Digital & campaigns
Schools		 Direct
Direct
staff
other
expenditure
expenditure
2022
2022
£
£
29,166
-
46,891
-
111,958
1,127
28,579
-		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2021
2021
2021
£
£
£
46,000
229,283
275,283
7,642
-
7,642
520
-
520
54,162
229,283
283,445

Indirect
Indirect
staff
other
Total
expenditure
expenditure
expenditure
2022
2022
2022
£
£
£

2,497
6,776
38,439

4,014
10,894
61,799

9,680
26,273
149,038

2,446
6,641
37,666
216,594
1,127
18,637
50,584
286,942
Direct
Direct
Indirect
Indirect
staf
other
staf
other
Total
expenditure
expenditure
expenditure
expenditure
expenditure
2021
2021
2021
2021
2021
£
£
£
£
£
26,574
-
1,740
4,840
33,154
54,228
328
3,572
9,935
68,063
69,663
15,497
5,576
15,509
106,245
34,583
351
2,287
6,363
43,584
185,048
16,176
13,175
36,647
251,046

4. Total expenditure

Charity number 1166046

23

Economy Annual report and financial statements

Year ended 31 March 2022

4. Total expenditure (continued from previous page)

Indirect costs, including governance costs, which cannot be directly attributed to activities, are allocated between activities proportionate to the direct costs incurred in those activities.

A breakdown of expenditure on raising funds between restricted and unrestricted funds can be found in note 5.

A breakdown of charitable expenditure between restricted and unrestricted funds can be found in note 6.

An analysis of staff costs can be found in note 7.

Indirect costs includes the following items:

Indirect staf costs
Other people costs
Ofce & administration costs
Professional fees
Governance costs		 Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2022
2021
£
£
18,637
13,175
8,873
9,168
14,122
5,625
25,289
18,949
2,300
2,904
69,221
49,821

Governance costs includes the following items:

Expenditure on raising funds
Independent examination
Insurance
Direct staf costs
Indirect staf costs
Indirect other costs		 Unrestricted
Funds
2022
£
8,017
865
6,776		 Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2022
2021
£
£
1,260
1,260
1,040
1,644
2,300
2,904
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
2022
2022
£
£

21,149
29,166

1,632
2,497

-
6,776
15,658
22,781
38,439

5. Expenditure on raising funds

Charity number 1166046

24

Year ended 31 March 2022

Economy Annual report and financial statements

5. Expenditure on raising funds (continued from previous page)

Direct staf costs
Indirect staf costs
Indirect other costs		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2021
2021
2021
£
£
£
26,574
-
26,574
1,740
-
1,740
4,840
-
4,840
33,154
-
33,154

6. Expenditure on charitable activities

Community
Direct staf costs
Direct other costs
Indirect staf costs
Indirect other costs
Digital & campaigns
Direct staf costs
Direct other costs
Indirect staf costs
Indirect other costs
Schools
Direct staf costs
Direct other costs
Indirect staf costs
Indirect other costs		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2022
2022
2022
£
£
£
15,248
31,643
46,891
-
-
-
1,391
2,623
4,014
2,146
8,748
10,894
18,785
43,014
61,799
39,749
72,209
111,958
1,086
41
1,127
3,353
6,327
9,680
5,176
21,097
26,273
49,364
99,674
149,038
18,557
10,022
28,579
-
-
-
847
1,599
2,446
1,308
5,333
6,641
20,712
16,954
37,666
88,861
159,642
248,503

Charity number 1166046

25

Economy Annual report and financial statements

Year ended 31 March 2022

6. Expenditure on charitable activities (continued from previous page)

7. Staf numbers and costs
Gross salaries
Employer’s NIC
Employer’s pension
Community
Direct staf costs
Direct other costs
Indirect staf costs
Indirect other costs
Digital & campaigns
Direct staf costs
Direct other costs
Indirect staf costs
Indirect other costs
Schools
Direct staf costs
Direct other costs
Indirect staf costs
Indirect other costs		 Unrestricted
Funds
2021
£
-
-
-
4,856		 Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
2021
2021
£
£

54,228
54,228

328
328

3,572
3,572

5,079
9,935
4,856
63,207
68,063
-
-
-
7,581
69,663
69,663

15,497
15,497

5,576
5,576

7,928
15,509
7,581
98,664
106,245
-
-
-
3,110
34,583
34,583

351
351

2,287
2,287

3,253
6,363
3,110
40,474
43,584
15,547
202,345
217,892
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2022
2021
£
£
204,353
173,748
16,573
12,519
14,305
11,956
235,231
198,223

The average headcount during the year was 8 persons (2021 – 7).

No employee received employee benefits of more than £60,000 (2021 – NIL).

Total remuneration to key management personnel in the year was £102,212 (2021 - £79,326).

Charity number 1166046

26

Year ended 31 March 2022

Economy Annual report and financial statements

8. Debtors and prepayments

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued grant income
Other debtors
Trade creditors
Accruals
HMRC creditor
Pension creditor
Deferred grant revenue
Other creditors		 Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2022
2021
£
£
750
6,703
12,201
690
-
563
1,400
-
14,351
7,956
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2022
2021
£
£
12,833
1,877
1,260
1,982
5,982
5,039
2,056
1,951
38,418
33,846
-
-
60,549
44,695

9. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Deferred revenue relates to amounts received from a multitude of funders for subsequent years and can be analysed as follows:

Deferred grant revenue brought forward
Released to grant revenue in the period
Grant revenue deferred in the period
Deferred grant revenue carried forward		 Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2022
2021
£
£
33,846
55,387
(33,846)
(55,387)
38,418
33,846
38,418
33,846

Charity number 1166046

27

Economy Annual report and financial statements

Year ended 31 March 2022

10. Analysis of charity funds

Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Barrow Cadbury 19-21
Barrow Cadbury 21-23
Friends Provident
Foundation - core 19-21
Foundation - core 21-23
John Ellerman
Aziz
Joseph Rowntree - Diversity,
Inclusion and Anti-Oppression
Total funds		 Funds
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Funds
brought
for the
in the
in the
carried
forward
period
period
period
forward
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
£
£
£
£
£
74,344
118,915
(104,519)
-
88,740
2,500
2,500
(5,000)
-
-
-
33,333
(28,487)
-
4,846
28,471
40,000
(68,471)
-
-
-
47,500
(34,051)
-
13,449
20,000
18,846
(38,846)
-
-
-
6,084
(5,218)
-
866

-
12,000
(2,350)
-
9,650
50,971
160,263
(182,423)
-
28,811
125,315
279,178
(286,942)
-
117,551

Barrow Cadbury

The Charity received funds from the Barrow Cadbury Trust towards delivering its Community Crash Course in Economics and co-produced journalism activities with partner community organisations in the West Midlands. The funding runs until May 2023. Previouse fund from Barrow Cadbury ran until May 2021.

Friends Provident Foundation - core

The Charity received funds from Friends Provident Foundation for core costs until September 2023. Previous funding from Friends Provident Foundation ran until September 2021.

John Ellerman

The Charity received funds from the John Ellerman Foundation to co-produce written and video media content sharing the economic views and experiences of individuals and communities furthest from power so that they have a public voice on the economy and collective we can begin to change public narratives about the economy. The funding runs until September 2021.

Aziz

The Charity received funds from Aziz to fund a full time internship for six months to support an Aziz Scholar / alumnus .

- - Joseph Rowntree Diversity, Inclusion and Anti Oppression

The Charity received funds from Joseph Rowntree for funding to support organisational development of diversity, inclusion and anti-oppression policies.

Charity number 1166046

28

Year ended 31 March 2022

Economy Annual report and financial statements

10. Analysis of charity funds (continued from previous page)

Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Barrow Cadbury 19-21
Friends Provident
Foundation - core 19-21
Garfeld Weston
John Ellerman
NESTA
Total funds		 Funds
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Funds
brought
for the
in the
in the
carried
forward
period
period
period
forward
2021
2021
2021
2021
2021
£
£
£
£
£
32,467
90,578
(48,701)
-
74,344
4,106
30,000
(31,606)
-
2,500
2,389
90,000
(63,918)
-
28,471
9,340
14,583
(23,923)
-
-
8,198
50,000
(38,198)
-
20,000
-
44,700
(44,700)
-
-
24,033
229,283
(202,345)
-
50,971
56,500
319,861
(251,046)
-
125,315

Garfeld Weston

The Charity received funds from Garfield Weston to run its school programme. The funding runs until November 2021.

NESTA Future News Fund

The Charity received funds from the Nesta Future News Fund, a Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport funded initiative, responding to a recommendation in the Cairncross Review, which set out to explore the future of publicinterest journalism in the UK. Economy’s project was based on co-producing local economic news with communities and partnering with local and national media providers. The funding ran until June 2020.

Charity number 1166046

29

Economy Annual report and financial statements

Year ended 31 March 2022

11. Analysis of net assets

Current assets
Current liabilities
Current assets
Current liabilities		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2022
2022
2022
£
£
£
110,871
67,229
178,100
(22,131)
(38,418)
(60,549)
88,740
28,811
117,551
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2021
2021
2021
£
£
£
85,193
84,817
170,010
(10,849)
(33,846)
(44,695)
74,344
50,971
125,315

12. Trustee remuneration

During the year, no trustee received any remuneration. No members of the Board of Trustees received reimbursement of expenses (2021 - £nil).

13. Related party transactions

During the year there were no related party transactions.

14. Guarantees and secured charges

As of 31 March 2022 the Charity did not have any outstanding guarantees to third partners nor any debts secured against assets of the Charity.

Charity number 1166046

30