**Church Accruals Accounts 2023-2024**
## **THE METHODIST CHURCH**
# **TEMPLATE REPORT AND ACCOUNTS (ACCRUALS BASIS) for the year ended 31 August 2024**
## **BURBAGE Church**
**Registered Charity - Registration number (if applicable) 1169141**
~~a~~ HINCKLEY **Circuit No "23/11"**
**Minister** REV PATRICIA MUKOROMBINDO **Church Stewards** HILARY UNION DAVID BLACK CAROL BLACK (to 31/12/23) BRIAN BRADBURN KEITH WARE **Church Treasurer** CHRISTINE ARMSTRONG
Name of Church
**BURBAGE METHODIST CHURCH** Church No 23/11
## **Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) for the year ended 31 August 2024**
||**Notes to**|||**Designated**|**Designated**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**the**|**General Fund**||**Funds**||**Restricted**|**Endowment**||**Total**|||
||**accounts**|
**(Unrestricted)**||**(unrestricted)**||**Funds**|**Funds**||**2023-24**|||
|||£||£||£|£||£|||
|**Income**||||||||||||
|1 Offerings||31|986||||||**31**|**986**||
|2 Donations|3|3|757|||1 123|||**4**|**880**||
|3 Gift aid||12|612|||-1 200|||**11**|**412**|*|
|4 Interest and investment income||2|604||50|1 445|||**4**|**099**||
|5 Income from investment properties||||||||||**0**||
|6 Internal organisations||||||||||**0**||
|7 Other charitable income|3,6,7,14,18|6|752|||4 388|||**11**|**140**||
|8**Total income**||**57**|**711**||**50**|**5 756**||**-**|**63**|**517**||
|**Expenditure**||||||||||||
|9 Circuit assessment or share|4,14|26|500||||||**26**|**500**||
|10 Grants and donations||5|005||||||**5**|**005**||
|11 Property maintenance|17|10|122||||||**10**|**122**||
|12 Insurance,utilities etc||6|057||||||**6**|**057**||
|13 Depreciation||7|224||||||**7**|**224**||
|14 Office expenses|10||946|||||||**946**||
|15 Other expenditure|9,11|4|534|||15 690|||**20**|**224**||
|16 Internal organisations||||||||||**0**||
|17**Total charitable expenditure**||**60 388**|||**0**|**15 690**||**0**|**76 078**|||
|18 Gains/(losses) on monetary investments||||||||346||**346**||
|19 Gains/(losses) on investment properties||||||||||**0**||
|20**Net income/(expenditure)**||**-2 677**|||**50**|**-9 934**||**346**|**-12 215**|||
|21 Transfers between funds|12|||||||||**0**||
|22 Other gains/(losses)|13,21|417|522||||||**417 522**|||
|23**Net movement in funds**||**414 845**|||**50**|**-9 934**||**346**|**405 307**|||
|24 Total funds brought forward||1 215 402|||956|38 241|5|417|**1 260**|**016**||
|**25 Total funds carried forward**||**1 630**|**247**|**1**|**006**|**28 307**|**5**|**763**|**1 665 323**|||
* some donations were refunded in 2022-23 resulting in a repayment of Gift Aid from the development fund
Name of Church
Church No 23/11
## **BURBAGE METHODIST CHURCH**
## **Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) for the year ended 31 August 2023**
||**Notes to**|||**Designated**|**Designated**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**the**|**General Fund**||**Funds**||**Restricted**||**Endowment**||**Total**|
||**accounts**|
**(Unrestricted)**||**(unrestricted)**||**Funds**||**Funds**||**2022-23**|
|||£||£||£||£||£|
|**Income**|||||||||||
|1 Offerings||28|996|||||||**28 996**|
|2 Donations|3,7|5|449||175||825|||**6 449**|
|3 Gift aid||||||||||**0**|
|4 Interest and investment income||1|591||53|1|249|||**2 893**|
|5 Income from investment properties||||||||||**0**|
|6 Internal organisations|||886|||||||**886**|
|7 Other charitable income|3,6,7,14,18|6|189|||3|671|||**9 860**|
|8**Total income**||**43**|**111**||**228**|**5**|**745**||**-**|**49 084**|
|**Expenditure**|||||||||||
|9 Circuit assessment or share|4,14|24|400|||||||**24 400**|
|10 Grants and donations||4|576||925|||||**5 501**|
|11 Property maintenance||8|005|||||||**8 005**|
|12 Insurance,utilities etc||4|238|||||||**4 238**|
|13 Depreciation||8|950|||||||**8 950**|
|14 Office expenses|10|1|279|||||||**1 279**|
|15 Other expenditure|9,11|4|541|||6|000|||**10 541**|
|16 Internal organisations||||||||||**0**|
|17**Total charitable expenditure**||**55 989**|||**925**|**6**|**000**||**0**|**62 914**|
|18 Gains/(losses) on monetary investments||||||||-|453
|**-453**|
|19 Gains/(losses) on investment properties||||||||||**0**|
|20**Net income/(expenditure)**||**-12 878**|||**-697**||**-255**||**-453**|**-14 283**|
|21 Transfers between funds|12|||||||||**0**|
|22 Other gains/(losses)|13,21||967|||||||**967**|
|23**Net movement in funds**||**-11**|**911**||**-697**||**-255**||**-453**|**-13 316**|
|24 Total funds brought forward||1 227 313||1|653|38|496|5|870|**1 273 332**|
|**25 Total funds carried forward**||**1 215**|**402**||**956**|**38**|**241**|**5**|**417**|**1 260 016**|
## **Name of Church**
## **BURBAGE METHODIST CHURCH**
## **Balance Sheet as at 31 August 2024**
|**Fixed Assets**|**Notes to the**
**Accounts**|**General Fund**
**(Unrestricted)**
£|**Designated**
**Funds**
**(Unrestricted)**
£|**Restricted**
**Funds**
£|**Endowment**
**Funds**
£|**Totals 2024**
£||**Totals 2023**
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||||
|Church buildingand otherproperty|13|1 577 297||||1 577 297||1 166 999|
|Investmentproperties||||||0||0|
|Investments||||||0||0|
|**_Total fixed assets_**||**1 577 297**|**0**|**0**|**0**|**1 577 297**||**1 166 999**|
|**Current Assets**|||||||||
|Debtors andprepayments|14|6 786||22||6 808||6 748|
|Loans bythe Churches||||||0||0|
|Investments with TMCP|15|||||0||5 417|
|Central Finance Board Deposits|16|42 638|1 006|28 285|5 763|77 692||76 960|
|Cash at Bank and in hand|16|8 302||||8 302||3 892|
|**_Total current assets_**||**57 726**|**1 006**|**28 307**|**5 763**|**92 802**||**93 017**|
|**Current liabilities**|||||||||
|Creditors (due in under 1 year)||4 776||||4 776||0|
|Grantspayable within 2022-23||||||0||0|
|**_Total current liabilities_**||**4 776**|**0**|**0**|**0**|**4 776**||**0**|
|**_Net current assets/liabilities_**||**52 950**|**1 006**|**28 307**|**5 763**|**88 026**||**93 017**|
||||||||||
|**_Total assets less current liabilities_**||**1 630 247**|**1 006**|**28 307**|**5 763**|**1 665 323**||**1 260 016**|
||||||||||
|**Long term liabilities**
**(due after more than oneyear)**|||||||||
|Grantspayable after 2022-23||||||**0**||0|
|Loans to the Church||||||**0**||0|
|||||||**0**||0|
|**_Net assets_**||**1 630 247**|**1 006**|**28 307**|**5 763**|**1 665 323**||**1 260 016**|
|**Funds of the Church**|||||||||
|General Fund(Unrestricted)||1 630 247||**28 307**||**1 630 247**||1 215 402|
|Designated Funds(Unrestricted)|||1 006|||**1 006**||956|
|**_Total Unrestricted Funds_**||||||**1 631 253**||**1 216 358**|
|Restricted Funds||||**28 307**||**28 307**||**38 241**|
|Endowment Funds|||||**5 763**|**5 763**||**5 417**|
|**_Total Funds_**||**1 630 247**|**1 006**|**28 307**|**5 763**|**1 665 323**||**1 260 016**|
Signed
Church Treasurer
**BURBAGE METHODIST CHURCH Church No** 23/11
## **Name of Church**
## **Balance Sheet as at 31 August 2023**
|**Fixed Assets**|**Notes to the**
**Accounts**|**General Fund**
**(Unrestricted)**
£|**Designated**
**Funds**
**(Unrestricted)**
£|**Restricted**
**Funds**
£|**Endowment**
**Funds**
£|**Totals 2023**
£||**Totals 2022**
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||||
|Church buildingand otherproperty|13|1 166 999||||1 166 999||1 174 982|
|Investmentproperties||||||0|||
|Investments||||||0|||
|**_Total fixed assets_**||**1 166 999**|**0**|**0**|**0**|**1 166 999**||**1 174 982**|
|**Current Assets**|||||||||
|Debtors andprepayments|14|6 748||||6 748||6 250|
|Loans bythe Churches||||||0|||
|Investments with TMCP|15||||5 417|5 417||5 870|
|Central Finance Board Deposits|16|37 763|956|38 241||76 960||81 388|
|Cash at Bank and in hand|16|3 892||||3 892||4 842|
|**_Total current assets_**||**48 403**|**956**|**38 241**|**5 417**|**93 017**||**98 350**|
|**Current liabilities**|||||||||
|Creditors (due in under 1 year)||||||0||0|
|Grantspayable within 2022-23||||||0||0|
|**_Total current liabilities_**||**0**|**0**|**0**|**0**|**0**||**0**|
|**_Net current assets/liabilities_**||**48 403**|**956**|**38 241**|**5 417**|**93 017**||**98 350**|
||||||||||
|**_Total assets less current liabilities_**||**1 215 402**|**956**|**38 241**|**5 417**|**1 260 016**||**1 273 332**|
||||||||||
|**Long term liabilities**
**(due after more than oneyear)**|||||||||
|Grantspayable after 2022-23||||||**0**|||
|Loans to the Church||||||**0**|||
|||||||**0**|||
|**_Net assets_**||**1 215 402**|**956**|**38 241**|**5 417**|**1 260 016**||**1 273 332**|
|**Funds of the Church**|||||||||
|General Fund(Unrestricted)||1 215 402||**38 241**||**1 215 402**||1 227 313|
|Designated Funds(Unrestricted)|||956|||**956**||1 653|
|**_Total Unrestricted Funds_**||||||**1 216 358**||**1 228 966**|
|Restricted Funds||||**38 241**||**38 241**||**38 496**|
|Endowment Funds|||||**5 417**|**5 417**||**5 870**|
|**_Total Funds_**||**1 215 402**|**956**|**38 241**|**5 417**|**1 260 016**||**1 273 332**|
Signed
Church Treasurer
Church: Burbage
Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **1 Basis of accounting and accounting policies**
## **i Accounting standard**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with _Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP)_ 2015. See also _**v Accounting framework**_ **,** below.
## **ii Public benefit entity**
Burbage Methodist Church meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s) below.
## **iii Basis**
These accounts have been prepared on the basis of historical cost except that investments are shown at their market value at the end of the year. The accruals basis has been used and trustees present accounts that show a true and fair view of the Church’s financial position and activities.
## **iv Content**
The financial information presented is relevant, reliable, comparable and complete. Where estimates are used these are based on experience, research and judgement. The accounts are expressed in £Sterling, rounded to the nearest pound. Rounding differences should be ignored. Where the content of this year’s accounts is different from that of the previous year, the comparative year’s numbers have been adjusted and restated to be in the same format and on the same basis.
## **v Accounting framework**
The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011 in accordance with the 2014 version of _Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP)_ applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities applicable in the UK (effective from 1 January 2015) – the Charities SORP (FRSSE) – in replacement for the SORP’s 2005 version specified in its related 2008 Regulations and in accordance with the ‘true and fair override’ provision contained therein.
## **vi Going concern**
To the best of their knowledge and belief the trustees confirm that there are no material uncertainties that would call into question the Church’s financial viability for at least 12 months from the date of approval of these accounts.
## **vii Income recognition**
Income is brought into account when it is more likely than not that the economic benefit of the income will be forthcoming. No attempt is made to measure the value of services donated by volunteers.
Individual amounts categorised as _Other income_ in the SOFA will be shown separately if they are considered material.
The time of volunteers is not recognised. Further information on this matter is provided in the Trustees’ Annual Report.
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **viii Expenditure**
This is recognised when a liability is incurred, or a constructive obligation arises, that results in the payment being unavoidable. Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the Church to pay out resources.
## **ix VAT**
Since the District is not VAT registered, all input VAT is charged with the expenses to which it refers.
## **x Tangible fixed assets**
These are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year, and individually cost at least £1000. The freehold property is shown in the accounts at its insured value. No depreciation is provided because the trustees consider the value of the buildings is not less than cost and the depreciation would be immaterial. The property has been reviewed for impairment and none is provided.
## **xi Investments**
The investments are in monetary assets and are held by the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP) as custodian trustees. The valuations, at market value, are those provided by TMCP. The unrealised gains arising on investments at the end of the year are shown in the SOFA and in Note 23 below.
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **xii Debtors and Creditors; Bank and Cash**
Debtors are stated at the amounts owed to the Church or prepaid. Creditors are initially recognised at settlement amount after any trade discounts, where normal credit terms apply. Subsequently creditors that are current liabilities are measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be paid. The liquid funds of bank balances and deposit account balances are shown at the realisable values. Where work has been completed in the current year, but not invoiced until the next accounting period, this has been treated as an accrual.
## **xiii Loans**
Where concessionary loans ( _ie_ free of interest) are made to the Church to further its charitable purposes, and are repayable after more than one year, they are initially recognised at the amount received, with the carrying value adjusted in subsequent years to reflect repayments and any accrued interest, adjusted for any impairment, if necessary.
## **xiv Funds**
The trustees have adopted a policy for all unrestricted reserves that there should be sufficient liquid assets to cover at least 6 months expenses.
## **2 Glossary of terms**
**CFB:** Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church manages a Common Deposit Fund and a series of pooled investment funds for Methodist entities in Great Britain and provides investment advice to those entities
**Church:** a group of members from fewer than 10 to more than 300 **Circuit:** a group of Methodist Churches near each other, typically between 10 and 30 **Connexion:** The Methodist Church in GB which includes the Head Office at Methodist Church House, all Methodist Districts, Circuits and Churches in Great Britain **District:** a group of contiguous Circuits, usually between 15 and 30 **FRS:** Financial Reporting Standard **HMRC:** Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs **MCF:** Methodist Church Fund **SOFA:** Statement of Financial Activities **SORP:** Statement of Recommended Practice **TMCP:** Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes, the legal owner and Custodian Trustee of all Methodist Model Trust property, including Legacies, Endowments and Accumulated Funds
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **3 Adjustments to Prior year**
There were no adjustments to be made to last year’s accounts.
## **4 Contributions to the Circuit**
All assessment payments that were due to the circuit were paid by Direct Debit.
## **5 Cost of Chair and trustees**
All of the trustees are volunteers (church council) who receive no payment for their work as trustees.
## **6 Other income**
The Church has continued fundraising for a 16th year in order to develop church property and buildings.
Other General Fund income (£6752) in the SOFA includes:
||£
5585|
|---|---|
|Rents received (adjusted for debtors)||
|SumupincomereceivedreBreakfast@ Connect|755|
|Grant for Stay & Play|110|
|Miscellaneous income|302|
|**Total**|**6752**|
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **7 Grants and donations made to the church**
- £1123 was donated to the Development Fund, including £423 received in memory of deceased church members.
There were no donations to the Benevolent Fund.
Donations of £3757 were received towards general church running costs which comprised the following:
- a) £250 was donated by the Community Bible Study group who meet in the Church on Thursday afternoons.
- b) £210 was donated from the Breakfast at Connect (plus £390 paid to other charities included in item d)
- c) £778 donations from the Tuesday morning drop-in sessions, including £67 retained as petty cash.
- d) £1668 donations received for external organisations (which have been passed on to the relevant charities)
- e) £850 from Stay-and-Play group (who don’t pay rent)
- f) £1 in copper coins
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **9 Building Project costs**
£6000 worth of donations to the building fund received in the year 2020/21 were refunded during the financial year to 31/8/23. The donations were received specifically to replace the schoolroom roof, but the building was too expensive to be renovated & has since been demolished. The Gift Aid previously claimed from this £6000 (totalling £1500) was deducted from the Gift Aid claim to 5/4/23, but the tax refund was not received until September 2023. Only £150 Gift Aid was due to the Development Fund, so £1350 was transferred from the development fund to general funds to keep the fund totals correct.
The invoice for the schoolroom demolition & the associated solicitor’s bill (totalling £15,690) were received & paid during the first quarter of the financial year to 31/8/24.
## **10 Office expenses (General fund and TMCP charges)**
Office expenses consisted entirely of printing, broadband, postage & stationery (including printer ink). Telephone expenses were not claimed.
## **11 Other outgoings**
||2022-23|2023-24|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Ministers’ fees|20||
|Equipment|967|321|
|Cleaning & Consumables|1720|2409|
|Bank Charges|163|161|
|Children’s Work & Messy Church|297|72|
|Warm Spaces expenses repaid|51||
|Stay & Play equipment||110|
|Other miscellaneous costs|1323|1461|
|**Total**|**4541**|**4534**|
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **12 Transfers between funds**
Easyfundraising money had to be paid into the current account & was transferred into the development account.
Due to changes at our local HSBC branch, which had withdrawn all counter services in October 2021, most bankings for the CFB Development account had to go into the current account first & then be transferred electronically. The only alternative to this was a 30 mile round trip to the Leicester branch of HSBC. During this financial year, the local HSBC branch has ceased taking money in the form of coins. We now deposit cash & some cheques at the local Post office, where full bags of coins are accepted. (See also note 13).
## **13 Buildings and other property**
The value of the buildings & contents of the church were recently re-assessed by a representative of Methodist Insurance. The contents were assessed for insurance purposes at replacement value, which does not reflect their value as an asset, so the balance sheet value of contents has been calculated as the brought forward value plus additions, less 20% depreciation. The value of the land is not known.
The value of the buildings has been updated to the figure given by the insurance assessor & a corresponding adjustment has been made on the SOFA.
||Buildings
£|Fixtures and
fittings
£|Assets under
construction
£|Total
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Cost or valuation**|||||
|Balance brought forward at
1 September 2023|1,131,200|35,799||1,166,999|
|Additions in theyear|417,201|321||417,522|
|_Less:_Disposals in theyear|||||
|_Depreciation thisyear_||(7224)||(7224)|
|Transfers between categories|||||
|**Balance carried forward at**
**31 August 2023**|**1,548,401**|**28,896**||**1,577,297**|
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **14 Debtors and prepayments**
The debtors as at 31 August 2024 totalled £161. The debtors as at 31 August 2023 totalled £123. So the debtors need to be increased by £38 & the rent received increased by £38.
Our circuit assessment for the September to November 2024 quarter, which amounted to £6,625, was prepaid in August 2023. The prepayment as at 31 August 2023 was also £6,625, so the prepayments do not need to be adjusted.
There was also a debtor of £22 on the Development Fund due to the August Castle Street Stall money not being received until September.
## **15 Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes**
The Church has three investment funds held by TMCP.
Funds held at present total £5763.37, interest paid into the current account.
1) Rev Walter Foxon Trust (unable to access money) Balance £1670.45
2) Bennett Trust (Arrangements held to access funds, but not through board) Balance £3131.03
3) Various model trust funds (Restriction of £500 cash allowed to be withdrawn) Balance £961.89
## **16 Central Finance Board (CFB) and Cash at Bank & in hand**
The Church has a current account at HSBC plc, an authorised institution. The sums held on this account is immediately available. In addition the Church has three deposit accounts at CFB: there is a general account (from which the assessment is taken by direct debit), a small Benevolent Fund & the Development Fund (restricted to expenses associated with the church rebuild). Interest is earned on these accounts and credited monthly; the sums deposited can be withdrawn (2 authorised signatures required) or transferred to the current account without notice and without loss of interest. These sums are viewed as being liquid and are shown as Current assets on the Balance Sheet.
Due to changes at the local HSBC branch, it is no longer possible to bank coins there. The machines in the branch only accept notes & cheques. It is possible to bank full bags of coins at a Post Office. This has meant a change to banking policy. The church runs a drop-in session where attendees give a donation for coffee/tea & biscuits rather than being charged a fixed amount. This cash is now treated like petty cash, but still allocated as drop-in donations. Total income is counted weekly after the Sunday morning service & some cash is taken out of the drop-in money as necessary to make up complete bags of coins. The remaining petty cash is all from drop-in. This doubles the time taken to deal with weekly cash takings, but the money can be banked at the nearest Post Office which is open on a Sunday.
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **17 Creditors, Accruals & Loans**
The Church had no creditors as at 31[st] August 2024. There were no outstanding loans. However, repairs were carried out on the Car Park during August 2024, but this work wasn’t invoiced to the church until September 2024. The amount of this invoice, £4,776, has been treated as an accrual. (This is included in the creditors figure in the balance sheet.)
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **19 Unrestricted Funds**
## _**19.1 General Fund – balance £1,630,247 at 31 August 2024 (2023: £1,215,402)**_
The purpose of the fund is for use at the discretion of the trustees in the furtherance of the general objectives of the Church and which have not been designated for other purposes. £1,577,297 of this fund is held as a freehold property (the Church), fixtures & fittings, & furniture. The remainder comprises the current account & the general CFB Account plus debtors & prepayments.
_**19.2 Designated Funds – balance £1006 at 31 August 2024 (2023: £956)**_ These funds are to serve specific purposes but are not restricted by any document or deed to that purpose alone. These funds comprise the CFB Benevolent Account only.
## **20 Restricted Fund -** _**balance £28,307 as at 31 August 2024 (2023: £38241)**_
The only Restricted Funds comprise the CFB Development Account. This fund (together with the grants & interest-free loans received (now fully repaid)) was used to fund the church rebuild. The church possessed an old schoolroom on the church site, which was unsafe. This has now been demolished. The demolition & associated legal costs were paid from the development fund.
## **21 Analysis of net assets among funds**
Fund balances at 31 August 2024 are represented by:
||Unrestricted
general and designated
funds
£|Restricted
funds
£|Total funds
£|
|---|---|---|---|
|Tangible fixed assets|1,577,297||1,577,297|
|Endowment Funds|5,763|0|5,763|
|Current assets|58,732|28,307|87,039|
|Current liabilities|(4776)||(4776)|
|Payables due after one
year|0|0|0|
|**Total**|**1,637,016**|**28,307**|**1,665,323**|
## **22 Related parties**
All of the trustees are members of the Church and some are also trustees of the Circuit.
All Church members contribute to general funds via the weekly collection either by offertory envelopes or cash, or by standing orders directly to the current account.
Related parties include the Methodist Connexion, Hinckley Circuit, Northampton District, CFB and TMCP. All of these entities have their own trustees or directors.
Church: Burbage Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **23 Volunteer contributions**
Every entity (Connexion, District, Circuit, Church) within the Methodist Church in GB is heavily reliant on volunteers who contribute their skills, time and money in the furtherance of the work of the Church. At Burbage Methodist Church, the principal contribution is by serving as stewards, treasurer, fund-raisers, pastoral carers & caterers. We are grateful to all of them for their help and commitment. No attempt has been made by this Church to value the nonmonetary contributions to the Church in monetary terms.
## **24 Capital commitments and contingent liabilities**
There were no capital commitments or contingent liabilities at the year end (2022-23: nil).
## **28 Lease commitments**
The Church has contracts or obligations for the following:
- Circuit Assessment, currently £6,625 per quarter.
In addition there are short term obligations as follows:
- Broadband provision, Virgin £38.40 per month
- Photocopier lease, £72 per quarter (may be more if the copy limit is exceeded)
The total liability of these is not considered material.
Church: Burbage
Circuit: Hinckley
District: Northampton
Year ended 31 August 2024
## Notes to the Accounts
## **29 Internal Organisations**
Since the closure of the JAM Club in 2022-23, we no longer have any internal organisations. Children’s work is now financed by general funds. We also have a messy church on the last Friday of the month, which is attended by local families, whose expenses are met from general funds.
## **30 Independent examiner**
The independent examiner is Mr Colin Jones, treasurer of Hinckley Ambion Rotary Club.
## **BURBAGE Church TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT**
## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024**_
## **Introduction**
During the financial year 2016-17, the old outdated church was demolished & a modern, single-storey church was built to replace it. The new church was handed over to us in August 2017. The new building is accessible to everyone, & has facilities for the disabled. The church has a variety of multi-use spaces. The new seating is lightweight & stackable in order to allow different layouts depending on the activity taking place.
During 2020/21, we started looking at the possibility of renovating the old schoolroom building, which had no water, gas or electricity supply. This would involve replacing the roof, laying on electricity & water supplies, & installing a kitchenette & toilets. The property committee started researching costs & arranging surveys for the building. These surveys found some structural problems, which would be very expensive to correct. Further research and advice were sought into how a renovated or replacement building could be used, & whether it would be financially viable. There were no positive comments, & the Church Council took the decision in October 2022 to demolish the schoolroom as soon as possible. The property committee obtained 3 quotes for the demolition & chose the contractor with the best quote for the job. Much paperwork was required to obtain a contract which satisfied the TMCP, the contractor & the church. A solicitor had to be consulted. The demolition commenced in late August 2023, and was completed in November 2023. The demolition & solicitor’s charges were paid from the Development account in late November 2023. The area where the building stood is going to be left as a wildlife area for the time being.
The existing garden area continues to be popular when the weather allows.
## **Aims and organisation**
To be a church for the 21st Century that seeks to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is God-centred in its life & worship & provides a Christian witness in the Community.
## **Review of the year**
The church continues to rent rooms to outside organisations when not being used for church activities. External users include a community choir, a jazz band, an over-50s club & a brownie pack. The church is also used as a polling station for local & national elections.
Activities organised by the church include Stay & Play (for pre-school children & their parent or guardian), Community Bible study, a “Warm Spaces” session, a Forget-Me-Not café for people suffering from Dementia
& their carers, & a drop-in coffee morning where the community can play games, do jigsaws, bring their crafts such as knitting or just sit & chat.
## **Income Trends**
The church has been able to raise sufficient unrestricted funds to meet the general running costs through the Sunday collection & the associated gift aid, plus rental income.
Fundraising for the church development continued. A total of £5,745 (including donations & interest on the development account) was raised in total. This included £2,197 from selling refreshments on the Saturdays when the Farmers’ Market took place on the church Car Park. The farmers’ market took place 11 times during the year. The church opened during the village “Christmas in Burbage” event serving coffee & mince pies plus having a Santa. The church supported both the Burbage Community Arts Festival & the local primary school’s Scarecrow Festival, by opening for refreshments & use of toilets. Our annual Craft Fair returned in October 2023.
The monthly community breakfast continued on the third Saturday of each month and continues to grow in popularity. £1 is donated to a local charity for each meal served. The charities which benefitted were the local food bank, dial-a-ride & a charity supporting Ukrainian refugees.
Unrestricted Church income is primarily drawn from the Sunday collections and Gift aid tax credit paid by the congregation, & rental income paid by external users of the building.
Restricted income is primarily drawn from fundraising events & donations. Gift Aid is claimed where appropriate. Restricted income is used to fund improvements to our facilities & purchase capital items.
## **Expenditure trends**
The major cost to unrestricted funds is in relation to the assessment paid to the Circuit (Hinckley). This amounted to 50% of our total unrestricted costs (excluding depreciation). The Circuit assessment has remained the same as last year, but maybe increasing next year.
A significant amount of the Circuit assessment is used to pay the District assessment, stipends, manse expenses and costs related to Ministers.
The other expenditure includes maintenance, utilities & other general running expenses. We have exceeded our budget for repairs and maintenance this year due to two exceptional expenses. The boundary wall was repaired & repointed where the schoolroom had been demolished at a cost of £2,400. The tarmac was replaced on some areas of the Car Park & the parking spaces were marked out again. Yellow crosshatched areas were also marked out to maintain easy access for emergency vehicles. This work cost £4,776. (Since the invoice for the Car Park repairs was not received until after 31/8/24, this expense has been treated as an accrual.)
Donations to the Development Fund totalling £6,000 were refunded in the tax year 2022/23 because these had been given specifically for reroofing the schoolroom. The Gift Aid claim for the tax year to 5/4/23 had to be reduced by £1,500 since Gift Aid had previously been claimed on the £6,000. The tax refund for 2022/23 was not received until September 2023, & so the £1,500 was repaid from the Development Account in this financial year.
## **Plans for 2024/25**
Church financial plans for the coming year have been prepared on this basis:
Collection & related gift aid plus rental income to be sufficient to cover general expenses such as the assessment, utility bills, consumables, insurance, necessary property repairs and other running expenses.
Fundraising to continue. Some of the funds raised were passed onto our chosen charity for this year, The Teams 4 Us Suncuis project. This project is building a school for Roma children, who experience segregation & discrimination where they live in Romania.
## **BURBAGE Church**
## **Trustee’s Annual Report on Finance and Governance**
## **Basis of preparation and legal framework**
The Charity’s annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice 2015 as applicable to the Financial Reporting Standard(FRSSE) 2015
Full Name of Charity / Church: BURBAGE METHODIST CHURCH
Registration Charity Number (if a Registered Charity): 1169141
Date of registration (if registered as a Charity) 2016-9-12
Main communication address 28 PYEHARPS ROAD, BURBAGE, HINCKLEY, LE10 2JE.
The members of the Burbage Methodist Church Council are the Charity Trustees , membership being made up of church office holders, Minister and representatives appointed by the church at the Annual general Meeting.
Full list of Church Council members and key lay employees are shown as Appendix A to this report **.**
Treasurer: Mrs Christine Armstrong
Christine Armstrong acted as the principal officer overseeing the day to day financial management and accounting for the Church during the year.
Independent examiner: Colin Jones, treasurer of Hinckley Ambion Rotary Club
Investment Bankers: Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church Trustees for Methodist Church purposes
## **Public Benefit**
We confirm the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
The governing document for the church is the Deed of Union (1932) and Methodist Church Act (1976)
Detailed governance arrangements are outlined within the Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church by order of the annual conference (CPD).
Day to day management of the church is undertaken by the Church Leadership team along with the Minister.
The Trustees are appointed at the AGM of the church. Trustees are appointed for a period of 6 years & must be church members. The trustees consist of the minister, 6 stewards, the treasurer & up to 11 other members.
## **Trustee Training**
A range of guidance produced by Methodist Connexion to support the effective running of the church and the role of Trustees is given to the Church Trustees at various meetings and / or training sessions.
## **Related Parties**
The Church is part of the Hinckley Circuit which is part of the Northampton District and is also accountable to the Methodist Conference.
Refresh is held on one Sunday afternoon per month. This is an alternative style of worship, which includes a presentation followed by food. Refresh is organised by church members & overseen by the Minister.
## **BURBAGE Church**
## **Risk Management**
The major risks have been identified and recorded by the Trustees with professional advice taken as required. There is a regular annual review process undertaken and recorded.
Income and Expenditure is being monitored in total and is compared with the approved annual budget on a half yearly basis to detect trends as part of the risk management process to avoid unforeseen calls on reserves.
## **Reserves Policy**
The Reserves Policy for the Church is to hold a minimum sum equivalent to 6 months’ average expenditure. This should be sufficient to meet any unforeseen item of major expenditure on the church building and / or to be able to continue, in the short term, funding planned activities in the event of any inability to raise the full expenses including the assessment payable to the Circuit.
Appendix A
## CHURCH COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP & KEY LAY WORKERS
## MINISTERS
REV PATRICIA MUKOROMBINDO
## LAY WORKERS
ANNE HADDON (PASTORAL ASSISTANT) COLIN HADDON (PASTORAL ASSISTANT)
## CHURCH STEWARDS
DAVID BLACK CAROL BLACK (to 31/12/23) KEITH WARE HILARY UNION BRIAN BRADBURN
## TREASURER
CHRISTINE ARMSTRONG
## CHURCH SAFEGUARDING CO-ORDINATOR
HILARY UNION
## CHURCH REPRESENTATIVES (OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH COUNCIL)
1. ANNE BAILEY (SECRETARY)
2. NEVILLE SPARK (CIRCUIT REP) – to 31/10/23 (for the rest of the year, Rosemary Bradburn acted as temporary Circuit Rep for the remainder of the year as she is also a Circuit Steward)
3. CHRISTOPHER WEBB
4. GILL KEARNEY (PASTORAL SECRETARY)
5. ROSEMARY BRADBURN (MISSIONS/CHURCHES TOGETHER)
6. BARBARA REARDON (CHILDREN’S WORK)
7. JOHN NICHOLS (PROPERTY SECRETARY/REFRESH)
**----- Start of picture text -----**
BURBAGE Church
Po
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **DECLARATIONS**
## **Treasurer**
I confirm that I have prepared the accounts from the records of the Church and that they include all funds under the control of the Church Council.
> Signature of Treasurer ~~a~~ Date 15-Oct-24
> Name CHRISTINE ARMSTRONG ~~Po~~
> Address ~~PT~~ 28 PYEHARPS ROAD, BURBAGE, LEICS, LE10 2JE
## **Presentation to the Church Council Meeting for approval.**
> I confirm that the Accounts were, or will be,presented to the Church Council Meeting on ~~[LT~~ **15-Oct-24** and were approved.
> Signature of the Chair of the meeting ~~Po~~
> Name of the Chair of the meeting ~~Po~~ **REV PATRICIA MUKOROMBINDO** Date
## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the**
~~Po~~ **BURBAGE Church** This Report is on the Church Accounts for the year ended 31[st] August ~~[|~~ 2024
## **Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner**
The Church's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Church's Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011(the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011;
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5)(b) of the Charities
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **BURBAGE Church**
## **Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report**
My examination was carried out in accordance with the 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 you as 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**
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
- (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the i t
- to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with
have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Name
## MR COLIN JONES
Signature
Relevant Professional qualification or body
RETIRED FINANCE DIRECTOR, HANSON PACKED PRODUCTS Address 11 PICKERING PLACE, BURBAGE, LE10 2FJ
Date