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TRUSTEES’ REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD 1[st] JANUARY 2023 TO 31[st] DECEMBER 2023
LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
CHARITY NUMBER 1169953 LEGAL FORM Charitable Incorporated Organisation formed under the Charities Act 2011 TRUSTEES AT 31/12/23 Mike Bradley (Treasurer), Jane Clark, Greg Titley (Secretary), Nick Pollock and Philip Wallace (Chairman) GOVERNING INSTRUMENT Constitution as incorporated on 31/10/16 OBJECTS To advance education in the science of astronomy and related subjects for the public benefit by furthering the knowledge of its members, promoting and conducting observations, and by providing facilities for active participation in astronomical observation CONVERSION TO CIO The members of the Cardiff Astronomical Society agreed at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 21 July 2016 that the Society should become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). The Cardiff Astronomical Society (CIO) was formed and registered as a charity on 31 October 2016 when it took over all the activities of the former Cardiff Astronomical Society. INSPECTOR OF ACCOUNTS Kevin Jordan Treasurer Newport Round Table SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP As at 31[st] December the Society had 140 adult, 5 junior, and 53 family memberships
THE SOCIETY'S ACTIVITIES DURING THE PERIOD 1 JANUARY 2023 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
Trustees/Committee - The Trustees met twice, and the Committee met on seven occasions during 2023. The Trustees have delegated most of their duties and powers to the Committee which, thus, takes care of the main operational issues.
Fortnightly Talks – The talks program for this period comprised 21 lectures plus the 2023 AGM. All talks were conducted in person in our usual lecture theatre at Cardiff University. Some consideration has been given by the Committee to finding an alternative venue but no conclusion has been reached and there is no intention to move location for the foreseeable future.
Public Events & Outreach – Public Events and Outreach activities have resumed with several events, including the February “Museum After Dark” event at the National Museum of Wales, a summer Astronomy event at Techniquest in Cardiff Bay, solar observing at Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and the September Brecon Dark Skies Festival, which involved solar observing, night-sky observing and talks from our Chairman and Secretary. Star Parties are being prepared to resume in January 2024 and a small-scale event has been successfully run as a test. Plans were made for another joint event with the Bath and Bristol Astronomical Societies, a six-week Zoom course for beginners. This started in February 2024.
Observatory – The Observatory repairs needed last year have been completed, though there are still some minor issues that need addressing. Subject to discussions with the National Trust, it is our intention to have the observatory fully operational and accessible for members and Star Parties in early 2024.
Library - The Society continued to maintain a comprehensive Library of astronomical books. This is once again available for members to use.
- UKMON (UK Meteor Observation Network) CAS continued to provide observational data to UKMON from our Cardiff-based cameras. The upgrade planned by our UKMON Admin, Edward Cooper, has been completed with the new camera in place and operational at Dyffryn Gardens. Edward has also been instrumental in setting up a similar camera at the Bannau Brycheiniog Visitor Centre.
Merchandising – The new range of CAS-branded clothing has been available throughout this year and is proving moderately successful. CAS has a new Merchandising Officer who has successfully negotiated a new range of colours for CAS clothing. The Merchandising Officer is also exploring options for other CASbranded merchandise and will report to the membership when this is ready to proceed.
Website - The Society’s website is at http://www.cardiff-astronomical-society.co.uk/
CARDIFF ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Treasurer’s Report and Statement of Accounts for the Period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023
| Available Funds at 1 January 2023 (£) | Available Funds at 1 January 2023 (£) | Available Funds at 31 December 2023 (£) | Available Funds at 31 December 2023 (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Account Opening | 1446.46 | Current Account Closing | 1587.20 |
| Reserve Bank Opening | 4811.58 | Reserve Bank Closing | 4550.56 |
| Petty Cash Opening | 205.75 | Petty Cash Closing | 171.40* |
| PayPal | 366.43 | PayPal | 383.82 |
| Total | 6830.22 | Total | 6692.98 |
| Expenditure exceeded Income by £137.24 |
Table 1. CAS Financial Assets
*includes £23 held by MemSec for PayPal testing.
Breakdown of Income and Expenditure 2023
| Item | Credit Amount (£) | Debit Amount (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Smile | 27.05 | |
| EasyFundRaising | 21.44 | |
| FAS Fee | 30.00 | |
| Gift Aid | 286.65 | |
| Insurance | 1231.38 | |
| Interest | 38.98 | |
| IT Services | 43.65 | |
| Merchandise Commission | 72.00 | |
| Member Travel Expenses | 291.98 | |
| Membership | 3061.81 | |
| Merchandise Sale | 68.50 | |
| Miscellaneous | 115.00 | |
| Observatory Goods Cost | 187.88 | |
| Observatory Services Cost | 441.00 | |
| Outreach Income | 150.00 | |
| Printing/Engraving | 206.55 | |
| Raffle Costs | 112.21 | |
| Raffle Income | 435.55 | |
| Speaker Costs | 1083.60 | |
| Trophies | 76.75 | |
| UKMON | 243.02 | |
| Website | 322.32 | |
| Zoom | 143.88 | |
| Grand Total | 4276.98 | 4414.22 |
| Expenditure Exceeded Income by £137.24 |
Table 2. Income v Expenditure for 2023
Assets
The figures as presented above in both Table 1 and Table 2 are accurate and a true reflection of the society’s financial assets, income, and expenditure as at the end of 2023. As can be seen in Table 1, the value of Cardiff Astronomical Society (CAS) funds dropped by £137.24 in 2023. When income and expenditure items from both Petty Cash (PC) and the Bank Transactions are analysed, the expenditure exceeds income by £137.24. This matches the drop in funds described in Table 1.
Reserves
In April £500.00 was taken from the reserve account to make essential repairs and pay for services to ensure the safe running of the observatory. It is inevitable that a facility will incur running costs, and this is taken this into account when predicting expenditure for next year. Some Petty Cash surpluses, mainly profit from the raffle, were put into the reserve account late in 2023 to replace the withdrawn funds. The Reserve Fund is still above the level agreed by the trustees[1] . (£3500 v £4500).
Income
The largest generator of income for CAS is the Membership fee. In 2023 it generated an income of £3061.81 and a further £286.65 in Gift Aid.
The second largest generator of income in 2023 was the raffle held on “Talk Nights”. The decision at committee to have a member at the door greeting members as they arrive has enabled the society to promote its raffle more effectively and this year the profit from the raffle was £323.34.
The outreach events at Bannau Brycheiniog (BB) netted £150. Usually, the society would gain £150 from each event but all messages from the CAS Treasurer to BB were not replied to until early December 2023 when it was discovered that BB had sent correspondence to the postal address of a previous CAS secretary which was not forwarded. This was chased up and rectified. As a result, in December 2023 BB paid CAS £150 for the event held in September.
Amazon Smile closed its donation activities however, Easyfundraising (EFR) is still active and generated £21.44 in 2023.
CAS clothing supplier, Eurologo, paid £72 in commission to the society.
It has not been possible to identify the source of the miscellaneous income of £115. This is made up of two payments, one of £80 and another of £35.
Expenditure
The largest cost to CAS in 2023 was insurance. This was a total of £1231.38 which includes a broker’s fee of £50.
The second largest cost to CAS in 2023 was the cost of speakers to attend the talks programme. A total of £1083.60 was spent on accommodation, travel, and subsistence for speakers. This breaks down into £468.44 for hotels, £379.45 for travel and £235.71 for meals.
1 The figure is defined by the Trustees as the previous year’s membership income rounded up to the nearest £500. Income from 2023 was £3067.39 which rounds up to £3500. Reserve Fund holds £4550.56
2024 Budget Forecast
| 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item Type | Credit Amount (£) |
Debit Amount (£) |
Credit Amount (£) |
Debit Amount (£) |
| Amazon Smile | 27.05 | 0.00 | ||
| EasyFundRaising | 21.44 | 20.00 | ||
| FAS Fee | 30.00 | 33.00 | ||
| Gift Aid | 286.65 | 300.00 | ||
| Insurance | 1231.38 | 1338.51 | ||
| Interest | 38.98 | 30.00 | ||
| IT Services | 43.65 | 23.99 | ||
| Merchandise Commission |
72.00 | 25.00 | ||
| Member Travel Expenses |
291.98 | 300.00 | ||
| Membership | 3061.81 | 3800.00 | ||
| Merchandise Sale | 68.50 | 30.00 | ||
| Misc | 115.00 | |||
| Observatory Goods Cost |
187.88 | 250.00 | ||
| Observatory Services Cost |
441.00 | 250.00 | ||
| Outreach Income | 150.00 | 300.00 | ||
| Printing/Engraving | 206.55 | 150.00 | ||
| Raffle Costs | 112.21 | 240.00 | ||
| Raffle Income | 435.55 | 500.00 | ||
| Speaker Costs | 1083.60 | 1750.00 | ||
| Trophies | 76.75 | |||
| UKMON | 243.02 | |||
| Website | 322.32 | 350.00 | ||
| Zoom | 143.88 | 155.00 | ||
| 4276.98 | 4414.22 | 5005.00 | 4840.50 | |
| Difference | -137.24 | Difference | 164.5 |
Table 3. Forecasts for income and expenditure in 2024
Table 3 shows the items which incurred a cost/brought an income in 2023 and a prediction for that item in 2024. The predicted increase has not been confirmed however an inflationary increase of 8.7% (CPI) has been assumed. The largest source of income for the society is the membership fee, which was increased by around 20% in September 2023. The predicted income for 2024 assumes that the current level and demographic of membership is maintained. As of 14 December 2023, that level was, 140 Adults, 53 Families and 5 juniors.
The item of expenditure which could have a significant impact on the Society’s finances, and is the most difficult item to forecast, is the cost of visiting speakers. In 2023 CAS had 5 visiting speakers who claimed combined hotel, travel and subsistence costs averaging £165.82 per speaker. Allowing for inflation of 8.7% this will become £180.25 per speaker in 2024. Already the society has engaged 7 speakers for the first half of the 2024 season who will need accommodation. Should the society have difficulty engaging local speakers for the latter half of 2024 the cost of accommodation could have a detrimental impact on the projected budget.
From Table 3 it can be seen that in 2024 it is anticipated that the Society will incur costs of around £4840.50 versus an income of around £5005.00. This gives the society a surplus of £164.50. Factors which could act to the detriment of this prediction are, a large loss of membership income, an above inflation increase in a large expenditure item such as the insurance. The Society has no control over these and must rely on the reserve to fill the gap if needed.
As can be seen from the report, 2024 could prove to be a difficult year, however, the Society’s finances are in good order. The increase in membership fee will improve the Society’s financial position and provide some protection against inflationary pressures in the coming year.
Future Reports
-
Early April 2024. This report will allow the Trustees and committee to view the latest financial state before the AGM on 25[th] April.
-
Early September 2024. This report will allow Trustees and committee to have insight of the performance to budget and to make judgements regarding the end of year report.
-
End of December. This will be the end of year report for 2024.