2025-10-19-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From: 20[th] October 2024 To: 19[th] October 2025

Charity name: Romanian Orthodox Church on Merseyside

Charity registration number: 1170197

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	The Advancement of the Christan religion by the provision of a place of worship on Merseyside. Actvites in furtherance of this will include: a) Provision of fnancial support and governance to maintain a Romanian Orthodox church parish on Merseyside for use by the public of the region and elsewhere. This will include: b) Raising awareness and understanding of the Orthodox Christan church in the local community. c) Enabling Orthodox Christan religious devotonal acts in the church.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	Provision of two functoning churches which between them provide regular services of the Orthodox Christan faith on Merseyside. St Paisie at Bebington was provided by Wirral Council, the building having previously been derelict, and the charity was established, under a legal framework, to raise and manage funds for its repair, improvement and maintenance. St Ephraim at Bootle is held on a 25 year lease from the Liverpool Catholic Diocese and was refurbished by the charity to make it suitable for Orthodox worship; it accommodates 150 to 200 worshippers. Both churches are in regular use. Operatng from two distnct sites on Merseyside has relieved the overcrowding previously experienced at Bebington on Sundays and has made atendance easier for worshippers across

		the region. The charity considers that it has been successful so far and that both churches contnue to improve as Christan and cultural support facilites for Romanians living in the NW of England and North Wales. All services at both churches are free and open to the general public.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	The trustees have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public beneft and are complicit with its requirements.

Additional information (optional)

Additional information (optional)	Additional information (optional)	Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
	SORP reference
Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	We do not provide grants for other organisatons
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38	We are not involved in any social investment programmes
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	The charity relies heavily on the tme its volunteers give freely, and that contributon takes many forms. Around 50 volunteers supported the charity’s work across the two churches during the year. Several volunteers provide professional building skills at no cost, including plastering and electrical work, which has been central to bringing both buildings into use and keeping them in good repair. Others take on maintenance, cleaning and transport, and run the Sunday school. Volunteers also assist the clergy in their many dutes. The trustees are not able to place a reliable monetary value on this contributon, and it is therefore not recognised in the accounts, but they consider that the charity could not operate at itspresent level without it.
Other

Achievements and Performance

	SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	Both of the charity's churches were in regular use throughout the year. St Paisie at Bebington contnued as the original parish church, and St Ephraim at Bootle, was refurbished during the previous year, completed its frst full year of use. Having two churches on distnct sites has relieved the overcrowding previously experienced at Bebington on Sundays and made travel easier for worshippers across Merseyside. The full cycle of Orthodox worship was maintained at both churches, including the Divine Liturgy, Holy Week and Easter, the parish feast day (Hram) and the recepton of holy relics. The charity contnued to invest in the fabric and furnishing of both buildings, spending on liturgical items and vestments, furnishings and ftng out, repairs and renewals. Beyond worship, the parish ran a parish school and catechism classes, funded actvites for children and young people, maintained the traditon of carol singing at Christmas, and hosted community meals and a concert. It provided pastoral support to bereaved Romanian families across the region, including help with funerals and repatriaton, which drew 50 separate donatons totalling £2,582 from the community. Four appeals for individuals and families in hardship raised £3,655, and the charity paid £2,800 of direct fnancial assistance to four individuals in need during the year. Around 50 volunteers supported this work. The charity received 834 separate gifs during the year, which the trustees consider a good indicaton of how broadly the parish is supported.
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41

Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41
Other

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	Total income for the year was £137,852 and total expenditure was £108,779, leaving the charity with net incoming resources for the year. Total funds carried forward at 19 October 2025 were £195,788. Income was lower than in the previous year due to refurbishing the Bootle church. Almost all of the charity's income contnues to come from the voluntary giving of parishioners and supporters, received as oferings at the church, card and online donatons, donatons from local companies, and Gif Aid recovered from HM Revenue and Customs. The charity's expenditure is made up principally of operatonal expenses, the supply of candles, icons and devotonal items for the church shop, and the furnishing, repair and running of the two church buildings. As the fabric at St Paisie, Bebington is now more or less setled, expenditure there is largely limited to running costs. At St Ephraim, Bootle the charity carries considerably higher utlites costs. At the year end the charity's funds were held in cash across its current and deposit accounts, together with Gif Aid recoverable from HM Revenue and Customs, and the charity had no liabilites. The trustees consider the charity to be fnancially stable, with running costs comfortablycovered byregulargiving.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	The trustees hold reserves for three purposes. First, to stay on top of repairs and renovaton works in both churches. Second, to meet any emergency afectng either church building or operatng needs. Third, and principally, to buy or build a hall for St Ephraim at Bootle, which has no separate hall of its own; the absence of one makes running a Sunday school there very difcult, and the trustees may need to relocate St Ephraim in order to meet this need. Reserves at 19 October 2025 were £195,788, all held as unrestricted general funds, of which £150,000 was placed on deposit in October 2025 pending the hall project. This is equivalent to approximately 21 months of expenditure at current levels. The trustees consider a holding of this size to be justfed by the scale of the building project the charity is workingtowards,and review the level of

		reserves annually.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	£195,788
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	N/A
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	N/A
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	N/A

Additional information (optional)

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	Principal income is from the parishioners and their donatons
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46	None
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46	The trustees keep the principal risks facing the charity under review. The charity is now served by two priests, which has removed the dependence on a single individual that the trustees identfed as the major risk in previous years. The principal risk the trustees now identfy is the charity's dependence on voluntary giving. Almost all of the charity's income comes from the donatons and oferings of its congregaton, and the level of that giving can vary signifcantly from one year to the next, as it did in this period. A sustained fall in giving would afect the charity's ability to meet the running costs of two church buildings, which together carry a higher fxed cost base than a single church did, partcularly the utlites at St Ephraim. The trustees mitgate this by keeping running costs under review, by maintaining reserves, and by encouraging regular giving and the use of Gif Aid. The trustees also regard safeguarding as a principal risk, given that the charity runs a Sunday school and other actvites for children and young people, and maintain a safeguarding policy accordingly. Any government restrictons on immigraton from EU countries could afect

the size of the congregation and therefore the level of giving. Other

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	Consttuton
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	Foundaton Model CIO
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Selected from the Church Council and appointed as agreed by chair and secretary. We maintain a 50:50 gender balance.

Additional information (optional)

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51	The charity is a key part of the church organisaton and reports to the church council whose main purpose is ecclesiastcal maters in the parish. The charity maintains governance of church fnances.
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51
Other

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	Romanian Orthodox Church On Merseyside (ROCOM)
Other name the charity uses
Registered charity number	1170197
Charity’s principal address	4 Victoria Drive, West Kirby, Wirral, CH48 0QT (at 19 October 2025)

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
	Fr Florin Voinea	Chair		Church Council appoints all
	Prof Stuart Carter	Secretary/Treasurer
	Ms Andreea Covalciuc
	Prof Dorina Carter- Timofe
	Ms Ana Oltean
	Mr Emilian Covalciuc
	Rev Razvan Dumitrescu

– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Director name

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets held in this capacity

Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects

Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of Name Address adviser

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Other optional information

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Andreea Covalciuc

Position (eg Secretary, Trustee Chair, etc)

Date

20/08/2026

Company Regi8tratlon Number: CE016430 Registored Charity Number: 1181914 Romanian Orthodox Church on Merse side ROCOM ort and Accounts For the ear ended 19th October 2025

Romanian Orthodox Church on Mer8e Contents of the Re ort and Accounts For the ear end 19th October 2025 slde ROCOM Page Refetonce and Administrative Infotmalion Statement of Trustees, Responsibilities Stslement of Financial Activities Balan¢e Sheet Notes to the Accounts Dètailed StateM￿t of Financial Activitias

Romanian Orthodox Church on Merse Ide Reference and Administrative Information OM Company Rogistration Number CE008206 R•gistsred CharFty Number 1170197 Chair Revd Florin Voinea Truste08 Rev Razvan Dumitrescu Emilian Constantin Covalciuc Andreea Loredana Covalciuc Ana Oltean Prof8S59r STUART DAVID CARTER FRCPATH Professor DORINA CARTER-TIMOFTE DVM. FRCVS R•gistered Offic• and Op8ration Address Sl Paisie Chur¢h,Town Lane Cemetery, Bobington, Wirral, Merseyside, CH63 5JF

Romanlan Orthodox Church on Merse Statement of Trustees. Res onsibilitigs ide ROCOM The trustees have pbasuro in presenting their report and accounts for the year ended 19th October 2025 Strueture, govemance and managem•nt The Organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated and registered a8 a charity on 16th November 2016. Tho Company was establlshed under a Memorandum ol Associats'on which established the objects and powers of the charity and is governed under its Artl¢le$ of Association. The chair of trustee5, who is the trustee for thtr purpose of charty law, who setved during the year and up to the date of this report is set out on page 1. Objèets The objects of the charity are.. The advan￿ment of the Christian religion by the provi8ion of a Flace of worship on Mer¥eyside. ActNilies in furtherance of this will in¢lude'. al Provision of financial support and governance to maintain a Romanian Orthodox Church parish on Merseyside for use by the public of the region and elsewhère. bl Raising awareness and understanding ofthe Orthodox Christian Church in th8 tocal Communty. cl Enabling Orthodox Christian religious dgvotional acts in the church. Financial ￿VIeW Total incoming resources for the year amounted lo £137,852, with total resources expended of £108,779, resulting in net profil of £29.073. This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statemenl of Recommended Practice - Aceounling and Reporting by Charities {FRS 1021. taking advantage of the concessions promded by the SORP for smaller charities, and in 8¢wrd8nc& with the provisions for small companies under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006. The report was approved by the board on 18th August 2026 Rev Florin Voinea Priest in charge

Romanian Orthodox Church on Merso 8id¢ Stat&mènt of Financlal Activities Includin For ended 19th 0 ober 202S ROCOM Income and Ex nditur• Account Unrestricted Funds 2028 Incoming Resources. Donation5 Donations from Ltd Ci)mp8nie8 Other Incorne Donations Sumup & St￿Pa Donation5 Cash Grft￿d 46.827 17.952 281 37,418 15,458 19,916 137,852 Resources Exponded C051 of gener211ng funds 108,779 108,779 Net Incomlng Resourc•s- Net Incom8 for1￿ Year 29,073 Total Fund$ at 20th OCto￿r 2024 166,715 Ttstal Funds at 19th O¢tobfjr 2025 195.788

Romanian Orthodox Church on Mè Balanca Sheet at 19th Oct bgr 2025 ¥idg ROCOM 2026 Current assets Other Debtors- GiftArd ash al bank and In hand 19.916 175,872 Net current ass•ts 195.788 Current Llabilltlg$ Ac¢ruaL¥ Totsl Ass*ts L955 Current Ltabllltles: 195788 Unrestricted Funds General fUr￿S 195,788 Total Fund$ 195,788 For the Yeare[￿l￿g 19lh O¢tober2025 tha company wa8 entstkd to exemption from audit under Sett￿)￿ 477 of th8 Compan￿S Act 20(6. The membe15 have not required the company to obtsin an audit in accord8nce Mrith $e¢tyon 476 of the Companes Act 2008. The trustees ad¢nowledge their responsibilities for. al ensuring that the company keeps proper accountin9 records which comply with sec￿On$ 386 and 387 of the Companies A¢i 2006 and bl prèparing accounts which give a true and fair view of th8 state of affairs of the company as at the end of each financial year and of its profil or10ss for each financial year in a¢¢ordance with the requirernents of Sections 394 and 395 of the Companies 2006, and which Othe￿488 cornplywilh the requirements of this act relating to a¢counts, so far as applicable lo the company. The finanaal statements have been Prepa￿ in accordance with the provisions of Part 15 of th& Cunpanies A¢t 20[￿ relating to 5m&ll compaTri88. Approved ty tt)e Board on 18th August 2026 and $igne4 on ts behalf by." Rev Florln Voinèa Priest in charge

Romanian Orthodox Church on Merse Notes to the accounts For the ar ended 19th October 2025 ide ROCOM 1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES Bas1$ olaceounting The aGcounls have been pr8P8red under the historical co$t convention and in ac¢ordane8 wlh th& provlsion8 of Section 1A"Small Enlilie5' of Financi81 Reporting St8ndard 102'The Finanaal Reporting Stsndard 8ppI[¢ab￿ in the UK end RepublK of Ireland" and the Companies A¢1 2006 and follgw the recommendatsons in Accounting 8ff>dReporting by Charities." Slat8m8ntofRecommended Practi￿ ISORP FRS 1021. taking advantsge of the conce55ions prov￿84 by the SORP for smaller ¢hariti8s. Incoming resources All inwming resour￿9 are included in Ihe Statement of Fin8nckg1 ACtivll￿s vthen Ihe ¢hanty becomes entiued lo the resour￿$. Ihe trustees are virtually certain they wll ￿¢￿ve the resources and the rnonelary value can meaSU￿d with sUffic￿￿t reliabdity. Expenditure and Ilabilities Resour￿$ expend8d a￿ re¢ogni58d in the penod In which they are incurred. Resources expended includ attributab￿ VAT whith cannot be recovered Fund accounting Unrestiicled funds a￿ donat￿￿8 and other incoming resources receivable orgener8tsd for the o¥"e¢ts of tho charity wilhoutfurther speafied purpo$0 are available as general funds. Designated funds a￿ unr8strictsd funds earmarked by the trustees for partlcular purp058S. Restri¢ted fund5 are to be used for spectfic putPOS8s as laid down by the donor. Expe￿it￿re which Tneels this criteria is ch8rged to the fund. Costs of ￿ntsTatIng fund5 Costs ofgenerating fund5 are those costs incurred In attracting voluntary inrxjme. or Incurr8d in trading a¢tivllies undertaken to raise fund$.

Romanian Orthodox ChLFreh on Merseysido IROCOMI Detail&d Statement of Financial Activities For the yèar ended 19th OCto￿r 2025 2026 R•vonuo Donatson$ Donations from Ltd Companies other Incorne Donations Surnup & Stnpe Oonalions Cash GirtAd Total Revenue 46.827 17,952 281 37,418 15,458 19,916 137,852 Cost of Sales 47,084 Admlnlstrative expenses Rent Utilities Travel and Motor Costs Tekphon8 and PC Related Donation$ Repairs and Renewa Postage and Stationary Legal professional costs Staff Costs Flowers Bank charges Tot31 Administrative expÈn$e$ 2,565 2.167 2,056 2,8C 9.276 500 2,485 34.050 472 1,356 61,695

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ members of

Charity Name Romanian Orthodox Church on Merseyside (ROCOM)

On accounts for the year ended

19 October 2025

Charity no (if any)

1170197

Set out on pages

(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

Responsibilities and basis of report

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 19 / 10 /2024 .

As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or

• the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. * Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

Signed:

Date:

20/08/2026

Name:

Ana Oltean

1

August 2026

IER

Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any):

Master of Science in Management and Finance

Address:

17 Ascot Drive

Ellesmere Port

CH66 2NB

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

2

August 2026

IER