2022-03-31-accounts - Alliance Francaise De York

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DocuSign Envelope ID: 1C1919E8-8E68-4BD2-811E-446B5C969AEC

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE DE YORK

Registered Charity Number: 1171386 Company Number: CE008958

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

HPH, Chartered Accounts

54 Bootham YORK YO30 7XZ

DocuSign Envelope ID: 1C1919E8-8E68-4BD2-811E-446B5C969AEC

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE DE YORK

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

AND

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Contents	Page
Trustees' Annual Report	1 to 4
Independent Examiner's Report	5
Receipts and Payments Account	6
Statement of Assets and Liabilities	7
Notes to the Accounts	8

DocuSign Envelope ID: 1C1919E8-8E68-4BD2-811E-446B5C969AEC

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE DE YORK TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their Annual Report together with the Receipts and Payments Account, and the Statement of Assets and Liabilities of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2022. The accounts have been prepared on the receipts and payments basis and comply with the charity's governing document and the Charities Act 2011.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

Charity name: Alliance Française de York Registered charity number: 1171386 Company number: CE008958 Charity’s principal address: HPH Chartered Accountants 54 Bootham York YO30 7XZ Charity’s contact and Kristell Colin address: Acting Director 42 Elmfield Avenue York YO31 9LJ

Names of the charity trustees who managed the charity during the year:

Suzi Bewell Chair Steve Curran Honorary Treasurer Appointed 18 June 2021 Nick Folkard Honorary Secretary Kim Loader Anne Harley Appointed 18 June 2021 Alison Smith Honorary Treasurer Resigned 18 June 2021 Bryan Irving Resigned 19 July 2021

The names and addresses of the charity’s advisers: Independent Examiner: Sarah Wearing FCA, DChA HPH, Chartered Accountants, 54 Bootham, York, YO30 7XZ Bankers: HSBC Bank plc. PO Box Parliament Street, York, YO1 8XS CAF Bank. Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4JQ

Solicitors: Grays Solicitors Duncombe Place York YO1 7DY

DocuSign Envelope ID: 1C1919E8-8E68-4BD2-811E-446B5C969AEC

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE DE YORK TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The charity is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Association model) (CIO) and was registered with the Charity Commission on 31 January 2017. Prior to this it had been an unincorporated charitable association for over 20 years.

Our constitution allows for a maximum of 8 trustees and we currently have 5 in post. Trustees are selected at the AGM. Members are invited to apply before the AGM. Existing trustees may also co-opt members to become trustees if vacancies remain after the AGM.

The administration of the charity is carried out by the Acting Director and an Administrator; both are employees and native French speakers. The Acting Director is also a teacher and there are four other part-time teaching staff. In addition, we had a university student for doing a 6-week internship during the Summer.

Wherever possible and in accordance with Government guidelines, Trustees have continued to attend training seminars for small charities. We have been fortunate to have had trustees with legal, human resources and safeguarding expertise, but we continue to take outside legal, accounting and human resource advice as needed.

During the past year we have reviewed and updated various policies including our Health and Safety and our Safeguarding of Children and Adult policies.

We continue to belong to a wider UK network of Alliance Française organisations, working closely with the Institut Français.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Alliance Française de York is an educational charity whose aims are: -

To advance the education of the public of York and the surrounding region in French language and culture, in particular but not exclusively by:

Organising courses in French language, civilisation and literature;
Promoting social and cultural activities relating to France and for French speakers in York and the surrounding area (such as lectures, musical concerts, drama, exhibitions, film, shows);
Collaborating with the cultural service of the French Embassy in London;
Supporting French language teaching and the diffusion of French culture in schools, colleges, and universities.

The Trustees believe they have complied with the duty in Section 17 of the 2011 Charities Act to have due regard to guidance published by the Charity Commission in respect of public benefit.

Volunteers play a significant role in delivering the objectives and activities of the charity. In addition, members volunteer to organise and assist at many of the activities listed further below.

DocuSign Envelope ID: 1C1919E8-8E68-4BD2-811E-446B5C969AEC

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE DE YORK TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The Alliance Française de York is still adapting and recovering post lockdown, which began back in March 2020. We continue to convert our activities, where possible, from physical gatherings to online delivery and this has been well received on the whole by our attendees and members. We have enjoyed several face-to-face meeting and events, such as the opportunity to celebrate Christine’s long-standing role as Directrice and la Fête des Rois in 2022 and it has been wonderful to come together again in person.

We continue to adjust our processes as appropriate and thinking creatively about how we can deliver our services in new ways.

Storage of various items e.g. furniture, books and kitchen equipment from our previous office (Railway Station) was reviewed. Items had been put into storage due to the impact of Covid 19 and the move to on-line teaching at the start of the pandemic. Closure of the storage has been agreed and a plan agreed to dispose of the various items.

We also received a generous grant from the Institut Français of £2,247. This was used to purchase computer equipment (laptops) and accessories.

There have been trading losses, however, our loss of booked income has not been significant since classes form our main income and the fees for the 30-week courses are paid for at the beginning of the academic year; and a loyal learner base joined a mix of in-person classes and online classes.

The charity continued to provide language classes to a wide range of student abilities, and supplemented the tuition with lectures and social events dealing with French culture and life, including the following;

Annual French language and culture courses over 30 weeks – 6 weekly courses involving just 50 learners.
Individual (1-2-1) and small group (1-2-2/3/4) courses held throughout the year
Summer classes between June and July: at the time this report is being written, we are hoping to run 2 such courses this Summer 2022.
Free Open-sessions on Zoom: successful sessions for a number of people wishing to discuss their situation and options directly with the course Director.
No conference in French this year but free access has been given to successful events organised by the UK AF network:
2 online talks
2 Meet and Speak sessions for our learners to exchange in French with other learners of UK AF network
Café Conversation – Free to members and led by native French speakers, twice weekly. This year, they did run online until September then Mondays kept online and Thursdays inperson; we’ve had 88 such sessions since our last AGM with an average of 6 people per session.
York-Dijon Twinnage. We are actively preparing the 70th anniversary of the twinning (in 2023) with other local partners (Twinning association, City of York) and partners in France. Various events are already taking place, all of them free. Take up has been pleasing to date.
In addition to our regularly updated website, and social media postings, we produce a monthly email newsletter with news of our activities and articles on French culture.

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ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE DE YORK TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

POLICY ON RESERVES

The charity’s policy is to ensure that there are sufficient funds to cover liabilities in the event of closure. The charity has no debt and no significant future liabilities following the closure of the office in November 2020. Our annual accounts include the storage of property and costs for meeting rooms for in person classes. For the year ended 31 March 2022 £45,066 is held in reserves (in 2021 - £47,316)

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The main source of income for the charity are course fees paid by individuals for the popular French language courses. The charity also raises funds from membership subscriptions (£25 per year) and payment by individuals for various activities. Course fees have remained relatively stable despite the pandemic with some courses staying online. However, receipts from social activities dropped to £418 in the year (£535 in the year to 31 March 2021)

We are very grateful to Institut Francais for the grant of £2,247 received during the year.

Total receipts in the year amounted to £38,155 (2021 - £41,209) and total payments amounted to £40,405 (2021 - £49,936) giving rise to a net excess of payments over receipts of £2,250 (2021 excess of receipts over payments £8,727).

Trustees are reviewing the income and expenditure of the charity to find ways of moving towards a break-even position over the next 2 years. Trustees had agreed to aim to reduce the deficit by at least 50% in 2021/2022 and I’m pleased to report that this was achieved. The deficit for 2021/2022 was £2,250, a 74.2% reduction compared with the previous year (£8,727).

All money raised for the charity is used to provide the activities and for administrative costs. We do not invest money but keep our reserves in a bank savings account, moving money between the current account and the savings account to maximise return on our funds, while ensuring the smooth running of the charity.

Approved on behalf of the board by:

Suzi Bewell Trustee and Chair

Date: 31 May 2022

DocuSign Envelope ID: 1C1919E8-8E68-4BD2-811E-446B5C969AEC

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE YORK

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Alliance Francaise De York (“the charity”) for the year ended 31 March 2022.

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. My independent examiner’s 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 independent examiner’s work, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees 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 charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

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

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records.

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.

Sarah Wearing FCA, DChA HPH, Chartered Accountants 54 Bootham York YO30 7XZ

31 May 2022

DocuSign Envelope ID: 1C1919E8-8E68-4BD2-811E-446B5C969AEC

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE YORK

Registered Charity Number: 1171386

Company Number: CE008958

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Receipts Course fees Membership fees Events and social activities Other receipts Grants from Institut Francais Other receipt - landlord settlement Bank interest received Payments Tutors' salaries and pensions Course materials Lecture costs Activities and events Rent and service charges Administration salary and pensions Insurance Telephone and internet costs IT equipment and website costs Stationery, postage and photocopying Office expenses Office relocation DBS check Publicity and advertising Legal and professional fees: Accountancy and payroll fees Independent examination fees Asset purchases Total payments Net of payments over receipts Cash funds brought forward Cash funds carried forward Total receipts	Unrestricted Funds Year to 31/03/2022 £ 34,180 1,270 418 - 2,247 35 5 38,155 12,587 13 - 1,250 1,057 21,145 670 80 352 26 205 540 46 20 1,130 250 39,371 1,034 40,405 (2,250) 47,316 45,066 £	Unrestricted Funds Year to 31/03/2021 £ 37,078 1,045 535 106 2,421 - 25
		41,209
		17,093 - 535 914 - 26,874 710 671 188 93 - 1,455 23 - 1,130 250
		49,936 -
		49,936
		(8,727) 56,043
		47,316 £

The notes on page 8 form part of these accounts.

DocuSign Envelope ID: 1C1919E8-8E68-4BD2-811E-446B5C969AEC

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE YORK

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2022

Note Cash funds Bank current accounts Bank savings account Assets retained for the charity's own use Computer equipment 3 Other assets Debtors and prepayments of expenses Liabilities Creditors and accruals for expenses	31 March 31 March 2022 2021 £ £ 10,061 36,851 35,005 10,464 45,066 £ 47,316 £ 827 - 827 £ - £ 1,475 932 1,475 £ 932 £ 962 952 962 £ 952 £ Unrestricted Funds	31 March 31 March 2022 2021 £ £ 10,061 36,851 35,005 10,464 45,066 £ 47,316 £ 827 - 827 £ - £ 1,475 932 1,475 £ 932 £ 962 952 962 £ 952 £ Unrestricted Funds
		47,316 £
		-
		- £
		932
		932 £
		952
		952 £

The notes on page 8 form part of these accounts.

Approved by the board on 31 May 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Suzi Bewell Trustee and Chair

DocuSign Envelope ID: 1C1919E8-8E68-4BD2-811E-446B5C969AEC

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE YORK

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

1. ACCOUNTING POLICY

a) Basis of Preparation

The accounts are prepared on the receipts and payment basis.

b) Depreciation

Depreciation is charged so as to write off the cost of assets over their estimated useful lives, as follows:

Asset class

Computer equipment

Depreciation method and rate 20% reducing balance

2. FUNDS

The charity only has unrestricted funds.

3. FIXED ASSETS

Cost or valuation At 1 April 2021 Additions At 31 March 2022 Depreciation At 1 April 2021 Charge for the year At 31 March 2022 Carrying amounts At 31 March 2022 At 31 March 2021	Computer Equipment £ - 1,034
	1,034
	- 207
	207
	827
	-