_The Deep-Sea Biology Society_ _Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022_ _Registered Charity Number 1173699_ ## _The Deep-Sea Biology Society Content of the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022_ |Page|| |---|---| |Report of the Trustees|1 to 7| |Independent Examiner's Report|8| |Receipts and Payments Accounts|9 to 10| ## _Trustees Annual Report_ _Covering the period 1 Jan 2022 - 31 December 2022_ ## _Section A Reference and administration details_ _Charity Name: Deep-Sea Biology Society Also known as: DSBS or DSB Soc Registered charity number: 1173699 Principal address: 49 Station Rd, Polegate, East Sussex, BN26 6EA, UK_ _Trustees:_ **----- Start of picture text -----**
Name Office Date Appointed* Appointing body
Michelle Taylor President October 2021 DSBS Members
Neus Campany - Treasurer October 2021 DSBS Members
Llovet
Julia Sigwart Awards October 2021 DSBS Members
Alexis Weinnig Secretary October 2021 DSBS Members
Erin Easton Membership October 2021 DSBS Members
Franck Communications March 2022 DSBS Members
Lejzerowicz
Erik Cordes Development October 2021 DSBS Members
Pierre Methou Early Career October 2021 DSBS Members
Alycia Jane Diversity October 2021 DSBS Members
Smith
Sofia Graça Non-executive October 2021 DSBS Members
Aranha Carvalho
Ramos
Katharine Student affairs October 2021 DSBS Members
Bigham
Bhavani Non-executive October 2021 DSBS Members
Narayanaswamy
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_DSBS Trustees Annual Report 2022 1_ _Sheena Talma Non-executive October 2021 DSBS Members_ _*Note: The appointment date is set to the date of charity registration. The appointments to the unregistered society occurred by membership vote prior to the official registration._ _Previous Trustees:_ _The Communications trustee appointed in 2021 left in 2022 and so, we had one new_ _Names & Address of advisors:_ _Argents Chartered Accountants, 15 Palace St, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 1RT, UK_ ## _Section B - Structure, governance, management_ _Type of governing document: Constitution_ _How the charity is constituted: CIO - Association_ _Trustee selection method: Election by members on 3-year cycle coincident with the Deep-Sea Biology Symposium_ _Additional governance issues:_ _Trustees manage society business by means of regular meetings conducted via video calling. These meetings are minuted by the Secretary. The trustees held 6 meetings in 2022 and the Annual General Meeting. In an effort to include all trustees, who are located in a variety of countries, we are continuing to implement a dual-meeting strategy, where the meeting is repeated on the same or consecutive days during different time periods to allow trustees from different time zones to participate. The trustees have a dedicated website on the Slack platform to send private messages to all trustees concerning society business._ _A major risk to the society is a reduction of income due to a drop in membership numbers. We try to mitigate this risk by providing members with incentives to maintain memberships, these include: ability to apply for grants and awards, provide discounts to_ _DSBS Trustees Annual Report 2022 2_ _The society continues its relationship with DOSI Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative for scientific investigation of deep-sea ecosystems - which has a remit to communicate deep-sea information to the community. We are continuing to assist DOSI with the production of the Deep-Sea Life Newsletter. Two issues were produced in 2022; one in January, and another in August._ ## _Section C - Objectives and Activities_ _Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document:_ _We are a scientific society that exists to enable the exchange of information on deep-sea biology to all those who are interested. Our vision is to advance knowledge and awareness of deep-sea ecosystems by promoting and disseminating deep-sea research to both scientific and public audiences, to foster the next generation of deep-sea biologists and to promote demographic diversity in the study of deep-sea biology._ _Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit):_ _The trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit._ _The society enables the exchange of information on deep-sea biology through its membership program and the organisation and sponsorship of scientific meetings. Specifically, the society directly supports the triennial international Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, and by supporting the triennial International Symposium on Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems and triennial International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals. These are the pre-eminent conferences in their respective fields, which reach out to academic, public, industry and government stakeholders._ _The society issues grants and awards. These include travel awards to support the society's mission of fostering the next generation of deep-sea biologists (e.g through student awards) and to promote demographic diversity by enabling researchers from developing countries to attend symposia. The society also provides annual prizes recognising excellence in research._ _The society provides a public forum for discussion and information related to deep-sea biology through the website (http://dsbsoc.org), twitter feed (@DSBSoc), Instagram feed (@dsbsoc) slack forum (http://dsbsoc.slack.com) and emails. These services also_ _provide information and articles on upcoming and recent events in the world of Deep-Sea Biology, as well_ _DSBS Trustees Annual Report 2022 3_ _forum provides access and assistance to students, while our mentoring program connects senior and junior researchers and students to offer career advice, help and support._ _Additional details of objectives and activities:_ _Grants and awards are distributed by the society according to our principles. A group of trustees independently score applicants based on scientific merit and other criteria specific to the award. Applicants are ranked based on the combined scores. The topranking applicant(s) are selected for the award, after approval at a meeting of the trustees._ _The society is fortunate to receive hard work and assistance from its trustees, who all contribute their time and efforts on a purely voluntary basis. The society has also received voluntary support from many members of the deep-sea community._ ## _Section D Achievements and performance_ _Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year_ _Active members on January 1 2022 were 647, we ended with 349; loss of 298 (46.06%). The absence of a symposium during 2022 can explain this loss. Membership remains a long-term source of funding for the society._ _The society continues to manage memberships through the Wild Apricot platform. We continue to remain compliant with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Our Annual General Meeting was conducted in London on 9[th] September 2022 in a hybrid format after the Challenger 150 conference._ _We have used our income from membership, grants and event sponsorship to continue our commitment to prizes and awards. In the post-COVID era we restructured the approach to awards and have consolidated different awards into two categories: participation (travel) and research awards. These each have a single annual deadline. The aim in restructuring was to make the available resources more clear and accessible to the membership and also to relieve the burden on the Council to evaluate award applications. We evaluate applications based on the fit to the criteria in the application_ _DSBS Trustees Annual Report 2022 4_ _form, and with an effort to ensure balanced support of gender and geographical diversity of the recipients. Although a call for paper prizes was published in 2022, the call received very few nominations and was extended to the following year. A full list of award recipients is available on our website._ - _Renata Micaela Pertossi (Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Argentina): International Echinoderm Conference_ - _Claudia Francesca Vaga (Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil): 8th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals_ - _Savannah Goode (Victoria University of Wellington & National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand): 8th International Symposium on DeepSea Corals_ - _Leonel Ivan Pacheco (Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales (MACN)_ - _Vanessa Stenvers (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research):_ _We continue to support students and ECRs through our dedicated student webpage, facebook group and slack channels. As well as the society's mentoring program which began in 2018 with three groups totalling 20 people. The mentoring meetings are covering topics such as work-life balance, science outreach and proposal writing. This year (2022) we continued to maintain this mentoring network with previous and new members for a total of 88 participants. The society has also initiated a webinar series to compensate for the absence of conferences in 2022, providing an opportunity for early career researchers to showcase their most recent works, with four seminars gathering two speakers each and that were organised in May, June, September and October 2022._ _The Society's website has been rather idling compared to its social media presence, which continues to expand. The website http://dsbsoc.org/ remain to be a key resource for news on funding, cruises, jobs, scientific papers and to highlight members - Generation of Deepbeen updated and therefore secured (migration to https URL), backed up, and was made available in multiple languages (using automatic translation). At the end of Dec 2022, our twitter feed @DSBSoc had over 7,729 followers (+17.1% in 2022). Our Slack channel to announce events, opportunities, and foster communication amongst researchers (https://dsbsoc.slack.com/) count 943 members (+4% on last year) and a total of 15,749_ _DSBS Trustees Annual Report 2022 5_ _messages sent (+29.8%). We continue to support the Deep-Sea Life Newsletter, which is a valuable resource to the deep-sea community. Year 2022 marks the 20th edition of this newsletter and the Society will continue to co-publish this resource twice per year._ _The society recently created a new officewhich was formally approved by the membership at the 2021 AGM. The remit of this role is to tackle diversity, equity and inclusivity issues in the Society and the wider field of Deep-Sea Biology. Following a survey disseminated to members, we composed a Religious Holidays Calendar for the year 2022, so that the society and its members were able to organise major events in times that were most accessible for those of any faith, wherever possible. General feedback points from the survey were also noted to include in future event planning. Part of the Diversity Fund was used to hold our first Diversity and Inclusion training session with Lara Lalemi from Creative Tuition Collective. We used this session to develop short-, mid- and long-term goals for the society. Additionally, we further amended our Society Code of Conduct with more specific terminology to deepen our commitment to inclusion and equity._ ## _Section E Financial review_ _The charity seeks to hold reserves in line with charity commission guidance. We aim to hold funds sufficient to cover a typical year of expenditure._ _Details of any funds materially in deficit_ _None applicable_ _Further financial review details_ _The charity's principal source of funds are membership fees, which have provided a_ _We also hold funds from GBMF to support the 7th Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems conference, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will hold these funds until the meeting is rescheduled (planned for 2023)._ _At present we have no investments._ _DSBS Trustees Annual Report 2022 6_ ## _Section F Other optional information_ _No additional information is provided._ ## _Section G Declaration_ _Signature_ _Full Name: Neus Campany i Llovet_ _Position: Treasurer_ _Date: 23rd June 2023_ _DSBS Trustees Annual Report 2022_ _7_ ## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The Deep Sea Biology Society** ## **Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Deep Sea Biology Society** I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Deep Sea Biology Society (the Trust) for the year ended 31 December 2022. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 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 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all 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 in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 3. 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. 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. ## **Mark Johnstone FCA** ICAEW Argents Chartered Accountants 15 Palace Street NORWICH Norfolk NR3 1RT Date: ............................................. **----- Start of picture text -----**
The Deep Sea Biology Society 1173699
Receipts and payments accounts CC16a
For the period 01-Jan-22 31-Dec-22
To
from
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Year ended 31
Total funds
funds funds funds December 2021
to the nearest
to the nearest to the nearest to the nearest to the nearest
A1 Receipts
Grants - - - - 21,039
Membership 8,174 - - 8,174 11,754
Product sales 12 - - 12 845
Events - - - - -
Symposium - - - - -
Donations 48 - - 48 5
- - - - -
- - - - -
8,234 - - 8,234 33,643
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
Foreign exhange gain 2,939 - - 2,939
- - - - -
2,939 - - 2,939 -
11,173 - - 11,173 33,643
A3 Payments
Awards 3,301 - - 3,301 15,890
Publications - - - - -
General Administrative costs 4,546 - - 4,546 1,738
Promotional costs 518 - - 518 1,565
Events 510 - - 510 17,065
Bank charges 49 - - 49 401
- - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
8,924 - - 8,924 36,659
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
Foreign exhange loss - - - - 1,858
- - - -
- - - - 1,858
8,924 - - 8,924 38,517
2,249 - - 2,249 - 4,874
A5 Transfers between funds - - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 80,461 10,481 - 90,942 95,816
82,710 10,481 - 93,191 90,942
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_CCXX R1 accounts (SS)_ _26/07/2023_ _1_ **----- Start of picture text -----**
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Categories Details funds funds funds
to nearest to nearest to nearest
B1 Cash funds Bank account 39,605 10,481 -
Paypal account 16,803 -
Paypal USD account 26,302 - -
82,710 10,481 -
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s)) OK OK OK
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
funds funds funds
Details to nearest to nearest to nearest
B2 Other monetary assets - - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Fund to which Current value
Details asset belongs Cost (optional) (optional)
B3 Investment assets - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Fund to which Current value
Details asset belongs Cost (optional) (optional)
B4 Assets retained for the - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Fund to which Amount due When due (optional)
Details liability relates (optional)
B5 Liabilities -
-
-
-
-
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees Signature Print Name Date of approval
**----- End of picture text -----**
_CCXX R2 accounts (SS)_ _26/07/2023_ _2_