Wales Community Theatre Players Registered Charity Number: 1175705
ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
Annual Report and Unaudited Financial Statements
For the period ended 31[st] March 2022
Contents Legal and Administrative Information ................................................................................................... 2 Trustees' annual report .......................................................................................................................... 3 Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees .................................................................................. 6 Receipts and payments account ............................................................................................................ 7 Statement of assets and liabilities ......................................................................................................... 8 Notes to the accounts ............................................................................................................................ 9
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Legal and Administrative Information
Trustees;
Gareth Cook (Chairman)
(Treasurer) Alison Wade (Vice Chair) Claire Raynes (Secretary)
Jayne Lemm Lee Phillips Linda Burgess Kate Stenton
Phil Bairstow Joe Bairstow
appointed 29 January 2019 appointed 13 November 2017 appointed 13 November 2017 appointed 24 January 2018 resigned 30 July 2022 appointed 13 November 2017 appointed 13 November 2017 appointed 27 March 2018 appointed 13 August 2019 resigned 30 August 2022 appointed 17 December 2020 appointed 28 January 2021
Registered address;
20 Forge Road Wales Sheffield S26 5RS
Address for correspondence;
PO Box 5964 Sheffield S20 9FP
Independent Examiner;
Bankers;
Susan Cochrane
Employee of: VAS Community Accountancy The Circle 33 Rockingham Lane Sheffield S1 4FW
Barclays Bank plc 10-12 Pinstone Street Sheffield S1 2HN
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Trustees' annual report
The Board of Trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of WCTP for the period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.
Structure, Governance and Management
Wales Community Theatre Players (WCTP) is a Charitable Incorporated Association governed by its Constitution and was registered with the Charity Commission on 13 November 2017; number 1175705.
Structure; The Board of Trustees (members) act on behalf of the performing associate members, promoting theatre through productions in the community. In addition to the performing associates the group welcomes non-performing associates and volunteers. They have a range of roles in the group including; fundraising, front of house, chaperones and ticket sales.
Governance; the Board of Trustees holds regular formal meetings throughout the year, as well as ad hoc meetings as and when required. During the period covered by the report the Trustees met on 6 occasions representing approximately 162 volunteer hours.
The Board of Trustees are governed by WCTP’s Constitution adopted on the 7[th] August 2017 prior to receiving the confirmation of WCTP’s charity status.
Related Organisations; WCTP is a member of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA), a national body that represents amateur theatre. NODA was founded in 1899, “to protect and advance the interests of operatic and dramatic art, and of societies engaged therein”. In the period ended March 2022 WCTP paid £185 to NODA which will form part of the year end accounts, no membership fees were paid in the year ended March 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. (Further information about NODA can be obtained via their website www.noda.org.uk.)
Method of Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees; WCTP’s founding trustees were nominated for a fixed term defined in the constitution. Apart from the first charity trustees, every subsequent trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees as per the constitution.
New trustees are identified either by the Board of Trustees being approached directly with an application or by qualified individuals being approached by WCTP. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the Board of Trustees will have considered the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of WCTP.
During the period the Board of Trustees welcomed no new trustees.
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Charitable Objectives, Aims and Activities
The charitable objects; are to advance the public education in, and appreciation of the art of theatrical productions, encourage community participation in public theatre and assist and further such charitable institutions and charitable purposes as the Board of Trustees shall determine.
Our aims; are to promote and develop a love and understanding of everything associated with the theatre. Through building on our long history (over 70 years) we will continue to ensure the tradition of pantomime and variety performances are maintained in South Yorkshire. WCTP’s vision being; Inspiring all to develop a passion for community theatre.
WCTP aspires to achieve the highest standards of musical theatre performance, presenting a pantomime and second musical theatre performance annually, developing the skills of members enabling their participation in all aspects of productions.
Activities and public benefit; under normal circumstances WCTP would carry out a range of activities to ensure it promotes and develops a love and understanding of musical theatre. The Board of Trustees consider that these activities, provide benefit both to those who join WCTP to perform or support our performers in one of the many backstage roles, As well as the wider community of Sheffield who would normally attend our performances either at The Montgomery theatre in Sheffield or at one of the local community venues we choose to host our performances.
Clearly the 12 months of activity this report covers have been extraordinary due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, as well the ongoing lockdown measures implemented by HM Government. Throughout this period it has been impossible for WCTP to achieve all of its objectives, lockdown measures prevented the society from meeting for the majority of the period, be it for rehearsals or fund raising activities and for the earlier part of the period prohibited the gathering of large crowds in attendance of musical theatre or pantomime.
Despite these challenges and following the relaxation of the lockdown and social distancing measures in mid to late 2021 the Trustees took the decision to proceed with the pantomime Jack in the Beanstalk, with rehearsals starting in October 2021 and performances scheduled at The Montgomery theatre in Sheffield in January 2022.
Public benefit statement; the trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities.
Plans for the future; with the hopeful end to the COVID-19 lockdown measures and the continued success of the vaccination programme limiting the spread and threat of future COVID-19 variants, the Trustees hope to return to normal activities in the coming financial year.
Specifically WCTP coordinated its first ever musical theatre production “Honk” at a local high school; Wales High School in July 2022 and was successfully in both entertaining audiences and bringing the local community together in the enjoyment of local amateur theatre.
Beyond this the Board of Trustees has announced plans to perform the pantomime Aladdin at The Montgomery Theatre in Sheffield in January 2023and will continue to work closely with its associate members both to develop their musical theatre abilities.
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Financial Review;
Reserves policy; the Board of Trustees has the aspiration to accumulate and maintain reserves of £30,000 so as to provide cover for shortfall in revenue against production budgets. As at 31 March 2022 WCTP held a reserve of £11,396 raised from membership payments, fund raising and grants received during the year plus the brought forward reserves.
Financial Performance; WCTP achieved a total surplus for the year of £6,952, (2021 deficit of £411).
Economic challenges; in common with many other societies WCTP continues to face economic challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst activities are now returning to normal, for the majority of the period this report covers WCTP’s performance and fund raising activities were limited.
In addition to this, more conventional pressures such as the risk of suppliers going bankrupt, increasing costs of putting on productions, performing rights’ costs, maximising ticket sales in a competitive market, whilst at the same time not compromising on the quality of the productions have all been heightened.
To overcome these challenges the Board of Trustees works extremely hard to keep production costs under control, being prudent with the performance selection, promoting ticket sales via effective marketing, various community fundraising events and securing grant funding from various trusts and foundations that promote the arts and charitable activities.
Impact of COVID-19; the global COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent UK lockdown measures has had a significant impact across The Arts, the repercussions of which are still being felt. With large gatherings such as rehearsals or attending live performances prohibited for a significant part of 2021, it was impossible for all musical theatre societies, including WCTP to carry on as normal. The continued easing of lockdown measures in 2021 did provide limited relief, however the required social distancing measures in early / mid 2021 limited seating capacity to the extent that it was economically unviable to coordinate a live performance during Summer 2021. As a direct consequence of this the only performance WCTP coordinated from April 2021 to March 2022 was the annual pantomime; Jack in the Beanstalk pantomime at The Montgomery theatre in January 2022.
As part of the preparation of these accounts the Board of Trustees has considered various operating scenarios for WCTP for the coming 12 months from November 2022 to October 2023. Based on all these scenarios WCTP has sufficient funds to meet expenditure that can reasonably be foreseen at the time of preparing this report.
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above on 6[th] December 2022 and are signed on their behalf by:
Gareth Cook, Chairman of Trustees and Treasurer.
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Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Wales Community Theatre Players (“the Charity”)
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Charity for the period ended 31 March 2022 which are set out on pages 7 to 11.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Charity 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 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 which gives 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.
Signed: ____
Susan Cochrane FCA
Employee of:
VAS Community Accountancy
The Circle
33, Rockingham Lane
Sheffield
S1 4FW
Date: 19 December 2022
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V A S C o m m u n i t y A c c o u n t a n c y
Wales Community Theatre Players
Receipts and payments account
For the period ended 31 March 2022
| Notes Receipts Grant income 2 Ticket sales Other income Gift aid Fundraising Donations Associate membership fees Total receipts Payments Venue hire Lighting Director & choreographer Musical Director & Band Props, scenery & equipment Costumes Marketing Equipment hire Licence fees Other production costs Administrative expenses Conference refunds Insurance Bank charges Travel Total Payments Net receipts for the year and net movement in funds Transfer between funds Net movement on funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted Funds £ Restricted Funds £ Total 2022 £ Total 2021 £ 1,285 7,443 8,728 2,411 17,257 - 17,257 - 2,998 - 2,998 - 1,285 - 1,285 259 2,179 - 2,179 - 4,475 - 4,475 592 1,120 - 1,120 660 |
|---|---|
| 30,599 7,443 38,042 3,922 |
|
| 625 2,000 2,625 - 2,863 - 2,863 - 1,700 - 1,700 - 1,286 3,114 4,400 75 8,213 - 8,213 - 897 - 897 - 1,101 - 1,101 - 2,777 - 2,777 - 500 - 500 - 1,406 2,000 3,406 - 556 505 1,061 1,900 - - - 1,605 465 731 1,196 731 76 - 76 22 275 - 275 - |
|
| 22,740 8,350 31,090 4,333 |
|
| 7,859 (907) 6,952 (411) 55 (55) - - |
|
| 7,914 (962) 6,952 (411) |
|
| 3,482 962 4,444 4,855 |
|
| 11,396 - 11,396 4,444 |
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V A S C o m m u n i t y A c c o u n t a n c y
Wales Community Theatre Players
Statement of assets and liabilities
For the period ended 31 March 2022
| Cash assets Balance at bank: Current account PayPal cash balance Cash in hand Total receipts Assets Assets retained for the charity’s own use Debtors Total assets Liabilities Accountancy & independent examination fee Trade creditors Total liabilities |
2022 £ 2021 £ 11,390 4,444 6 - - - |
|---|---|
| 11,396 4,444 |
|
| 2022 £ 2021 £ 900 1,300 - - |
|
| 900 1,300 |
|
| 2022 £ 2021 £ 504 270 - - |
|
| 504 270 |
These Financial Statements are approved by the trustees on 6[th] December 2022 and signed on their behalf by:
Gareth Cook, Chairman of Trustees and Treasurer
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V A S C o m m u n i t y A c c o u n t a n c y
Wales Community Theatre Players
Notes to the accounts
For the period ended 31 March 2022
1 Receipts and payment account
Receipts and payments accounts are statements that summarise the movement of cash into and out of the organisation during the financial year. In this context "cash" includes cash equivalents, for example, bank accounts where cash can be readily withdrawn to pay for debts as they become due.
2 Grants and donations
| Grants and donations | |
|---|---|
| Rotherham Borough Council Ward Pot Greencore Co-op community grant Wales Parish Council Grant Harry Bottom Charitable Trust HSBC The Freshgate Trust Foundation Lloyds Santander Foundation Total |
Unrestricted Funds £ Restricted Funds £ Total 2022 £ Total 2021 £ - 1,236 1,236 504 - 500 500 - - 2,207 2,207 907 - 500 500 - - 1,000 1,000 - - - - 1,000 - 2,000 2,000 - 1,000 - 1,000 - 285 - 285 - |
| 1,285 7,443 8,728 2,411 |
During the period ended 31 March 2021 £1,000 of grants received were unrestricted and £1,411 restricted.
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V A S C o m m u n i t y A c c o u n t a n c y
Wales Community Theatre Players
Notes to the accounts continued For the period ended 31 March 2022
3 Restricted funds
| Rotherham Borough Council Ward Pot Members Community Leadership Fund Greencore Co-op community grant Wales Parish Council grant Harry Bottom Charitable Trust The Freshgate Trust Foundation Total |
Opening Balance 1-Apr- 21 Receipts Payments Transfers Closing balance 31-Mar- 22 £ £ £ £ £ - 1,236 (1,236) - - 55 - - (55) - - 500 (500) - - 907 2,207 (3,114) - - - 500 (500) - - - 1,000 (1,000) - - - 2,000 (2,000) - - |
|---|---|
| 962 7,443 (8,350) (55) - |
Rotherham Borough Council Ward Pot; funding received to support the annual operating costs.
Members Community Leadership Fund; the funds received were used to support the production costs of WCTP’s One Brick at a Time performance celebrating 150 years Wales – Kiveton Methodist Church.
Greencore; funding received to support the ticket costs for vulnerable children and families.
Co-op community grant; funding to support the development of members through engaging with professional musical directors, choreographers & directors; drawing upon their expertise to coach and further develop members musical theatre abilities. Also, supporting local community groups & charities offering free tickets to vulnerable & isolated individuals
Wales Parish Council Grant; funding received to support the annual Christmas pantomime Harry Bottom Charitable Trust; funding received to support the ticket costs for vulnerable children and families.
The Freshgate Trust Foundation; funding received to contribute towards the costs of hiring a professional sound technician.
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V A S C o m m u n i t y A c c o u n t a n c y
Wales Community Theatre Players
Notes to the accounts continued For the period ended 31 March 2022
3 Restricted funds continued
Prior year
| rior year | |
|---|---|
| Rotherham Borough Council Ward Pot Members Community Leadership Fund Co-op community grant Total |
Opening Balance 1-Apr- 20 Receipts Payments Transfers Closing balance 31-Mar- 21 £ £ £ £ £ - 504 (504) - - 55 - - - 55 - 907 - - 907 |
| 55 1,411 (504) - 962 |
Rotherham Borough Council Ward Pot ; funding received to support the annual operating costs.
Members Community Leadership Fund; the funds received were used to support the production costs of WCTP’s One Brick at a Time performance celebrating 150 years Wales – Kiveton Methodist Church.
Co-op community grant; funding to support the development of members through engaging with professional musical directors, choreographers & directors; drawing upon their expertise to coach and further develop members musical theatre abilities. Also, supporting local community groups & charities offering free tickets to vulnerable & isolated individuals.
4 Related party transactions
During the period five trustees incurred travel expenses of £275 (2021: two trustees administration expenses £375). They did not receive repayment of these amounts but donated them to the charity. The income and expenditure for these gifts in kind have been included in the receipts and payments accounts in order that these gifts are recorded. No other expenses or remuneration were paid to trustees.
All trustees paid membership fees and performance fees to the charity at the same rate as all other associate members and these are therefore not disclosed.
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V A S C o m m u n i t y A c c o u n t a n c y