2023-12-31-accounts

	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod
From	Period start date			To	Period end date
	Day 01	Month January	Year 2023		Day 31	Month December	Year 2023

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Association of Polish Engineers in Great Britain Other names charity is known by STP Registered charity number (if any) 1181306 Charity's principal address Building POSK 238-246 King Street London Postcode W6 0RF

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.	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
	Anna Kopyto	Chair	Stepped down on 01/04/2023	AGM
	Marian Zastawny	Chair	Appointed as Chair on 01/04/2023	AGM
	Teresa Bilinska	Vice-Chair		AGM
	Miroslawa Michniewicz	Secretary /Vice-Chair		AGM
	Piotr Swieboda	Treasurer		AGM
	Alina Antonik			AGM
	Ryszard Chmielowiec			AGM
	Marek Jasinski			AGM
	Artur Pawlowski		Resigned 01/04/2023	AGM
	Arkadiusz Piotrowski		Resigned 01/04/2023	AGM
	Krzysztof Szweda			AGM
	Kacper Wieckowski		Resigned 01/04/2023	AGM
	Tomasz Dudziak		Resigned 01/04/2023	AGM
	Kamila Wiatr			AGM
	Ewelina Wachnicka		Resigned 01/04/2023	AGM
	Sebastian Czajka		Appointed on 01/04/2023	AGM
	dr Elwira Kamińska		Appointed on 01/04/2023	AGM
	Tomasz Koperniak		Appointed on 01/04/2023	AGM
	Tomasz Rosinski		Appointed on 01/04/2023	AGM

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Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document

Constitution

• (eg. trust deed, constitution)

How the charity is constituted

Association

• (eg. trust, association, company)

Trustee selection methods

(eg. appointed by, elected by)

Elected by AGM or appointed by Board of Trustees subject to maximum number of Trustees defined in the Constitution not being exceeded.

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

• policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;

• the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;

• relationship with any related parties;

• trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Procedure ref number	Document title
STP-001	Constitution
STP-002	Management Rules
STP-004	Code of Professional Conduct
STP-005	Disciplinary Procedure
STP-006	Technical Academy Management
STP-007	Finance Management
STP-008	Internal Audits
STP-009	Membership procedure
STP-010	Office & Administration
STP-011	Management of STP Awards
STP-012	Relations with Other Organisations
STP-013	IT Management
STP-014	Privacy Policy
STP-015	Data Protection Procedure

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Section C Objectives and activities

Association of Polish Engineers in Great Britain organises lecturers, trainings, courses, workshops, seminars and conferences. Provides mentoring and coaching programs and a meeting forum for people Summary of the objects of the interested in engineering, construction and science subjects. charity set out in its governing document We confirm the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

	Association of Polish Engineers in Great Britain organises lecturers, trainings, courses, workshops, seminars and conferences. Provides mentoring and coaching programs and a meeting forum for people interested in engineering, construction and science subjects.
	We confirm the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
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 Association of Polish Engineers in Great Britain had a busy and productive year in 2023. Here's a summary of their main activities undertaken for the public benefit: Knowledge sharing and training: • Lectures and workshops:The Association organized various lectures and workshops on topics such as: o Project management in the UK o International labor markets o Building construction technology free of limitations o Architecture in the international market o Mechanical design engineering in the international market • Technical Academy:They established a Technical Academy to provide continuing education and knowledge sharing for Polish engineers on the international market. Collaboration and Networking • Partnerships:The Association signed cooperation agreements with: o Politechnika Śląska (Silesian University of Technology) o Masovian District Chamber of Building Industry Engineers o Society of Engineers in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) • Visits:They conducted visits to: o University of Life Sciences in Warsaw (SGGW) o University of Technology in Warsaw o Ajman University, UAE o Lublin University of Technology • Conferences:Participated in and supported conferences including: o World Engineering Day Celebration in Warsaw o EFPSNT AGM and 25th Anniversary Celebration in Vienna Promoting Women in STEM • Report and seminar:Published a report titled "Unleash the Potential: Report on Polish Women Working in STEM in the UK" and hosted a seminar featuring female immigrant STEM professionals to raise awareness and support for women in these fields. Professional Development and Mentorship • Webinars:Hosted webinars on personal development topics like work-life balance and routine optimization. • Mentoring and coaching:Provided opportunities for engineers to connect, share experiences, and receive support. Community outreach

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• Workshops in Polish schools: Organized workshops to engage young students and inspire them to pursue STEM fields.

• Christmas celebration: Hosted a festive holiday gathering for members and supporters of the Association.

• Overall, the Association of Polish Engineers in Great Britain had a significant positive impact on its members, the engineering community, and the promotion of the profession in 2023.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

• policy on grantmaking;

• policy programme related investment;

• contribution made by volunteers.

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Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

• Expanded Knowledge Base:Established the Technical Academy and delivered numerous lectures and workshops. This empowered Polish engineers with the skills and knowledge to succeed in the international market, opening up new career opportunities. • Fostered International Collaboration:Signed cooperation agreements with prestigious institutions in Poland and the UAE. These partnerships facilitated knowledge exchange, best practice sharing, and potential cross-border projects, enriching the engineering community on a global scale. • Elevated Professional Standards:Actively participated in international technical conferences and celebrations. This showcased the expertise of Polish engineers, raised their professional profile, and contributed to the advancement of the industry worldwide. • Advocated for Women in STEM:Published the "Unleash the Potential" report and hosted related seminars. This initiative highlighted the valuable contributions of women in STEM, promoted gender equality, and inspired future female engineers. • Cultivated Community and Professional Growth:Hosted webinars on personal development, provided mentoring opportunities, and organized a community-building Christmas celebration. These efforts fostered a sense of belonging, promoted continuous learning, and supported the overall well- being of engineers. • Inspired the Next Generation:Engaged with Polish schools through workshops, sparking interest in STEM fields among young students. This helped secure the future of engineering innovation and ensured a pipeline of passionate professionals.

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Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the

charity’s policy on reserves

The Association is to maintain a reserve fund. The reserve fund is created in order to encounter risk of unforeseen emergency or other unexpected need for funds, e.g. an unexpected large repair bill or finding ‘seed-funding’ for an urgent project. The reserve fund is to be included in the planned budget and should equate to 3 months average expenditure but not less than £2000.

Details of any funds materially There are none. in deficit

Further financial review details (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

• the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);

• how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;

• investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Marian Zastawny Miroslawa Michniewicz Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Secretary etc)[Chair ] Date 11/05/2024

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ASSOCIATION OF POLISH ENGINEERS IN GREAT BRITAIN CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1181306

INCOME STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

01/01/2023 - 31/12/2023

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7	INCOME
	Donations 2,226 £ Income from charitale activities/events 424 £ Membership fees 2,890 £ Training course fees 408 £ Other income 650 £ Interest 206 £ Funds transferred from Benev Fund charity no. 1002557 28,319 £
		35,123 £
	EXPENSES
	Admin expenses 41 £ Advertising and promotion 42 £ Bank & Paypal charges 45 £ Expenses for charitable activities/events 1,259 £ Computer - web hosting & server 280 £ Computer - Software 3,616 £ Contract services Interest receivable Project C4U - lecturers, speaches 63 £ Conference attendance cost reimbursement Donations 105 £ Insurance 304 £ Membership fees 774 £ Micellaneous petty expenses 24 £ Rent for Venues / Training Admin costs 480 £ Small Tools and equipement Telephone cost Trainers/ Teachers fees 240 £ Training materials Travel expenses - reimb Other expenses
		7,273 £
	Profit fot theyear	27,850 £
	STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022 Openig balance Profit for theyear	9,628 £ 27,850 £
	Closing balance	37,478 £
	Cash at bank	37,478 £

STOWARZYSZENIE TECHNIKÓW POLSKICH W WIELKIEJ BRYTANII ASSOCIATION OF POLISH ENGINEERS IN GREAT BRITAIN

Internal Audit Report for year: 2023-24

Document Number: STP-008-R3-Final

Document History

Rev.	Print Name	Position	Signature	Date
01	Author(s):
	Andrzej Formaniak	Internal Auditor		16.04.2024
	Joanna Gos	Internal Auditor		16.04.2024
	Anna Kopyto	Internal Auditor	Anna Kopyto	16.04.2024
	Andrzej Rumun	Internal Auditor		16.04.2024
	Authorised by:
	Andrzej Rumun	Internal Audit Chair		16.04.2024

238-246 King Street, London W6 0RF, United Kingdom web: www.stpuk.org, e-mail: [e-mail] Registered Charity No. 1181306

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Revision Changes

Revision	Status / Description of Changes
01	First draft
02	Second draft
03	Third draft - Final

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Contents

1.	Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4
2.	Audit Scope ..................................................................................................................................... 4
3.	Approach taken ............................................................................................................................... 4
4.	Audit findings and close out actions ............................................................................................... 6
5.	Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 16

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1. Introduction

The Internal Audit Committee (IAC) was elected at the annual general meeting of STP on 03 April 2022. It consists of the following members:

1. Andrzej Rumun (AR) - chair

2. Andrzej Formaniak (AF) - member

3. Joanna Gos (JG) – member

4. Anna Kopyto (AK) - member

2. Audit Scope

Table 1 below summarises the audit carried out by the IAC for STP activities in 2023-24.

#	Scope	Audit details	Lead person(s)	Planned date	Comments
A	Management System	Constitution, Byelaws, completeness of Procedures and compliance with them in, Council meetings	AR	March 2024	Executed in March 2024
B	Financial accounts	Budget preparation & execution, Expenses and Payments, Adherence to the procedure STP- 007, Annual Statement of Accounts completeness and validation	JG	March 2024	Executed in March 2024
C	STP Mission	Execution of activities carried out towards STP aims: Technical Academy, courses, seminars, conferences, czwartek4U, mentoring& coaching	AF & AK	March 2024	Executed in March 2024
D	Administration	Correspondence: incoming and outgoing register, MoM, register of assets,internet website	AF, AK & AR	March 2024	Executed in March 2024
E	Issue of Internal Audit Report	Summary of findings from the specific area audits – see A-D above	AR, AF, JG, AK	March 2024	Executed in April 2024

Table 1 List of audits

3. Approach taken

Method of assessment: limited to online review of respective documents available via https: //portal.office.com and using MS Team platform created by STP.

In all audited areas, listed in the Table 1 above as A – D, the following risks were considered:

• Association carrying out activities which are not in line with the charitable objects defined in the Constitution of the Association

• Risk of financial losses due to theft, fraud, bad decisions, human error, breaches of controls, management override of controls

• Internal mismanagement by making decisions not in line with the approved Constitution and Byelaws

• Reputational risks.

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The assessment was essentially carried out in two parts:

1. The IAC has made reference to the Internal Audit Report dated 28.03.2023 and the recommendations made therein. The recommendations were as follows (where a recommendation is renewed it has been carried over from the previous Internal Audit Report a year earlier) :

Renewed Recommendation 1: The Board must place governance at the core of its attention.

Renewed Recommendation 2: The Board is urged to consider a scenario whereby MZ (or any other member of the Board) is not available to carry out the multitude of tasks which he currently does, and to restructure in such a way so as to make provision of continuity of service in the event of absence. The responsibility for duties within the Board must be clearly defined in order to see where there is an unreasonable imbalance and reliability upon individual Trustees. This balance must then be reconsidered to avoid delays in required actions.

Renewed Recommendation 3: The remit of the Membership Committee needs to be clearly set out. If it is to be responsible for membership overall (as is recommended) it should propose a strategy for promoting membership of STP and seeking new members. It should be responsible for maintaining the membership roll, issuing (or in conjunction with the Treasurer) of proper invoices and thereafter chasing up the payment of membership fees.

Renewed Recommendation 4: A succession plan and contingency plan are urgently required.

Recommendation 5: Minutes of meetings should be issued as soon as possible after a given meeting and should contain action points.

Recommendation 6: Focus on the UK membership and market should be the main priority for the activities and promotion of STP. Overseas communication and promotion is important, but will become irrelevant if the UK presence flounders.

Renewed Recommendation 7: Make it clear on the https://www.stpuk.org how to access the recordings of all historically completed ‘czwartek 4You’ events.

Renewed Recommendation 8: Complete the update of the website and ensure consistency between Polish and English versions.

In addition to the above recommendations, the Conclusions set out in the previous report, were also reviewed in respect of what actions have been undertaken.

The IAC asked the Chair of the Board, Marian Zastawny, to provide a commentary summing up what actions had been carried out in response to the above recommendations. These are to be found in the table below, together with the IAC’s follow up comments.

2. The IAC has carried out an online review of management documents and council meeting minutes.

Qualifying Statement

This is an impartial and factual review. It does not set out to belittle the large amount of good will, time and work that Trustees have devoted to the Charity. Its aim however is to identify areas which are seen not to have been given the attention they require or have been overlooked, perhaps because attention was focussed on ongoing projects or elsewhere.

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4. Audit findings and close out actions

The colours for qualification of assessment results were used as follows:

Red – unacceptable , for example, found breach of procedure, non-compliance, mismanagement, fraud, etc.

Orange – acceptable with review , providing that recommended corrective actions are taken Green – broadly acceptable , even when some comments were made.

The member(s) of the IAC tasked with review and collation of information on a particular area presented their observations to the other members for internal discussion and agreed conclusion.

	#	**Scope **	Audit details	Audit details	Audit details	Audit details	Result
	A	Management System	Constitution, Byelaws, completeness of Procedures and compliance with them in,Council meetings
	B	Financial accounts	Budget preparation & execution, Expenses and Payments, Adherence to the procedure STP-007, Annual Statement of Accounts completeness and validation
	C	STP Mission	Execution of activities carried out towards STP aims: Technical Academy, courses, seminars, conferences, czwartek4U, mentoring& coaching
	D	Administration	Correspondence: incoming and outgoing register, MoM register of assets,internet website
				Action by	Close out date	Comments & Recommendations
	Observations
	Constitution
	STP response to recommendation 1: Improving governance has been one of the key activities of the current board. We hope this can be achieved by defining roles and teams, roles and KPI's which help us understand how well we operate. Also, each board meeting starts with strategic review and outlook for future. These are all long term processes and will unfortunately take time. The Charity Commission (CC) provides strict guidance on the responsibilities of beinga Trustee.			Board	Urgent	The response mainly relates with an overlap to procedural and management matters and these are commented on under further respective headings. There is no record of the Board providing the new Trustees who joined this year (or existing Trustees) with a copy of the CC guide on being a Trustee). A current series of free webinars is beingrun bya Trustee who also

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	The STP Constitution at clause 6(c) & (d), states:” No charity trustee or connected person may (c): be employed by, or receive any remuneration from, the CIO, (d): receive any other financial benefit from the CIO. In collaboration with the STP Benevolent Fund, STP has taken over the administration of the Fund albeit ring- fencing the funds for the original purpose. The Benevolent Fund has been wound up on the condition that only individuals who are not Trustees of STP may administer the funds. The minutes of the 2023 AGM state: “The management of S&BF funds will be carried out by individuals who are independent from the STP Council. A new clause will be added to the STP Statute regarding a (this) new function. Changes to the existing statute will be put to a vote in the upcoming year.”			invites the attendees to sign up for a paid workshop run by the Trustee’s own business. The same Trustee is using STP and Engineering Council logos for his own courses. This is a clear conflict of interest and a breach of the rules and should be ceased immediately. The courses may be run either if they are provided by STP alone and any fees go to STP or if the person presenting the course is not a trustee and is employed by STO as a paid supplier. Renewed and expanded Recommendation 1a: The Board must ensure that all Trustees are made aware of the CC requirements and that actions which breach the Constitution are not allowed, as well as maintaining governance at the core of its attention. Whilst the funds from BF have now been located in a separate bank account, there is a question over the identity of the persons appointed to administer this, including that some (contrary to what was agreed) are Trustees of STP. There is also no record of any change having been made to the Constitution in this respect Recommendation 1b: The Board should ensure that this Fund is administered independently and with transparency, and that the original purpose of the Benevolent Fund is maintained.
	Procedures/Management
	STP response to recommendation 2:The new teams (members, events, communications) form independent units and, in the long term should be internally driven. This obviously requires leaders who are able not only to deliver tasks but also engage new team members. We	Board	Urgent	Whilst the 2 documents have set out descriptions and strategies clearly, it would appear that the process of putting the words into actions has been slow in some cases and missing in others.

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	made some steps towards this direction but it will take time to implement. At the beginning of his term of office, the Chair issued a document headed ‘STP Descriptions’. This is a comprehensive list of the duties and tasks of members of the Executive and the sub-committees (or Teams) that are to undertake all that is necessary in accordance with the mission of the association. It is a very well written document. It is also worth noting that in August 2022, a document titled ‘Strategic Plan for the period Sept. 2022 to Sept. 2025 was also prepared further to a workshop in which members of the Board participated. This is also a detailed a well written document.			There are a number of Board members whose contribution is ‘unreported’ and once again, STP appears to be driven by a limited number of committed individuals. This is a risk to the operation of the charity. Renewed Recommendation 2: The Board is urged to consider a scenario whereby MZ (or any other member of the Board) is not available to carry out the multitude of tasks which they currently undertake, and to establish a plan for provision of continuity of service in the event of absence.
	STP response to recommendation 3: Responding to this recommendation is the key task for the Committee for 2024 and has been set out as its KPI. When asked about a record of what had been discussed at the membership committee meetings the IAC were advised that there were no formal minutes and that outcomes were generally discussed at Board meetings. There is no record of how many times the Membership Committee actually met.	Board	Urgent	From what has been said at Board meetings and on the basis of their minutes, it appears that the only activity by the membership committee related to dealing with applications for membership. Despite this being a core issue repeated for many years, it appears that the committee has not engaged in discussion on how to pro-actively seek new members. Item 4 of MZ’s descriptions states that the role of the Membership Committee is to “Develop and execute initiatives to improve member retention and engagement”. Renewed Recommendation 3: Whether it is the remit of the Membership Committee or the Board overall, actions need to be taken to seek out new members. This is not just about creating events – it is about reaching out to potential members in order to engage with them.
	STP response to recommendation 4:This is on the backlog of activities. Current priorities of the board is to establish the 3	Board	Urgent	This follows on, as above, from the lack of actions further to the

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	active teams who are able to independently operate and deliver their KPI's.			production of the Job Descriptions and Strategy documents. This is a serious risk to the operation of the charity Renewed Recommendation 4: A succession plan and contingency plan are urgently required
	Council Meetings
	STP response to recommendation 5: Preparation of minutes from meetings remains as a challenge and a balancing act between involving all members of the board and making sure that proper documentation is maintained. Since most urgent communications takes place on WhatsApp group, the minutes are used simply to record decisions made rather then as action plans. The Charity Commission and Constitution are clear about the need to keep (adequate) records of meetings and the distinction between decisions and action plans in the response above is rather tenuous.	Board	Urgent	A review of the minutes displays a considerable variety of quality and accuracy, ranging from very good to those which do not convey what is required (or in two cases, were missing). The system of recording the attendees has not been utilised in a number of cases. The IAC considers that the purpose of minutes is to record what was discussed and decided, and to act as a basis for actions to be taken, before the next meeting. In all cases, the minutes were made available just before the next meeting, precluding this purpose. Renewed and expanded Recommendation 5: Minutes of meetings should be issued as soon as possible after a given meeting and should contain action points. The Secretary should: ‘encourage’ all minute takers to produce their minutes as soon as possible (within 10days?); check the minutes for completeness and issue to all recipients. Meetings are run efficiently but generally with input from only a limited number of participants. All Board members should be encouraged to actively participate and the discussion should be focused on UK activity first and foremost.
	Financial Records
	The Internal Audit Commission has been broadly provided with the information	Treasurer	Urgent	The 2023 budget was planned with a deficit of over £1200, it ended up

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and documents requested in the course of this year’s audit work.

The IAC notes that the financial documentation has been accepted by the Charity Commission and appears to show the Association’s financial condition in good health, albeit with an ongoing issue of deficit.

Among the accounts in the possession of the Association are those dedicated to Technical Academy and the former Benevolent Fund.

The Treasurer has been presenting monthly reports to the Board on time and small-scale document keeping appears to be tidily made and stored.

There are however some issues with the annual budget, including minor inconsistencies, typos, and the limited clarity of the format, among others.

with a significantly smaller deficit of about £470. While it is an improvement on the plan, running year-on-year deficits, as has been the case, is not sustainable. Admittedly, there has been a oneoff expense in the IT department, addressing the issue of the Association’s over-reliance on certain members, repeatedly pointed out by the IAC in the past. The automation of a number of actions has come at a financial cost, yet to be covered in its totality by the Association’s income. Gift Aid, calculated to be worth in the region of £1000, remains to be claimed by the Treasurer. While the IAC acknowledges that this requires a significant amount of work and can be claimed up to 4 years back, it would be ideal if all the budget for any given year is taken care of within its dates. In both budgets, 2023 and 2024, the annual income from individual membership fees has exceeded the planned amounts. Institutional membership was not planned for in 2023 but this has been rectified for the 2024 budget. The whole of the IAC have expressed some concern regarding the funds from the former Sickness and Benevolent Fund. In spite of a low level of clarity in this particular matter in the annual budget document, the IAC has confirmed with the Treasurer that these funds are kept separately ( acc. ending 1343) , in an account with an interest so there is a small amount of income. The funds of the former SABF are to be managed by Support Fund Management, Doc. No. STP016 rev. 1.0. It explains the group of officials who manage it (current chair, former chairs and Treasurer) as well as how it is to be spent. Note*

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that this is at odds with the	that this is at odds with the
decision of the 2023 AGM – ref
Recommendation 1b. The
Treasurer has informed that the
Fund Management Committee
currently exceeds the minimum
number of 5 members and includes
the	following: Andrzej Formaniak,
Kris	Ruszczynski, Piotr Dudek,
Marian Zastawny, Piotr Swieboda,
and	Anna Kopyto. It is unclear who
is the Chair of this Committee or
whether there have been any
meetings in the passing year.
New Recommendation 9:
9.1	Review the budget document
	format to reflect the
	following:
	a) Reviewing the design of
	the annual budget
	document to improve its
	readability, especially
	when printed / viewed
	outside of spreadsheet
	software;
	b) Removal of the items no
	longer relevant;
	c) Adding specific /regular
	items (e.g. funding from
	the Embassy, annual fees
	or any sales of the
	Association’s property);
	d) Dividing the overall
	Association’s budget into
	sub-sections, reflecting the
	main Association’s
	activities as well as those
	of the Tech Academy and
	the former Sickness and
	Benevolent Fund;
	e) Linking dedicated funds
	(e.g. grants) to their
	dedicated expenditures;
	f) Before each AGM,
	compiling and publishing
	annual statements for
	each Association’s
	account; this is so that not
	only the Internal Audit
	Committee, but also the
	members can assess the

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				Association’s financial management in time for voting. 9.2 Exercise greater care to avoid inconsistencies, typos etc. (crosschecking /proofreading). 9.3 Claim Gift Aid annually, in order to reflect true balance of the Association’s overall budget. 9.4 Review the Support Fund Management document for consistency (e.g. the document governs Support Fund, while its 5.2 mentions a development fund). 9.5 Clarify and publish the current status of the Support Fund Committee, its actions, present members and Chair.
	STP Mission/ Administration
	STP response to recommendation 6: This has been acknowledged and actions to grow UK members base have been implemented. Spreading news about STP aims/mission was carried in several different ways. Czwartek4U sessions meetings were conducted at POSK, each marked by exceptionally high-quality presentations and met with enthusiasm sparking lively discussions. Both in-person attendance, with over 20 participants, and online participation were notably strong. Although the idea of establishing a podcast channel has been temporarily abandoned, there has been a noticeable uptake in STP's presence on social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. A substantial amount of new content is being generated regularly, including posts highlighting collaborations with other organisations, brief blog entries, Polish Your Engineering English posts, and updates to the event calendar, along with visible promotion of upcoming events. Currently, STP has 543 followers on LinkedIn, with 117 new followers gained in thepastyear,and 1150 followers on	Board	ASAP	It is unclear what actions (other than the organisation of events) to grow UK member numbers have been implemented. Please refer also to Rec. 3. Regrettably only 3 C4U meetings took place, an improvement on the previous year, but still considered a much underused channel of promoting and delivering STP’s mission. These platforms serve as a valuable space for promoting STP meetings, idea exchange, and sharing experiences in the field of engineering, construction and science. The idea of promoting STP via podcasts is worth re-considering as the new website could provide an attractive platform. The IAC recognises the significance of maintaining active social media pages and a website for promoting any organisation and commends the efforts invested in this regard.

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Facebook, representing an increase of approximately 150 followers since the previous year. The new GlueUp software serves not only as a database and for automating membership management and invoicing processes, but also as a platform where members can connect as a community.

It is noted that Technical Academy was revived, and a number of new courses was established for Polish engineers looking for employment in UK. These were mainly aimed at familiarisation with approach to project organisation as well as familiarisation with codes of practice.

Multiple webinars have been run by the same presenter on the subject of Project Management and personal improvement. Despite numerate attendance, there has been very little feedback from participants. The IAC considers that whilst the webinars are presented in an interesting manner, the content is relatively superficial (leading to paid courses – refer to Rec 1).

This ‘air time’ should be shared with presentations by other speakers giving a larger variety of subject matter. (The webinars can after all be viewed on YouTube?).

Through the continued and increased effort of TB, the Vice Chair further courses have been run in the Middle East. The idea of cooperation with the Society of Engineers in United Arab Emirates for the purpose of inviting Polish Engineers to explore the opportunities of working abroad is noted, but benefits for STPUK arising from this initiative so far are limited.

A substantial investment of resources and effort was allocated to the logo update and rebranding of Technical Academy in 2020/2021, but it appears that the work has been neglected and is not being utilised, despite its quality.

A continued number of mentors have offered their time, but the performance of this initiative has not been evaluated. Information about the availability of the mentoring programme is on the STP website, but as noted elsewhere it has only been partially uploaded from the previous website.

With regard to incoming correspondence, there is none registered for the whole period which is considered unusual.

TB should be commended on her enthusiasm and energy, but the IAC would like to see similar effort for UK based promotion of STP and opportunities (both here and worldwide) as a priority.

STP should be wary of over -egging its global capabilities.

The use of STP resources should be carefully planned and utilised on projects which are taken through to completion.

Feedback on the number of approaches to mentors and the success of the initiative should be collated for information purposes.

Renewed Recommendation 6: Focus on the UK membership and market should be the main priority for the activities and promotion of STP. Overseas communication and promotion is important, but will

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	There seems to be a lack of updates on the STP assets register.			become irrelevant if the UK presence flounders. New Recommendation 7: The STP asset register should be updated.
	STP response to recommendation 7: This is a strategic decision for the events team to make, and currently on the team backlog. This response appears not to take into account what the IAC have observed?			The new STP website now features a YouTube icon in the top right corner for convenient access to all STP videos. The Recommendation has been discharged.
	STP response to recommendation 8: Current version is 99% English, with occasional posts in Polish. In 2021, an extensive translation exercise was undertaken providing a full and up to date version of the material forming STP website. Users of the website had the choice of selecting either the English or Polish version. A new website was launched this yearbut it appears that this new website is only in English and a review of the individual sections and drop down menus highlights a number of shortcomings: ABOUT US Mission. This still refers to the STP Benevolent Fund and has a very out date photo of a number of committee members. People. Exec Committee – only 4 members have the start of their descriptions (but these do dot expand). Remaining members have no description.	Board	ASAP	Whilst the format of the new website presents itself well, the content is significantly incomplete or out of date. It is most surprising that the website was launched prematurely rather than on completion of a full update. It is fortunate that the Archive provides a link to the previous website, but most users will not know to look here. The minutes do not record a discussion as to the language of the new website and a reason for removing the Polish version is unknown, bearing in mind that STP has a presence in Poland? Renewed Recommendation 8: The new website should be completed and updated as a matter of urgency.

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	R Chmielowiec is listed as
	the STP Benevolent Fund
	Chair
Audit Committee. Whilst new
	members have been
	added, previous ex-
	members have not been
	removed.
Benevolent	Fund. This still lists 5
	previous members.
WHAT WE DO
C4U	this refers to lectures in
	2021.
Mentors	this currently shows only
	Baginski, Bilinska & Dudek.
	The details of the
	remaining 15 mentors (as
	per the previous website)
	have not been uploaded.
ENGINEER’S TOOLKIT
Professional Development, Moving to
	the UK (for engineers from
	Poland) and FAQ’s are all
	pages ‘Under
	Construction’
Blog	Under the heading of
	Latest News is a blog
	‘Adapting to New
	Challenges: A Renewed
	Vision for the Association
	of Polish Engineers in
	Great Britain’ by MZ.
NEWS & EVENTS
News	This contains links to blogs
	over the period March
	2020 to the current date.
Events	At the time of review this
	lists 2 forthcoming events.

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5. Conclusions

The IAC commends the Executive Committee for its energy and enterprise, but strongly encourages it to delegate to all other Trustees creating a strong and active Board, capable of covering all eventualities in the event of any absences.

The IAC is disappointed that a significant number of its recommendations (some of which are now renewed for a fourth time ), were not addressed at all. As advised in previous years, it has been observed that in terms of administrative function there are real shortcomings, and these are considered to be a risk to the CIO.

The IAC includes 2 out if its 4 members, who also undertook the audit in the previous 3 years, and therefore have a means of comparison of activities over this period, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IAC has issued renewed and expanded a number of recommendations which are detailed in Table 3 and urges the Board to consider and act upon these without delay, prioritising those dealing with conflict of interest, fulfilling its mission and the reliance upon individual Trustees without a contingency or succession plan.

The matter of Trustees receiving a benefit from the charity must be dealt with forthwith.

The IAC is obliged to point out to the Board and the AGM that the actions taken by those who are currently associated with the funds transferred from the original S&BF are contrary to the decision taken by the AGM in 2023, which clearly states “ The management of S&BF funds will be carried out by individuals who are independent from the STP Council”. The management document which was created this year appears not to have been published to the membership and was agreed on the basis of self-governance by the individuals listed within the document. Its contents is also considered to be subject to interpretation as to what the funds can be used for. This goes against the intent of the original S&BF. IF, these funds are to be managed in the way that has now been suggested, then this should be approved by the AGM or EGM.

A code Orange was issued on all points in 2020/21, 2021/22 and also in 2022/23. This year, the IAC has issued the same code Orange but with a red border in relation to the matters of Trustees benefits and the Benevolent Fund.

The IAC recognises that the shortcomings may not be wilful, but if it is to be seen as a credible and ethical charitable organisation, the Association must adhere to Charity Commission rules, its own Constitution and the decisions of the AGM.

In Charity law, the absence of intention is not a defence and all Trustees are recommended to read the Constitution and the Charity Commission’s guide to the responsibilities of Trustees.

The IAC is happy to work with the Board in order to further highlight the areas of particular issue and to assist in their resolution.

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