British Suzuki Music Association
Report and Accounts for the year ended 31[st] August 2022
Charity number: 1186062
Legal and administrative information
Principal address : Unit C, Q West, 1110 Great West Road, Brentford, TW8 0GP
Trustees
Michelle Bernard Hannah Biss (Chair) Helen Brunner Paola de Carolis Jane Panter Jamey Whitnall CA(SA) CIMA CISA
Office staff
Nickie Chapman
1
British Suzuki Music Association Trustees’ report for the year ended 31[st] August 2022
Principal aims and activities
The principal objects of the British Suzuki Music Association (“BSMA”) are ‘to advance education in the art and science of music by the promotion of the methods of education developed by Dr Shinichi Suzuki with particular reference to the musical education of children in the United Kingdom’. We continue to operate in accordance with those charitable objects.
The Suzuki teaching method developed in Japan by Shinichi Suzuki is founded on the belief that every child can learn and emphasises the advantages of providing an environment in which every child’s ability can flourish. An early start for the child at three or four years old, with a qualified Suzuki teacher and the involvement of parents in daily practice, step by step learning, repetition, group lessons and listening all contribute to the success of Suzuki teaching.
The main focus of the BSMA is on teacher training. We currently hold part-time courses in violin, viola, piano, cello, flute and recorder which lead to the Certificate and Diploma of the European Suzuki Association. Additional courses are held for trained teachers. There are also short courses, demonstration days and meetings for parents.
As the national association, the BSMA is the umbrella organisation for trained teachers and their students throughout the UK. The BSMA promotes the Suzuki approach by providing information to the public and the media. Members receive the BSMA journal Ability three times a year. Repertoire and publications are available from the BSMA bookshop at a discount for members. Events are held around the country, including concerts, workshops and conferences. Funds and donations provide scholarships and bursaries for teacher training. The BSMA also maintains links with other Suzuki organisations throughout the world, including the European Suzuki Association and International Suzuki Association.
Organisation
The BSMA is Charitable Incorporated Organization and registered as a charity in October 2020.
The Executive Committee (which includes the Trustees of the charity) consists mainly of Suzuki teachers and parents. It is responsible for governance and policy making. The School Committee, a standing committee of qualified teachers and teacher trainers from various parts of the country, has an important advisory role. The Chair of the School Committee is also an elected member of the Executive Committee. The School Committee advises the Executive Committee on policies relating to teacher training and implements the BSMA policy in the regular organisation of teacher training courses. The directors of the principal teacher training courses are ex officio members of the School Committee. Sub- committees are also set up from time to time to report to the School Committee or the Executive Committee.
The day-to-day management of the BSMA is undertaken by full time staff at the BSMA office. Volunteers, many of them members of the committees, also play an important role in individual projects.
Membership of the BSMA is largely made up of Suzuki teachers and pupils’ families but is also open to anyone with a general interest in music and education.
2
Progress during the year
I can confidently say we’ve had the most ‘normal’ year for quite some time. Individual and group lessons, training courses, graduation events and the national workshop all running in person. It is easy to quickly forget the cancellations and online years of Covid. However, now, when we get disruption because of the Queens death, Kings Charles’ Coronation or even the train strikes, we change plans or go back to Zoom without even blinking.
The trustees have worked tirelessly both with the everyday work such as the accounts and budgeting and also responding to more urgent situations. I thank them all for the time and expertise they donate to BSMA.
This year, we have worked on stabilising administration and accounts, Implemented Safeguarding compliance, Discussed RAH and National Suzuki Workshop events and their Budgets, ESA proposals, Teacher Training Fees and Bursaries. This is as well as working closely with the BSMA committees which are now established and working directly to make the British Suzuki world more collaborative and feeling more a community. There is much crossover between committees and trustees’ meetings, and it is important to have a trustee working with each committee.
This AGM takes place in the run up to the Royal Albert Hall Concert and the National Suzuki Workshop, this year being held at the Royal College of Music. These events are oversubscribed, both with students from the UK and from across the world. The Concert not only provides an amazing Suzuki experience for teachers and families alike but is also providing our charity with the income it needs to survive. Our Mission statement is to train Suzuki teachers in Britain but without these events the strategy is not complete.
We welcome Sue Finn as a new trustee, importantly she represents two minority groups within the BSMA; the North East of England and also the Piano teachers. Wendi Lewitt steps down, as she is spending more and more time in the USA, and we thank her for many years of dedication to first the BSI and now the BSMA.
Public benefit
To enable wider public access to the benefits of a music education, the BSMA continues to take its Suzuki teaching into Local Authority schools on the basis of a heavily subsidised membership arrangement. It also makes a number of bursary awards annually to deserving trainee teachers. In addition, all BSMA concerts are open to the public with seats priced below normal commercial levels.
Financial results for the year
The BSMA has generated a loss of £17,246 for the year (2021: nil) driven largely by the return to in person events and concerts and the associated costs of hosting these.
Investment policy
The policy is to invest monies which are surplus to immediate requirements in suitable investment funds.
Restricted scholarship fund
The BSMA offers bursaries and scholarships to assist trainees in meeting the costs of teacher training and, in certain instances, to assist with travel costs. The scholarship fund is a restricted fund, which represents an accumulation of donations received by the BSMA specifically for the purposes of funding teacher training bursaries and scholarships. Bursaries and scholarships are generally awarded annually and the Trustees consider that the level of funding is sufficient for current purposes
3
Reserves policy
The general fund is considered to be a prudent reserve to give confidence in the future of the BSMA for teacher training and to encourage more pupils to study by the Suzuki method.
Accounting and reporting responsibilities
The Charities Act 2011 requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the BSMA’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year.
In preparing the financial statements the Trustees should follow best practice and: select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently; make judgements and estimates which are reasonable and prudent; follow applicable accounting standards and the Charities SORP, disclosing and explaining any departures in the financial statements; and prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the charity will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which are such as to disclose, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the charity at any time, and to enable them as trustees to ensure that the financial statements comply with charity law. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the charity’s assets, and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention of and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by the Executive Committee of the BSMA on 28 June 2023 and signed on its behalf by
Hannah Biss
Chair of the Trustees 28 June 2023
4
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH SUZUKI MUSIC ASSOCIATION
I report on the accounts for the year ended 31 August 2022 set out on pages 6 to 9.
Responsibilities and basis of report
The charity's trustees 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 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:
-
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; or
-
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.
Andrew Thurburn Andrew Thurburn & Co Chartered Accountants 38 Tamworth Road Croydon Surrey, CR0 1XU
28 June 2023
5
THE BRITISH SUZUKI MUSIC ASSOCIATION STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022
| Notes INCOMING RESOURCES Incoming Resources from funds generated Voluntary Income Donations 1 Membership Subscriptions Incoming resources from charitable activities Teacher Trainging Fees Events Music and Literature Sales Total Incoming Resources RESOURCES EXPENDED Notes Costs of generating voluntary income Salaries and National Insurance 1,3 Office and Communications 4 Depreciation 7 Costs of activities for generating funds Journal Charitable Activities Teacher Training Costs Events Music and Literature Bursaries 1 Publicity Governance Costs ESA and ISA membership costs Committee and AGM costs Total Resources Expended Net (outgoing)/incoming resources Total Funds brought forward at 1 April 2021 Total Funds carried forward at 31 March 2022 6 |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Total 2022 2022 2022 2021 15,178 15,178 - 46,815 46,815 - - 24,327 24,327 - 5,738 5,738 - 8,757 8,757 - |
|---|---|
| 100,815 - 100,815 - |
|
| Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Total 2022 2022 2022 2021 22,920 22,920 - 36,384 36,384 - - - - 2,368 2,368 - 24,566 24,566 - 29,269 29,269 - 1,284 1,284 - 1,270 1,270 - - - - - - - - - - |
|
| 118,061 - 118,061 - |
|
| 17,246 - - 17,246 - - - - - - - |
|
| 17,246 - - 17,246 - - |
There were no recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.
The notes on pages 8 and 9 form part of these accounts
6
THE BRITISH SUZUKI MUSIC ASSOCIATION BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 AUGUST 2022
Balance Sheet as at 31 August 2022
| Balance Sheet as at 31 August 2022 Notes FIXED ASSETS Tangible Fixed Assets 7 CURRENT ASSETS Stock 1,10 Debtors 8 Short term deposits and cash at bank 5 Total current assets Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 9 Net Current Assets Net Assets less liabilities FUNDS Unrestricted general funds 6 Restricted scholarship funds 6 Total Funds |
Total Total 2022 2021 - - 985 - 137,736 - 12,909 - |
| 151,630 - 15,407 - - |
|
| 136,223 - |
|
| 136,223 - |
|
| 127,831 - 8,392 - |
|
| 136,223 - |
Approved by the Trustees on 28 June 2023
Jamey Whitnall Trustee
The notes on page 8 and 9 form part of these accounts
7
THE BRITISH SUZUKI MUSIC ASSOCIATION NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022
1. Accounting Policies
The following accounting policies have been used consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the financial statements.
a) Basis of preparation of accounts The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and comply with the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of recommended practice” published in March 2005 and applicable accounting standards. Where appropriate comparative figures have been restated. b) Fund accounting Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the charitable objectives of the BSMA. Restricted scholarship funds are funds subject to specific restrictions imposed by donors.
c) Incoming resources All income is accounted for as soon as the BSMA has entitlement to the income and there is certainty of receipt and the amount is quantifiable. d) Members subscriptions and events & conferences Subscriptions and events are accounted for in the year to which they apply. Subscription income received during the year that relates to a subsequent financial accounting period is carried forward as a creditor in the balance sheet and shown as deferred income. e) Resources expended
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been listed under headings that aggregate all the costs related to that activity. Resources expended on staff and office and communications costs are not allocated between cost categories, as any apportionment would be arbitrary given the small size of the office. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with the management of BSMA’s assets, organisational administration and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements. f) Fixed assets Assets intended to be of ongoing use to BSMA in carrying out its activities are capitalised as fixed assets. Depreciation is charged on tangible fixed assets at the following rates, so as to write them off over their expected useful lives. • Office equipment 10% of cost per annum • Computer equipment and software 20% of cost per annum • Website design 25% of cost per annum g) Gift Aid In December 2002 HMRC confirmed that all categories of membership would be eligible for tax relief under the Gift Aid Scheme. Incoming resources from tax reclaims are included in the SoFA at the same time as the gift to which they relate. h) Stock Stocks of music and literature are held at the lower of cost or net realisable value. i) Investments Investments are valued at market value at the accounts date.
| 2. Payments to Trustees and families for their services as teachers and examiners were: | Total | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||
| Hannah Biss | - | - | ||
| Amanda Martin | - | - | ||
| Helen Brunner | - | - | ||
| Jane Panter | - | - | ||
| The rate of remuneration is the same for non-Trustee teachers and examiners. | ||||
| None of the Trustees receive remuneration for their services as trustees. |
| 3. Salaries and national insurance Wages and Salaries National Insurance Pension Costs The average number of employees during the year was 1 (2021: 1) No employee earned more than £60,000 during the year. (2021: 0) 4. Office and communications expenditure Legal and Professional fees Rent, rates, light and heating Stationery, equipment and copying Post and telephone Insurance Staff travel and welfare Subscriptions and seminars Bank Charges Other Donations |
Total Total 2022 2021 20,354 - 1,930 - 636 - |
|---|---|
| 22,920 - |
|
| Total Total 2022 2021 2,429 - 28,646 - 650 - 1,144 - 2,634 - 96 - - - 784 - - |
|
| 36,384 - |
8
| 5. Cash and Investments Investments as at 1 April Net addtions / (withdrawals) Investments as at 31 March Cash and bank as at 31 March Short term deposits and cash at bank The investments of the BSMA are held in COIF Charity Funds, which are investment CCLA Investment Management. 6. Reserves Restricted scholarship fund and scholarships Scholarship fund at 1 April Interest Donations Bursaries Scholarship fund at 31 March General Fund Balance as at 1 April Surplus / (Deficit) Balance as at 31 March Total Funds as at 31 March 7. Fixed Assets Cost Opening Balance at 1 April Additions Closing Balance at 31 March Depreciation Opening Balance at 1 April Closing Balance at 31 March Net Book Value Opening Balance at 1 April Closing Balance at 31 March 8. Debtors Trade Debtors Prepayments Gift Aid 9. Creditors Trade Creditors Accruals and deferred income |
funds managed by Fixtures & Fittings Office Equipment Computer Equipment - - - - - - |
Total Total 2022 2021 - - 2,012 - |
|---|---|---|
| 2,012 - 10,897 - |
||
| 12,909 - |
||
| Total Total 2022 2021 - - - - 8,392 - - - |
||
| 8,392 - 145,077 - 17,246 - - |
||
| 127,831 - |
||
| 136,223 - |
||
| Total 2022 Total 2021 - - - - |
||
| - - - |
- - |
|
| - - - - - - |
- - - |
|
| - - - |
- - |
|
| - - - |
- - |
|
| - - - |
- - |
|
| Total Total 2022 2021 137,736 - - - - |
||
| 137,736 - |
||
| Total Total 2022 2021 15,407 - - - |
||
| 15,407 - |
10. Stock
Stock comprises goods for resale
9