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2023-08-31-accounts

Charity registration number 1187279 (CIO)

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees Taofik Akande
Zillur Rahman
Imam Shakeel Begg
Yacine Delilache
Ali Bajwa
Sameel Meer
Aminuddin Meer
Secretary Zillur Rahman
Charity number 1187279 (CIO)
Auditor AGP Consulting
Q West
Great West Road
Brentford
TW8 0GP

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

CONTENTS

Page
Trustees' report 1 - 5
Statement of Trustees' responsibilities 6
Independent auditor's report 7 - 9
Statement of financial activities 10
Balance sheet 11
Statement of cash flows 12
Notes to the financial statements 13 - 24

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2023.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the Charity's [governing document], the Charities Act 2011 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).

Objectives and activities

The charity's objects are the furtherance of the religion of Islam and the furtherance of Islamic Education.

The Charity operates a mosque as a place of worship, to provide Islamic education to children and adults.

To provide spiritual, social, educational and moral support for Muslims and people of other faiths, of all ages, race and gender.

The advancement and a better understanding of the religion of Islam, specifically in the London Borough of Lewisham, its surrounding areas and nationally.

To foster better community relations and work for the betterment of society as a whole, including the provision of social welfare where possible.

The relief of poverty, and work towards the eradication of all forms of discrimination.

Promote such other charitable purposes as may from time to time be determined

In pursuance of these objects, the Charity hosts a range of services and activities for the benefit of the public.

The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Charity should undertake. The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit Charities and Public Benefit.

We continued to offer a wide range of services for Muslims and non-Muslims, often in partnership with others. The Charity places strong emphasis on building relationships with others so we can work together for the common good.

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Achievements and performance

The services and activities of LIC continue to run under the following departments:

Da’wah (Islamic Propagation) Office

This office is overall lead by the Centre Imam, who is supported by two other deputy Imams, who manage spiritual and moral development of the community through leading:

Education & Youth Development

LIC has a number of educational projects serving all sections of the community. The projects are run by professionals with the support of dedicated volunteers helping meet the needs of the community

Lewisham Islamic Institute (LII) - is an evening and weekend supplementary school for children aged 5- 16 years old providing tuition in Quran and Islamic studies, serving approximately 400 students.

Adult Education & Halaqa - The Adult education focuses on Arabic classes for in the evenings and weekends provision are in place for approximately 100 students.

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Community engagement

We are working on two fronts; providing events and activities that will engage and enthuse our community members and also working with partners and other bodies for the betterment of our centre. Community events and engagements:

LIC runs a Youth Club and supports a Scouts group and LIC Seniors Football Club for the over 40's, there is a Mother & Toddler Group providing for 8-10 toddlers with a contribution required of only £1 a week

Mother and toddler group runs every Thursday 11am to 1pm, in the community club. They read Quran and Stories to children and spend time talking and doing other activities.

On average 8 – 10 sisters attend regularly and make a contribution of £1 a week, Deen and Dinner, this is a ladies event offeres a monthly social event for ladies to have fun and share food with crèche facilities for their children. This event has gained popularity and attracts between 30 – 50 every month.

In addition to the above activities, the centre also runs a free elderly women's group every Wednesday and winter soup kitchen to provide hot meals for the homeless within the borough.

All these programmes have helped to build and promote strong cohesion in the community.LIC has become an organisation of high repute within it's surroundings and within wider community groups,.including other Mosques and centres because of its ability to utilise infrastructure and experience to deliver tailored programmes that foster unity

Economic Growth & Development

LIC has provided space for local business to enable them to provide vital services for the community, specifically

An – Nur Gym – providing martial arts and self-defence classes for the public benefit (Muslims and non-Muslims alike), the services caters for male and female as well as holding special sessions for children

WOW bookshop – information hub and one stop shop for Islamic clothing, books and miscellaneous items.

Estate management – rental income from flats has been a vital source of income, at the same time we provided crucial service to the community by housing local authority refugee families.

The Charity has flats adjacent to the main mosque, these have been acquired for investment and will ultimately be part of the mosque's expansion programme. Currently it yields and income of circa £83k (2022-£85k) which gives a yield of 3% on an investment value of £1.6m. Which is acceptable for the charity.

Financial review

At the balance sheet date, the charity had net assets of £3,856,979 (2022-£3,686,977).

The trustees consider the financial performance of the charity during the year to be satisfactory.

It is the policy of the Charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure. The Trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the Charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year.

The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the Charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Risk

The trustees acknowledge their responsibility to manage the risks faced by the charity. They have identified and given due consideration to the risks to which the charity may be exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to those risks.

The Charity identifies and monitors risks in the areas of compliance, reputation, financial management, governance and operations, and puts in place measures to mitigate these risks, especially those deemed as major. These measures, backed by regular review, ensure strong protection of the charity.

Amongst the key measures the Charity has in place are:

Security is kept continuously under review. The Charity maintains close contacts with the local police force and other agencies, such as the Tension Monitoring Group.

Plans for future periods

We aim to consolidate and improve our end user services by utilizing our resources more efficiently.

The trustees are currently exploring the possibility of building a purpose-built Centre servicing all the Muslim community’s needs. Designs for the new building have been prepared for consultation with the community.

A new purpose built £10 million project was approved by the Trustees 11th June 2019 which will encompass a multipurpose Community and Religious Facility as well as a Residential Complex comprising a number of apartments.

The project is currently progressing through a formal planning proposal with the local council planning department who have expressed their support for the scheme. The design incorporates Islamic Architecture while opting for more modern building features in place of overt religious symbols such as domes or minarets.

The development seeks to replace an existing outdated facility which has served the community since the early 1980s.

The new centre will include prayer halls, a library, training centre, classrooms, lecture and multifunction halls, a cafe, crèche/nursery, and sports facilities.

Another key part of the development is an apartment block comprising of 1,2 and 3 bed apartments which will serve as a key driver to both fund the project and going forward as source of income for the LIC.

The development is now estimated to cost £10.5M and subject to the availability of funding and will take 2-3 years to complete.

Structure, governance and management

The Charity was formaly registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation ("CIO") on 9 January 2020. The reporting period is for 12 months since the initial nil report. However this is the third period of activity of the Lewisham Islamic Centre Charity CIO and results presented are from the 1 September 2022 to 31st August 2023. The former unincorporated Charity was formaly closed on the 28th February 2021 and an application to remove from the registrar of the Charities Commission has been made. All assets and liabilities from the Old Charity have been transferred to the new CIO registered Charity.

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

The Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were: Taofik Akande

Zillur Rahman Imam Shakeel Begg Yacine Delilache Ali Bajwa Sameel Meer Aminuddin Meer

The appointment of Trustees is set out in the constitution of the Charity. Trustees must be a practicing Muslims following the Sunni school of thought, must be a resident within the London Borough of Lewisham, or if the charity trustees wish to appoint someone who lives outside this Borough as a charity trustee, then this person must be able to establish an association with the LIC and must be unanimously appointed by all of the Charity's trustees.

Trustee's set policy, processes and make financial decisions. The day-to-day management of the charity was delegated to the Chief Imam, who is also a Trustee, he is assisted in admin duties by an accountant, who is also a Trustee and admin manager who overseas staff and their duties and other administrative matters.

There is an induction program for new trustees, which includes reviewing key documents that are considered essential, and expectations for appropriate training are set out. The Board of Trustees typically meets every month to discuss the progress of the Charity and to consider any changes that maybe necessary, arising out of review of results and other factors.

The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

Taofik Akande Trustee - Chairman 26 June 2024

Zillur Rahman Trustee - Secretary

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the Charity for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Lewisham Islamic Centre (LIC) (the ‘Charity’) for the year ended 31 August 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE TRUSTEES OF LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees' responsibilities, the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

We gained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the Charity and the industry in which it operates, drawing on our sector experience and considered the risk of acts by the Charity that could be contrary to these laws and regulations, including fraud. We focused on laws and regulations that could give rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements, including but not limited to, the Charity Commission, and other relevant laws and regulations.

We made enquiries of trustees, with regards to compliance with the above laws and regulations and corroborated any necessary evidence to relevant information, for example, minutes of the trustee meetings. legal reports provided to the Charity and correspondence between the Charity and its solicitors. Audit procedure performed by the engagement team included:

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery, misrepresentations or through collusion. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

Other matters

Your attention is drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared financial statements in accordance with "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (as amended) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has now been withdrawn.

This has been done in order for the financial statements to provide a true and fair view in accordance with current Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE TRUSTEES OF LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Forhad Ahmed (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of AGP Consulting

26 June 2024

Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor

Q West Great West Road Brentford TW8 0GP

AGP Consulting is eligible for appointment as auditor of the Charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2023
2023
Notes
£
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
295,777
143,826
Charitable activities
4
84,849
184,954
Other trading activities
5
45,655
-
Total income
426,281
328,780
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
6
-
25,433
Charitable activities
7
411,961
147,665
Total expenditure
411,961
173,098
Net income for the year/
Net movement in funds
14,320
155,682
Funds transferred in from previous year
3,119,513
567,464
Fund balances at 31 August 2023
3,133,833
723,146		 Total
2023
£
439,603
269,803
45,655
755,061
25,433
559,626
585,059
170,002
3,686,977
3,856,979		 Total
2022
£
416,014
176,949
48,832
641,795
24,791
468,907
493,698
148,097
3,538,880
3,686,977

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE (LIC)

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 AUGUST 2023

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
14
Investment property
15
Current assets
Debtors
16
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year
17
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Income funds
Restricted funds
19
Unrestricted funds		 2023
£
£
1,192,413
1,615,000
2,807,413
36,805
1,048,955
1,085,760
(36,194)
1,049,566
3,856,979
723,146
3,133,833
3,856,979		 2022
£
£
1,194,299
1,615,000
2,809,299
25,088
905,479
930,567
(52,889)
877,678
3,686,977
567,464
3,119,513
3,686,977		 2022
£
£
1,194,299
1,615,000
2,809,299
25,088
905,479
930,567
(52,889)
877,678
3,686,977
567,464
3,119,513
3,686,977
2,809,299
877,678
3,686,977
567,464
3,119,513
3,686,977

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 26 June 2024

Taofik Akande Trustee - Chairman

Zillur Rahman Trustee - Secretary