2024-03-31-accounts - The Great War Group

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CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1191846

The Great War Group Unaudited Financial Statements 31 March 2024

HGCA Accounting Limited Chartered Accountant 87-90 Paul Street London EC2A 4NE

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

	Page
Trustees' annual report	1
Independent examiner's report to the trustees	5
Statement of financial activities	6
Statement of financial position	7
Notes to the financial statements	8
Appendix 1 – Details income and expenditure	18

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Trustees' Annual Report

The trustees present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charitable incorporated organisation for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Reference and administrative details

Registered charity name

The Great War Group

Charity registration number 1191846 Principal office 3 Barley Close Bloxham Banbury Oxfordshire OX15 4NJ

The trustees Alexandra Churchill Andrew Lock James Smithson Peter Bull Judith Jones Giles McNamee (Honorary Trustee as lives in the US, not a UK resident/citizen) Nicholai Eberholst (Honorary Trustee as lives in Denmark, not a UK resident/citizen) Independent examiner HGCA Accounting Limited 87-90 Paul Street London EC2A 4NE

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Structure, governance and management

The Governing document is the foundation model constitution registered as of 16 October 2020.

The objects of the CIO are to advance the education of the public in the subject of The Great War by providing conferences, seminars and educational material to facilitate education and learning in the subject of the Great War.

The charity is regulated by the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (General) Regulations 2012 (‘General Regulations’) and the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Insolvency and Dissolution) Regulations 2012 (‘Dissolution Regulations’) as well as following the framework of The Charities Act 2011.

The Great War Group was founded as a non-profit, Foundation CIO to promote education on, and commemoration of, the First World War. Our approach is wide-ranging, considering all fronts, and all nations involved in the conflict. Membership fees not only provide exclusive content and a forum on which to engage on the conflict but help to fund our charitable aims.

We are run from two residential premises as we do not have the means for an office space at this time, but this is something we would hope would be a part of our future. Members pay either an annual or monthly fee and get access to exclusive content. For those who are not members, some of our online talks we host are available online afterwards, and the journals can be purchased through our online store.

From a volunteering perspective, we do not have volunteers per se who have committed roles. Our volunteers, when they do help, are writing articles for our journal or helping run social events.

All recommended literature is downloaded from the Charities Commission website for new Trustees to read. Trustees' responsibilities and up to date information is discussed on an ongoing basis at Trustees' meetings.

Risks and challenges

As most charities experience, the fundamental challenge is the ongoing, unpredictability of income streams. The Great War Groups income is derived primarily from the general public via donations as well as income from subscriptions that allow members access to the charities resources and exclusive content.

Our organization’s main challenge is our reliance on technology. Whilst we want to welcome as many people from across the world to our events, sometimes the technology prevents this from happening. For some charities, the pandemic was a real difficulty but as we set up during the COVID 19 pandemic, we adapted and developed our content to the best of our ability and with little interruption.

Objectives and activities

The objectives of the charity are as shown in the Governing Instrument. The objectives briefly comprise of the following:

To advance the education of the public in the subject of The Great War
Provide conferences and seminars to facilitate this
2 -

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

In setting the objectives and planning the activities the Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit.

In order to meet the objectives of the charity, the Trustees ensure that relevant Trustees are involved who can provide the knowledge and actively promote the charity to members of the public and proactively support the charity in order to sustain its aims.

Activities

During the year, the charity has continued to meet its objectives by running several events and activities. Our largest and most challenging event is our annual conference in late October. This event allows for a large number of our members (non-members are welcome too) to gather and learn more about the history of the First World War. There is also a yearly “get-away” to a site in the Western Front Battlefields, which this time was to Arras and we will be in Belgium in May 2025. We also run multiple online events including courses to help develop knowledge, social events at our ‘virtual pub’ and hosted talks by experts in their fields. We also design all our own merchandise and get that printed and sorted as well as organizing the delivery runs for the magazines and other orders.

Achievements and performance

The creation of the Great War Group was quite an interesting one, and would simply have not been possible without the generosity of our founder members and those who contributed to the Crowdfunder event we ran, where we raised more money than our actual target. We have well over 600 members across the globe in every continent (except Antarctica!) and as a result, a great many new friendships have been fostered – the membership is really like a proper little family now.

Financial review

The incoming resources for the year ended to 31 March 2024, from all sources, were £67,365 (2023; total income £55,259) and consisted of income for the Annual Conference, courses, subscription income, payments for trips and sales of merchandise at both in person events and via the website.

The expenditure for the year ended 31 March 2024 was £74,394 (2023; total expenditure £66,106). This consisted of purchasing merchandise for onward sale, printing and postage costs related to the educational material that our subscribers receive, costs of research, advertising, event running costs as well as general overheads. See appendix 1 for details.

Overall, expenditure exceeded income for the year resulting in a deficit of £7,029 (2023; deficit of £10,847)

Reserves policy

At the end of the financial period, total reserves were in deficit by £8,168 (2023; deficit £1,139). The Trustees hold reserves according to the requirements of the charity and try to maintain a balance between holding enough funds to ensure the charity is sustainable and using the funds day to day to meet its objectives.

Plans for future periods

The year was again a challenging one for the Group. The necessary increase in the subscription charges only partly offset the losses made earlier in the year. The causes of these losses has now been dealt with and the finances of the Group placed on a much firmer footing. Membership numbers are static and it is the hope of the Trustees that a new website and other strategic changes, such as investigating a digital issue of Salient Points to offset increasing postal costs, will attract new members. We are also looking at working on a variety of research projects with official bodies which will hopefully also increase income and increase our reach.

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Responsibilities of the Trustees

The charity's trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). The trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and the income and expenditure of the charity for that period.

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

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and 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. 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.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Miss H Gittings has been appointed as independent examiner for the ensuing year. Signed on behalf of the trustees, 3 Barley Close, Bloxham, OX15 4NJ.

01/30/2025

The trustees' annual report was approved on …………………… and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by:

Jim Smithson

Alexandra Churchill (Jan 29, 2025 21:17 GMT)………………….

Alexandra Churchill (Jan 29, 2025 21:17 GMT)…………………. Jim Smithson (Jan 30, 2025 10:49 GMT)…………………. Alex Churchill James Smithson

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The Great War Group

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Great War Group ('the charity') for the period ended 31 March 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity's financial statements 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 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 financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements 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.

Hannah Gittings (Jan 29, 2025 15:55 GMT)

Miss H Gittings Independent Examiner

87-90 Paul Street London EC2A 4NE

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Statement of Financial Activities

				2024	2023
		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total funds	Total funds
		funds	funds
	Note	£	£	£	£
Incoming resources:
Donations	4	7,019	–	7,019	–
Activities for generating funds	5	55,588	–	55,588	52,050
Other trading activities	6	4,758	–	4,758	3,209
Total income		─────	────	─────	─────
		67,365	–	67,365	55,259
Expenditure		═════	════	═════	═════
Expenditure on raising funds:
Costs of other trading activities	7	3,333	–	3,333	780
Expenditure on charitable activities8,9		71,061	–	71,061	65,326
Other expenditure		–	–	–	–
		─────	─────	─────	─────
Total expenditure		74,394	–	74,394	66,106
		═════	═════	═════	═════
		─────	─────	─────	─────
Net income and net movement in	funds	(7,029)	–	(7,029)	(10,847)
		═════	═════	═════	═════
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward		(1,139)	–	(1,139)	9,708
		─────	─────	─────	─────
Total funds carried forward		(8,168)	–	(8,168)	(1,139)
		═════	═════	═════	═════

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

The notes on pages 8 to 17 form part of these financial statements.

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Statement of Financial Position

31 March 2024

			2024	2023
	Note	£	£	£
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets	14		383	1,266
Intangible fixed assets	14		1,790	2,069
Current assets
Debtors	15	10,155		852
Stock		5,000		2,500
Cash at bank and in hand		8,805		16,980
		─────		─────
		23,960		20,332
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	16	34,302		24,806
		─────		─────
Net current assets			(10,342)	(4,474)
			─────	─────
Total assets less current liabilities			(8,168)	(1,139)
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than
one year			-	-
Net assets			─────	─────
			(8,168)	(1,139)
			═════	═════
Funds of the charity
Restricted funds			-	-
Unrestricted funds			(8,168)	(1,139)
			─────	─────
Total charity funds	19		(8,168)	(1,139)
			═════	═════

These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees and authorised for issue on …………….., and are signed on behalf of the board by: 01/30/2025

Jim Smithson

Alexandra Churchill (Jan 29, 2025 21:17 GMT) Alex Churchill Trustee

Jim Smithson (Jan 30, 2025 10:49 GMT)

James Smithson Trustee

The notes on pages 8 to 17 form part of these financial statements.

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements

1. General information

The charity is a public benefit entity and a registered charitable incorporated organisation in England and Wales. The address of the principal office is 3 Barley Close, Bloxham, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX15 4NJ.

2. Statement of compliance

These financial statements have been prepared in compliance with FRS 102, 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland', the 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) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Charities Act 2011.

3. Accounting policies

Expenditure of resources

The charity incurs very little in the way of management and administration costs, these being insurance, telephone, stationery, software, accountancy fees and legal fees.

The rest of the expenditure by the charity is charitable expenditure and includes costs associated with printed materials sent out to subscribers, event running costs, postage costs directly attributed to subscription income and costs related to research and educational material.

There has been no need to apportion any costs between charitable expenditure and management and administration costs to date. Once it becomes necessary, the charity will adopt a suitable policy.

Going concern

There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.

Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. These estimates and judgements are continually reviewed and are based on experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Stock

Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value.

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

3. Accounting policies (continued)

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity's purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular future project or commitment.

Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure declared by the donor or through the terms of an appeal, and fall into one of two sub-classes: restricted income funds or endowment funds.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when entitlement has passed to the charity; it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the charity and the amount can be reliably measured. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

income from donations or grants is recognised when there is evidence of entitlement to the gift, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably.
income from contracts for the supply of services is recognised with the delivery of the contracted service. This is classified as unrestricted funds unless there is a contractual requirement for it to be spent on a particular purpose and returned if unspent, in which case it may be regarded as restricted.
income from subscriptions is recognised in the period it relates to. Annual subscriptions are accounted for on an accruals basis and any income related to future subscriptions is deferred in order to match the income with the period it relates to. Monthly subscriptions relate to the month they are received in and recognised in that month.
income from the sale of merchandise is recognised when the goods ordered are shipped to the customer
income from hosting events such as conferences and seminars is recognised in the period to which the event took place
9 -

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

3. Accounting policies (continued)

Resources expended

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is classified under headings of the statement of financial activities to which it relates:

expenditure on raising funds includes the costs of all fundraising activities, events, noncharitable trading activities, and the sale of donated goods.
expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs incurred by a charity in undertaking activities that further its charitable aims for the benefit of its beneficiaries, including those support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.
other expenditure includes all expenditure that is neither related to raising funds for the charity nor part of its expenditure on charitable activities.

All costs are allocated to expenditure categories reflecting the use of the resource. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs are apportioned between the activities they contribute to on a reasonable, justifiable and consistent basis.

Tangible assets

All fixed assets are initially recorded at cost. Fixed assets are not capitalised if below the value of £100.

Intangible assets

All intangible assets are initially recorded at cost. Fixed assets are not capitalised if below the value of £100.

Depreciation

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost or valuation of an asset, less its residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:

Office equipment - 25% straight line Intangibles – website - 10% straight line Impairment of fixed assets

A review for indicators of impairment is carried out at each reporting date, with the recoverable amount being estimated where such indicators exist. Where the carrying value exceeds the recoverable amount, the asset is impaired accordingly. Prior impairments are also reviewed for possible reversal at each reporting date.

10 -

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

3. Accounting policies (continued)

Impairment of fixed assets (continued)

For the purposes of impairment testing, when it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, an estimate is made of the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs. The cash-generating unit is the smallest identifiable group of assets that includes the asset and generates cash inflows that largely independent of the cash inflows from other assets or groups of assets.

Financial instruments

A financial asset or a financial liability is recognised only when the entity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at the amount receivable or payable including any related transaction costs, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where it is recognised at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument.

Current assets and current liabilities are subsequently measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received and not discounted.

4. Donations and legacies

. Donations and legacies
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	2024
	£	£	£
Donations
Sundry donations	7,019	–	7,019
Crowdfunder	–	–	–
	─────	─────	─────
	7,019	–	7,019
	══════	═════	═════

11 -

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

5. Activities for generating funds

	Unrestricted	Total Funds	Unrestricted	Total Funds
	Funds	2024	Funds	2023
	£	£	£	£
Annual conferences	11,112	11,112	11,305	11,305
Courses and trips	10,043	10,043	9,676	9,676
Subscriptions - annual	25,981	25,981	22,475	22,475
Subscriptions - monthly	8,452	8,452	8,594	8,594
	─────	─────	─────	─────
	55,588	55,588	52,050	52,050
	═════	═════	═════	═════
6. Other trading activities
	Unrestricted	Total Funds	Unrestricted	Total Funds
	Funds	2024	Funds	2023
	£	£	£	£
Online merchandise sales	1,833	1,833	2,224	2,224
Merchandise sales at conferences	1,836	1,836	915	915
Advertising and raffle fundraising	1,089	1,089	70	70
	────	────	────	────
	4,758	4,758	3,209	3,209
	════	════	════	════

7. Costs of other trading activities

Merchandise

Unrestricted	Total Funds	Unrestricted	Total Funds
Funds	2024	Funds	2023
£	£	£	£
3,333	3,333	780	780
────	────	────	────
3,333	3,333	780	780
════	════	════	════

8. Expenditure on charitable activities by fund type

Preservation of the memory and furthering research on the Great War Support costs (legal and accounting)

Unrestricted	Total Funds	Unrestricted	Total Funds
Funds	2024	Funds	2023
£	£	£	£
69,261	69,261	63,526	63,526
1,800	1,800	1,800	1,800
─────	─────	────	─────
71,061	71,061	65,326	65,326
═════	═════	════	═════

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The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

9. Expenditure on charitable activities by activity type

	Activities
	undertaken	Support	Total funds
	directly	costs	2024
	£	£	£
Preservation of the memory and	69,261	–	69,261
furthering research on the Great	War
Governance costs	–	1,800	1,800
	─────	─────	─────
	69,261	1,800	71,061
	═════	═════	═════

13 -

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

10. Net income

Net income is stated after charging/(crediting):
	2024
	£
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets	1,162
	═════
11. Independent examination fees	2024
	£
Fees payable to the independent examiner for:
Independent examination of the financial statements	1,800
	════
12. Staff costs

The were no employed staff during the period ended 31 March 2024

13. Trustee remuneration, expenses and related party transactions

No remuneration or other benefits from employment with the charity or a related entity were received by the trustees. There were no related party transactions during the year.

14 -

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

14. Fixed assets

	Intangible	Office
	Website	equipment	Total
	£	£	£
Cost
At 1 April 2023	2,790	3,533	6,323
Additions	–	–	–
Disposals	–	–	–
	────	────	─────
At 31 March 2024	2,790	3,533	6,323
	════	════	═════
Depreciation /
amortisation
At 1 April 2023	721	2,266	2,987
Charge for the year	279	883	1,162
Disposals	–	–	–
	────	────	─────
At 31 March 2024	1,000	3,149	4,149
	════	════	═════
Carrying
Amount
	1,790	383	2,173
At 31 March 2024
	════	════	═════
At 1 April 2023	2,069	1,266	3,335
	════	════	═════

15. Debtors

5. Debtors
	2024	2023
	£	£
Trade debtors	–	–
Prepayments	7,598	260
Funds held in Stripe	2,557	592
	────	────
	10,155	852
	════	════
6. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
	2024	2023
	£	£
Trade creditors	1,800	480
Accruals	1,800	1,800
Income received in advance (for events and	30,702	22,526
subscriptions)	─────	─────
	34,302	24,806
	═════	═════

16. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

15 -

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

17. Pensions and other post-retirement benefits

There were no pension contributions during the period.

18. Analysis of charitable funds

Unrestricted funds At At 1 April 2023 Income Expenditure 31 Mar 2024 General funds £ £ £ £ (1,139) 67,365 (74,394) (8,168) ═════ ═════ ══════ ═════

16 -

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

19. Analysis of net assets between funds

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	2024
	£	£	£
Tangible fixed assets	2,173	–	2,173
Current assets	(10,341)	–	(10,341)
Creditors greater than 1 year	–	–	–
	─────	─────	─────
Net assets	(8,168)	–	(8,168)
	═════	═════	═════

17 -

The Great War Group Financial Statements Period ended 31 March 2024

Appendix 1 – Details Income and Expenditure account

	2024	2024	2023	2023
Income and expenditure	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds
	£	£	£	£
Incoming resources
Annual Conference	11,112	11,112	11,305	11,305
Courses	10,043	10,043	9,676	9,676
Crowdfunder fundraising	0	0	0	0
Donations	7,019	7,019	0	0
Advertisingspace in magazine	200	200	70	70
Raffle	889	889
Sales - Merchandise at conferences	1,836	1,836	915	915
Sales - Merchandise via website	1,833	1,833	2,224	2,224
Subscriptions - annual	25,981	25,981	22,475	22,475
Subscriptions - monthly	8,452	8,452	8,594	8,594
Total Income	67,365	67,365	55,259	55,259
Expenditure
Direct Expenses	1,884	1,884	847	847
Event runningcosts	27,839	27,839	23,246	23,246
Magazines, booklets & printed material	27,995	27,995	14,743	14,743
Merchandise	3,333	3,333	780	780
Postage costs	1,331	1,331	9,975	9,975
Speakers/books/researchers	194	194	1,521	1,521
Advertising& Marketing	667	843	843	843
Audit & Accountancyfees	1,800	1,800	1,800	1,800
Bank charges	5	5	0	0
Depreciation Expense	1,162	1,162	1,162	1,162
Fraudpayments	0	0	518	518
IT Software and Consumables	934	934	725	725
Printing& Stationery	13	13	222	222
Rent	3,462	3,462	3,176	3,176
Repairs & Maintenance	20	20	85	85
Stripe Fees	2,050	2,050	1,864	1,864
Subscriptions	290	290	358	358
Telephone & Internet	460	460	493	493
Travel - National	955	955	3,748	3,748
Total Administrative Costs	74,394	74,394	66,106	66,106
Surplus/(Deficit)	(7,029)	(7,029)	(10,847)	(10,847)

18 -