GLOBAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY (GERSO)
Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1192587
Report and Annual Accounts
30 October 2024
GLOBAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY (GERSO)
Report and Accounts 2024 Contents
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Legal & Administrative Information | 2 |
| Report of the Trustees | 3 |
| Receipts and payments account | 4 |
| Statement of assets and liabilities | 5 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 6 |
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GLOBAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY (GERSO)
Legal & Administrative Information For the year ended 30 October 2024
| Charity Name | Global Education & Research Society of Ophthalmology (GERSO). | Global Education & Research Society of Ophthalmology (GERSO). | Global Education & Research Society of Ophthalmology (GERSO). | Global Education & Research Society of Ophthalmology (GERSO). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charity Registration | Registered with the Charity Commission on | 19 January 2023 with registration no. | ||
| 1197581. | ||||
| Governing Document | Charitable Incorporated Organisation. | |||
| Objective | The preservation and promotion of good health for the public benefit by advancing | |||
| education (particularly amongst ophthalmologists) in the science and practice of | ||||
| ophthalmology. | ||||
| Principal Address | 3 Hallcroft Close, Sutton Coldfield B72 1YB | |||
| Trustees | The Trustees who served during the year or who were serving at the date of this report | |||
| were: | ||||
| Sunil Shah | ||||
| Maged Nessim | ||||
| Dr Ashraf Armia Balamoun | ||||
| Bankers | Barclays | Bank Plc |
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GLOBAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY (GERSO)
Report of the Trustees For the year ended 30 October 2024
The Trustees submit their report and annual accounts of Global Education & Research Society of Ophthalmology (GERSO) (“the Charity”) for the year ended 30 October 2024. The legal and administrative information set out earlier in this document forms part of this report.
1. Activities, Strategies and Performance
The charity provided a programme of free educational webinars with an international audience. The programme was preplanned with specific monthly themes, offering one intermediate and one advanced-level webinar each month, with a particular emphasis on accessibility for ophthalmologists in developing countries.
The webinars were delivered by an international volunteer faculty of ophthalmologists (eye surgeons), each with a specialist interest relevant to the monthly theme. Each session was chaired by a member of the GERSO Board. Over a thousand junior and senior ophthalmologists worldwide benefited from the webinars, either by attending live or by accessing recordings stored for later viewing.
Typically, two webinars were held each month at times chosen to accommodate participants across multiple time zones. The number of webinars delivered per year was:
-
2021: 24 webinars
-
2023: 22 webinars
-
2024: 13 webinars
In addition to the live webinar programme, a bank of recorded lectures was created. This resource is aimed at providing eye surgeons in training—particularly those in developing countries—with free access to high-quality educational content. The ultimate goal is to develop an online training programme that offers surgeons in developing countries the same level of didactic education as is available in more developed healthcare systems.
3. Financial Review
3.1 Financial Activity and Financial Position
The Charity’s only source of funding was the donation of the predecessor business having the same name.
The Receipts & Payments Account and Statement of Assets and Liabilities can be found on pages 5 and 6 respectively. The Charity’s cash reserves decreased by £12,041 (2023: decreased by £17,767) during the year to £2,769 (2023: £14,810).
3.2 Reserves Policy
The Trustees have considered the level of resources they wish to retain, appropriate to the charity’s needs. This is based on the charity’s size and the level of commitments held. The Trustees aim to ensure the charity will be able to continue to fulfil its charitable objectives even if there is a temporary shortfall in income or unexpected expenditure.
4. Responsibilities of Trustees for the Financial Statements
Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare accounts for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year. The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements
comply with the Charities Act 2011. The Trustees also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.
5. Approval
The report of the Trustees was approved by the Trustees on 16 January 2026 and signed on its behalf by:
Maged Nessim Trustee
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GLOBAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY (GERSO)
Receipts & Payments Account For the year ended 30 October 2024
| Note Receipts from: 2 Donations Charitable activities Total receipts Payments on: 3 Raising funds Charitable activities Total payments Net receipts Transfers between funds Other recognised gains/(losses) Net movement in funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted Funds 2024 £ - - |
Restricted Funds 2024 £ - - 0 - - 0 0 - - 0 - 0 |
Unrestricted Funds 2023 £ - - |
Restricted Funds 2023 £ - - 0 - - 0 0 - - 0 - 0 |
Total 2023 £ - - 0 7,059 10,708 17,767 (17,767) - - (17,767) 32,577 14,810 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | |||||||
| 2024 | |||||||
| £ | |||||||
| - | |||||||
| - | |||||||
| 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | |||||||
| 3,244 8,797 12,041 (12,041) - - (12,041) 14,810 2,769 |
7,059 10,708 |
||||||
| 3,244 | |||||||
| 8,797 | |||||||
| 17,767 | |||||||
| 12,041 | |||||||
(17,767) |
|||||||
| (12,041) | |||||||
| - - |
|||||||
| - | |||||||
| - | |||||||
(17,767) 32,577 |
|||||||
| (12,041) | |||||||
| 14,810 | |||||||
| 14,810 | |||||||
| 2,769 | |||||||
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GLOBAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY (GERSO)
Statement of Assets & Liabilities As at 30 October 2024
Assets Tangible Assets Debtors Cash at Bank and in Hand Liabilities Accountancy Independent examination Total Assets Less Liabilities |
Unrestricted Funds 2024 £ - - 2,769 0 (1,000) (300) (1,300) |
Restricted Funds 2024 £ - - - 0 - - 0 |
Unrestricted Funds 2023 £ - - 14,810 14,810 (1,000) (300) 13,510 |
Restricted Funds 2023 £ - - 0 - - 0 |
Total 2023 £ - - 14,810 14,810 (1,000) (300) 13,510 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ||||||
| 2024 | ||||||
| £ | ||||||
| - | ||||||
| - | ||||||
| 2,769 | ||||||
| 0 | ||||||
| (1,000) | ||||||
| (300) | ||||||
| (1,300) | ||||||
The annual accounts were approved by the Trustees on 16 January 2026 and signed on its behalf by:
Maged Nessim Trustee
5
GLOBAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY (GERSO)
Notes to the Accounts
For the year ended 30 October 2024
1. Basis of Accounting
The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.
2. Receipts
| 2. Receipts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted Funds 2024 £ Restricted Funds 2024 £ Donation from GERSO (predecessor business) - - |
Total 2023 £ - |
|
| Total | ||
| 2024 | ||
| £ | ||
| - | ||
3. Payments
| Unrestricted Funds 2024 £ Restricted Funds 2024 £ Raising funds: Social Media Marketing 3,244 - Charitable Activities Webinars 7,357 - Provision of Office & Support 1,440 - Governance - - 12,041 0 |
Total 2023 £ 7,059 5,175 5,533 - 17,767 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Total | ||
| 2024 | ||
| £ | ||
| 3,244 | ||
| 7,357 | ||
| 1,440 | ||
| - | ||
| 12,041 | ||
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