## **HARBOROUGH WELLAND U3A**
## **ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED**
## **31 DECEMBER 2023**
**Registered Charity Number 1198093**
**HARBOROUGH WELLAND U3A**
## **REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1198093**
## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS**
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Harborough Welland u3a for the year ended 31[st] December 2023 which are set out on the attached pages.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity trustees, you 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 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed 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 which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
- accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
- the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
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.
**Paul Simpson TaxAssist Accountants February 2024**
## **HARBOROUGH WELLAND U3A ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31.12.23**
## **TREASURER’S REPORT**
Harborough Welland u3a (HWu3a) was registered with The Charity Commission on 1 March 2022 and is a member of The Third Age Trust (Registered Charity Number 288007). In preparing the accounts, the starting point was the entries processed through the main bank account and other receipts/payments mechanisms such as PayPal, appropriately adjusted to ensure that the final figures solely relate to the year in question – invoices paid with an element relating to the following year are apportioned accordingly and any invoices relating to the year in question which are received after the year end date are accrued. At the year end, a number of activity groups held cash balances and/or ring-fenced balances within the Hwu3a bank account.
HWu3a was set up to carry on the good work of the Market Harborough and South Leicestershire u3a’s, both of which ceased their activities at the end of 2021. The reserves of the two entities which were passed to HWu3a totalled £35,053 (of which £1,630 was ringfenced to fund activities planned and funded prior to the amalgamation) and this amount was recognised as Hwu3a income in the 2022 accounts. There was no Grant of any kind received in 2023.
The membership fee for 2023 was set at £10 (2022: £5) with a charge of £5 for those joining towards the end of the year. Membership receipts for the year were £11,290 (2022: £5,619) in respect of 1,138 members (2022: 1,149 members). A full twelve months’ Gift Aid was claimed in 2023 giving rise to additional income of £1,531. In 2022 Gift Aid of £164 was reclaimed on membership payments from the date of registration to 31 October.
Towards the end of the year, the decision was taken to introduce a £1 charge for the monthly Speaker meetings. The charge was introduced because it was felt to be fair that all activities within Hwu3a should, at least in part, be funded by those attending rather than receiving a full subsidy from the general membership fee. In the year, the new charge and the monies collected from the sale of refreshments raised £882. In 2022, the contribution from refreshments was £140 and this was included within Donations.
During the year, over 80 groups operated within HWu3a. Most of those groups are continuing in 2024 and whilst one or two are ceasing operation, new groups are being formed. Additionally, very successful one-off trips were arranged during the year by Maryan Richardson and these included Norwich, Chester, a third visit to the Houses of Parliament and, just before Christmas, the Royal Albert Hall for a Carol Concert. Not all group income and expenditure is processed through the HWu3a bank account – an example being the collection of monies by individual groups which are then passed directly to a venue – but a
## **HARBOROUGH WELLAND U3A ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31.12.23**
## **TREASURER’S REPORT (CONTINUED)**
concerted effort has been made to capture this information and to include it in the annual accounts. At the year end, all groups are required to provide a confirmation of all income and expenditure and any cash balances held. Payments direct to the Hwu3a bank account by online bank transfer have been encouraged because of the absence of fees (as opposed to payment by cash, cheque or card). The total income from Group activities (including trips) was £51,936 (2022: £40,497) and the related expenditure was £49,735 (2022: £38,154). The increase in this income and expenditure reflects the fact that the level of activity has significantly grown after a gradual build up in the first year of Hwu3a. All net income strictly belongs to HWu3a but any annual surplus arising from the activities of an individual group is effectively ringfenced for their future use. At the end of the year the Groups had £4,094 (2022: £2,548) ring-fenced in the HWu3a bank account and were holding £1,669 (2022: £1,589) in cash.
Hwu3a is required to pay an annual ‘capitation fee’ to the Third Age Trust. In 2023 the charge for the full year was £4,014. In 2022, a capitation fee for 9 months of £2,853 was incurred. In April 2023, Hwu3a was also invoiced for a twelve-month subscription to the Third Age Trust Magazine. Subsequently, the Committee engaged with the membership (as indeed other U3A’s have done) to ascertain the actual interest in the magazine and to introduce a charge to cover future costs. The charge for the magazine relating to 2023 was £2,650 as against a nine-month charge in 2022 of £1,678. A prepayment asset of £1,037 is recognised at the yearend on the understanding that a refund will be received for copies originally billed for but not received. In the future, the cost of any copies ordered will be covered by contributions from those receiving the magazine.
The HWu3a uses the Beacon system for all its activities – including communications within the U3A, membership records and the calculation of the annual Gift Aid claim and all accounting records – and a charge of £1,017 (2022: £948) was incurred in the year.
The HWu3a Committee have sought to provide regular opportunities for members to meet, holding monthly speaker events and ‘Get Togethers’. The cost of the monthly meetings was £2,620 (2022: £2,606) and the payments to speakers were £466 (2022: £638). As noted earlier, there is now additional income to offset against the monthly meeting costs in the form of a £1 charge for the speaker meetings. Additionally, a monthly magazine is published in hard copy with an online version providing scope for further content. The cost of producing the magazine reduced to £2,072 (2022: £2,707) as a result of decisions taken to reduce the number of printed copies and lower the quality of the paper used whilst ensuring that the final product remains of a high standard.
## **HARBOROUGH WELLAND U3A ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31.12.23**
## **TREASURER’S REPORT (CONTINUED)**
We have endeavoured to enhance our processes for collecting income and making payments with, as previously noted, greater use being made of direct payments into the Hwu3a bank account by online bank transfer which incur no transaction fee. The ability to pay membership fees via PayPal was introduced towards the end of 2022 but was much more widely used at the end of 2023. Whilst a charge is incurred for membership updates via Paypal on the U3a website it is, administratively, a very efficient method of payment. Paypal and Zettle (card payments via handheld terminals) charges were £359 (2022: 243) but were partially offset by contributions from Trips (including Gardens) whose activities gave rise to relatively significant card usage. Bank charges were lower at £261 (2022: £434) reflecting the Committee’s attempts to move to less costly methods of receiving payment into the account.
The spend on Equipment was only £104 (2022: £2,415). A Fixed Asset Register is maintained which details the assets held and largely actively employed within Hwu3a.The major items on the Fixed Asset Register are:
- A Projector purchased in 2022 to replace previous equipment which was no longer fit for use;
- A Drone purchased in 2022 which is available to capture the activities of groups out and about in ‘Harborough Welland’ and for other marketing purposes;
- Four laptops purchased in 2021/2022 and three printers for the dedicated use of committee members. There is a further laptop purchased in 2013 (by South Leicestershire u3a) which is used by an individual group; and
- Two items that have been deemed surplus to requirements within Hwu3a and which therefore will be offered for sale (initially to Hwu3a members). These items are an Electric Piano originally purchased in 2017 and a Computerised Telescope. The working condition of the latter is subject to further review.
The current stated policy of HWu3a is to maintain reserves covering six months of regular operating activity (which excludes the self-funded activities of groups) although it should be noted that many charities retain a full year’s reserves and further committee discussions will be held in this regard. At the end of 2023 the reserves to cover the core (non-group) activity were £21,293 (2022: £22,230). Total reserves (including those ring-fenced for Groups were £27,056 (2022: 26,367) reflecting a net surplus for the year of £688.
## **HARBOROUGH WELLAND U3A ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31.12.23**
## **TREASURER’S REPORT (CONTINUED)**
The long-term decisions to charge for speaker meetings and to make the Third Age Magazine self-funding enabled the increase in the membership fee to be limited to £1 taking the 2024 charge to £11 for full members (and £9 for Associates). As at 31 December 2023, 728 full members and 32 Associates had renewed in advance of 2024 giving rise to the receipt of £8,296 (included within the HSBC bank asset and also shown as a liability reflecting its receipt before the start of the year to which it relates). Going forward, the conclusion of the discussions on the appropriate level of reserves will determine the extent to which future membership fee increases can be limited or other actions, such as providing financial assistance to groups (based on a process which provides fair access to all groups) can be employed.
Currently all funds are held in a non-interest-bearing bank account. It is the Committee’s intention to seek to transfer any identified longer-term surplus to an interest bearing account in order to maximise future returns whilst minimising any additional administrative requirements.
**Andrew West Treasurer 6[th] February 2024**
## **HARBOROUGH WELLAND U3A REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1198093 INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**
|**Income**
Grant - non repayable
Membership
Group venues rental collections
Trip receipts
Group subscriptions and sundry income
Gift Aid received
Monthly Meeting Income
Donations
Sale of Diaries
**Total Income**
**Expenditure**
Bank charges
Beacon Licence Fee
CLA Licences
Diaries Cost
Direct mailing of Third Age Matters Magazine
Equipment - small parts
Equipment Purchased
Group speakers and sundry costs
Group venues rental paid
Independent review of annual accounts
IT and website expenses
Monthly Meeting Costs
Networking & trustee expenses
Newsletter Printing
PayPal / Zettle Charges
Postage
Publicity
Speaker Expenses
Stationery & printing
Sundry Expenses
Third Age Trust Capitation
Trip costs
Workshop Group Leaders
**Total Expenditure**
**Net surplus for the year**|**Year to**
**31-Dec**
**2023**
**£**
-
11,290.00
29,358.99
19,863.00
2,714.01
1,531.36
881.65
37.00
31.50
**65,707.51**
-261.41
-1,017.25
-64.20
-43.99
-2,649.76
-19.98
-103.96
-2,219.02
-28,303.92
-330.00
-360.45
-2,620.00
-86.05
-2,072.00
-359.21
-136.00
-170.14
-466.00
-472.44
-37.35
-4,014.00
-19,212.29
-
**-65,019.42**
**688.09**|**Year to**
**31-Dec**
**2022**
**£**
35,035.03
5,619.00
16,988.35
17,538.61
5,970.40
164.25
-
162.00
76.00|
|---|---|---|
|||**81,553.64**|
|||-434.44
-947.99
-120.00
-66.25
-1,678.35
-189.07
-2,414.84
-2,822.27
-17,986.16
-300.00
-313.69
-2,605.90
-167.80
-2,707.00
-242.64
-148.45
-381.60
-638.00
-358.08
-23.69
-2,853.00
-17,346.05
-440.90|
|||**-55,186.17**|
|||**26,367.47**|
## **HARBOROUGH WELLAND U3A REGISTED CHARITY NUMBER: 1198093 INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 (CONTINUED)**
|**Represented by:**
HSBC
Cash held By Groups
Prepayments
PayPal
Soldo
Zettle
Future year membership paid in advance
Accruals
Advance money from Groups
**Reserves as at 31 December 2023**|**£**
30,796.92
1,719.23
2,401.60
733.36
122.30
56.00
-8,296.00
-477.85
-
**27,055.56**|**£**
31,304.59
1,589.43
1,864.20
242.30
97.00
56.00
-6,490.00
-1,980.05
-316.00|
|---|---|---|
|||**26,367.47**|
## **Treasurer's Approval Certificate**
I approve the above Income and Expenditure account of the Harborough Welland u3a, for the year ended 31 December 2023, which I have prepared from the books and records that I have maintained. I acknowledge my responsibility for the maintenance of records and preparation of appropriate financial information for the Charity in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.
Andrew West Treasurer 6[th] February 2024