## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charity No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT** 

**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

# **Trustees’ Annual Report and Unaudited Receipts and Payments Accounts** for the year ended 31 December 2023 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charity No. 205666) 

**TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

## **CONTENTS** 

|**CONTENTS**||
|---|---|
|**Legal and administra�ve informa�on**|1|
|**Trustees' annual report**|2|
|**Independent examiner's report**|7|
|**Receipts and payments accounts**|10|
|**Statement of assets and liabili�es**|12|





## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charity No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

## **Reference and administra�ve details** 

**Charity Name:** Bri�sh Herpetological Society **Registered Charity Number:** 205666 **Principal address:** The Bri�sh Herpetological Society 11, Strathmore Place Montrose, Angus DD10 8LQ United Kingdom **Trustees** Dr Gerardo Garcia (President) Mark Hollowell (Chair) Michael Henry Wise (Treasurer) Trevor Andrew Rose (Secretary) Dr Gail Austen (Finance Officer) Dr Simon Townson (Head of Interna�onal Conserva�on and Cap�ve Breeding Projects) Dr Steven Allain  (UK Conserva�on Officer) Jennie Shea  (Educa�on and YH Officer) Dr Christopher Gleed-Owen (Research Officer) Katharine Mitchell (Website and Communica�ons Officer) Paul Eversfield (Mee�ngs organiser) Dr Richard Hodges (Herpetological Bulle�n Editor) Suzanne Simpson (Na�erJack Editor) Alexia Hesten (Trade Officer) Maria Filipou Catherine Whatley Stephen Copley Vince Goodall **Bankers** Na�onal Westminster Bank PLC, Leytonstone Branch, 694 High Road, Leytonstone, E11 4TZ **Independent examiner** Charles Ssempijja, FCA NfP Accountants Ltd 3[rd] Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE 

1 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charity No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

The reference and administra�ve informa�on set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The Trustees have taken advantage of the smaller chari�es exemp�on under Sec�on 133 of the Chari�es Act 2011, and have prepared these accounts on a Receipts and Payments basis. Consequently, the chari�es repor�ng guidance and requirements under “Accoun�ng and repor�ng by chari�es: Statement of Recommended Prac�ce (SORP)” are applied to only the Trustees’ Annual Report. 

## **Objec�ves and Ac�vi�es** 

## **Summary of the objec�ves of the charity set out in its governing document:** 

research, cap�ve breeding and husbandry, conserva�on and fieldwork and educa�on. 

## 

## Publica�ons 

The society produces and distributes regular herpetological publica�ons to its members, who include both individuals and ins�tu�ons in the UK and overseas. Membership is open to all and membership fees are modest. The society’s publica�ons also benefit the herpetological community at large by providing a pla�orm for the publica�on of high-quality scien�fic research and dissemina�ng new ideas and prac�ces. 

## Mee�ngs and Events 

aimed at the lay enthusiast. The society also a�ends non-herpetological events with a view to educa�ng the public about herpetofauna. 

## Grants 

and amphibian habitats, conserva�on-related cap�ve breeding ac�vi�es, and the educa�on of the public. 

## Herpetological Library 

The Society owns a varied collec�on of herpetological books which provide useful reference informa�on for herpetologists and other zoologists. 

## 

while planning the Society’s ac�vi�es for the year. The Trustees consider that the Society’s ac�vi�es benefit the herpetological community in par�cular by providing services to it, and that they benefit the general public both by protec�ng Bri�sh and other herpetofauna and by funding and facilita�ng scien�fic research. 

2 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charity No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

## **Policy on grant making** 

Grants made by the Society must be approved by the Council of Trustees, a�er due considera�on of each applica�on’s merits. Progress in achieving the objec�ves of these grants is monitored by an allocated member of the Council of Trustees and reported to Council. 

## **Contribu�on made by volunteers** 

The Society is run by unpaid volunteers (the Council of Trustees). Volunteers who are not members of the Council of Trustees also contribute to the Society’s ac�vi�es, including its conserva�on ac�vi�es, the maintenance and running of the library, and a�endance at events. Volunteers are en�tled to claim expenses incurred in the course of these ac�vi�es, subject to pre-approval by Council for substan�al items. The Treasurer and Secretary are each en�tled to claim an honorarium of £250 per annum, to compensate for the space taken up in their homes by the Society’s records; the Treasurer and Secretary waived there honoraria this year. The Na�erjack Editor also received an honorarium of £600 during the year, to reflect the hard work involved in producing the Na�erJack. 

## **Achievements and Performance** 

## **to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.** 

- Con�nued to produce the Herpetological Journal and Herpetological Bulle�n 

- Con�nued to produce and sell amphibian ladders, which prevent amphibians from drowning in gully pots 

- Awarded £1,500 of research grants to students 

- Awarded £4,000 for interna�onal conserva�on projects 

- Launched an ini�a�ve to collate species loca�on records from BHS publica�on ar�cles and submit the data to the NBN Atlas 

- Launched a project to digi�se the en�re run of the historic Bri�sh Journal of Herpetology 

- Supported major events that encourage knowledge sharing and learning opportuni�es, including the ARCBHS joint scien�fic  mee�ng,  Venom  Day, the BHS/AHH annual  conference,  the  European  Congress of Herpetology, and the BHS and Thames & Chiltern Herpetological Group Joint Mee�ng. 

3 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charity No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

## **Financial Review** 

## **Financial summary** 

In total the Society secured £32,433 (prior year: £46,764) of funding in the year, ending the year with total funds of £189,773 (prior year: £200,748), which is above its reserves requirement. Of the total funds at year end, £48,834 (prior year: £49,826) was restricted and £140,939 (prior year: £150,922) was unrestricted. The Trustees consider that the excess of current reserves over requirement is acceptable in order to eliminate concerns about the Society’s ability to con�nue its ac�vi�es in the short and medium term. The Trustees have been concerned about the Society’s long-term viability as there had been a fall in members in recent years. However, the Trustees have been addressing this threat in recent three years through a number of different strategies and are pleased to report another overall increase for 2023, marking 6 years of steady increase in annual membership. 

## **Reserves and reserves policy** 

The Trustees consider that the Society’s current level of reserves is adequate, as its unrestricted funds are sufficient for two years’ non-discre�onary expenditure (i.e. Memberships). The Society’s policy is to hold sufficient unrestricted reserves to meet some 2 years of non-discre�onary reserves. The Trustees consider that  this is sufficient to  enable the Society to discharge its obliga�ons in the event of unexpected 

## **Going concern** 

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertain�es about the charity's ability to con�nue as a going concern. 

## **Principal funding sources** 

The Society’s principal  source of funds  is  the  subscrip�on  fees paid by  its membership.  These  are supplemented by bequests, and profits from trading ac�vi�es such as the sale of amphibian ladders and herpetological books. 

## **Investment policy** 

The Society’s current policy is to hold the bulk of its funds in cash. The Council of Trustees has reviewed this policy and considered it prudent to con�nue at present, bearing in mind the significant uncertainty currently affec�ng both the UK and the global economy and the poten�al that it may need to release substan�al funds for conserva�on land purchases in the near future. 

## **Risk management** 

4 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charity No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

unsustainable level; the Trustees believe the risk is largely from the threat of long-term societal changes. The ma�er of membership recruitment remains uppermost in their priori�es and strategies previously employed will con�nue to be maintained and evolved. 

The trustees are con�nuing to mi�gate this risk by developing other sources of income such as amphibian ladder sales, book sales, events income, and open access publishing fees. Addi�onally, ac�ve efforts are in progress to expand the Society’s online footprint and engagement across all spheres of ac�vity with the objec�ve of encouraging and building membership. 

The Society also holds an insurance policy designed to protect it from catastrophic loss, however the Trustees believe the risk of such an event is very low. 

falsehoods in its scien�fic publica�ons. This risk is addressed by means of the peer review process, which seeks to ensure that the society only publishes material of acceptable quality. 

The second key reputa�onal risk facing the Charity is the danger of inadvertently promo�ng bad prac�se, in terms of either conserva�on or animal welfare. This risk is addressed by the exper�se of the Society’s board of Trustees, which includes eminent herpetologists, and by the society’s funding model, whereby funds are raised directly from the public, thus ensuring it is not beholden to commercial or other concerns. 

## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

## **Descrip�on of the charity’s trusts:** 

**Type of governing document: How the charity is cons�tuted: Trustee selec�on methods:** 

Cons�tu�on dated March 2015 

Registered charity (unincorporated) 

Trustees may be temporarily co-opted by Council. All appointments are confirmed by a vote of the Society’s members at the AGM. 

## **Related par�es:** 

The trustees and their close connec�ons are considered to be the only related par�es of the charity. 

5 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charity No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT** 

**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

## **Declara�ons** 

**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** 

**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** 

**Signature(s) Full name(s)** Michael Henry Wise **Posi�on (e.g. Secretary,** Treasurer **Chair, etc.)** 

**Date** 12/11/2024 

6 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 






**Report to the** Charity Name **trustees/ members of** Bri�sh Herpetological Society **On accounts for the** 31 December 2023 **Charity no (if any)** 205666 **year ended Set out on pages** 10-12 (remember  to include the page numbers of addi�onal sheets) 

**Respec�ve** The charity's trustees are responsible for the prepara�on of the accounts. The **responsibili�es of** charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under sec�on **trustees and examiner** 144  of  the  Chari�es  Act  2011  (“the  Chari�es  Act”)  and  that  an  independent examina�on is needed. 

It is my responsibility to: 

- examine the accounts under sec�on 145 of the Chari�es Act, 

- to follow the procedures laid down in the general Direc�ons given by the Charity Commission (under sec�on 145(5)(b) of the Chari�es Act, and 

- to state whether par�cular ma�ers have come to my a�en�on. 

**Basis of independent** My examina�on was carried out in accordance with general Direc�ons given by the **examiner’s statement** Charity Commission.  An examina�on includes a review of the accoun�ng records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes considera�on of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explana�ons from the trustees concerning any such ma�ers.  The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those ma�ers set out in the statement below. 

7 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

## **Independent** In connec�on with my examina�on, no ma�er has come to my a�en�on (other than **examiner's** that disclosed below) **statement** 

1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements: 

   - to keep accoun�ng records in accordance with sec�on 130 of the Chari�es Act; and 

   - to prepare accounts which accord with the accoun�ng records and comply with the accoun�ng requirements of the Chari�es Act 

have not been met; or 

2. to which, in my opinion, a�en�on should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 

**Signed:** 


**Date:** 12 November 2024 

**Name:** Charles Ssempijja 

**Relevant professional** FCA, ICAEW **qualifica�on(s) or body (if any):** 

**Address:** 3[rd] Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, EC2A 4NE 

8 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

## **Sec�on B                           Disclosure** 

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.(E.g. accoun�ng records have not been kept in accordance with s132 of the Chari�es’ Act 2011 and those accounts do not comply with the requirements of the 2008 Regula�ons se�ng out the form and content of charity accounts; any material expenditure or ac�on which appears not to be in accordance with the trusts of the charity; any failure to be provided with informa�on and explana�ons by any past or present trustee, officer or employee; and any material consistency between the accounts and the trustees’ annual report.) 

**Give here brief details of** N/A **any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** . 

9 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

||**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**||**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**British Herpetological Society**|||||**205666**||||
||**Receipts andpayments accounts**|||||||||
||**For the period**<br>**from**||Period start date||**To**||Period end date|||
||||01/01/2023||||31/12/2023|||
|||||||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**||||||||||
||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**||**Restricted**<br>**funds**||**Endowment**<br>**funds**||**Total funds**||**Last year**|
||**to the nearest**<br>**£**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**|
|**A1 Receipts**||||||||||
|Amphibian ladders|**10**||**-**||**-**||**10**||**590**|
|Books|**128**||**-**||**-**||**128**||**258**|
|Conservation|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**160**|
|Events|**10,392**||**-**||**-**||**10,392**||**9,612**|
|Finance|**1,306**||**-**||**-**||**1,306**||**218**|
|Legacies|**-**||**508**||**-**||**508**||**-**|
|Memberships|**20,089**||**-**||**-**||**20,089**||**22,091**|
|Recycle4charity|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|Open Access publishingfees|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**281**|
|Research|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**13,553**|
|Other|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|||||||||||
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_<br>_AR)_|<br>**31,925**||**508**||**-**||**32,433**||**46,764**|
|||||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**<br>**(see table).**||||||||||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|||||||||||
|**_Total receipts_ **|**31,925**||**508**||**-**||**32,433**||**46,764**|



10 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

||**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**||**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**British Herpetological Society**|||||**205666**||||
||**Receipts andpayments accounts**|||||||||
||**For the period**<br>**from**||Period start date||**To**||Period end date|||
||||01/01/2023||||31/12/2023|||
|||||||||||
|**A3 Payments**||||||||||
|Admin|**2,838**||**-**||**-**||**2,838**||**1,854 **|
|Advocacy|**500**||**-**||**-**||**500**||**500**|
|Amphibian ladders|**30**||**-**||**-**||**30**||**160**|
|Books|**12**||**-**||**-**||**12**||**126**|
|Conservationgrants|**4,018**||**-**||**-**||**4,018**||**2,182**|
|Covid-19|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|Events|**14,955**||**-**||**-**||**14,955**||**7,943**|
|IT|**2,102**||**-**||**-**||**2,102**||**1,466**|
|Memberships expenditure|**15,952 **||**-**||**-**||**15,952 **||**13,101 **|
|Research|**1,500**||**1,500**||**-**||**3,000**||**1,504**|
|Other|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**41,908**||**1,500**||**-**||**43,408**||**28,835**|
|||||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**<br>**purchases, (see table)**||||||||||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|||
|**_Sub total_ **|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|||||||||||
|**_Totalpayments_ **|**41,908**||**1,500**||**-**||**43,408**||**28,835**|
|||||||||||
|**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ **|**(9,983)**||**(992)**||**-**||**(10,975)**||**17,929**|
|**A5 Transfers between funds**|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|**A6 Cash funds lastyear end**|**150,921**||**49,827**||**-**||**200,748**||**182,819**|
|**_Cash funds thisyear end_**|**140,938**||**48,835**||**-**||**189,773**||**200,748**|



11 



## **BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

(Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 205666) 

## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS** 

## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 


||**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|**No (ifany)**|**No (ifany)**||**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**British Herpetological Society**|||||**205666**||||
||**Receipts andpayments accounts**|||||||||
||**For the period**<br>**from**||Period start date||**To**|Period end date||||
||||01/01/2023|||31/12/2023||||
|||||||||||



## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period** 

|**Categories**|**Details**|**Details**||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**||**Restricted**<br>**funds**||**Endowment**<br>**funds**|**Endowment**<br>**funds**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**to nearest £**|||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**||
|**B1 Cash funds**|CAF cash Ed Comm|||**2,170**|||**-**||**-**||
||CAF cash main|||**814**|||**-**||||
||CAF gold main|||**65,859**|||**-**||||
||Nat West main|||**37,023**|||**48,835**||||
||Paypal|||**32,144**|||**-**||||
||Membership cards petty cash|||**30**|||||||
||Treasurer's petty cash|||**76**|||**-**||||
||Ed Comm Santander|||**1,735**|||**-**||||
||Ed Comm petty cash|||**985**|||**-**||||
||Secretary petty cash|||**103**|||**-**||||
||||||||||||
||**_Total cash funds_**|||**140,938**|||**48,835**||**-**||
||(agree balances with receipts and payments<br>account(s))|||OK|||OK||OK||
|||||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**|||**Restricted**<br>**funds**||**Endowment**<br>**funds**||
||**Details**|||**to nearest £**|||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**||
|**B2 Other monetary assets**|Gift Aid claims outstanding:|||**5,642**|||**-**||**-**||
||||||||||||
||**Details**|||**Fund to which**<br>**asset belongs**|||**Cost (optional)**||**Current value**<br>**(optional)**||
|**B3 Investment assets**|Santander shares|||**Land Fund**<br>**(restricted)**|||**-**||**1,879**||
||||||||||||
||**Details**|||**Fund to which**<br>**asset belongs**|||**Cost (optional)**||**Current value**<br>**(optional)**||
|**B4 Assets retained for the**<br>**charity’s own use**||||General<br>(unrestricted)|||**-**||**-**||
||||||||||||
||**Details**|||**Fund to which**<br>**liability relates**|||**Amount due**<br>**(optional)**||**When due**<br>**(optional)**||
|**B5 Liabilities**|Independent Examiner's fee|||General<br>(unrestricted)|||**600**||**Less than 1 year**||
||||||||||||
|Signed by one or two<br>trustees on behalf of all<br>the trustees||Signature|||Print Name|||||Date of<br>approval|
||||||MH Wise|||||12/11/2024|
||||||||||||



12