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2022-03-31-accounts

The Contemporary Art Society

(A charitable company limited by guarantee)

Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022

Company number: 255486 Charity number: 208178

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Contents

Trustees’ report 2
Independent Auditors’ Report 14
Statement of Financial Activities 18
Balance Sheet 19
Statement of Cashflows 20
Notes to the Financial Statements 21

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THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Reference and administrative information set out below forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Charities SORP (FRS 102).

1. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Company number 255486 Charity number 208178 Registered office and operational address 59 Central Street, London, EC1V 3AF Trustees Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Marco Compagnoni
Nicola Blake
Michael Bradley
Shawanda Corbett (resigned July 2022)
Tommaso Corvi-Mora
Simon Davenport (resigned December 2021)
Timothy Franks
Emma Goltz
Soria Hamidi
Béatrice Lupton
Keith Morris
Valeria Napoleone
Francis Outred
Bianca Roden (appointed April 2021)
Cathy Wills
Edwin Wulfsohn
John Shield
Anna Yang
Key management Caroline Douglas Director
personnel Sophia Bardsley Deputy Director
Colin Ledwith Head of Consultancy
Dida Tait Head of External Relations
Bankers Lloyds Bank plc Sarasin Investment Funds Limited
Southampton Row Sunderland
LONDON, WC1B 5HR
SR43 4AX
Solicitors Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP
110 Fetter Lane
LONDON, EC4A 1AY
Auditors Sayer Vincent LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane
LONDON, EC1Y 0TL

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THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

2. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Purposes and aims

The Contemporary Art Society is a charity that places important works of art in public collections and spaces across the UK. With the support of our individual and corporate patrons we raise funds to purchase works predominantly by young and emerging artists which we give to museums and public galleries where they are enjoyed by a national audience; we broker the gift of works of art by important artists of the 20[th] and 21[st] centuries for public collections through our networks of patrons and private collectors; we establish relationships to commission artworks and promote contemporary art in public spaces; we devise programmes of educational and engagement events. Since 1910 we have donated thousands of works to museums and public galleries - from Bacon, Freud, Hepworth and Moore in their day through to the influential artists of our own times, such as Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Kehinde Wiley and Phyllida Barlow - championing new talent, supporting curators, and encouraging philanthropy and collecting in the UK.

The Trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The Trustees report the success of each key activity and the benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the Trustees ensure the charity's aims, objectives and activities remained focused on its stated purposes.

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

The objectives of the Contemporary Art Society are achieved in the following ways:

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Our financial objectives are to progressively increase the funds available to support our charitable work through a diverse range of income streams, including Arts Council NPO funding, trusts and foundations, individual giving, corporate patrons, fundraising events and paid advice.

3. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The charity's main activities are described below. All its charitable activities focus on developing public collections and art in public spaces for audiences now and in the future and are undertaken to further the Society’s charitable purposes for the public benefit. Our beneficiaries are the museums and their curatorial staff, who receive works for their collection as well as bespoke mentoring and training opportunities, the artists with whom we work, and ultimately the general public who experience the art.

The second year of the pandemic has demanded extraordinary reserves of resilience and flexibility. Our museum colleagues have been operating under the most challenging of conditions – welcoming their audiences back as soon as they could, stepping up to their role in the community, offering places of solace, as well as discovery and debate. There has also been good news. We are delighted to have welcomed the Crafts Study Centre in Farnham and the Holburne Museum in Bath to our network of museum members. Two other museums are in the process of preparing applications to join in 2022/23, proving just how much the work we do is valued, especially now.

Art Purchases and Distributions

Through the generosity of our supporters we have placed 89 works by 41 artists in 30 museum collections during the financial year. In total we have invested over £300,000 in living artists, placing works with a total value in excess of £950,000.

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Our second crowdfunding campaign beginning in March 2021 – a partnership with Frieze and Katherine Hamnett, London – raised over £200,000. These funds helped support our core acquisition schemes as well as an outstanding set of purchases at Frieze London in the Autumn. The Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston was selected to receive the Frieze Fund, having proposed the apposite and compelling theme of the family. We were proud to be able to acquire an outstanding new work by South African artist Billie Zangewa from Lehman Maupin, as well as works by London-based artists Hetain Patel and Sunil Gupta. We are once again indebted to Béatrice and James Lupton for their most generous match-funding of this award.

The year has been notable for two major moving image acquisitions: Bloodlines (2022), by the American artist Amie Siegel, debuted at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh in early March; and Rosalind Nashashibi was the first artist in residence at the National Gallery, with an extended period in-residence as a result of the pandemic. Our patrons Anna Yang and Joe Schull support the acquisition of a work made during the residence for one of our Member Museums, and Nashashibi’s new trilogy of films has been donated to the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, Orkney.

The VNXX CAS project goes from strength to strength, highlighting the gender imbalance in public collections around the country. This year we elected to work with Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. More than a year on from the toppling of the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston into the harbour there, which sparked so heated a debate, we felt ready to consider how to add a major work into the collections in Bristol. The Goldenhot Butterfly Queen (2015), by American artist Stacy Lynn Waddell, presents an over-life-size depiction of an African woman, its gold leaf surface lending it a sculptural monumentality. It is at once a work celebratory of identity and a window into the lived experience of Black women in Europe and the United States in the last century.

We were very pleased this year to accept a major gift of print editions from Carl Freedman and Robert Diament at Counter Editions. The offer was enthusiastically received by seven of our Museum Members, a number of which have acquired groups of prints that span the 2000s. Through the course of 2021, we also worked towards the gift of an important sculpture by Phyllida Barlow, offered as a join acquisition to Leeds Art Gallery and The Hepworth, Wakefield. This was a gift from the London-based collector Alex Petalas, and was made via the Cultural Gifts Scheme, administered by Arts Council England. Leeds and Wakefield are fast becoming the most exciting collections of contemporary sculpture outside London.

When we look back on this period in the cultural sphere, the experience of the pandemic will be inseparable from the response to the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer of 2020, and, in Britain the debates around individuals honoured in public statuary. The great majority of our Museum Members have reacted by redoubling their efforts to achieve greater representation of under-represented groups in all aspects of their

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

work. We have responded to this by researching (alongside museum colleagues) works to add to their permanent collections that help them better reflect the reality of contemporary Britain.

We would like to thank the Acquisitions Advisory Committee – Patricia Bickers, Alison Britton, Ben Cook, Sarah Griffin, Tanya Harrod, Helen Legg and Haroon Mirza – for their invaluable expertise and time.

Museum advice and training

The Society is unique in the way it functions to support its Museum Members. Rather than operating simply as a grant-giving institution, we work in active collaboration with curators. All our purchasing is research-led, a process designed to bring the benefit of a broad range of knowledge and expertise to developing collections as a dynamic resource within their communities.

Alongside the research-led acquisition process, we support the professional development of museum curators in the field of contemporary art through our continuous professional development programme. We continued the partnership with the Decolonising Arts Institute at the University of the Arts London which started in summer 2020, supporting colleagues across the country to discuss their anti-racist and decolonising work through four seminars, including one aimed specifically at the leaders of institutions. We were also able to programme in-person events, including curator tours of Frieze London and a day focussed on ceramics.

Commissions and Collections Advisory

This area of our work falls into three distinct strands: delivering unique art for the public realm, devising cultural strategies and commissioning art and cultural programming for the workplace. Artists are at the core of our practice and we actively support and protect their interests. Our work in this area continues to support our mission with projects that put art and culture at the heart of public space, at a moment when discussion about the nature and uses of public realm has become personal as well as political.

Over the past year the terms worked on three projects that ensure art and culture sit at the heart of strategic visioning. We were contracted to deliver a comprehensive Public Art Framework for Wakefield, one that could build on existing expertise in the region and recognise Wakefield’s position as a home of UK sculpture.

We have also been working with the City of London to deliver a cultural response to plans for London Wall West, a area in the Square Mile that will undergo significant change in the coming years. Our work investigates meaningful ways to make cultural outputs visible and equitable in the City. Also working with the City of London and the Hawkins\Brown-led design team, we reimagined the public realm around Smithfield. We de eloped an

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

artist brief that sought to embed an artist’s thinking within the design team, in order to impact critical conversations about equity of public space. Larry Achiampong was appointed as artist-in-residence on the design team and this shift from an outcome-centred brief was crucial to a process that expanded the ways in which art and culture can impact public realm design.

During the year we completed commissions that had begun in previous financial years, including Sinta Tantra’s hand-painted and gold leaf murals for 22 Bishopgate’s informal dining spaces; Tania Kovats’ commission HIVE for Babraham Research Campus, which interacts the landscape of rural Cambridgeshire while considering the research that goes on inside the building; and Fiona Curran was commissioned to make a public work for the Turing Locke hotel which is situated in the sustainable new neighbourhood of Eddington in Cambridge.

Education

 We encourage an understanding and appreciation of contemporary art through the rich programming we offer for our various Patron levels. When the pandemic hit we were quick to develop our online offer and devised new strands of activity, but we were pleased to be able to return to in person events during this financial year. Highlights included our extensive programme around Frieze London and Frieze Masters in October; a day trip to Prospect Cottage in Dungeness; and a private breakfast tour of the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Royal Academy.

Advocacy

Raising the public profile of the Contemporary Art Society has potential benefits for all of our fundraising activity. At the start of the financial year we worked with Brunswick Art, with a particular focus of activity around the Choose Art campaign, our second crowdfunder, which raised over £200,000 to support acquisitions.

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Income Generation

Subscriptions and Donations: There was a decrease in donations from the previous year largely due to the second crowdfunder, which raised £30,000 less than the first one. Income from Patrons remained stable, and we were pleased to retain the support of so many of our existing Patrons during the second pandemic year.

Arts Council Award: 2021/22 was the final year of the current four-year funding round. The Arts Council has confirmed that this will be extended by a year, to the end of March 2023, due to the pandemic and subject to application. The application for the next cycle was submitted in May 2022 and we will learn the outcome in October 2022.

Fees and commissions: Income from this source increased this financial year. Our advisory services had a successful year. In the summer of 2021, thanks to the generosity and vision of Muriel and Freddy Salem, we ran a pop-up gallery in Mayfair for three months, raising in the region of £40,000 of unbudgeted income through commissions on art sales.

Other grants: We did not make any unsolicited applications to Trusts and Foundations during the year, instead focussing on fundraising from individuals.

Fundraising events: We again held two fundraising events during the year. In November we held an event with Tai Shani at Cromwell Place, including a performance by the artist; and in March with Glenn Brown and were delighted to be the very first visitors to his new exhibition space in central London.

Fundraising: Led by our Director and the Head of External Relations, we raise funds from individuals and corporates through our Patron schemes, and through restricted donations, through our fundraising events and through our applications to Grants and Foundations, and for the second time at the start of 21/22 through a crowdfunding campaign.

We are members of the Fundraising Regulator and only approach contacts that are known to us or are introduced to us. We have received no complaints about our fundraising during the year under review.

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

4. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Notwithstanding the uncertainties created by both Brexit and the pandemic, and now the war in Ukraine, our ambition is to continue to increase the funds we spend on acquiring work for museums. Our investment in the visual arts ecology of the UK could not be more vital than in the current crisis. From 2022/23 we have increased our financial commitment for the four year period from £10,000 to £12,000 for each Fine Art acquisition and from £3,500 to £4,000 for each Craft acquisition and are working with a greater number of regional museums.

Since January 2022 we have been worked with the Design Agency, Un.titled, to develop a new website which will integrate an online version of the database of gifts that we have been working on for six years. This will be the first time that the works placed throughout our history will be publicly available and searchable online. We will launch the new website in early 2023. The next stage of the project will require additional funding to fully explore the rich archive of material through partnerships with other organisations, such as art schools, tertiary education, community groups and museum friends groups.

16 museums became members of the CAS in 1927 and we have been working with them to develop their collections since then. We will begin the planning process for marking the centenary of these museums as museum members over the coming year.

We will continue to deliver the individual and Corporate Patrons schemes, which raise income for our acquisitions and engage new and existing audiences in contemporary art. We will continue with the adaptable model of the Artist’s Table fundraiser, which continues to be a successful model.

We will focus on fundraising from Trusts and Foundations, which is an area we have not focussed on recently due to the extreme competition for these funds during the pandemic.

Our team that delivers advice on art in public spaces has been operating in an increasingly challenging context, due to the continuing uncertainties around Brexit as well as the pandemic. The team continues to be nimble and to pivot quickly towards new types of work in a way that is highly responsive to a changing environment.

We will continue to monitor and review the performance of our designated charity fund with Sarasin, especially during this period of highly volatile markets and will consider diversifying our investments with another fund manager.

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

5. FINANCIAL REVIEW

Results

The results of the Society for the year ended 31 March 2022 are set out in the financial statements on pages 18 to 32.

Spend on art purchases and distributions decreased from £715,492 in 2020/21 to £440,867 in 2021/22.

Total income for the year was £1,539,089, compared to £1,561,199 in 2021/22. £1,236,501 was unrestricted and £302,588 was restricted. Total expenditure for the year was £1,386,473, compared to £1,484,697 in the previous financial year. £1,119,885 was unrestricted and £266,588 was restricted.

The overall surplus for the year is £166,221 (2021: £107,238), with a surplus of £130,221 (2021: £61,238) in unrestricted funds and a surplus of £36,000 (2021:46,000) in restricted funds. The restricted fund surplus is due to restricted funding being received but not spent during the year. The significant unrestricted surplus represents a positive step forward in the unrestricted position.

The results show that we are making good progress in growing our spend on art purchase and distributions while managing our cost base carefully.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees review the reserves of the charity annually. This review encompasses the nature of the income and expenditure streams, the need to match variable income with ongoing commitments and the nature of the reserves. With the purchase of the multi-function office space at Central Street the expendable endowment funds have been utilised and a designated fund has been established to represent the monies invested net of depreciation. At 31 March 2022 this fund has a balance of £867,634 (2021: 889,057).

At 31 March general unrestricted funds were £635,286 (2021: £537,247). This includes £35,000 of stock currently being distributed and a further £28,301 represented by fixed assets. This leaves £571,985 of free reserves, representing approximately 6 months running costs, which in the light of the current state of business the Board believes is a resilient position. The balance of the funds, £164,500, is held in restricted funds.

The analysis and movement of restricted funds is explained in note 10 to the financial statements.

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

6. PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

Our principal risks are in relation to income generation. We receive around 12% of our income from Arts Council England and raise the rest through a number of income streams. We develop income generating plans thoroughly and consider carefully the potential risks. We review plans regularly and update them accordingly.

We have applied for continued funding as an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation for the period 2023/24-2025/26. We will not know the outcome of the application until October 2022, which will give us five months to set plans for the following financial year, based on a confirmed funding offer should we be successful.

The Trustees review the risk register at least annually. The Finance Committee made a risk review the focus of one of their four regular meetings through the year and the register has been updated to address newly identified risks and to implement controls and procedures designed to manage and mitigate previously identified risks.

7. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Constitution

The Contemporary Art Society is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered on 7 April 1931, and is governed by the Memorandum & Articles of Association. It was registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on 22 September 1962.

Composition of the Board, organisation and Trustee induction and training

The Board of Trustees, which can have up to 25 members, directs the charity through regular meetings.

The charity regularly reviews the skills, networks and experience of the Board. Where skills have been identified as missing, members of the Board and the Director may propose potential new Trustees. Following agreement with the Trustees, the Chair will approach potential candidates to discuss their interest in becoming a Trustee. All candidates for Trusteeship have discussions during the selection process on the role they will be expected to take. These discussions involve the Chair, the Director and other Trustees when appropriate. Recommendations are then made to the Board for full approval.

All new Trustees go through an induction process. Board induction includes meetings with senior staff as well as the provision of a pack of information about the Contemporary Art Society.

Our Chair, Marco Compagnoni, took on the role in January 2018. Bianca Roden joined in April 2021. Simon Davenport left the Board in December 2021.

One of two important subcommittees of the board, the Finance Committee meets quarterly in advance of Trustee meetings to review in detail the charity’s financial affairs. The Finance Committee has been chaired

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

by Anna Yang since September 2019. The Development Board meets every six weeks on average and is chaired by Emma Goltz. It is attended by Marco Compagnoni, trustees Nicola Blake, Soria Hamidi and Béatrice Lupton, alongside patrons Charlotte Artus, Bertrand Coste and Benedetta Riva.

All members of the Board give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity.

Management

The Contemporary Art Society is managed by the Director, Caroline Douglas, to whom the Senior Management Team reports. The senior management team includes Sophia Bardsley, Deputy Director; Colin Ledwith, Head of Consultancy; and Dida Tait, Head of External Relations. Fabienne Nicholas, the previous Head of Consultancy left in April 2021 after nearly 14 years.

The Contemporary Art Society operates an annual review system led by the Director, designed to support staff in making the fullest contribution to the charity and to provide them with timely feedback on performance and professional development.

Pay policy for Trustees and senior staff

The Trustees comprise the board of Trustees and the senior management team comprise the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the Charity on a day to day basis. All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee received remuneration in the year. Details of Trustees’ expenses and related party transactions (if any) are disclosed in Note 4 to the accounts.

The pay of the staff is reviewed annually and normally increased in accordance with inflation, and to reflect any additional responsibilities brought into their job description. The directors also benchmark against pay levels in other charities of a similar size. If recruitment has proven difficult in the recent past a market addition is also paid with the pay maximum no greater than the highest benchmarked salary for a comparable role.

Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities

The trustees (who are also directors of the Contemporary Art Society for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 March 2021 was 19 (2020). The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditors

Sayer Vincent LLP were reappointed as the charitable company's auditors during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

The Trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Trustees on 18 October 2022 and signed on their behalf by

Marco Compagnoni

Chair

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Contemporary Art Society

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Contemporary Art Society (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2022 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, 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 FRS 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 charitable company 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 Contemporary Art Society'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.

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ 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, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the trustees’ annual report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible

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For the year ended 31 March 2022

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 charitable company’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 liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below.

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

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Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

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

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members 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 charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Judith Miller (Senior statutory auditor)

14 December 2022

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TL

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Statement of financial activities (‘SOFA’) Incorporating the income and expenditure account

For the year ended 31 March 2022
Notes		 Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 2022 2021
Income from
Donations, Subscriptions & Grants
2
Donations & Subscriptions
Arts Council Award
Charitable activities
3
Fees and commissions
Other grants
Furlough grants
Other trading activities
Fundraising Events
Investments
Bank interest
Total income
Expenditure
Expenditure on raising funds
4
Cost of fundraising events
Other fundraising costs

Expenditure on charitable activities
4
Art purchases & distributions
Commissions and collections advisory
Museum advice and training
Education
Total Expenditure
Net income/(expenditure) before gains/losses
Gains/losses on investments
Net movement in funds after gains/losses
Fund balance brought forward
Fund balances carried forward
10		 £
334,888
171,421
540,973
-
-
188,238
981
____
1,236,501
____
118,121
43,764
___
161,885
204,493
470,077
113,081
170,349
____
958,000
1,119,885
____
116,616
13,605
____
130,221
1,678,800
____
1,809,021
 £
302,588
-
-
-
-
-
-
___
302,588
___
1,574
874
__
2,448
236,374
2,973
7,695
17,098
___
264,140
266,588
___
36,000
-
___
36,000
128,500
___
164,500
 £
637,476
171,421
540,973
-
-
188,238
981
____
1,539,089
____
119,695
44,638
___
164,333
440,867
473,050
120,776
187,447
____
1,222,140
1,386,473
____
152,616
13,605
____
166,221
1,807,300
____
1,973,521
 £
793,743
171,421
369,691
100,000
34,493
90,440
1,411
____
1,561,199
____
101,564
73,401
___
174,965
715,492
334,450
111,301
148,489
____
1,309,732
1,484,697
____
76,502
30,736
____
107,238
1,700,062
____
1,807,300

All of the above results derive from continuing activities. There are no gains and losses other than those disclosed above. The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements. Movement in funds are disclosed in note 10 to the financial statements.

18

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Company Number:255486

Balance Sheet

As at 31 March 2022

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
5
Investments
6
Current assets
Stock
7
Debtors
8
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors:amounts falling due within one year
9
Net current assets
Net assets
Represented by
General income funds
Future fund
Designated Central Street fund
Total Unrestricted funds
Restricted income fund
10		 2022
£
895,935
306,101
____
1,202,036
35,000
182,739
828,184
____
1,045,923
(274,438)
____
771,485
____
1,973,521
____
635,286
306,101
867,634
____
1,809,021
164,500
____
1,973,521
 2021
£
922,636
252,496
____
1,175,132
35,000
333,705
560,898
____
929,603
(297,435)
____
632,168
____
1,807,300
____
537,247
252,496
889,057
____
1,678,800
128,500
____
1,807,300

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

The financial statements on pages 18 to 32 were approved by the Trustees on 18 October 2022.

Marco Compagnoni

Chairman

19

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Statement of Cashflows

For the year ended 31 March 2022

2022
£
Cash flow from operating activities
Net (expenditure)/income
166,221
Adjustments for:
Depreciation Charges
32,194
Dividends, interest and rents from
investments
(981)
Decrease/(Increase) in debtors
150,966
Increase/(Decrease) in creditors
(22,997)
____
Net cash provided by/(used in)
operating activities
Cash flow from investing activities
Investment income – bank interest
981
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
(5,493)
(Gains)/ Losses on investments
(13,605)
Purchase of investments
(40,000)
____
Net cash (used in) investing
activities
Change in cash and cash
equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the
end of the year		 2022
2021
£
£
107,238
31,790
(1,411)
222,530
(83,882)
____
325,403
1,411
(1,546)
(30,737)
(100,000)
____
(58,117)
____
267,286
____
560,898
____
828,184
 2021
£
276,265
(130,872)
____
145,393
____
415,505
____
560,898

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

20

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

1 Accounting policies

a) Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared 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) (effective 1 January 2015) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and have considered possible events or conditions that might cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees have made this assessment for a period of at least one year from the date of approval of the financial statements. In particular the trustees have considered the charities forecasts and projections and have taken account of pressures on donation and investment income. After making enquiries the trustees have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.

b) Public benefit entity

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

c) Accounting estimates

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.

The Trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

d) Income

All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (‘SOFA’) when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable probability. Membership subscriptions are treated as donations and are accounted for when received.

e) Expenditure

Expenditure is classified under the principal categories of charitable and other expenditure rather than the type of expense, in order to provide more useful information to users of the financial statements.

21

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

1 Accounting policies (continued)

Expenditure on raising funds and charitable expenditure comprise direct expenditure including direct staff costs attributable to the charity. Where costs cannot be directly attributed they have been allocated on the basis of the percentage of staff time spent on each activity.

2022 2021
Cost of fundraising events 8%
10%
Other fundraising costs 5%
8%
Commissions and collections advisory 40%
35%
Museum advice and training 12%
11%
Art purchases & distributions 13%
18%
Education 18%
15%
Governance 4%
3%

Art purchases are charged to expenditure in the year the purchase is made although not all purchases in a year are distributed in the year.

f) Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Where funds are received under contracts to provide services they are treated as unrestricted.

Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the Trustees for specific purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. Where funds are expended in advance and in genuine anticipation of receiving restricted funding a negative restricted fund is created.

g) Pension

The charity has a defined contribution pension scheme for all members of staff. Pension costs charged in the Statement of Financial Activities represent the contributions payable by the charity in the year.

h) Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost. Depreciation is provided on all tangible assets at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset evenly over its expected useful life as follows:

Leasehold property 2% per annum Computer equipment 20% per annum Other equipment 20% per annum

Small capital additions which do not exceed £500 are expensed in full in the year of acquisition.

22

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

1 Accounting policies (continued)

i) Stocks

Stocks comprise works of art that have been bequeathed to the charity. Art that has been purchased for distribution is deemed to have a nil realisable value and is expended in the year of purchase and not included within stock.

j) Operating leases

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the lease term.

k) Financial Instruments

Financial assets such as cash and debtors are measured at their present value of the amounts receivable, less an allowance for the expected level of doubtful receivables. Financial liabilities such as trade creditors, loans and finance leases are measured at the present value of the obligation.

l) Judgements and estimates

The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

In addition to the above, the full impact following the recent emergence of the global coronavirus pandemic is still unknown. It is therefore not currently possible to evaluate all the potential implications for the charity’s activities, suppliers, beneficiaries and the wider economy. Estimates used in the financial statements, particularly with respect to the value of listed investments are subject to a greater degree of uncertainty and volatility.

23

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

2 Donations, Subscriptions & Grants

2022
Individuals
Museums & Galleries
2021
Individuals
Museums & Galleries		 Unrestricted
£
200,488
134,400
____
334,888
____
Unrestricted
£
317,613
132,150
____
449,763
 Restricted
£
302,588
-
____
302,588
____
Restricted
£
343,980
-
____
343,980
 2022
£
503,076
134,400
____
637,476
____
2021
£
661,593
132,150
____
793,743

Donations from trustees totalled £297,655 (2021: £292,141) in the year.

All of the Arts Council Award is unrestricted £171,421 (2021: £171,421).

3 Charitable Activities

Fees and commissions totalled £540,973 of which £nil was restricted for contributions to acquisitions (2021: totalled £369,691 of which £nil was restricted for contributions to acquisitions)

Other Grants
Other Grants 2022 2021
£ £
Great Works - 100,000
____ ____
- 100,000

All grant income is restricted.

24

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

4 Total resources expended

2022
Fundraising expenditure:
Fundraising event costs
Other fundraising costs
Charitable activities:
Art purchases
Commissions and collections advisory
Museum advice and training
Education
Total 2022
Support Costs
Governance Costs
Governance staff costs
Other governance costs
Audit Fee
Other Support Costs
Non salary staff costs
Property
IT costs
Insurance
Postage
Maintenance
Office running costs
Depreciation
Outsourced finance & payroll
Other
Bank charges		 Staff Costs
£
53,420
33,388
_
86,808
86,808
267,102
80,131
120,196
_
641,045
____		 Other direct
costs
Allocated
support costs
£
£
48,280
17,995
-
11,250
_
_
48,280
29,245
324,808
29,251
115,945
90,003
13,644
27,001
26,750
40,501
_
_
529,427
216,001
____
____
_
_
_		 Total
2022
£
119,695
44,638
____
164,333
440,867
473,050
120,776
187,447
____
1,386,473
____
2022
£
26,710
3,505
6,100
___
36,315
5,481
24,598
54,983
2,885
2,470
8,490
9,456
32,194
32,381
12,789
(6,041)
___
216,001
___

Included within the total expenditure is £266,588 restricted expenditure. Cost allocation includes an element of judgment, and the charity has had to consider the cost benefit of detailed calculations and record keeping.

25

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

4 Total resources expended (continued)

2021
Fundraising expenditure:
Fundraising event costs
Other fundraising costs
Charitable activities:
Art purchases
Commissions and collections advisory
Museum advice and training
Education
Total 2021
Support Costs
Governance Costs
Governance staff costs
Other governance costs
Audit Fee
Other Support Costs
Non salary staff costs
Property
IT costs
Insurance
Postage
Maintenance
Office running costs
Depreciation
Outsourced finance & payroll
Other
Bank charges		 Staff Costs
£
68,797
55,038
_
123,835
123,835
240,790
75,677
103,194
_
667,331
____		 Other direct
costs
Allocated
support costs
£
£
9,812
22,955
-
18,363
_
_
9,812
41,318
550,339
41,318
13,319
80,341
10,374
25,250
10,862
34,433
_
_
594,706
222,660
____
____
_
_
_		 Total
2021
£
101,564
73,401
____
174,965
715,492
334,450
111,301
148,489
____
1,484,697
____
2021
£
20,639
2,702
5,520
___
28,861
1,034
22,889
18,919
6,000
7,287
6,030
6,232
31,790
45,189
39,338
9,091
___
222,660
___

Included within the total expenditure is £384,480 restricted expenditure in relation to Art purchases and distributions and £13,500 in relation to Museum advice and training. Cost allocation includes an element of judgment, and the charity has had to consider the cost benefit of detailed calculations and record keeping.

26

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

4 Total resources expended (continued)

a) Staff costs
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension
Total staff costs
Temporary staff
Sub-contractor costs
Total staff and contractor costs
The average number of employees was		 2022
£
591,935
58,555
17,265
____
667,755
____
-
10,148
____
677,903
____
16.1
 2021
£
608,379
61,623
17,968
____
687,970
____
-
8,244
____
696,214
____
16.4

One employee received remuneration of £80,000-£89,999 during the year (2021: 0), one employee received renumeration of 70,000-£79,999 (2021: 1) and no employees received remuneration of £60,000-£69,999 during the year (2021: 0).

Pension contributions of £7,307 (2021: £7,257) were made in respect of higher paid employees.

The total employee benefits including pension contributions for the key management personnel were £297,794 (2021: £334,893).

b) Trustees

The Trustees do not receive emoluments (2021: none) and did not claim any reimbursement of expenses (2021: £nil).

c) Auditors’ remuneration

Auditors’ remuneration – audit services 2022
£
6,100
 2021
£
5,800

27

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

5 Tangible fixed assets
Cost
1 April 2021
Additions
Disposals
31 March 2022
Accumulated Depreciation
1 April 2021
Charge for the year
Disposals
31 March 2022
Net book value
31 March 2022
31 March 2021
Depreciation rates		 Leasehold
Property
£
1,070,978
-
-
____
1,070,978
____
181,920
21,423
-
____
203,343
____
867,635
____
889,058
____
2%		 Computer
Equipment
£
39,083
-
-
____
39,083
____
39,083
-
-
____
39,083
____
-
____
-
____
20%		 Office
equipment
£
73,115
5,493
-
____
78,608
____
39,537
10,771
-
____
50,308
____
28,300
____
33,578
____
20%		 Total
£
1,183,176
5,493
-
____
1,188,669
____
260,540
32,194
-
____
292,734
____
895,935
____
922,636
____
6 Investments
Listed Investments
Fair Value at the start of the year
Additions at cost
Disposal proceeds
Net gain / (loss) on change in fair value
Cash held by investment broker pending reinvestment
Fair Value at the end of the Year
Investments comprise of:
UK Common Investment Funds
Total Investments		 2022
£
252,496
40,000
-
13,605
-
____
306,101
____
306,101
____
306,101
 2021
£
121,759
100,000
-
30,737
-
____
252,496
____
252,496
____
252,496

28

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

7 Stock

Stock comprises one collections of works of art which were bequeathed to the Society.

The balance sheet does not include gifts of art and craft given to the charity for distribution. These gifts amounted to £35,000 (2021 £35,000) at the year end.

8 Debtors: Amounts falling due within one year

Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
VAT
9 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Creditors
Accruals
Deferred income
VAT
Social security and other taxes
Other Creditors
Movement in deferred income
Brought forward
Released in year
Deferred in year		 2022
£
150,552
13,809
17,970
408
____
182,739
____
2022
£
153,391
89,434
10,666
-
16,309
4,638
____
274,438
____
2022
£
29,081
(29,081)
10,666
____
10,666
2021
£
155,232
21,158
157,315
-
____
333,705
____
2021
£
44,385
200,810
29,081
1,969
17,011
4,179
____
297,435
____
2021
£
141,481
(141,481)
29,081
____
29,081

Deferred income comprises of a work in progress £8,000 and patron fees and donations £2,666. In the previous year it comprised of event fundraising £3,000 and patron fees and donations £26,081.

29

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

10 Statement of Funds
2022 (current year) Transfer/
At Investment At
1 April 2021 Income Expenditure Gain/Losses 31 March
2022
£ £ £ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General Funds 537,247 1,236,501 (1,119,885) (18,577) 635,286
Designated Fund - Central Street: see note (a) 889,057 - - (21,423) 867,634
Future Fund 252,496 - - 53,605 306,101
___ ___ ___ ___ ___
1,678,800 1,236,501 (1,119,885) 13,605 1,809,021
Restricted funds: see note (b)
Digital Archive 70,000 62,000 (30,000) - 102,000
Choose Art 51,000 140,600 (191,600) - -
Other 7,500 99,988 (44,988) 62,500
___ ___ ___ ___ ___
128,500 302,588 (266,588) - 164,500
___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Total funds 1,807,300 1,539,089 (1,386,473) 13,605 1,973,521
___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Restricted funds unexpended are mainly represented by short term deposits and cash at bank.

Note (a)

The designated fund represents the monies committed to the development of the Central Street office and flexible use space. The Future Fund has been set up to support the future of our museum acquisitions programmes.

Note (b)

Digital Archive – to catalogue all the gifts made by the Society through its history and develop an online resource

Choose Art – a second crowfunding campaign launched in March 21 to support museum acquisitions

Other – towards a one year traineeship in the curatorial team

30

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

2021 (prior year)
At
1 April 2020
£
Unrestricted funds
General Funds
507,081
Designated Fund - Central Street: see note (a)
910,481
Future Fund
200,000
___
1,617,562
Restricted funds: see note (b)
Great Works
5,000
Digital Archive
70,000
Mbili Foundation
7,500
Jackson Tang
-
VNXX
-
Rapid Response Fund
-
Choose Art
-
___
82,500
___
Total funds
1,700,062
 Income Expenditure
£
£
1,117,219 (1,086,717)
-
-
-
-
_ _
1,117,219 (1,086,717)
100,000
(105,000)
27,000
(27,000)
-
-
15,000
(15,000)
20,000
(20,000)
230,980
(230,980)
51,000
-
_ _
443,980
(397,980)
_ _
1,561,199 (1,484,697)

 Transfer/
Investment
Gain/Losses
£
(336)
(21,424)
52,496
___
30,736
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
___
-
___
30,736
 At
31 March
2021
£
537,247
889,057
252,496
___
1,678,800
-
70,000
7,500
-
-
-
51,000
___
128,500
___
1,807,300

Restricted funds unexpended are mainly represented by short term deposits and cash at bank.

Note (a)

The designated fund represents the monies committed to the development of the Central Street office and flexible use space. The Future Fund has been set up to support the future of our museum acquisitions programmes.

Note (b)

Great Works – to buy a major work for a Museum Member

Digital Archive – to catalogue all the gifts made by the Society through its history

Mbili Foundation – towards a commissioning partnership with Film and Video Umbrella

Jackson Tang – towards the Jackson Tang Ceramics Award

VNXX – towards the VN XX CAS fund, to purchase a work by a female artist

Rapid Response Fund – a crowdfunding campaign launched as a response to the pandemic

Choose Art – a second crowfunding campaign launched in March 21

31

THE CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

11 Analysis of Net Assets between Funds

Fund balances at 31 March 22 are represented by:

Tangible Fixed Assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets
Prior Year
Tangible Fixed Assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets		 Total
£
895,935
306,101
1,045,923
(274,438)
____
1,973,521
____
Total
£
922,636
252,496
929,603
(297,435)
____
1,807,300
 General
funds
£
28,301
-
881,423
(274,438)
____
635,286
____
General
funds
£
33,579
-
801,103
(297,435)
____
537,247
 Designated
funds
£
867,634
306,101
-
-
____
1,173,735
____
Designated
funds
£
889,057
252,496
-
-
____
1,141,553
 Restricted
funds
£
-
-
164,500
-
____
164,500
____
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
128,500
-
____
128,500

12 Commitments under Operating Lease

As at 31 March 2022, CAS had total commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as set out below:

Other
Due in less than 1 year
Due in 2 to 5 years
Total		 2022
£
1,280
1,600
____
2,880
 2021
£
1,280
2,880
____
4,160

32