Charity number: 215352
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Contents
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Reference and administrative details of the Charity, its Trustees and advisers | 1 |
| Trustees' report | 2 - 8 |
| Independent auditors' report on the financial statements | 9 - 12 |
| Statement of financial activities | 13 |
| Balance sheet | 14 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 15 - 28 |
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Reference and administrative details of the Charity, its Trustees and advisers For the year ended 31 March 2025
| Trustees | Rita Alice Vartoukian |
|---|---|
| Alexander D'Janoeff | |
| Teni Shahiean | |
| Martin Sarkis Essayan, Chairman | |
| Charity registered number 215352 Principal office 50 Hoxton Square London N1 6PB Independent auditors Kreston Reeves Audit LLP Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor 37 St Margaret's Street Canterbury Kent CT1 2TU Bankers Lloyds Bank P.O. Box 1000 BX1 1LT Solicitors Farrer & Co 66 Lincoln's Inn Fields London WC2A 3LH Investment Advisors Cazenove Capital Management 1 London Wall Place London EC2Y 5AU |
Page 1
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report For the year ended 31 March 2025
The Trustees present their annual report with the audited financial statements of Saint Sarkis Charity Trust ('the charity') for the year ended 31 March 2025. The Trustees confirm that the Annual Report and financial statements of the charity comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charity's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), 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 2019).
Objectives and Activities for the Public Benefit
a. Policies and Objectives
The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives, planning future activities, and setting the donation-making policy for the period.
The Saint Sarkis Charity Trust continues to fulfil several vital objectives. Primarily, it supports the Armenian Church of Saint Sarkis in London and the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem. When funds allow, the Trust also awards grants to registered charities working with the Armenian community in the UK and abroad. Additionally, the Trust collaborates with the Barrow Cadbury Trust to support innovative projects that assist prisoners and their families within the UK.
b. Grant Making Policies
The Trustees have established its grant-making policy to achieve its objectives for the public benefit. The Trust makes grants to the Armenian Church of St. Sarkis to help support the Church’s running costs and fund renovation and capital works. Until recently, the Trustees have met regularly with the Trustees of the Armenian Church to assess the level of grants to support the Church’s net running costs. The Trustees, together with the Saint Sarkis Church Parish Council and the Primate, raised concerns with the Charities Commission about some substantial changes proposed by the Trustees of the Armenian Church to their governing document and the lack of consultation about these changes with the Parish, Charity Trust, and Primate. It has become clear that this issue will remain unresolved, and the Charity Trustees have suspended all payments to the Armenian Church besides the £2,000 pa minimum.
The Trust also provides grants to the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem to fund the running and capital costs of maintaining the collection of over 120,000 specialised works, an extensive collection of manuscripts (about 4,000), a similar number of Armenian incunabula (early printed books), a historical collection of newspapers and periodicals (about 350 titles) in the Armenian, Arab and Ottoman languages from the 19th century onwards, and a collection of archival documents dating back to the 14th century. A yearly grant is paid to the curator of the collection, and applications for renovation and requests for funding for capital works are submitted to the Trustees for consideration.
The Trust also provides grants to other charities concerned with the Armenian Community in the UK and abroad. Applications are sent to the Secretary to the Trust explaining the nature of the project and including information on the exact purpose of the grant, the amount required, a budget, the latest annual report and audited accounts and plans for monitoring and evaluating the work.
Applications received from organisations outside the UK are conditional on the Trustees receiving progress and final reports on the project, photographic evidence and final project accounts certified by an internationally recognised organisation. The Trust, committed to transparency, also uses its connection with the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to identify Armenian organisations outside the UK in need of support and to monitor funding granted.
To the extent that funds are available, the Trust also makes grants to organisations developing innovative projects to support prisoners and their families in the UK. Rather than invite applications for grants, the Trustees decided to work with one partner, the Barrow Cadbury Trust. The Barrow Cadbury Trust proactively identifies and recommends projects for funding to the Trustees based on their expertise and knowledge of the field.
Page 2
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Achievements and Performance
a. Review of Activities
Regarding principal objectives, the Trust continues to support the Armenian Church of St. Sarkis in London, as per the trust deed. It continues to support the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.
The Trust has been pleased to make several significant grants, amounting to £205,789 (2024: £156,216) made for charitable objectives connected with Armenia or Armenians before the cancellation of some grants.
The Trust continues to give grants to some non-Armenian UK charities when sufficient funds are available. These grants are awarded to UK charities that are developing innovative projects to support prisoners and their families in the UK. During the period, the Trust provided £30,000 (2024: £30,000) through the Barrow Cadbury Trust.
b. Key Financial Performance Indicators
Each year, the Trustees plan to use the net income received from the Trust's endowed funds to (i) fund the Armenian Church of St Sarkis, (ii) make grants for the support of the library in Jerusalem, (iii) make grants to support the Armenian community, (iv) and fund a small number of non-Armenian projects.
The key financials for the current and previous year are:
c. Plans for Future Periods
The Trust plans to continue to meet its minimum obligation to the Armenian Church of St Sarkis Church, as per its trust deed. It will continue to support the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem. The Trust will also continue to give grants to some non-Armenian UK charities where sufficient funds and monitoring systems are available.
d. Investment Policy and Performance
The Trust operates a balanced income and capital approach to the investment of the Trust’s permanent endowment by the terms of the Charity Commission Scheme made on 26th March 1997 and the Trustee Act 2000.
Page 3
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Achievements and Performance (continued)
Delegation
The Trustees have delegated the management of the endowed funds (“the portfolio”) to a fund manager, Cazenove, who, in purchasing, retaining, or selling investments for the Trust, is required to have regard to the need for diversification and the Trustees’ obligation to ensure that each investment is in the best interests of the Trust. This appointment is reviewed regularly at the same time that the investment policy is reviewed. The Trustees have delegated the oversight of the portfolio management and biannual review to two delegated Trustees: Mr Alexander C B D'Janoeff and Mr. Martin Sarkis Essayan, who seek to ensure the fund manager performs effectively in line with the charity’s needs and the investment policy. These Trustees also keep the fund manager’s performance under review and compare it with what others could offer in terms of cost, investment approach, and level of service. Once agreed by the Trustees, these Trustees can sign any agreement with the fund manager on behalf of the Trustees, any amendment to that agreement, and any instructions to the fund manager to withdraw, or to transfer, cash or assets to third parties. Approval of the Trustees is not required for withdrawals and transfers entered into by the fund manager in connection with their management of the portfolio and the income arising therefrom. The delegated Trustees are also responsible for supervising the management of the cash portfolio.
Nature of Funds
The endowed funds are the permanent endowment of the Trust and are held in a balanced portfolio of equity, property and fixed-interest investments. In accordance with a total return policy, the income earned and investment gains or losses, endowment returns, are treated as Unapplied Total Returns [UTR]. The Trustees agree on how much of the UTR to allocate to the permanent endowment to ensure it maintains its value in real terms. The Trustees have set a Long-Term Spending Rate (LTSR) to determine the maximum amount of endowment returns that will be distributed in the year. This is used by the Trust in meeting its objectives for the public benefit, primarily through the giving of charitable grants and to pay the governance costs of running the Charity. The difference between the total endowment returns and the amounts allocated are retained as Unapplied Total Returns to mitigate against years where negative investment returns are experienced.
Designated funds arise from the Trust’s income streams and are assigned to a specific purpose by the Trustees. They are not treated as free reserves (available to be spent freely) as a designated use has been identified. These funds may be re-designated for another purpose by the Trustees if circumstances change.
Page 4
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Achievements and Performance (continued)
Investment policy and Total Return
The main investment objective and risk tolerance of the investment policy approved by the delegated Trustees are:
-
To achieve a total real return over a rolling five-year period to preserve the permanent endowment in real terms while sustaining a spending rate of 3.0 % of total asset value per annum.
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To maintain an overall total risk level that reduces to an acceptable level the likelihood of the UTR being exhausted under any likely five-year market fall whilst allowing the trust to support its spending commitments over this period.
Given the investment and risk objectives, the delegated Trustees have established an overall allocation of the Trust’s investments to broad asset categories and reviews this asset allocation with the fund manager biannually reporting on it to the Trustees at least annually. The delegated Trustees have given the fund manager discretion to determine the precise asset allocation within certain control ranges, to achieve the investment objectives.
Benchmarks and Parameters
Benchmarks are agreed with the fund manager for each asset class.
Ethical and Socially Responsible Investment
The Trustees have reviewed their investment policy with regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on ethical and responsible investment. They have concluded that there are no specific industry or company activities which should be excluded from the portfolio on the grounds of any direct conflict with the charity’s objectives. However, the Trustees aim to observe responsible investment principles. The charity’s investment managers are expected to take into consideration the environmental, social, and governance characteristics of existing and prospective investments, where this is practicable and proportionate in the context of the overall investment strategy.
Investment Restrictions
The fund manager is required to ensure the securities are held by a regulated custodian of the highest credit rating in line with all FCA regulations.
With the exception of listed securities issued by the British Government, the fund manager should not invest more than 5% of the total portfolio value in the securities issued by any company, unit trust, or other listed entity.
The fund manager should not invest in derivative instruments other than to hedge risk exposures arising from conventional investments made in pursuit of the Trustees’ stated investment objectives. The fund manager is required to discuss the use of such instruments with the delegated Trustees beforehand.
Investments are made only in securities having a listing on a recognised stock exchange. However, this does not exclude investing in Authorised Unit Trusts.
No investments are made in hedge funds. The fund manager is required to discuss investments in Private Equity funds with the delegated Trustees beforehand.
When making investments in international equities, the fund manager is required to balance the need for diversification with the income yield target specified above and bear in mind that the majority of the Trust’s liabilities are sterling denominated and the Trustees almost certainly cannot recover any foreign tax deducted at source from any income.
The bond portfolio is structured to recognise the Trustees’ desire to maintain the real value of the portfolio and its income.
Page 5
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Achievements and Performance (continued)
Reporting and Review
The fund manager sends regular portfolio reports to the delegated Trustees. The delegated trustees and fund managers meet at least twice yearly to discuss past performance, asset allocation, and future plans. The delegated Trustees report to the other Trustees as necessary and when the investment policy is reviewed.
Financial review
a. Performance of Investment Portfolio Against Objectives
The portfolio's long-term performance continues to be strong despite external pressures in relation to inflation and geopolitical factors. The position of the trust investments has returned to pre-pandemic levels, and the trustees and the portfolio managers remain satisfied with the portfolio's performance. The Trust retains a longterm investment strategy for the endowment and is confident that this is the correct strategy. The trustees and fund managers are continuing to explore ways to increase the environmental sustainability of the portfolio and continue to diversify the risk of equity investments.
The primary risks identified for the next financial year continue to be similar themes, including the high cost of living, geopolitical events, and potential adverse effects from the US elections. The Trust believes that appropriate investment strategies are in place to grow and maintain the endowment fund.
During the year, the portfolio provided gross income before fees of £244,871 (2024: £239,076).
b. Reserves Policy
The income generated from the Trust's investments is held in unrestricted funds.
The Trustees review the level of unrestricted funds each year and consider it should be maintained at an adequate level to ensure the Trust is able to meet the current level of expected grants for the foreseeable future. The unrestricted reserves on 31 March 2025 amount to £500,843 (2024: £461,869 as restated), and the endowment funds amount to £12,130,807 (2024: £12,136,318 as restated).
c. Going Concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Accounting Policies.
Structure, governance and management
a. Constitution
The Trust was set up by the late Calouste Gulbenkian primarily for the support of the Armenian Church of St. Sarkis in London and the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem. The Governing Document of the Trust was originally the Trust Deed dated 6 August 1954 and is now the Scheme prepared by the Charity Commissioners at the request of the Trustees and sealed on the 26 March 1997.
Page 6
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Structure, governance and management (continued)
b. Methods of Appointment or Election of Trustees
The Trustees are appointed by the Board of Trustees and serve for five years after which period they may put themselves forward for re appointment. The Trust Deed and Scheme provides that the Trustees are not to be less than three in number and that when appointing any future Trustee, the Trustees are to have regard to Mr. Gulbenkian’s desire that the Trustees should include a representative or representatives of his family, the Managing Trustees of the Armenian Church of St. Sarkis and the legal profession in England.
c. Policies Adopted for the Induction and Training of Trustees
New Trustees are selected on the basis of their background and commitment to the ethos of the Trust in supporting the Armenian community within and outside the UK as well as the skills and expertise they bring to the Trust.
New Trustees are inducted through meetings with the Chairman who provides details of the Trust, its background, aims and objectives, how it operates and future plans. New Trustees are also provided with a copy of the governing Trust deed, the previous year’s Trustee board minutes, the last years of annual reports and accounts, and a copy of the Charity Commission’s guidance ‘The Essential Trustee: What You Need to Know’ and ‘Public Benefit: running a charity’.
d. Organisational Structure and Decision Making
At the Trustees meetings, the Trustees agree the broad strategy for grant making, investment, risk management policies, reserves and performance. Between meetings the Trustees also monitor all recommendations for funding and delegate the day-to-day administration to the Secretary and Treasurer.
e. Risk Management
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate our exposure to the major risks.
The principle risks and uncertainties facing the Trust are providing support to organisations in countries with less developed legal, financial and governmental infrastructures that allow the Trust to authenticate an application for funding and the organisation making the application. Risks also arise when supporting such organisations in monitoring and ensuring that funds granted are applied as per the purpose they were granted.
These risks are managed by: using, where available, independent organisations, such as the British Council, to verify the organisation, the reasons for application and where possible the use of the funding; ensuring accreditation is up to date and robust policies and procedures in place; and regular awareness training for staff working in these operational areas. The Trust also uses its connection with the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to identify and verify organisations outside the UK in need of support and to monitor the funding granted.
f. Correspondence
All correspondence should be addressed to:
Mr Helder Almeida Secretary to the Trustees Saint Sarkis Charity Trust 50 Hoxton Square London N1 6PB
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Statement of Trustees' responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP (FRS 102);
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make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Disclosure of information to auditors
Each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when this Trustees' report is approved has confirmed that:
-
so far as that Trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity's auditors are unaware, and
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that Trustee has taken all the steps that ought to have been taken as a Trustee in order to be aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity's auditors are aware of that information.
Auditors
The audit registration of Kreston Reeves LLP was transferred to Kreston Reeves Audit LLP on 6 October 2025. Kreston Reeves Audit LLP were formally appointed as auditor to the charity on 6 October 2025.
The auditors, Kreston Reeves Audit LLP, have indicated their willingness to continue in office. The designated Trustees will propose a motion reappointing the auditors at a meeting of the Trustees.
Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Martin Essayan Chairman
Date: 10 November 2025
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Statement of financial activities For the year ended 31 March 2025
| Note Income and endowments from: Donations and legacies 5 Investments 6 Total income and endowments Expenditure on: Raising funds 7 Charitable activities 9 Governance costs 10 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) before net gains on investments Net gains on investments Net income/(expenditure) Transfers between funds 15 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Net movement in funds Total funds carried forward |
Endowment funds 2025 £ - 244,871 244,871 38,479 - 8,460 46,939 197,932 96,557 294,489 (300,000) (5,511) 12,136,318 (5,511) 12,130,807 |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 5,310 - 5,310 - 260,816 5,520 266,336 (261,026) - (261,026) 300,000 38,974 461,869 38,974 500,843 |
Total funds 2025 £ 5,310 244,871 250,181 38,479 260,816 13,980 313,275 (63,094) 96,557 33,463 - 33,463 12,598,187 33,463 12,631,650 |
Total funds 2024 £ 8,600 239,076 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 247,676 | ||||
| 34,899 144,194 14,920 |
||||
| 194,013 | ||||
| 53,663 1,057,777 |
||||
| 1,111,440 - |
||||
| 1,111,440 | ||||
| 11,486,747 1,111,440 |
||||
| 12,598,187 |
The Statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
The notes on pages 15 to 28 form part of these financial statements.
Page 13
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Balance sheet As at 31 March 2025
| Note Fixed assets Investments 13 Current assets Cash at bank and in hand Current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 14 Net current liabilities / assets Total net assets Charity funds Endowment funds 15 Unrestricted funds 15 Total funds |
67,221 67,221 (86,940) |
2025 £ 12,651,369 12,651,369 (19,719) 12,631,650 12,130,807 500,843 12,631,650 |
304,926 304,926 (85,084) |
2024 £ 12,378,345 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,378,345 219,842 |
||||
| 12,598,187 | ||||
| 12,136,318 461,869 |
||||
| 12,598,187 |
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Martin Essayan Chairman Date: 10 November 2025
The notes on pages 15 to 28 form part of these financial statements.
Page 14
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
1. General information
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust is an unincorporated charity domilciled in England. The address of its registered office and principal place of business is disclosed on the company information page. The charity's principal objectves are disclosed on page 2.
2. Accounting policies
2.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - 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 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.
The financial statements have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following the 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 effective 1 January 2019 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.
2.2 Cash flow exemption
The Charity has taken advantage of the exemption conferred by Section 7.1B of FRS 102 not to prepare a Statement of cash flows as a small sized entity.
2.3 Income
All income is recognised once the Charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.
Incoming resources are not included net of expenditure, since this is considered to give more complete information concerning the Trust’s financial activities.
Investment income is accounted for on a receivable basis. Investment income from endowment funds is to be applied to furthering the objectives of the charity. Incoming resources from the endowment fund are unrestricted.
Donated services and facilities for administrative support are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified and a third party is bearing the cost. A corresponding expense is recorded in the statement of financial activities.
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
2. Accounting policies (continued)
2.4 Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Costs of generating funds are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.
Charitable activities and Governance costs are costs incurred on the charity's educational operations, including support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Resources expended include attributable VAT which cannot be recovered.
Grants payable are accounted for once approval has been given by the Trustees and the obligation to pay the grant has arisen.
Staff and office costs provided by the Gulbenkian Foundation and Other office costs are divided equally between charitable expenditure and governance costs.
2.5 Investments
Fixed asset investments are a form of financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction cost and subsequently measured at fair value at the Balance sheet date, unless the value cannot be measured reliably in which case it is measured at cost less impairment. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and presented as ‘Gains/(Losses) on investments’ in the Statement of financial activities.
2.6 Total return investment policy
The Trustees have adopted a total return approach to investment and spending, as permitted under the Trusts (Capital and Income) Act 2013 and the Charity Commission regulations associated with it. This was approved by the Trustees in November 2017 and brought into effect from 1 April 2018 using the average value of the endowment over the previous five years as the base point.
2.7 Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
2.8 Liabilities and provisions
Liabilities and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Liabilities and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
2. Accounting policies (continued)
2.9 Financial instruments
The Charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
2.10 Fund accounting
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
The Endowment funds are funds used for investment purposes. Under the Total Return basis, a portion of the Endowment fund can be transferred to the Income fund each year. The Unapplied Total Return accumulates if no transfer is made. Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund.
2.11 Foreign currencies
Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at rates of exchange ruling at the reporting date.
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate ruling on the date of the transaction.
Exchange gains and losses are recognised in the Statement of financial activities.
3. Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgment
Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.
Critical accounting estimates and assumptions:
The Charity makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.
4. Employees
There were no employees during the current or prior period, other than trustees, who did not receive any remuneration (2024: £Nil).
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
5. Income from donations and legacies
| Donations Donations |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 5,310 Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 8,600 |
Total funds 2025 £ 5,310 |
|---|---|---|
| Total funds 2024 £ 8,600 |
In 2024 and 2025, the total income from donations and legacies, related to the provision of professional services.
6. Investment income
| Endowment funds 2025 £ Dividends and interest on fixed interest securities 244,871 Endowment funds 2024 £ Dividends and interest on fixed interest securities 239,076 |
Total funds 2025 £ 244,871 |
|---|---|
| Total funds 2024 £ 239,076 |
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
7. Investment management costs
| Expenditure on investment management Expenditure on investment management Analysis of grants Grants Grants |
Endowment funds 2025 £ 38,479 Endowment funds 2024 £ 34,899 Grants to Institutions 2025 £ 259,752 Grants to Institutions 2024 £ 139,381 |
Total funds 2025 £ 38,479 |
|---|---|---|
| Total funds 2024 £ 34,899 |
||
| Total funds 2025 £ 259,752 |
||
| Total funds 2024 £ 139,381 |
8. Analysis of grants
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
The Charity has made the following material grants to institutions during the year:
| Armenian Projects Fees re Jerusalem Library Women's Support Centre Kapan Math Club Children of Armenia Fund Near East Foundation We Are Our Mountains London Armenian Poor Relief Society Trust Parish Council of Saint Sarkis Akhtamar Armenian Performance Group Armenian Summer Festival Armenian Church of St. Sarkis Vulnerable Women Empowerment Project Junishian Centre for Armenian Information and Advice Klingen Choir and Cultural Association ACT UK - Summer Schools Programmes Other Projects Barrow Cadbury Trust Cancelled Grants Aurora (Artsakh) Diocese of the Armenia Church of Romania PRIME AGBU AAAS |
2025 £ 23,963 (802) 33,043 - - 18,830 17,000 - 5,000 2,320 2,000 68,398 25,780 17,270 2,050 14,900 229,752 30,000 30,000 - - - - - - 259,752 |
2024 £ 30,254 29,046 25,000 22,360 22,360 22,000 16,500 8,950 5,000 3,000 2,000 - - - - - |
|---|---|---|
| 186,470 30,000 |
||
| 30,000 (22,443) (18,000) (29,889) (6,708) (49) |
||
| (77,089) | ||
| 139,381 |
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
9. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities
Summary by fund type
| Grants Other charitable activities Grants Other charitable activities |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 259,752 1,064 |
Total 2025 £ 259,752 1,064 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 260,816 | |||
| 260,816 | |||
| Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 139,381 4,813 144,194 |
Total 2024 £ 139,381 4,813 144,194 |
||
10. Governance costs
| Auditors' remuneration Non audit fees Auditors' remuneration Staff and office costs provided by Gulbenkian Foundation |
Endowment funds 2025 £ 8,460 - 8,460 Endowment funds 2024 £ 7,965 - 7,965 |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 2,820 2,700 5,520 Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 2,655 4,300 6,955 |
Total funds 2025 £ 11,280 2,700 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13,980 Total funds 2024 £ 10,620 4,300 |
|||
| 14,920 |
Page 21
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
11. Analysis of expenditure by activities
| Grants Other charitable activities Grants Other charitable activities Analysis of support costs Subscriptions Staff and office costs provided by Gulbenkian Foundation Subscriptions |
Grant funding of activities 2025 £ 259,752 - 259,752 Grant funding of activities 2024 £ 139,381 - 139,381 |
Support costs 2025 £ - 1,064 1,064 Support costs 2024 £ - 4,813 4,813 Other charitable activities 2025 £ 1,064 Other charitable activities 2024 £ 4,300 513 4,813 |
Total funds 2025 £ 259,752 1,064 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 260,816 | |||
| Total funds 2024 £ 139,381 4,813 |
|||
| 144,194 | |||
| Total funds 2025 £ 1,064 |
|||
| Total funds 2024 £ 4,300 513 |
|||
| 4,813 |
Page 22
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
| Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. Auditors' remuneration Fees payable to the Charity's auditor for the audit of the Charity's annual accounts 13. Fixed asset investments Listed investments £ Cost or valuation At 1 April 2024 12,138,953 Additions 3,530,949 Disposals (4,147,632) Revaluations (21,892) Net cash movement - At 31 March 2025 11,500,378 Net book value At 31 March 2025 11,500,378 At 31 March 2024 12,138,953 |
2025 £ 13,980 Cash awaiting investment £ 239,392 - - - 911,599 1,150,991 1,150,991 239,392 |
2024 £ 10,620 Total £ 12,378,345 3,530,949 (4,147,632) (21,892) 911,599 |
|
| 12,651,369 12,651,369 |
|||
| 12,378,345 |
Page 23
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
| Investments at market value comprise Listed investments Cash awaiting investment Total net investment transactions Equity Loans Cash Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Grants payable Accruals |
2025 £ 11,500,378 1,150,991 12,651,369 2025 £ 9,756,356 1,744,021 1,150,991 12,651,368 2025 £ 63,186 23,754 86,940 |
2024 £ 12,138,953 239,392 |
|---|---|---|
| 12,378,345 | ||
| 2024 £ 10,714,740 1,424,213 239,392 |
||
| 12,378,345 | ||
| 2024 £ 65,469 19,615 |
||
| 85,084 |
14. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
Page 24
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
15. Statement of funds
Statement of funds - current year
| Balance at | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at 1 | Transfers | Gains/ | 31 March | |||
| April 2024 | Income | Expenditure | in/out | (Losses) | 2025 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted | ||||||
| funds | ||||||
| General Funds - | ||||||
| all funds | 461,869 | 5,310 | (266,336) | 300,000 | - | 500,843 |
| Endowment | ||||||
| funds | ||||||
| Endowment | ||||||
| Funds - all | ||||||
| funds | 12,136,318 | 244,871 | (46,939) | (300,000) | 96,557 | 12,130,807 |
| Total of funds | 12,598,187 | 250,181 | (313,275) | - | 96,557 | 12,631,650 |
| Statement of funds - prior year | ||||||
| As restated | ||||||
| As restated | Balance at | |||||
| Balance at | As restated | Transfers | Gains/ | 31 March | ||
| 1 April 2023 | Income | Expenditure | in/out | (Losses) | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted | ||||||
| funds | ||||||
| General Funds - | ||||||
| all funds | 304,418 | 8,600 | (151,149) | 300,000 | - | 461,869 |
| Endowment | ||||||
| funds | ||||||
| Endowment | ||||||
| Funds - all | ||||||
| funds | 11,182,329 | 239,076 | (42,864) | (300,000) | 1,057,777 | 12,136,318 |
| Total of funds | 11,486,747 | 247,676 | (194,013) | - | 1,057,777 | 12,598,187 |
Page 25
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
. Funds note adjustment
The prior year transfer of £300,000 permitted by the Charity Commission (see Note 2.6) was not included in the above table in the prior year financial statements and has been restated above.
The net asset note has also been restated for this.
16. Analysis of net assets between funds
| Fixed asset investments Current assets Creditors due within one year Total |
Endowment funds 2025 £ 11,500,378 638,889 (8,460) 12,130,807 |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 1,150,991 (571,668) (78,480) 500,843 |
Total funds 2025 £ 12,651,369 67,221 (86,940) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,631,650 |
Analysis of net assets between funds - prior year
| Fixed asset investments Current assets Creditors due within one year Total |
As restated Endowment funds 2024 £ 12,144,283 - (7,965) 12,136,318 |
As restated Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 234,062 304,926 (77,119) 461,869 |
Total funds 2024 £ 12,378,345 304,926 (85,084) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,598,187 |
Page 26
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
16. Analysis of net assets between funds (continued)
Endowment Fund
The Endowment Fund was established in 1954. The objectives of the Trust are as stated in the Trustees Report.
As permitted by the Charity Commission (see Note 2.6), the trustees have opted to invest the endowment on a total return basis which means they are free to invest to maximise total return over the long term rather than to meet short term income targets.
The Total Return policy was adopted with effect from 1 April 2018. The valuation of the investment and the initial value of the UTR was determined by reference to the average value of the endowment as at 31 March 2017.
The Trust's objectives are to achieve a total real return over a rolling five-year period to preserve the permanent endowment in real terms while sustaining a spending rate of 3.0% of total asset value per annum and to maintain an overall total risk level that reduces to an acceptable level the likelihood of the UTR being exhausted under any likely five-year market fall whilst allowing the Trust to support its spending commitments over this period.
In accordance with the regulations, the Trustees decide each year how much to transfer to the Income Fund and how much to retain in the Unapplied Total Return (UTR) to ensure their ability to spend in the future. In the year, the Trust spent the usual amount but chose to take a portion from accumulated income and £300,000 (2024: £300,000) from the UTR. This accumulated income had become quite large because the Trustees set aside funds for a project at the Gulbenkian Library in Jerusalem which was subsequently withdrawn.
17. Grant commitments
At 31 March 2025 the Trust had future minimum grant payments under legal obligation of £2,000 (2024: £2,000) per annum, payable to the Armenian Church of St Sarkis.
Page 27
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
18. Related party transactions
The charity has Trustees in common with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation who, during the year donated services valued at £5,310 (2024: £8,600) to the trust.
During the year no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2024: £Nil).
During the year no Trustee expenses have been incurred (2024: £Nil).
There were no outstanding balances with any related parties as at the year end.
19. Controlling party
The Trustees are the controlling party of the Charity.
Page 28
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
215352
50 Hoxton Square London N1 6PB
Kreston Reeves Audit LLP Statutory Auditor and Chartered Accountants 37 St Margarets Street Canterbury Kent CT1 2TU
Dear Auditors
This letter is furnished at your request in connection with the audit of the financial statements of the charity for the period ended 31 March 2025 for the purpose of expressing an opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true and fair view of the results and financial position of the charity in accordance with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Trust Deed, and in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, including the Statement of Recommended Practice Accounting and Reporting by Charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS102(“the SORP”), including all subsequent Update Bulletins issued that apply to the period under review.
We recognise that our representations concerning the matters referred to below are significant in enabling you to form an opinion on the financial statements.
We have fulfilled our responsibilities as trustees of the charity, as set out in your terms of engagement dated 19 June 2025, under the Charities Acts for preparing financial statements in accordance with the applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, which you have drafted on our behalf, which give a true and fair view of the financial position of the charity as of the period end and of the results of operations for the period then ended and for making accurate representations to you.
We acknowledge our legal responsibilities regarding disclosure of information to you as auditors and confirm that, so far as we are aware, there is no relevant audit information needed by you in connection with preparing your audit report of which you are unaware. Each trustee has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make themself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that you are aware of that information.
Fraud
We acknowledge our responsibility for the design, implementation and maintenance of a system of internal control in order to prevent and detect fraud.
We have assessed the risk that the financial statements may be materially misstated as a result of fraud and it is our opinion that any such risk is minimal.
We are not aware of any irregularities involving management or employees who have a significant role with regards to the internal control system or that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
We are not aware of any fraud or suspected fraud of any kind communicated by current or former employees, analysts, regulators or any others.
- 1 -
We are not aware of matters related to fraudulent activity or other non-compliance with law or regulation arising since the beginning of the period which have been communicated to the Charity Commission.
Provision of information
We have made available to your representatives all significant financial records and related data. We have provided to you all other information requested and given unrestricted access to persons within the charity from whom you have deemed it necessary to obtain audit evidence. All other records and related information, including minutes of all management meetings, have been made available to you.
Accounting records
All financial transactions of the charity have been properly reflected in the accounting records in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 and have been properly reflected in the financial statements.
Accounting estimates
We confirm that the methods, data and significant assumptions used by us in making accounting estimates, and their related disclosures, are appropriate to achieve recognition, measurement and disclosure that is reasonable in the context of the applicable financial reporting framework. We confirm that we have informed you of all such significant assumptions.
Minutes and Contracts
The minute books presented to you contain complete and authentic minutes of all meetings of the charity’s trustees held since the beginning of the period under review.
We have complied with all aspects of contractual agreements that would have a material effect on the financial statements in the event of non-compliance.
None of the trustees had at any time in the period an interest in any contract with the charity except as disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.
Law and Regulations
We confirm that we are not aware of any possible or actual instance of non-compliance with those laws and regulations which provide a legal and regulatory framework within which the charity conducts its business and which are central to the charity’s ability to conduct its business, except as explained to yourselves and disclosed in the financial statements.
We confirm that we have reviewed the guidance “How to report a serious incident in your charity” published by the Charity Commission. We also confirm that no Serious Incident Reports have been submitted to the Charity Commission, nor any events considered for submission, during the accounting period or in the period from the balance sheet date to the date of approval of the financial statements.
We are not aware of any instances during the period where the charity has operated outside its charitable objectives as laid down in its governing documents.
We can confirm that our procedures for handling data are compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation and that there have been no events which could result in any penalty being levied by the Information Commissioner’s Office which could have a material impact on the financial statements.
- 2 -
Investments
None of the charity's investments have declined in value to an amount less than the carrying value in the balance sheet.
Listed investments are included in the financial statements at their open market value based upon our valuation at the balance sheet date. Investments have a market value at the year-end of £11,500,378 and the cash awaiting investment was £1,150,991.
Other Current Assets
We are of the opinion that other current assets have a value on realisation in the ordinary course of operations at least equal to the amounts at which they are stated in the financial statements. In particular adequate provision has been made against all amounts owing to the charity, which are known, or may be expected, to be irrecoverable.
We confirm that we hold no additional bank accounts, secured liabilities or guarantees other than those included in the financial statements.
Assets - General
We confirm that the charity has satisfactory title to all assets appearing in the balance sheet and that they are free from any lien or charge unless otherwise stated in the financial statements.
We have no intentions that may materially alter the carrying value or classification of assets and liabilities reflected in the financial statements.
Liabilities - General
All known liabilities of the charity at the balance sheet date have been included in the financial statements. Adequate provisions have been made in the financial statements for liabilities, which are known to exist but the amount of which, cannot be accurately determined.
Provision has been made for all grant commitments made by the charity in line with the requirements of the SORP.
Contingent Liabilities
We have disclosed to you all claims in connection with litigation or any other claim of material importance that have been, or are expected to be, received and any such claims have been appropriately accounted for and disclosed in the financial statements.
We have disclosed to you all other contingent liabilities.
Taxation
The charity has not undertaken any activities during the year upon which a tax liability arises.
Statement of financial activities
All income of the charity for the period under review has been included in the financial statements.
Except as disclosed in the financial statements the results for the period were not materially affected by:
-
transactions of a sort not usually undertaken by the charity.
-
circumstances of an exceptional or non-recurring nature.
-
charges or credits relating to prior periods.
-
3 -
All grants, donations and other income, the receipt of which is subject to specific terms or conditions, have been notified to you. There have been no breaches of terms or conditions during the period in the application of such income.
Transactions with trustees and other related parties
Trustees’ remuneration
We confirm that no remuneration was paid to trustees during the period under review.
Key management personnel compensation
We confirm that the key management personnel of the charity comprise solely the trustees of the charity who have held office during the period. No other person has had any authority or responsibility for planning, directing or controlling the activities of the charity.
Related party transactions
We confirm that we have fully disclosed to you the identity of all of the charity’s related parties.
You have been provided with details of all transactions between the charity and its related parties that have arisen during the accounting period and we confirm that the disclosure made in the financial statements of these transactions is complete and accurate.
We confirm the factual accuracy of the controlling party disclosure in the financial statements.
Capital Commitments
The financial statements make full disclosure of all outstanding amounts contracted for at the balance sheet date in respect of capital expenditure.
Post Balance Sheet Events
Since the balance sheet date no events or transactions have either occurred or are pending which would have a material effect upon the financial statements at that date, or for the period then ended, or which are of such significance in relation to the charity’s affairs as to require disclosure in the financial statements.
Financial Facilities
Since the balance sheet date adequate financial facilities have continued to be available to the charity and we have no reason to believe that such facilities will be withdrawn within the next twelve months.
Proposed adjustments and misstatements detected by the auditors
We acknowledge our responsibility for the maintenance of the accounting records and the preparation of the financial statements which you have compiled on our behalf. We confirm that we have reviewed these financial statements and are satisfied that they have been correctly compiled.
Review of going concern basis
We confirm that we have considered the charity’s future operations, working capital requirements and cashflows and we feel that the going concern basis is appropriate for the preparation of the financial statements for the period under review. Our considerations have covered a period of not less than 12 months from the date of the approval of the financial statements.
Our consideration has included a thorough assessment of the charity’s ability to continue trading as a going concern in light of the current economic climate. We have taken appropriate measures, as far as possible based on the information currently available to us, to safeguard the current and future operations of the charity.
- 4 -
All projected cashflows, management accounts and other information and assumptions used in reaching this conclusion have been made available to you for the purposes of your audit. We confirm that our plans for future actions required to enable the charity to continue as a going concern are feasible.
There are no material uncertainties of which we are aware that cast doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern.
We are of the opinion that the disclosure on going concern in both the trustees’ report and the financial statements is an accurate reflection of the charity’s financial position.
Current economic climate
We confirm that we are aware of our responsibility as trustees to consider, as far as possible with the information currently available to us, the potential influence of prevailing economic conditions on all aspects of the charity’s financial and narrative reporting. This includes, but is not limited to, significant global events, geopolitical uncertainties, and fluctuations in interest rates and inflation.
We confirm that all representations made in this letter include due consideration of these factors. In particular this includes, but is not limited to, the following:
-
Appropriate disclosure has been included in the charity’s narrative reporting regarding the impact of the current economic climate on the charity’s performance during the period, our assessment of principal risks and uncertainties and the future activity of the charity;
-
We acknowledge our responsibility in the preparation of the financial statements for making appropriate judgments, estimates and assumptions. We have informed you of the judgements and estimates, including those related to the current economic climate, that have had the most significant impact on the financial statements. We confirm that the disclosure in the financial statements of the critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement accurately describes our assessment of matters relating to the current economic climate;
-
The financial statements reflect the conditions which existed at the reporting date,
-
We have reassessed the value of the charity's investments in light of the current economic climate. We confirm that they have not declined in value to an amount less than the carrying value at the reporting date;
-
At the reporting date, any additional liabilities arising as a result of the current economic climate have been recognised. We have specifically considered whether any additional provision is required in respect of:
-
Doubtful debts;
-
Onerous leases and contracts;
-
Redundancy payments.
Approval of Financial Statements
We confirm that the above representations are made on the basis of enquiries of management and staff with relevant knowledge and experience and, where appropriate, of inspection of supporting documentation sufficient to satisfy ourselves that we can properly make each of the above representations to you.
The financial statements and the contents of this letter were formally approved by the board at a meeting held on the date shown below.
Yours faithfully
- 5 -
Martin Essayan (Dec 17, 2025 16:58:32 GMT)
Martin Essayan (Chair of Trustees)
for and on behalf of the Board of Trustees
Date:
- 6 -
Charity number: 215352
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Contents
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Reference and administrative details of the Charity, its Trustees and advisers | 1 |
| Trustees' report | 2 - 8 |
| Independent auditors' report on the financial statements | 9 - 12 |
| Statement of financial activities | 13 |
| Balance sheet | 14 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 15 - 28 |
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Reference and administrative details of the Charity, its Trustees and advisers For the year ended 31 March 2025
| Trustees | Rita Alice Vartoukian |
|---|---|
| Alexander D'Janoeff | |
| Teni Shahiean | |
| Martin Sarkis Essayan, Chairman | |
| Charity registered number 215352 Principal office 50 Hoxton Square London N1 6PB Independent auditors Kreston Reeves Audit LLP Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor 37 St Margaret's Street Canterbury Kent CT1 2TU Bankers Lloyds Bank P.O. Box 1000 BX1 1LT Solicitors Farrer & Co 66 Lincoln's Inn Fields London WC2A 3LH Investment Advisors Cazenove Capital Management 1 London Wall Place London EC2Y 5AU |
Page 1
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report For the year ended 31 March 2025
The Trustees present their annual report with the audited financial statements of Saint Sarkis Charity Trust ('the charity') for the year ended 31 March 2025. The Trustees confirm that the Annual Report and financial statements of the charity comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charity's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), 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 2019).
Objectives and Activities for the Public Benefit
a. Policies and Objectives
The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives, planning future activities, and setting the donation-making policy for the period.
The Saint Sarkis Charity Trust continues to fulfil several vital objectives. Primarily, it supports the Armenian Church of Saint Sarkis in London and the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem. When funds allow, the Trust also awards grants to registered charities working with the Armenian community in the UK and abroad. Additionally, the Trust collaborates with the Barrow Cadbury Trust to support innovative projects that assist prisoners and their families within the UK.
b. Grant Making Policies
The Trustees have established its grant-making policy to achieve its objectives for the public benefit. The Trust makes grants to the Armenian Church of St. Sarkis to help support the Church’s running costs and fund renovation and capital works. Until recently, the Trustees have met regularly with the Trustees of the Armenian Church to assess the level of grants to support the Church’s net running costs. The Trustees, together with the Saint Sarkis Church Parish Council and the Primate, raised concerns with the Charities Commission about some substantial changes proposed by the Trustees of the Armenian Church to their governing document and the lack of consultation about these changes with the Parish, Charity Trust, and Primate. It has become clear that this issue will remain unresolved, and the Charity Trustees have suspended all payments to the Armenian Church besides the £2,000 pa minimum.
The Trust also provides grants to the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem to fund the running and capital costs of maintaining the collection of over 120,000 specialised works, an extensive collection of manuscripts (about 4,000), a similar number of Armenian incunabula (early printed books), a historical collection of newspapers and periodicals (about 350 titles) in the Armenian, Arab and Ottoman languages from the 19th century onwards, and a collection of archival documents dating back to the 14th century. A yearly grant is paid to the curator of the collection, and applications for renovation and requests for funding for capital works are submitted to the Trustees for consideration.
The Trust also provides grants to other charities concerned with the Armenian Community in the UK and abroad. Applications are sent to the Secretary to the Trust explaining the nature of the project and including information on the exact purpose of the grant, the amount required, a budget, the latest annual report and audited accounts and plans for monitoring and evaluating the work.
Applications received from organisations outside the UK are conditional on the Trustees receiving progress and final reports on the project, photographic evidence and final project accounts certified by an internationally recognised organisation. The Trust, committed to transparency, also uses its connection with the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to identify Armenian organisations outside the UK in need of support and to monitor funding granted.
To the extent that funds are available, the Trust also makes grants to organisations developing innovative projects to support prisoners and their families in the UK. Rather than invite applications for grants, the Trustees decided to work with one partner, the Barrow Cadbury Trust. The Barrow Cadbury Trust proactively identifies and recommends projects for funding to the Trustees based on their expertise and knowledge of the field.
Page 2
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Achievements and Performance
a. Review of Activities
Regarding principal objectives, the Trust continues to support the Armenian Church of St. Sarkis in London, as per the trust deed. It continues to support the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.
The Trust has been pleased to make several significant grants, amounting to £205,789 (2024: £156,216) made for charitable objectives connected with Armenia or Armenians before the cancellation of some grants.
The Trust continues to give grants to some non-Armenian UK charities when sufficient funds are available. These grants are awarded to UK charities that are developing innovative projects to support prisoners and their families in the UK. During the period, the Trust provided £30,000 (2024: £30,000) through the Barrow Cadbury Trust.
b. Key Financial Performance Indicators
Each year, the Trustees plan to use the net income received from the Trust's endowed funds to (i) fund the Armenian Church of St Sarkis, (ii) make grants for the support of the library in Jerusalem, (iii) make grants to support the Armenian community, (iv) and fund a small number of non-Armenian projects.
The key financials for the current and previous year are:
c. Plans for Future Periods
The Trust plans to continue to meet its minimum obligation to the Armenian Church of St Sarkis Church, as per its trust deed. It will continue to support the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem. The Trust will also continue to give grants to some non-Armenian UK charities where sufficient funds and monitoring systems are available.
d. Investment Policy and Performance
The Trust operates a balanced income and capital approach to the investment of the Trust’s permanent endowment by the terms of the Charity Commission Scheme made on 26th March 1997 and the Trustee Act 2000.
Page 3
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Achievements and Performance (continued)
Delegation
The Trustees have delegated the management of the endowed funds (“the portfolio”) to a fund manager, Cazenove, who, in purchasing, retaining, or selling investments for the Trust, is required to have regard to the need for diversification and the Trustees’ obligation to ensure that each investment is in the best interests of the Trust. This appointment is reviewed regularly at the same time that the investment policy is reviewed. The Trustees have delegated the oversight of the portfolio management and biannual review to two delegated Trustees: Mr Alexander C B D'Janoeff and Mr. Martin Sarkis Essayan, who seek to ensure the fund manager performs effectively in line with the charity’s needs and the investment policy. These Trustees also keep the fund manager’s performance under review and compare it with what others could offer in terms of cost, investment approach, and level of service. Once agreed by the Trustees, these Trustees can sign any agreement with the fund manager on behalf of the Trustees, any amendment to that agreement, and any instructions to the fund manager to withdraw, or to transfer, cash or assets to third parties. Approval of the Trustees is not required for withdrawals and transfers entered into by the fund manager in connection with their management of the portfolio and the income arising therefrom. The delegated Trustees are also responsible for supervising the management of the cash portfolio.
Nature of Funds
The endowed funds are the permanent endowment of the Trust and are held in a balanced portfolio of equity, property and fixed-interest investments. In accordance with a total return policy, the income earned and investment gains or losses, endowment returns, are treated as Unapplied Total Returns [UTR]. The Trustees agree on how much of the UTR to allocate to the permanent endowment to ensure it maintains its value in real terms. The Trustees have set a Long-Term Spending Rate (LTSR) to determine the maximum amount of endowment returns that will be distributed in the year. This is used by the Trust in meeting its objectives for the public benefit, primarily through the giving of charitable grants and to pay the governance costs of running the Charity. The difference between the total endowment returns and the amounts allocated are retained as Unapplied Total Returns to mitigate against years where negative investment returns are experienced.
Designated funds arise from the Trust’s income streams and are assigned to a specific purpose by the Trustees. They are not treated as free reserves (available to be spent freely) as a designated use has been identified. These funds may be re-designated for another purpose by the Trustees if circumstances change.
Page 4
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Achievements and Performance (continued)
Investment policy and Total Return
The main investment objective and risk tolerance of the investment policy approved by the delegated Trustees are:
-
To achieve a total real return over a rolling five-year period to preserve the permanent endowment in real terms while sustaining a spending rate of 3.0 % of total asset value per annum.
-
To maintain an overall total risk level that reduces to an acceptable level the likelihood of the UTR being exhausted under any likely five-year market fall whilst allowing the trust to support its spending commitments over this period.
Given the investment and risk objectives, the delegated Trustees have established an overall allocation of the Trust’s investments to broad asset categories and reviews this asset allocation with the fund manager biannually reporting on it to the Trustees at least annually. The delegated Trustees have given the fund manager discretion to determine the precise asset allocation within certain control ranges, to achieve the investment objectives.
Benchmarks and Parameters
Benchmarks are agreed with the fund manager for each asset class.
Ethical and Socially Responsible Investment
The Trustees have reviewed their investment policy with regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on ethical and responsible investment. They have concluded that there are no specific industry or company activities which should be excluded from the portfolio on the grounds of any direct conflict with the charity’s objectives. However, the Trustees aim to observe responsible investment principles. The charity’s investment managers are expected to take into consideration the environmental, social, and governance characteristics of existing and prospective investments, where this is practicable and proportionate in the context of the overall investment strategy.
Investment Restrictions
The fund manager is required to ensure the securities are held by a regulated custodian of the highest credit rating in line with all FCA regulations.
With the exception of listed securities issued by the British Government, the fund manager should not invest more than 5% of the total portfolio value in the securities issued by any company, unit trust, or other listed entity.
The fund manager should not invest in derivative instruments other than to hedge risk exposures arising from conventional investments made in pursuit of the Trustees’ stated investment objectives. The fund manager is required to discuss the use of such instruments with the delegated Trustees beforehand.
Investments are made only in securities having a listing on a recognised stock exchange. However, this does not exclude investing in Authorised Unit Trusts.
No investments are made in hedge funds. The fund manager is required to discuss investments in Private Equity funds with the delegated Trustees beforehand.
When making investments in international equities, the fund manager is required to balance the need for diversification with the income yield target specified above and bear in mind that the majority of the Trust’s liabilities are sterling denominated and the Trustees almost certainly cannot recover any foreign tax deducted at source from any income.
The bond portfolio is structured to recognise the Trustees’ desire to maintain the real value of the portfolio and its income.
Page 5
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Achievements and Performance (continued)
Reporting and Review
The fund manager sends regular portfolio reports to the delegated Trustees. The delegated trustees and fund managers meet at least twice yearly to discuss past performance, asset allocation, and future plans. The delegated Trustees report to the other Trustees as necessary and when the investment policy is reviewed.
Financial review
a. Performance of Investment Portfolio Against Objectives
The portfolio's long-term performance continues to be strong despite external pressures in relation to inflation and geopolitical factors. The position of the trust investments has returned to pre-pandemic levels, and the trustees and the portfolio managers remain satisfied with the portfolio's performance. The Trust retains a longterm investment strategy for the endowment and is confident that this is the correct strategy. The trustees and fund managers are continuing to explore ways to increase the environmental sustainability of the portfolio and continue to diversify the risk of equity investments.
The primary risks identified for the next financial year continue to be similar themes, including the high cost of living, geopolitical events, and potential adverse effects from the US elections. The Trust believes that appropriate investment strategies are in place to grow and maintain the endowment fund.
During the year, the portfolio provided gross income before fees of £244,871 (2024: £239,076).
b. Reserves Policy
The income generated from the Trust's investments is held in unrestricted funds.
The Trustees review the level of unrestricted funds each year and consider it should be maintained at an adequate level to ensure the Trust is able to meet the current level of expected grants for the foreseeable future. The unrestricted reserves on 31 March 2025 amount to £500,843 (2024: £461,869 as restated), and the endowment funds amount to £12,130,807 (2024: £12,136,318 as restated).
c. Going Concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Accounting Policies.
Structure, governance and management
a. Constitution
The Trust was set up by the late Calouste Gulbenkian primarily for the support of the Armenian Church of St. Sarkis in London and the Gulbenkian Library at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem. The Governing Document of the Trust was originally the Trust Deed dated 6 August 1954 and is now the Scheme prepared by the Charity Commissioners at the request of the Trustees and sealed on the 26 March 1997.
Page 6
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Structure, governance and management (continued)
b. Methods of Appointment or Election of Trustees
The Trustees are appointed by the Board of Trustees and serve for five years after which period they may put themselves forward for re appointment. The Trust Deed and Scheme provides that the Trustees are not to be less than three in number and that when appointing any future Trustee, the Trustees are to have regard to Mr. Gulbenkian’s desire that the Trustees should include a representative or representatives of his family, the Managing Trustees of the Armenian Church of St. Sarkis and the legal profession in England.
c. Policies Adopted for the Induction and Training of Trustees
New Trustees are selected on the basis of their background and commitment to the ethos of the Trust in supporting the Armenian community within and outside the UK as well as the skills and expertise they bring to the Trust.
New Trustees are inducted through meetings with the Chairman who provides details of the Trust, its background, aims and objectives, how it operates and future plans. New Trustees are also provided with a copy of the governing Trust deed, the previous year’s Trustee board minutes, the last years of annual reports and accounts, and a copy of the Charity Commission’s guidance ‘The Essential Trustee: What You Need to Know’ and ‘Public Benefit: running a charity’.
d. Organisational Structure and Decision Making
At the Trustees meetings, the Trustees agree the broad strategy for grant making, investment, risk management policies, reserves and performance. Between meetings the Trustees also monitor all recommendations for funding and delegate the day-to-day administration to the Secretary and Treasurer.
e. Risk Management
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate our exposure to the major risks.
The principle risks and uncertainties facing the Trust are providing support to organisations in countries with less developed legal, financial and governmental infrastructures that allow the Trust to authenticate an application for funding and the organisation making the application. Risks also arise when supporting such organisations in monitoring and ensuring that funds granted are applied as per the purpose they were granted.
These risks are managed by: using, where available, independent organisations, such as the British Council, to verify the organisation, the reasons for application and where possible the use of the funding; ensuring accreditation is up to date and robust policies and procedures in place; and regular awareness training for staff working in these operational areas. The Trust also uses its connection with the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to identify and verify organisations outside the UK in need of support and to monitor the funding granted.
f. Correspondence
All correspondence should be addressed to:
Mr Helder Almeida Secretary to the Trustees Saint Sarkis Charity Trust 50 Hoxton Square London N1 6PB
Page 7
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Trustees' report (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025
Statement of Trustees' responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
-
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
-
observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP (FRS 102);
-
make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
-
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
-
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Disclosure of information to auditors
Each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when this Trustees' report is approved has confirmed that:
-
so far as that Trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity's auditors are unaware, and
-
that Trustee has taken all the steps that ought to have been taken as a Trustee in order to be aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity's auditors are aware of that information.
Auditors
The audit registration of Kreston Reeves LLP was transferred to Kreston Reeves Audit LLP on 6 October 2025. Kreston Reeves Audit LLP were formally appointed as auditor to the charity on 6 October 2025.
The auditors, Kreston Reeves Audit LLP, have indicated their willingness to continue in office. The designated Trustees will propose a motion reappointing the auditors at a meeting of the Trustees.
Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Martin Essayan (Dec 17, 2025 16:58:32 GMT)
17/12/2025
Martin Essayan Chairman
Page 8
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Statement of financial activities For the year ended 31 March 2025
| Note Income and endowments from: Donations and legacies 5 Investments 6 Total income and endowments Expenditure on: Raising funds 7 Charitable activities 9 Governance costs 10 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) before net gains on investments Net gains on investments Net income/(expenditure) Transfers between funds 15 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Net movement in funds Total funds carried forward |
Endowment funds 2025 £ - 244,871 244,871 38,479 - 8,460 46,939 197,932 96,557 294,489 (300,000) (5,511) 12,136,318 (5,511) 12,130,807 |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 5,310 - 5,310 - 260,816 5,520 266,336 (261,026) - (261,026) 300,000 38,974 461,869 38,974 500,843 |
Total funds 2025 £ 5,310 244,871 250,181 38,479 260,816 13,980 313,275 (63,094) 96,557 33,463 - 33,463 12,598,187 33,463 12,631,650 |
Total funds 2024 £ 8,600 239,076 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 247,676 | ||||
| 34,899 144,194 14,920 |
||||
| 194,013 | ||||
| 53,663 1,057,777 |
||||
| 1,111,440 - |
||||
| 1,111,440 | ||||
| 11,486,747 1,111,440 |
||||
| 12,598,187 |
The Statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
The notes on pages 15 to 28 form part of these financial statements.
Page 13
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Balance sheet As at 31 March 2025
| Note Fixed assets Investments 13 Current assets Cash at bank and in hand Current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 14 Net current liabilities / assets Total net assets Charity funds Endowment funds 15 Unrestricted funds 15 Total funds |
67,221 67,221 (86,940) |
2025 £ 12,651,369 12,651,369 (19,719) 12,631,650 12,130,807 500,843 12,631,650 |
304,926 304,926 (85,084) |
2024 £ 12,378,345 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,378,345 219,842 |
||||
| 12,598,187 | ||||
| 12,136,318 461,869 |
||||
| 12,598,187 |
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Martin Essayan (Dec 17, 2025 16:58:32 GMT)
17/12/2025
Martin Essayan Chairman
The notes on pages 15 to 28 form part of these financial statements.
Page 14
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
1. General information
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust is an unincorporated charity domilciled in England. The address of its registered office and principal place of business is disclosed on the company information page. The charity's principal objectves are disclosed on page 2.
2. Accounting policies
2.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - 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 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.
The financial statements have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following the 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 effective 1 January 2019 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.
2.2 Cash flow exemption
The Charity has taken advantage of the exemption conferred by Section 7.1B of FRS 102 not to prepare a Statement of cash flows as a small sized entity.
2.3 Income
All income is recognised once the Charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.
Incoming resources are not included net of expenditure, since this is considered to give more complete information concerning the Trust’s financial activities.
Investment income is accounted for on a receivable basis. Investment income from endowment funds is to be applied to furthering the objectives of the charity. Incoming resources from the endowment fund are unrestricted.
Donated services and facilities for administrative support are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified and a third party is bearing the cost. A corresponding expense is recorded in the statement of financial activities.
Page 15
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
2. Accounting policies (continued)
2.4 Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Costs of generating funds are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.
Charitable activities and Governance costs are costs incurred on the charity's educational operations, including support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Resources expended include attributable VAT which cannot be recovered.
Grants payable are accounted for once approval has been given by the Trustees and the obligation to pay the grant has arisen.
Staff and office costs provided by the Gulbenkian Foundation and Other office costs are divided equally between charitable expenditure and governance costs.
2.5 Investments
Fixed asset investments are a form of financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction cost and subsequently measured at fair value at the Balance sheet date, unless the value cannot be measured reliably in which case it is measured at cost less impairment. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and presented as ‘Gains/(Losses) on investments’ in the Statement of financial activities.
2.6 Total return investment policy
The Trustees have adopted a total return approach to investment and spending, as permitted under the Trusts (Capital and Income) Act 2013 and the Charity Commission regulations associated with it. This was approved by the Trustees in November 2017 and brought into effect from 1 April 2018 using the average value of the endowment over the previous five years as the base point.
2.7 Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
2.8 Liabilities and provisions
Liabilities and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Liabilities and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
Page 16
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
2. Accounting policies (continued)
2.9 Financial instruments
The Charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
2.10 Fund accounting
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
The Endowment funds are funds used for investment purposes. Under the Total Return basis, a portion of the Endowment fund can be transferred to the Income fund each year. The Unapplied Total Return accumulates if no transfer is made. Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund.
2.11 Foreign currencies
Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at rates of exchange ruling at the reporting date.
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate ruling on the date of the transaction.
Exchange gains and losses are recognised in the Statement of financial activities.
3. Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgment
Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.
Critical accounting estimates and assumptions:
The Charity makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.
4. Employees
There were no employees during the current or prior period, other than trustees, who did not receive any remuneration (2024: £Nil).
Page 17
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
5. Income from donations and legacies
| Donations Donations |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 5,310 Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 8,600 |
Total funds 2025 £ 5,310 |
|---|---|---|
| Total funds 2024 £ 8,600 |
In 2024 and 2025, the total income from donations and legacies, related to the provision of professional services.
6. Investment income
| Endowment funds 2025 £ Dividends and interest on fixed interest securities 244,871 Endowment funds 2024 £ Dividends and interest on fixed interest securities 239,076 |
Total funds 2025 £ 244,871 |
|---|---|
| Total funds 2024 £ 239,076 |
Page 18
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
7. Investment management costs
| Expenditure on investment management Expenditure on investment management Analysis of grants Grants Grants |
Endowment funds 2025 £ 38,479 Endowment funds 2024 £ 34,899 Grants to Institutions 2025 £ 259,752 Grants to Institutions 2024 £ 139,381 |
Total funds 2025 £ 38,479 |
|---|---|---|
| Total funds 2024 £ 34,899 |
||
| Total funds 2025 £ 259,752 |
||
| Total funds 2024 £ 139,381 |
8. Analysis of grants
Page 19
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
The Charity has made the following material grants to institutions during the year:
| Armenian Projects Fees re Jerusalem Library Women's Support Centre Kapan Math Club Children of Armenia Fund Near East Foundation We Are Our Mountains London Armenian Poor Relief Society Trust Parish Council of Saint Sarkis Akhtamar Armenian Performance Group Armenian Summer Festival Armenian Church of St. Sarkis Vulnerable Women Empowerment Project Junishian Centre for Armenian Information and Advice Klingen Choir and Cultural Association ACT UK - Summer Schools Programmes Other Projects Barrow Cadbury Trust Cancelled Grants Aurora (Artsakh) Diocese of the Armenia Church of Romania PRIME AGBU AAAS |
2025 £ 23,963 (802) 33,043 - - 18,830 17,000 - 5,000 2,320 2,000 68,398 25,780 17,270 2,050 14,900 229,752 30,000 30,000 - - - - - - 259,752 |
2024 £ 30,254 29,046 25,000 22,360 22,360 22,000 16,500 8,950 5,000 3,000 2,000 - - - - - |
|---|---|---|
| 186,470 30,000 |
||
| 30,000 (22,443) (18,000) (29,889) (6,708) (49) |
||
| (77,089) | ||
| 139,381 |
Page 20
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
9. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities
Summary by fund type
| Grants Other charitable activities Grants Other charitable activities |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 259,752 1,064 |
Total 2025 £ 259,752 1,064 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 260,816 | |||
| 260,816 | |||
| Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 139,381 4,813 144,194 |
Total 2024 £ 139,381 4,813 144,194 |
||
10. Governance costs
| Auditors' remuneration Non audit fees Auditors' remuneration Staff and office costs provided by Gulbenkian Foundation |
Endowment funds 2025 £ 8,460 - 8,460 Endowment funds 2024 £ 7,965 - 7,965 |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 2,820 2,700 5,520 Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 2,655 4,300 6,955 |
Total funds 2025 £ 11,280 2,700 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13,980 Total funds 2024 £ 10,620 4,300 |
|||
| 14,920 |
Page 21
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
11. Analysis of expenditure by activities
| Grants Other charitable activities Grants Other charitable activities Analysis of support costs Subscriptions Staff and office costs provided by Gulbenkian Foundation Subscriptions |
Grant funding of activities 2025 £ 259,752 - 259,752 Grant funding of activities 2024 £ 139,381 - 139,381 |
Support costs 2025 £ - 1,064 1,064 Support costs 2024 £ - 4,813 4,813 Other charitable activities 2025 £ 1,064 Other charitable activities 2024 £ 4,300 513 4,813 |
Total funds 2025 £ 259,752 1,064 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 260,816 | |||
| Total funds 2024 £ 139,381 4,813 |
|||
| 144,194 | |||
| Total funds 2025 £ 1,064 |
|||
| Total funds 2024 £ 4,300 513 |
|||
| 4,813 |
Page 22
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
| Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. Auditors' remuneration Fees payable to the Charity's auditor for the audit of the Charity's annual accounts 13. Fixed asset investments Listed investments £ Cost or valuation At 1 April 2024 12,138,953 Additions 3,530,949 Disposals (4,147,632) Revaluations (21,892) Net cash movement - At 31 March 2025 11,500,378 Net book value At 31 March 2025 11,500,378 At 31 March 2024 12,138,953 |
2025 £ 13,980 Cash awaiting investment £ 239,392 - - - 911,599 1,150,991 1,150,991 239,392 |
2024 £ 10,620 Total £ 12,378,345 3,530,949 (4,147,632) (21,892) 911,599 |
|
| 12,651,369 12,651,369 |
|||
| 12,378,345 |
Page 23
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
| Investments at market value comprise Listed investments Cash awaiting investment Total net investment transactions Equity Loans Cash Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Grants payable Accruals |
2025 £ 11,500,378 1,150,991 12,651,369 2025 £ 9,756,356 1,744,021 1,150,991 12,651,368 2025 £ 63,186 23,754 86,940 |
2024 £ 12,138,953 239,392 |
|---|---|---|
| 12,378,345 | ||
| 2024 £ 10,714,740 1,424,213 239,392 |
||
| 12,378,345 | ||
| 2024 £ 65,469 19,615 |
||
| 85,084 |
14. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
Page 24
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
15. Statement of funds
Statement of funds - current year
| Balance at | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at 1 | Transfers | Gains/ | 31 March | |||
| April 2024 | Income | Expenditure | in/out | (Losses) | 2025 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted | ||||||
| funds | ||||||
| General Funds - | ||||||
| all funds | 461,869 | 5,310 | (266,336) | 300,000 | - | 500,843 |
| Endowment | ||||||
| funds | ||||||
| Endowment | ||||||
| Funds - all | ||||||
| funds | 12,136,318 | 244,871 | (46,939) | (300,000) | 96,557 | 12,130,807 |
| Total of funds | 12,598,187 | 250,181 | (313,275) | - | 96,557 | 12,631,650 |
| Statement of funds - prior year | ||||||
| As restated | ||||||
| As restated | Balance at | |||||
| Balance at | As restated | Transfers | Gains/ | 31 March | ||
| 1 April 2023 | Income | Expenditure | in/out | (Losses) | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted | ||||||
| funds | ||||||
| General Funds - | ||||||
| all funds | 304,418 | 8,600 | (151,149) | 300,000 | - | 461,869 |
| Endowment | ||||||
| funds | ||||||
| Endowment | ||||||
| Funds - all | ||||||
| funds | 11,182,329 | 239,076 | (42,864) | (300,000) | 1,057,777 | 12,136,318 |
| Total of funds | 11,486,747 | 247,676 | (194,013) | - | 1,057,777 | 12,598,187 |
Page 25
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
. Funds note adjustment
The prior year transfer of £300,000 permitted by the Charity Commission (see Note 2.6) was not included in the above table in the prior year financial statements and has been restated above.
The net asset note has also been restated for this.
16. Analysis of net assets between funds
| Fixed asset investments Current assets Creditors due within one year Total |
Endowment funds 2025 £ 11,500,378 638,889 (8,460) 12,130,807 |
Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 1,150,991 (571,668) (78,480) 500,843 |
Total funds 2025 £ 12,651,369 67,221 (86,940) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,631,650 |
Analysis of net assets between funds - prior year
| Fixed asset investments Current assets Creditors due within one year Total |
As restated Endowment funds 2024 £ 12,144,283 - (7,965) 12,136,318 |
As restated Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 234,062 304,926 (77,119) 461,869 |
Total funds 2024 £ 12,378,345 304,926 (85,084) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,598,187 |
Page 26
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
16. Analysis of net assets between funds (continued)
Endowment Fund
The Endowment Fund was established in 1954. The objectives of the Trust are as stated in the Trustees Report.
As permitted by the Charity Commission (see Note 2.6), the trustees have opted to invest the endowment on a total return basis which means they are free to invest to maximise total return over the long term rather than to meet short term income targets.
The Total Return policy was adopted with effect from 1 April 2018. The valuation of the investment and the initial value of the UTR was determined by reference to the average value of the endowment as at 31 March 2017.
The Trust's objectives are to achieve a total real return over a rolling five-year period to preserve the permanent endowment in real terms while sustaining a spending rate of 3.0% of total asset value per annum and to maintain an overall total risk level that reduces to an acceptable level the likelihood of the UTR being exhausted under any likely five-year market fall whilst allowing the Trust to support its spending commitments over this period.
In accordance with the regulations, the Trustees decide each year how much to transfer to the Income Fund and how much to retain in the Unapplied Total Return (UTR) to ensure their ability to spend in the future. In the year, the Trust spent the usual amount but chose to take a portion from accumulated income and £300,000 (2024: £300,000) from the UTR. This accumulated income had become quite large because the Trustees set aside funds for a project at the Gulbenkian Library in Jerusalem which was subsequently withdrawn.
17. Grant commitments
At 31 March 2025 the Trust had future minimum grant payments under legal obligation of £2,000 (2024: £2,000) per annum, payable to the Armenian Church of St Sarkis.
Page 27
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
18. Related party transactions
The charity has Trustees in common with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation who, during the year donated services valued at £5,310 (2024: £8,600) to the trust.
During the year no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2024: £Nil).
During the year no Trustee expenses have been incurred (2024: £Nil).
There were no outstanding balances with any related parties as at the year end.
19. Controlling party
The Trustees are the controlling party of the Charity.
Martin Essayan
Martin Essayan (Dec 17, 2025 16:58:32 GMT)
17/12/2025
Page 28
SAINT SARKIS - accounts 2025-combined
Final Audit Report
2025-12-17
Created: 2025-12-17 By: CGF UKB (hsalmeida@gulbenkian.org.uk) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAATYHFh7XnuF8Av-ag3IUE-ja33NlxRpeP
"SAINT SARKIS - accounts 2025-combined" History
Document created by CGF UKB (hsalmeida@gulbenkian.org.uk)
2025-12-17 - 4:05:38 PM GMT
Document emailed to msessayan@outlook.com for signature
2025-12-17 - 4:05:43 PM GMT
Email viewed by msessayan@outlook.com
2025-12-17 - 4:57:14 PM GMT
Signer msessayan@outlook.com entered name at signing as Martin Essayan 2025-12-17 - 4:58:30 PM GMT
Document e-signed by Martin Essayan (msessayan@outlook.com)
Signature Date: 2025-12-17 - 4:58:32 PM GMT - Time Source: server
Agreement completed.
2025-12-17 - 4:58:32 PM GMT
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
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Our values
Our values define who we are and how we do things at Kreston Reeves. They reflect our attitudes and behaviours and represent a promise of quality, personal service and commitment to our clients, communities and colleagues.
Collectively and individually we aim to:
Our awards
We are regularly recognised and shortlisted in prestigious national, regional and industry awards. As well as receiving award recognition ourselves, it’s important to us to help recognise and award the successes and growth stories of other businesses. We regularly support and sponsor awards such as Kent MegaGrowth and Sussex Top50.
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
Index
| Page no | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Introduction and audit summary | 1 |
| 2. | Audit report | 3 |
| 3. | Key audit matters | 4 |
| 4. | Taxation | 5 |
| 5. | Misstatements encountered during the audit | 5 |
| 6. | The accounting and internal control systems | 6 |
| 7. | Qualitative aspects of the Charity’s accounting practices and | 7 |
| financial reporting | ||
| 8. | Other matters relevant to the audit | 7 |
| Appendices | ||
| Appendix I | - Other matters required by International Standards |
9 |
| on Auditing to be communicated to you |
Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
1. Introduction and audit summary
The purpose of this report is to bring to your attention our findings from the recent audit carried out on Saint Sarkis Charity Trust. We appreciate that you will already be aware of the majority of the matters contained in this report through earlier discussions you will have had with the audit team, but we hope that you will find this report a useful summary of those discussions.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Helder for the assistance he has provided to us during the course of our audit.
Our audit has given us a unique opportunity to understand your activities and processes. We have used this opportunity to provide you a service that is of real positive benefit to you.
During the course of our audit work this year we have performed the following tasks which we hope that you will have found to have been of benefit.
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We have assisted you with the preparation of the charity’s financial statements and the trustees’ annual report, ensuring that they comply with all statutory requirements and with accounting standards, including the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities”. In doing so we have ensured that the Charity has taken advantage of any accounting exemptions available to it so as to avoid any unnecessary over-disclosure of the Charity’s affairs that are not required to be published in publicly available financial statements.
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We have assisted you with the preparation of the Charity’s financial statements.
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We have reviewed the accounting policies that you have selected to ensure that they are meeting best practice in accounting for the sector in which the charity operates.
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We have advised you of planned changes in legislation that may be of relevance to you in order that you may prepare for their implementation. These are detailed at Section 0 of this report.
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We have advised you of planned future changes to taxation that are likely to affect the charity, providing an indication of the likely impact. These changes are detailed at Section 4 of this report.
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We have reviewed the Charity’s systems of accounting and internal control systems and made recommendations where these can be improved. These are detailed at Section 6 of this report.
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
Should you have any questions regarding any of the issues raised in this report please contact Sam Rouse as the partner responsible for the audit of the charity, or any other member of the audit team, who will be happy to provide further explanations as required.
Kreston Reeves Audit LLP
Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants
October 2025
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
2. Audit report
We can confirm that our audit has not revealed any matters which will require modifications to our audit report. Thus at this stage we expect that an unqualified audit opinion will be issued.
3. Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of greatest significance in our audit of the financial statements. These include the significant risks of potential material misstatement that we identified during our planning of the audit and had the greatest impact on our overall audit strategy, which we advised you of in the Audit Plan issued to you prior to the commencement of our work.
We can now report to you how our audit addressed these areas of significant risk and the conclusions we formed.
• Risk of fraud in revenue recognition
There is a risk that income is not complete within the financial statements and could be recognised in the wrong accounting period.
Investment income was agreed to the investment reports and was confirmed to be accurate. Donated services provided free of charge were reviewed to ensure they were reasonable and agreed to the accounting policies. No issues were identified.
• Allocation of fund
There is a risk that the funds of the charity are spent in breach of the conditions attached to them if income and expenditure are allocated to the wrong funds.
Movements through the funds were reviewed to check they were allocated to the correct fund. Management confirmation was obtained for total returns transfers. No issues were identified.
• Completeness of related party transactions
Related party transactions are material by nature and non-disclosure could lead to material misstatement in the financial statements.
All transactions with the Armenian Church of St Sarkis were reviewed as they remain a related party of the charity. Further transactions with additional related parties were reviewed for reasonableness. No issues were identified.
• Management override
There is a non-rebuttable assumption that there is a risk that management could override controls and cause material error or misstatement in the financial statements.
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
Large and unusual payments and receipts have been reviewed to ensure that they are reasonable and are in line with our understanding of the business. Accounting estimates were reviewed to ensure they are free from management bias. No issues were identified.
• Investment valuation
There is a risk that the investments are incorrectly valued in the accounts due to the judgement involved in their valuation.
We have reviewed the investments and the use of Cazenove as fund managers. No issues were identified.
• Compliance with laws and regulations
There is a risk that non-compliance with laws and regulations could reduce the charity’s memberships or stop operations.
We have reviewed the charity’s meeting minutes and expenses to ensure there have been no indications of non-compliance. No issues were identified.
4. Taxation
As part of our audit, we have considered the charity’s exposure to taxation based upon the activities it undertakes and its various sources of income. We have concluded that the charity has no corporation tax liability for the year.
5. Misstatements encountered during the audit
We are required to inform you of any significant misstatements within the financial statements presented for audit that have been discovered during the course of our audit. No such misstatements were discovered.
We are also pleased to advise that there were no significant unadjusted misstatements identified during the course of our audit.
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
6. The accounting and internal control systems
As trustees of the charity you are responsible for ensuring that you have in place a system of internal control that is designed to protect the integrity of your accounting records and thus prevent and detect any irregularities that may occur, including any that may arise as a consequence of fraudulent activity.
The cornerstone of any system of internal control upon which many organisations will rely upon is the segregation of duties, ensuring that no one person can have control over the authorisation, performance and recording of transactions.
We appreciate that for a small organisation such as yours there can be difficulty in putting into place an effective system of internal control that incorporates the segregation of duties. Despite this you should ensure that your systems have in place adequate oversight of the accounting function.
In addition we would suggest that you document the accounting and internal control systems that you have in place, and ensure that these are regularly reviewed and updated where necessary. Not only does this demonstrate good governance and assist us as auditors in establishing what your systems are, they will also help you in the event of any changes in your finance personnel or should they be unable to work for any length of time and a person unfamiliar with your processes has to take over on a temporary basis.
Please note that the purpose of the audit was to enable us to express an opinion on the financial statements. Our audit did include consideration of internal control relevant to the preparation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in such circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the internal controls. The matters being reported to you are limited to those deficiencies that we have identified during our audit, which was conducted on a test basis, and that we have concluded are of sufficient importance to merit being reported to you, but this does not represent a comprehensive statement of all weaknesses which may exist in the accounting and internal control systems or of all improvements which may be made. We can only address those matters which have come to our attention as a result of the audit procedures which we have performed.
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
7. Qualitative aspects of the charity’s accounting practices and financial reporting
As part of our audit we have considered and reviewed the Charity’s accounting policies with UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, including the Statement of Recommended Practice Accounting and Reporting by Charities (“the SORP”), and we have not encountered any material departures. In our opinion the accounting policies selected are appropriate to the circumstances of the charity.
Future accounting changes
FRS 102 is subject to a periodic review at least every five years, and the latest periodic review was completed in March 2024. The FRC has published amendments to FRS 102, which details a number of changes and amendments focused on updating accounting requirements to reflect changes in International Financial Reporting Standards (‘IFRS’), particularly with respect to revenue and leases.
The key changes are:
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A new Section 23 Revenue, based on IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers and its five-step model for revenue recognition
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A new Section 20 Leases , based on IFRS 16 Leases which brings most leases onto the balance sheet
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Greater clarity for small entities in the UK applying Section 1A regarding which disclosures need to be provided in order to give a true and fair view
The effective date of these changes is for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026, with early adoption permissible. This means that they will first impact your financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2027.
Future changes – Charities SORP 2026
The Exposure Draft Statement of Recommended Practice 2026: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (the Exposure Draft SORP) was issued on 28 March 2025 and incorporates the above changes to FRS 102 as well as updates on a number of other areas.
Following the release of the Exposure Draft SORP, the Charities SORP-making body sought feedback through a 12 week consultation period which ended on 20 June 2025. They are currently analysing the feedback. They have also issued a summary-of-key-changes-tomodules which sets out the nature of proposed changes to each SORP module.
The Charities SORP-making body expect that the final SORP 2026 will be published by Autumn 2025 and be effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026.
These amendments represent significant change, and they will need to be considered in advance of their application. We will be happy to discuss these with you and the potential impact on your financial statements.
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
New Code of Fundraising Practice Published – Effective 1 November 2025
The Fundraising Regulator has released a new Code of Fundraising Practice following a two-year review involving sector consultation. The updated Code adopts a principles-based approach, replacing prescriptive rules to better support modern and emerging fundraising methods. The new Code is a much shorter version, with navigation and clearer links to legal requirements. It introduces new requirements to safeguard fundraisers from harm and harassment and includes support guides on due diligence, decision documentation and partnership monitoring, with more guidance to follow. The six-month transition period allows organisations to prepare before the Code takes effect on 1 November 2025.
Fundraising organisations should review the new Code and support guides and begin preparing to ensure compliance here: New Code (effective 1 November 2025) | Fundraising Regulator
8. Other matters relevant to the audit
- Charity Trustees Key governance responsibilities
We recently hosted a webinar for Trustees which covered the following key areas:
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Trustee Board – skills and diversity
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6 main duties of a Trustee
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Meetings and decision making
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Conflicts of interest
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Managing risks
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Making changes to your governing document
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Reporting to the Charity Commission
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Environmental and Social Responsibility
You can watch the recording of our webinar here.
Our latest news and insights for the charity sector are updated regularly on our website here. If you would like to receive our bi-annual newsletters and invites to charity future events, please subscribe here.
Charities Act 2022
The updated Charities Act continues to be implemented. The first tranche of changes came into force on 14 June 2023, which included updates to the following guidance:
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Selling, leasing or otherwise disposing of charity land
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Using permanent endowment
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Charity names
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
most recent changes came into force on 7 March 2024 and included updates to the following guidance:
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Making changes to governing documents
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Selling, leasing or otherwise disposing of charity land - additional provisions
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• Charity mergers
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Other provisions that have enabled the Commission to authorise a trustee to receive payment for work completed for a charity where it decides it would be inequitable for a trustee not to be paid and for the Commission to confirm defective or potentially defective trustee appointments
Updated Charity Commission guidance
The Charity Commission has recently published updated guidance on the following areas which is designed to be more concise and easier to navigate:
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CC8 Internal financial controls for charities: protect your charity from fraud and loss
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• CC11 Trustee payments and expenses - no changes to the rules but guidance is now split into a range of trustee payment scenarios to better help trustees think through the issues and risks before deciding whether Charity Commission approval is needed.
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CC12 Improving your charity’s finances - no change to the underlying policy but it has been made more user friendly by splitting the guidance into 3 sections: Improving your charity’s finances - what to do if your charity is in financial difficulty; What to do if your charitable company or CIO is insolvent or at risk of insolvency and What to do if your unincorporated charity is insolvent or at risk of insolvency.
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CC27 Decision-making for charity trustees – no change to the seven principles
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CC30 Finding new trustees – updated guidance issued
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CC48 Charity meetings - now includes guidance on virtual/hybrid meetings
In addition, they have produced a series of 5 minute guides for Trustees (Support for charity trustees) which you may find useful. These guides are designed to improve Trustees knowledge and understanding of their duties and of charity governance. They include topics such as managing finances, decision-making, conflicts of interest, safeguarding and reporting.
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Saint Sarkis Charity Trust
Key Audit Findings For the year ended 31 March 2025
Appendix I – Other matters required by International Standards on Auditing to be communicated to you
Audit report – further information
Our audit report contains details of the scope of the audit of the financial statements conducted in accordance with legislative requirements and International Standards on Auditing. Further information on the scope of the audit is set out on the website of the Financial Reporting Council and can be found using the following link:
https://www.frc.org.uk/library/standards-codes-policy/audit-assurance-andethics/auditors-responsibilities-for-the-audit/
The original audit report will be signed by Sam Rouse , being the Senior Statutory Auditor for this assignment, for and on behalf of Kreston Reeves Audit LLP. The financial statements incorporating the original audit report should be retained with the Charity’s other permanent documents. Copies of the financial statements that require a signed audit report, including for filing with the Charities Commission, will be signed as Kreston Reeves Audit LLP as the statutory auditor.
Our audit report has been drafted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing and the latest guidance from the Financial Reporting Council and our Institute. This involves the inclusion of a paragraph which clarifies what our responsibilities as auditors are. It does not affect our responsibilities to the charity or yourselves, nor does it mean we would be unwilling to accept responsibility to any third parties, providing that our specific agreement to do so is obtained beforehand.
Independence
We can confirm that we have re-evaluated our firm’s independence in connection with the audit and can confirm that we are not aware of any factors affecting our independence or objectivity and thus our ability to continue to act as auditor of the charity.
Letter of representation
Before we can complete our audit we require from you a letter of representation on your headed notepaper. A draft version of such a letter accompanies this Memorandum. The letter will provide us with additional evidence in areas where we have relied upon representations from staff members during the audit. We suggest that this letter is signed by a representative member of the Board of Trustees and that you make your own enquiries of staff to verify that you support the representations that have been made.
Liability
This report has been drafted solely to report to you as trustees matters in relation to our audit. It has not been drafted with any third parties in mind and thus must not be disclosed to a third party, or quoted or referred to, without our written consent. We do not accept responsibility to any third party in respect of our audit or this report.
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