## **The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society**
_Registered as “Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The)”_
## **Annual Report and Financial Statements**
## 31 December 2024
Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number 00057374 (England and Wales)
Charity Registration Number 218951
**Contents**
|**Reports**||
|---|---|
|Reference and administrative details|1|
|Report of the trustees|2|
|Independent auditor’s report|11|
|**Financial statements**||
|Statement of financial activities|16|
|Balance sheet|17|
|Statement of cash flows|18|
|Principal accounting policies|19|
|Notes to the financial statements|24|
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The)
## **Reference and administrative details**
**Trustee management board** Rt Rev. P Hendricks (Chairman) Rev. David Elliott Mrs C A Gates Dr W O’Neill Mr L Parsons QC Rev. Dr A Pinsent **CEO, Publisher and Company** Mr Pierpaolo Finaldi **Secretary Registered office** 40-46 Harleyford Road Vauxhall London SE11 5AY **Company registration number** 00057374 (England and Wales) **Charity registration number** 218951 **Auditor** Buzzacott Audit LLP 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL **Principal bankers** The Royal Bank of Scotland plc 24 Grosvenor Place London SW1X 7HN **Solicitors** Fox Williams LLP, Solicitors 10 Finsbury Square London EC2A 1AF
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **1**
**Report of the trustees** 31 December 2024
The trustees present their report together with the financial statements of The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (the ‘Society’, ‘Charity’ or ‘CTS’) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
The report has been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and constitutes a directors’ report for the purposes of company legislation.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies on pages 19 to 23 of the attached financial statements and comply with the charitable company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, applicable laws and the requirements of 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 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
## **Our mission, aims and activities**
## _**Our mission**_
The Mission of the Society is to carry out its apostolate of Catholic publishing and distribution for the benefit of the Catholic and wider Christian community, and of a wider body of general enquirers. The Mission of the Society is also to disseminate Catholic publications at reasonable prices. The Society receives financial and spiritual support from the Catholic community to carry out its work. In pursuit of its charitable aims during 2024, the Society sought to develop its publications, to distribute them widely and actively to contribute to the life of the Church. The Society made efforts to care for its resources, including staff, suppliers, customers and supporters.
## _**Our objectives**_
The Charity’s main objects, as set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association are:
- To spread information about Catholic truth and to make better known the faith, practice and history of the Catholic Church.
- To assist the uneducated poor and others to a better knowledge of the Catholic religion, and with that object, and generally, to promote the circulation of and to disseminate books and publications inculcating and advancing Catholic truth and teaching.
- To promote information on religious, historical and controversial subjects by conference, public and private meetings, lectures, discussions, books, correspondence with public bodies and individuals or otherwise.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **2**
**Report of the trustees** 31 December 2024
## **Our mission, aims and activities** (continued)
## _**Activities and relevant policies**_
These objects are achieved through the principal activity of the Society, which is the publishing and disseminating of low-priced doctrinal, scriptural and educational works, assisting all Catholics to a better knowledge of their religion, spreading amongst nonCatholics information about the faith, and assisting the circulation of Catholic books and other audio, audio visual and electronic media.
Each of these activities has the principal aim of spreading knowledge of the Christian faith as widely as is possible within the United Kingdom, and increasingly to other English speaking constituencies as well. They serve the practising Catholic community, parishes, families, colleges and schools, as well as the wider groupings of general enquirers of other faiths and none. Such materials as these raise interest in the Catholic faith, the Society’s apostolate and gain new supporters, enabling the Society to continue its charitable work.
In setting the Society’s objectives and planning its activities, the trustees have given consideration to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
## **Achievements and performance**
## _**Publishing**_
A total of 199,000 books and booklets were distributed by the Society to parishes and individual and trade customers alike (an increase of 37,000 on 2023).
CTS issued 15 new liturgical volumes, three editions of the four volume lectionary and three editions of the Book of the Gospels. Related texts included the Sunday Missal and four different editions and, ESV Gospels in A6 and Larger format editions as well as the Book of Psalms and Canticles in the Abbey edition and 5 explanatory and preparatory texts for the new lectionary. Over 30 new volumes surrounding the New Lectionary – have been produced and a further 3 are planned for 2025.
We also continued a lively list of 18 other catechetical, devotional and hagiographical books including 7 books on prayer preparing for the Jubilee year of 2025. Five new Vatican Documents were also produced including Pope Francis’s fourth Encyclical letter _Dilexit Nos_ .
In addition, CTS commissioned and produced its first music settings of the Responsorial Psalms for Organ and Voice.
We also raised money to provide Chapel Edition sets of the Lectionaries to 132 prisons in England and Wales and 18 in Scotland.
CTS published 19 episodes of the Into the Truth Podcast with Catholic recorded at the studio space in the Vauxhall offices and on location at conferences. We have increased our subscriptions by 1225 and have had over 64,000 views in total. Our Most popular episode with Sr Miriam Heidland garnered over 20,000 views in two months.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **3**
**Report of the trustees** 31 December 2024
## **Achievements and performance** (continued)
## _**Organisation**_
Staffing levels have increased by 1 during the year.
## _**Fundraising**_
CTS received £103,500 (2023 – £165,056) in voluntary income including several small legacies. Micro-donations and top up donations and the Advent Appeal were slightly up on 2023, with a total of £71,079 in 2024 (2023 – £63,821).
## **Financial report for the year**
## _**Results for the year**_
Total income for the year amounted to £4,982,020 (2023 – £1,141,752). Publishing sales during 2024 amounted to £4,805,711 (2023 – £957,074). Also included within income are legacies receivable amounting to £32,421 (2023 – £101,235). Total income from donations and legacies for the year was £103,500 (2023 – £165,056).
Total expenditure amounted to £3,029,817 (2023 – £1,143,812). The surplus for the year, before actuarial movements on the defined benefit pension scheme liability, was £1,952,203 (2023 – a deficit of £2,060). Actuarial losses of £120,000 (2023 – £117,000) have been recognised to cap the notional surplus in the charity’s defined benefit pension scheme at £nil. Following this cap, the overall surplus for the year was £1,832,203 (2023 – a deficit of £119,060).
## _**Reserves policy**_
An important feature of the Society’s work and charitable aims is that in pursuing its religious publishing, distribution and retailing it must engage directly in trading activities, which involve not insignificant elements of risk. The Society uses what trading income and non-trading income it receives to further its charitable activities.
Planning permission for the latest redevelopment plans for St Anne’s Settlement has been rejected by the Secretary of State meaning that any plans for demolition are on permanent hold. Given the uncertain timeline for redevelopment if any, the Trustees decided in their April board meeting to reduce the designated funds for relocation to £nil. As at 31 December 2024, the fund remained at £nil (2023 – £75,000).
The Society’s reserves policy aims to strike a balance between having sufficient funds to pursue vigorously its charitable objective of publishing and distributing good Catholic resources on the one hand, and the need to maintain some kind of provision against unforeseen misfortune, on the other. The trustees are of the opinion that the size of such a buffer should be approximately equal to at least three months’ unrestricted cash expenditure.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **4**
**Report of the trustees** 31 December 2024
## _**Financial report for the year** (continued)_
## _**Financial position**_
The balance sheet shows total funds of £3,235,765 (2023 – £1,403,562).
Funds restricted to specific purposes amounted to £7,720 (2023 – £10,714).
General funds of the Charity at 31 December 2024 were £3,228,045 (2023 – £1,317,848). At 31 December 2024 the Charity had ‘free reserves’ of £3,221,387 (2023 – £1,305,895) being the unrestricted general funds after deducting the net book value of tangible fixed assets i.e. £6,658 (2023 – £11,953).
Whilst the level of free reserves exceeds three months’ unrestricted cash expenditure, the trustees are conscious of the need for future investment in the development of new online infrastructure and the provision of more content through a broader range of media as well as a renewal of the rack program in parishes across the country (see future plans below). The increased free reserves at 31 December 2024, resulting principally from the 2024 Lectionary project will enable such investment. Therefore, the trustees believe that the charity’s free reserves as at 31 December 2024 are adequate but not excessive. The trustees will remain vigilant, especially during the current period of uncertain markets and international trade, managing cash flow, reserves and expenditure on print and other capital projects to mitigate the impact of the reduction in orders.
## **Plans for the future**
There is still much work to do following up on the lectionary – The Daily and Weekly Missals will be published in 2025 – up to a third of the CTS backlist will need to be updated in due course to reflect the new ESV text. In addition the CTS New Catholic Bible will need to be updated both in terms of translation and notes. The work in 2024 has also created a backlog of minor Liturgical books that will need to be produced.
CTS Press, a new scholarly imprint of the CTS will be launched in 2025 to showcase the very best in Catholic academic work taking place in the UK. Books will be of a high academic standard but accessible to a general readership. An impressive editorial board has been assembled who will oversee standards and peer review.
CTS will continue to expand its offering in the audio sector and will be producing more multimedia content in the form of podcasts aimed at the those wishing to deepen their Faith and those at the beginning of their journey.
A three year plan will begin to be implemented which will target improving CTS’ presence on Social Media in Parishes, Catholic Networks and Schools. Enhancing customer experiences through improved website, sales pipeline and feedback mechanisms. Optimising products and marketing and launching a subscription service for ministries. This will be monitored and reviewed by Trustees.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **5**
**Report of the trustees** 31 December 2024
## **Governance, structure and management**
## _**Governance**_
The company, which is limited by guarantee (Company Registration No. 00057374 (England and Wales)), is registered for charitable purposes with the Charity Commission (Charity Registration No. 218951).
The trustees are the directors of the Society for the purposes of company law.
The Trustee Management Board is currently made up of the Chairman and five members and meets quarterly to review the activities of the Society; the meetings are also attended by the CEO and Publisher. The trustees review up to date management accounts and business plans. They regularly receive a management report from the CEO and Publisher on progress in key areas of the Society’s apostolate, principally publishing, distribution and fundraising. Progress is monitored against an annual plan containing key objectives, activities and targets. The trustees periodically review staffing, training, the Society’s risk register, pension provisions and liabilities, as well as major strategic projects requiring significant investment or otherwise central to the apostolate.
A sub-committee if required meets on an ad hoc basis and reviews salary proposals made by the CEO and Publisher each year. The process is informed by the Society’s own salary review policy, performance management process and comparative data from the voluntary and private sectors.
Each trustee has responsibility for monitoring the Charity’s activities in specific areas and the skills mix of the members is reviewed regularly to ensure that the trustees have all the necessary skills and experience required to support the management team and the Charity’s best development.
New trustees are appointed by the existing trustees after a formal recruitment process, supplemented by consultation with their advisers and the Catholic community. Thereafter, a candidate is invited to attend up to two trustees’ meetings to gain knowledge of the Society’s work and the level of commitment and expertise it requires. Following this, the trustees may confirm the appointment, which is initially for a term of three years. Members may be reappointed for further terms. Trustees bring their own considerable professional experience and relevant skill sets for the benefit of the Society. Information on trustee responsibilities, made available for example by the Charity Commission, is circulated from time to time to the trustees.
The following trustees were in office during the year ended 31 December 2024:
## **Trustee**
Rt Rev. Paul Hendricks (Chairman) Rev. David Elliott Mrs Carrie Ann Gates Dr William O’Neill Mr Luke Parsons KC Rev. Dr Andrew Pinsent
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **6**
**Report of the trustees** 31 December 2024
## **Governance, structure and management** (continued)
## _**Governance** (continued)_
The following officers were in office during the year ended 31 December 2024:
## **Company secretary**
Mr Pierpaolo Finaldi
No trustee received any remuneration in respect of their services as a trustee during the year (2023 – £nil). Two trustees received reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses of £58 (2023 – £23). One trustee received commission of £1,403 (2023 – £1,290) in respect of sales of books during the year which were written for CTS prior to his becoming a trustee.
No trustee had any other beneficial interest in any contract with the Charity during the year.
Brief biographical details of each of the trustees who served during the year are given below.
**Rt Rev. Paul Hendricks** (Chairman), MA (Oxon), PhL is a Roman Catholic Bishop, a former Seminary Bursar, and former Parish Priest with several years’ experience of overseeing parish finances.
**Rev. David Elliott** is a priest of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Priest for the Reading Ordinariate Mission and the Head of Theology at The Oratory School.
**Carrie Ann Gates** (Treasurer), is a finance manager specialising in insurance accounting with many years’ experience in financial and management controls, planning and reporting. She is very active in a local Catholic parish and an enthusiastic member of Girlguiding as a multi-sectional leader and county advisor.
**Dr William O’Neill** was educated in Manchester and Loughborough. He is a graduate of a number of Universities and has a PhD in Software Engineering. He has worked for large multinationals, public and charity sectors leading IT and business change programmes, most recently as Chief Technology Officer for the National Childbirth Trust.
**Luke Parsons KC** is a barrister specialising in Commercial Law.
**Rev. Andrew Pinsent** is a Research Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Research Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford University. A philosopher, theologian, priest, former businessman and former high energy physicist at CERN, he is a contributor via the media and his work in schools to public engagement with science, faith and the big questions of life.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **7**
**Report of the trustees** 31 December 2024
## **Governance, structure and management** (continued)
## _**Trustees’ responsibilities statement**_
The Charity’s trustees (who are also directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the income and expenditure of the Charity 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 in Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing the accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS102);
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that 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 Companies Act 2006. 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.
Each of the trustees confirms that:
- so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Charity’s auditor is unaware; and
- The trustee has taken all the steps that he/she ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make himself/herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Charity’s auditor is aware of that information.
This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **8**
**Report of the trustees** 31 December 2024
## **Governance, structure and management** (continued)
## _**Trustees’ responsibilities statement**_ (continued)
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
## _**Liability of the members**_
The liability of the members is limited by guarantee. In the event of the company being wound up during the period of membership or within the year following, members are each required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.
## _**Organisational structure**_
The CEO and Publisher has responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Society’s business and reports to the trustees formally every quarter.
## _**Key management personnel**_
The Society’s staff operate in dedicated teams responsible across the principal functions of the Society’s apostolate; they meet regularly with their managers to ensure that key targets and objectives are being met.
The trustees monitor the Charity’s activities in operational areas and constant regard is had to the skills mix to ensure that the trustees have all the necessary skills required to contribute to the Charity’s development.
The key management personnel of the Society, responsible for directing and controlling, running and operating the Charity on a day-to-day basis, comprise the trustees together with the CEO and Publisher. The Trustees do not receive remuneration for their services as trustees.
The trustees set the remuneration of and determine any annual salary awards for the CEO and Publisher. Reference is made to remuneration for similar roles in the charity and private sectors, the level of responsibilities and skills attaching to the role, and the role itself in relation to other similar and different roles within the organisation. Regard may also be had to the annual job role performance review and to the particular standards, expectations and outcomes for the role. Finally, the overall financial performance of the Society is also considered in setting remuneration.
## _**Employees**_
The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society strives to be an equal opportunities employer and applies objective criteria to assess merit. It aims to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation or disability.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **9**
**Report of the trustees** 31 December 2024
## **Governance, structure and management** (continued)
## _**Employees**_ (continued)
Selection criteria and procedures are reviewed to ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities. All employees are given equal opportunity and, where appropriate and possible, special training to enable them to progress both within and outside the organisation. The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society is committed to a programme of action to make this policy effective and brings it to the attention of all employees.
## _**Risk management**_
The trustees continue to assess the major risks to which the Charity is exposed, in particular those relating to the specific operational areas and finances.
The current areas under review are:
- **Head office relocation –** The trustees and the CEO and Publisher will continue to work with St Anne’s Settlement, the Society’s landlord to maintain an adequate workspace or if necessary to ensure a smooth and cost efficient relocation.
- **Cost rises and supply chain problems** have reduced and paper prices have stabilised, but this remains a risk in the current volatile economic climate. CTS will continue to search out competitive print solutions and diversify into non-printed books.
- **System and website updates** will involve a significant investment of the CTS’s reserves and has the potential to be a risk to the Society if mistakes are made. CTS will be carefully monitoring the best options available on the market to offer an excellent user experience and marketing data.
The trustees believe that by monitoring reserve levels, by ensuring controls exist over key financial systems and that where necessary they are adapted or strengthened, and by examining the operational and business risks faced by the Charity, they have established effective systems to mitigate those risks.
The report has been prepared having taken advantage of the small companies exemption in the Companies Act 2006.
Signed on behalf of the trustees:
…………………
Trustee
Approved on: 7th July 2025
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **10**
**Independent auditor’s report** 31 December 2024
**Independent auditor’s report to the members of Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The)**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **11**
**Independent auditor’s report** 31 December 2024
## **Conclusions relating to going concern** (continued)
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, including the report of the trustees, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the trustees’ report, which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the trustees’ report, which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **12**
**Independent auditor’s report** 31 December 2024
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception** (continued)
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures in respect to the remuneration of trustees specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
- the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
## **Trustees’ responsibilities**
As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees (who are also the directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements**
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
- the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **13**
**Independent auditor’s report** 31 December 2024
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** (continued)
- we obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the charitable company and determined that the most significant frameworks which are directly relevant to specific assertions in the financial statements are those that relate to the reporting framework (Statement of Recommended Practice Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing this accounts in accordance with the Financial reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, and the Companies Act 2006), those that relate to data protection (General Data Protection Regulation) and those in relation to copyright, specifically the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended by the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003.
We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
- making enquiries of management as to their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and
- considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls we:
- performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships; and
- tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions; and
- assessed whether the judgements and the assumptions made in determining accounting estimates for the probability of receipt of legacies, the provision for slow moving stock and the actuarial valuation of the defined benefit pension scheme liability were indicative of potential bias.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
- reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; and
- enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **14**
**Independent auditor’s report** 31 December 2024
**Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** (continued) A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
## **Use of this report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s trustees those matters that we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the company’s members as a body, for our audit work, or the opinions we have formed.
14 July 2025 Alison Pyle (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Buzzacott Audit LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **15**
|Notes|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**|Unrestricted
funds
£|Restricted
funds
£|Total
2023
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Income from:**
Donations and legacies
1
Interest receivable
Charitable activities
. Publication sales
2
**Total income**
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
3
Charitable activities
. Publication and dissemination of
Catholic publications
4
**Total expenditure**
**Net income (expenditure)**
**Actuarial (losses) gains on**
**defined benefit pension scheme**
17
**Net movement in funds**
6
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Total funds brought forward at
1 January 2024
Total funds carried forward at
31 December 2024|**93,505**
**72,809**
**4,805,711**|**9,995**
**—**
**—**|**103,500**
**72,809**
**4,805,711**|162,786
19,622
957,074|2,270
—
—|165,056
19,622
957,074|
||**4,972,025**|**9,995**|**4,982,020**|1,139,482|2,270|1,141,752|
||**5,830**
**3,010,998**|—
**12,989**|**5,830**
**3,023,987**|5,016
1,136,101|—
2,695|5,016
1,138,796|
||**3,016,828**|**12,989**|**3,029,817**|1,141,117|2,695|1,143,812|
||**1,955,197**
**(120,000)**|
**(2,994)**
—|
**1,952,203**
**(120,000)**|(1,635)
(117,000)|(425)
—|(2,060)
(117,000)|
||**1,835,197**
**1,392,848**|
**(2,994)**
**10,714**|
**1,832,203**
**1,403,562**|(118,635)
1,511,483|(425)
11,139|(119,060)
1,522,622|
||**3,228,045**|**7,720**|**3,235,765**|1,392,848|10,714|1,403,562|
There were no recognised gains and losses other than those set out in the statement of financial activities above.
All the Charity’s activities derived from continuing operations during each of the above two financial years.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **16**
## **Balance sheet** 31 December 2024
|Notes|**2024**
**£**|**2024**
**£**|2023
£|2023
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Fixed assets**
Tangible assets
9
**Current assets**
Stocks
10
Debtors
11
Short term deposits
Cash at bank and in hand
**Creditors**: amounts falling due
within one year
12
**Net current assets**
**Total net assets excluding**
**pension liability**
Pension liability
17
**Total net assets including**
**pension liability**
**The funds of the Charity**
Restricted funds
13
Unrestricted funds
. Designated funds
14
. General funds
. Pension reserve
17|**471,031**
**283,317**
**311,740**
**3,107,932**|**6,658**
**3,229,107**|236,074
259,446
—
1,078,777|11,953
1,391,609|
||**4,174,020**
**(944,913)**||1,574,297
(182,688)||
||**3,228,045**
—||1,317,848
—||
|||**3,235,765**
—||1,403,562
—|
|||**3,235,765**||1,403,562|
|||**7,720**
—
**3,228,045**||10,714
75,000
1,317,848|
||||||
|||**3,235,765**||1,403,562|
Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
## Carrie Ann Gates
………………..
## Trustee
Approved on: 7th July 2025
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The)
Company Registration Number: 00057374 (England and Wales)
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **17**
**Statement of cash flows** Year to 31 December 2024
|Notes|
**2024**
**£**|2023
£|
|---|---|---|
|**Cash flows from operating activities:**
Net cash provided by operating activities
A
**Cash flows from investing activities:**
Interest received
Purchase of short term deposits
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
**Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities**
**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year**
**Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 2024**
B
**Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2024**
B|
**2,263,856**|65,842|
||
**72,809**
**(311,740)**
**(4,848) **|19,622
—
(4,268)|
||**(243,779) **|15,354|
||
**2,020,077**
**1,078,777**
|81,196
997,581|
||
**3,098,854**|1,078,777|
## **Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 December 2024.**
## **A Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash provided by operating activities**
||**2024**
**£**|2023
£|
|---|---|---|
|**Net movement in funds (as per the statement of financial activities)**
**Adjustments for:**
Depreciation charge
Actuarial losses on pension scheme
Pension cost less contributions payable
Pension finance (income) charge
Interest receivable
(Increase) decrease in stocks
(Increase) decrease in debtors
Increase in creditors
**Net cashprovided by operating activities**|**1,832,203**
**10,143**
**120,000**
**(104,000)**
**(16,000)**
**(72,809)**
**(234,957)**
**(23,871)**
**753,147**|(119,060)
8,903
117,000
(101,000)
(16,000)
(19,622)
4,192
166,106
25,323|
||**2,263,856**|65,842|
## **B Analysis of changes in cash and cash equivalents**
||At 1
January
2024
£|Cash flows
£|**At 31**
**December**
**2024**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Cash at bank and in hand
Bank overdraft facility|1,078,777
—|2,029,155
(9,078)|**3,107,932**
**(9,078)**|
||1,078,777|2,020,077|**3,098,854**|
No separate reconciliation of net debt has been prepared as there is no difference between the net cash (debt) of the charity and the above cash and cash equivalents.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **18**
**Principal accounting policies** 31 December 2024
The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are laid out below.
## **Basis of accounting**
These financial statements have been prepared for the year to 31 December 2024 with comparative information given in respect to the year ended 31 December 2023.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items initially recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these financial statements.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (Charities FRS 102 SORP 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
The Charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest pound.
## **Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement**
The most significant areas of adjustment and key assumptions that affect items in the financial statements are in respect to:
- assessing the probability of receiving legacies of which the Charity has been notified;
- estimating the useful economic life of tangible fixed assets for the purposes of determining the depreciation charge;
- assessing the appropriateness of any provision for slow moving or obsolete stock;
- assessing the appropriateness of any provision needed against doubtful and bad debts;
- assessing the appropriateness of the underlying assumptions of the actuarial valuation of the pension scheme; and
- estimating future income and expenditure flows for the purpose of assessing going concern.
With respect to the next reporting period, the actuarial valuation of the pension scheme remains the most significant area of uncertainty that may affect the carrying value of assets held by the Charity.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **19**
**Principal accounting policies** 31 December 2024
## **Assessment of going concern**
The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these financial statements. The trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of at least one year from the date of approval of these financial statements.
Given the current level of free reserves relative to annual expenditure and anticipated costs for the ongoing lectionary programme, the trustees are of the opinion that the Charity has planned carefully in order to meet its liabilities as they fall due and are of the opinion that the use of the going concern assumption in the preparation of these financial statements is appropriate.
## **Income recognition**
Income is recognised in the period in which the Charity is entitled to receipt, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received. Income is deferred only when the Charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period.
Income comprises donations, legacies, interest receivable, income from the sale of publications and occasional miscellaneous income.
Donations are recognised when the Charity has confirmation of both the amount and settlement date. In the event of donations pledged but not received, the amount is accrued for where the receipt is considered probable. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance before the Charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the Charity and it is probable that those conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.
In accordance with the Charities SORP FRS 102 volunteer time is not recognised.
Legacies are included in the statement of financial activities when the Charity is entitled to the legacy, the executors have established that there are sufficient surplus assets in the estate to pay the legacy, and any conditions attached to the legacy are within the control of the Charity.
Entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the Charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor to the Charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the Charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **20**
**Principal accounting policies** 31 December 2024
## **Income recognition** (continued)
Where legacies have been notified to the Charity, or the Charity is aware of the granting of probate, but the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material. In the event that the gift is in the form of an asset other than cash or a financial asset traded on a recognised stock exchange, recognition is subject to the value of the gift being reliably measurable with a degree of reasonable accuracy and the title of the asset having being transferred to the Charity.
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the Charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid of payable by the bank.
Income from publication sales is recognised when the significant risks and rewards of ownership have transferred to the buyer. This is usually at the point of sale. This includes sales of publications to schools and parishes who benefit from reduced prices.
## **Expenditure recognition**
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the Charity to make a payment 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.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. Expenditure comprises direct costs and support costs. All expenses, including support costs, are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings. The classification between activities is as follows:
- Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure associated with raising funds for the Charity. This includes staff costs and direct costs associated with generating donated income and an allocation of support costs.
- Expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs associated with furthering the charitable purposes of the Charity through the provision of its charitable activities. Such costs include staff costs, direct and support costs including governance costs.
## **Allocation of support and governance costs**
Support costs represent indirect charitable expenditure. In order to carry out the primary purposes of the Charity it is necessary to provide support in the form of personnel development, financial procedures, provision of office services and equipment and a suitable working environment.
Governance costs comprise the costs involving the public accountability of the Charity (including audit costs) and costs in respect to its compliance with regulation and good practice.
Staff costs are allocated between expenditure on raising funds and expenditure on charitable activity based on the percentage of time spent on these activities by the employees of the Charity.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **21**
**Principal accounting policies** 31 December 2024
## **Allocation of support and governance costs** (continued)
Support and governance costs are allocated to expenditure on charitable activities as it is considered that any apportionment to expenditure on raising funds would be immaterial.
## **Tangible fixed assets**
All assets costing in excess of £500 and with an estimated useful life exceeding one year are capitalised in these financial statements.
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates on a straight line basis in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life:
- Computers and office equipment 33⅓% on cost
## **Stocks**
Stocks of books and pamphlets for resale are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow-moving stock.
## **Debtors**
Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for nonrecoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. Debtors have been discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.
## **Cash at bank and in hand**
Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than three months but less than one year have been disclosed as short term deposits. Cash placed on deposit for more than one year is disclosed as a fixed asset investment.
## **Creditors and provisions**
Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the Charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material.
## **Fund structure**
The general funds comprise those monies which may be used towards meeting the charitable objectives of the Charity and may be applied at the discretion of the trustees.
The pension reserve represents any net liability on the Charity’s defined benefit pension scheme.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **22**
**Principal accounting policies**
**Fund structure** (continued)
The designated funds are monies set aside out of general funds for specific purposes by the trustees.
Restricted funds comprise monies raised for, or their use restricted to, a specific purpose, or contributions subject to donor imposed conditions.
## **Leased assets**
Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
## **Pension costs**
Contributions to defined contribution pension schemes and to employees’ personal pension plans are charged to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they are payable.
The Charity operates a defined benefit pension scheme which is closed to new members and no existing employees are members. The scheme is funded by contributions from the employer. Pension scheme assets are measured using market values. Pension scheme liabilities are measured using the projected unit actuarial method and are discounted at the current rate of return on a high quality corporate bond of equivalent term and currency to the liability. Actuarial gains and losses are recognised in the statement of financial activities as part of other recognised gains and losses for the period.
Where charity's defined benefit pension scheme's obligation is less than the fair value of plan assets at the balance sheet date, resulting in a surplus on the scheme, the charity does not recognise an asset on the balance unless there is an indication that it is able to recover this surplus through either reduced contribution in the future or through refunds from the plan.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **23**
**Notes to the financial statements** Year to 31 December 2024
## **1 Income from: Donations and legacies**
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|
**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
**9,995**
—
**9,995**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**|Unrestricted
funds
£|Restricted
funds
£|Total
2023
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Donations
Legacies|**61,084**
**32,421**||**71,079**
**32,421**|61,551
101,235|2,270
—|63,821
101,235|
||**93,505**||**103,500**|162,786|2,270|165,056|
## **2 Income from: Publication sales**
The publication sales are attributable the publishing and/or distribution of pamphlets, books and other media. An analysis of publication sales for the year is given below:
||**Total**
**2024**
**£**|Total
2023
£|
|---|---|---|
|United Kingdom
Overseas|**4,539,005**
**266,706**|768,798
188,276|
||**4,805,711**|957,074|
## **3 Expenditure on: Raising funds**
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**
**1,926**
**3,904**
**5,830**|
**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
**1,926**
**3,904**
**5,830**|Unrestricted
funds
£|Restricted
funds
£|Total
2023
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Staff costs (note 7)
Communications||
**—**
**—**||1,908
3,108|—
—|1,908
3,108|
|||
**—**||5,016|—|5,016|
## **4 Expenditure on: Publication and dissemination of Catholic publications**
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|
**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|
**Total**
**2024**
**£**|
Unrestricted
funds
£
317,941
138,855
25,964
496,156
34,719
6,186
51,342
8,903
20,334
35,701
1,136,101|Restricted
funds
£
—
—
2,695
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
2,695|Total
2023
£
317,941
138,855
28,659
496,156
34,719
6,186
51,342
8,903
20,334
35,701
1,138,796|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Publishing**
Cost of publication sales
Cost of despatch,
shipping, and storage
Advertising and
marketing costs
Staff and related costs
(note 7)
Premises costs
Communications
Computer costs
Depreciation
Banking and other costs
Governance costs (note
5)|**1,734,793**
**372,872**
**51,343**
**622,672**
**46,201**
**7,412**
**59,643**
**10,143**
**58,561**
**47,358**|
**11,676**
**1,313**
**—**
**—**
**—**
**—**
**—**
**—**
**—**
**—**|
**1,746,469**
**374,185**
**51,343**
**622,672**
**46,201**
**7,412**
**59,643**
**10,143**
**58,561**
**47,358**||||
||**3,010,998**|
**12,989**|
**3,023,987**||||
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **24**
**Notes to the financial statements** Year to 31 December 2024
## **5 Governance costs**
|**Governance costs**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**|Unrestricted
funds
£|Restricted
funds
£|Total
2023
£|
|Professional fees
Auditor’s remuneration|**12,488**
**34,870**|**—**
**—**|**12,488**
**34,870**|6,351
29,350|—
—|
6,351
29,350|
||**47,358**|**—**|**47,358**|35,701|—|
35,701|
## **6 Net movement in funds**
This is stated after charging:
||**Total**
**2024**
**£**|Total
2023
£|
|---|---|---|
|Staff costs (note 7)
Auditor’s remuneration
. Current year audit fee
. Under-provision in respect of prior period
. Pension scheme audit fee
Depreciation
Operatinglease rentals|**624,598**
**29,000**
**1,500**
**4,370**
**10,143**
**12,930**|498,064
25,000
1,350
3,000
8,903
11,550|
## **7 Employee and key management remuneration**
|**Employee and key management remuneration**|||
|---|---|---|
||**Total**
**2024**
**£**|Total
2023
£|
|Staff costs during the year were as follows:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Other staff costs
Staff costs per function were as follows:
Costs of generating voluntary income
Publishing|**551,365**
**48,747**
**22,741**
**1,745**|428,097
34,099
33,887
1,981|
||**624,598**|498,064|
||**1,926**
**622,672**|1,908
496,156|
||**624,598**|498,064|
One employee earned between £110,001 and £120,000 (including taxable benefits but excluding employer’s pension contributions) during the year (2023 – one employee earned between £90,001 and £100,000). Contributions of £4,883 (2023 – £4,827) were made to the personal pension schemes of higher paid members of staff during the year.
The average number of employees, analysed by function, was:
||**Average headcount**|**Average headcount**|
|---|---|---|
||**2024**|2023|
|Publishing|**12**|11|
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **25**
**Notes to the financial statements** Year to 31 December 2024
## **7 Employee and key management remuneration** (continued)
## _**Key management personnel**_
Key management personnel comprise the trustees and the CEO and Publisher. The total remuneration (including taxable benefits and employer’s national insurance contributions) payable to key management personnel during the year was £134,765 (2023 – £113,436).
## _**Trustees’ remuneration**_
No trustee received any remuneration in respect of their services as a trustee during the year (2023 – £nil). Two trustees received reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses of £58 (2023 – £23). One trustee received royalty commissions of £1,403 during the year (2023 – £1,290) in respect of books which he wrote for CTS prior to his appointment as a trustee.
## **8 Taxation**
The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society is a registered charity and therefore is not liable to income tax or corporation tax on income or gains derived from its charitable activities, as they fall within the various exemptions available to registered charities.
## **9 Tangible fixed assets**
||**Computers**
**and office**
**equipment**
**£**|
|---|---|
|**Cost**
At 1 January 2024
Additions
At 31 December 2024
**Depreciation**
At 1 January 2024
Charge for year
At 31 December 2024
**Net book values**
At 31 December 2024
At 31 December 2023|**95,052**
**4,848**|
||**99,900**|
||**83,099**
**10,143**|
||**93,242**|
||**6,658**|
||**11,953**|
|**10**|**Stocks**|**2024**
**£**
**471,031**|2023
£|
|---|---|---|---|
||Publications for sale||236,074|
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **26**
**Notes to the financial statements** Year to 31 December 2024
## **11 Debtors**
|**Debtors**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2024**
**£**
**215,329**
**45,070**
**877**
**22,041**
**283,317**|2023
£
55,097
12,965
163,287
28,097
259,446|
|Publication sales
Other debtors
Legacies receivable
Prepayments and other accrued income|||
## **12 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
|**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2024**
**£**
**234,904**
**28,618**
**543,000**
**129,313**
**9,078**
**944,913**|2023
£
33,222
9,810
66,000
73,656
—
182,688|
|Expense creditors
Taxation and social security costs
Royalties
Accruals and deferred income
Bank overdraft|||
## **13 Restricted funds**
|**Restricted funds**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**At 1**
**January**
**2024**
**£**|**Income**
**£**|**Expenditure**
**£**|**Transfers**
**£**|**At 31**
**December**
**2024**
**£**|
|Prisoners’ appeal
Family of Disciples fund
Prisoners’ Lectionaries fund
Hospital appeal
Total restricted funds|**5,714**
**5,000**
**—**
**—**|**993**
**—**
**7,500**
**1,502**|**(5,489)**
**—**
**(7,500)**
**—**|
—
—
—
—|**1,218**
**5,000**
**—**
**1,502**|
||**10,714**|**9,995**|**(12,989)**|**—**|**7,720**|
||_At 1_
_January_
_2023_
_£_|_Income_
_£_|_Expenditure_
_£_|_Transfers_
_£_|_At 31_
_December_
_2023_
_£_|
|_Prisoners’ appeal_
_Family of Disciples fund_
_Total restricted funds_|_6,139_
_5,000_|_2,270_
_—_|_(2,695)_
_—_|_—_
_—_|_5,714_
_5,000_|
||_11,139_|_2,270_|_(2,695)_|_—_|_10,714_|
Since 2008, the Charity has on occasions made appeals to make some of its publications available to deserving or less fortunate groups. The Charity continues to consider such appeals desirable and helpful.
## _**Prisoners’ appeal**_
An appeal was launched during 2015 to make available Catholic resources in prisons and completed during the year ended 31 December 2016. During the year ending 31 December 2024, CTS has utilised these funds to provide prisons with lectionaries.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **27**
**Notes to the financial statements** Year to 31 December 2024
## **13 Restricted funds** (continued)
## _**Family of Disciples fund**_
CTS has commissioned a new First Confession and First Holy Communion preparation programme, the working title for which is _Family of Disciples._ publication is anticipated in 2024. This resource will be market-leading as it is being written on a family-led catechesis model and be the first of its kind in the UK. Family-led catechesis means that whilst the sacramental preparation will be coordinated in the parish, and there will be monthly or biweekly meetings that the parents and children attend together, the main catechesis is carried out by the parents for their own children, with the support and guidance of parish priest and catechists.
Expenses that will be incurred include payment for two authors (one for the parents’ and coordinators’ guides; one for the children’s book), illustration costs for the children’s book (anticipated to be commissioned directly from a single illustrator), rights and permissions costs for use of fine art and other illustrations, editorial costs, production costs for digital/video content, production costs for books and marketing costs.
## _**Hospital Appeal**_
A small fund has been set up and donations collected from donors to provide lectionaries to Hospital chaplains who request books for chapels.
## **14 Designated funds**
||**At 1**
**January**
**2024**
**£**|**New**
**designations**
**£**|**Utilised/**
**released**
**£**|**At 31**
**December**
**2024**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Relocation fund|**75,000**|**—**|**(75,000)**|**—**|
||_At 1_
_January_
_2023_
_£_|_New_
_designations_
_£_|_Utilised/_
_released_
_£_|_At 31_
_December_
_2023_
_£_|
|_Relocation fund_|_75,000_|_—_|_—_|_75,000_|
The **Relocation Fund** represents funds set aside towards a possible relocation of the Charity’s office premises.
Following the year end, the Trustees decided in their April board meeting to reduce the Designated funds for the relocation to £nil. This decision was made because vacant possession of the CTS premises will not be required until at least Quarter 2 of 2025 on account of Lambeth Council’s rejection of planning permission for the redevelopment of St Anne’s Settlement. As at 31 December 2024, the fund remained at £nil (2023 – £75,000).
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **28**
**Notes to the financial statements** Year to 31 December 2024
## **15 Analysis of net assets between funds**
||**General**
**funds**
**£**|
**Designated**
**funds**
**£**|
**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Fund balances at 31 December 2024 are**
**represented by:**
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets
**Total net assets excluding pension liability**|**6,658**
**3,221,387**|
**—**
**—**|
**—**
**7,720**|
**6,658**
**3,229,107**|
||**3,228,045**|
**—**|
**7,720**|
**3,235,765**|
||_General_
_funds_
_£_|
_Designated_
_funds_
_£_|
_Restricted_
_funds_
_£_|
_Total_
_2023_
_£_|
|_Fund balances at 31 December 2023 were_
_represented by:_
_Tangible fixed assets_
_Net current assets_
_Total net assets excluding pension liability_|_11,953_
_1,305,895_|
_—_
_75,000_|
_—_
_10,714_|
_11,953_
_1,391,609_|
||_1,317,848_|
_75,000_|
_10,714_|
_1,403,562_|
## **16 Liability of members**
The Charity is constituted as a company limited by guarantee. In the event of the Charity being wound up, members are each required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.
## **17 Pension commitments**
The Charity operates a pension scheme providing benefits based on final pensionable pay. The assets of the scheme are held independently from the Charity’s finances. The contributions are determined on the basis of triennial valuations by a qualified actuary using the projected unit method.
The scheme’s assets consist of a unitised with profits policy with Phoenix Life Group, an investment bond, annuity policies held in the name of the trustees and a bank account.
The value of the scheme’s assets (excluding the value of annuity policies held in the name of the trustees) as at 31 December 2024 was £863,000 (2023 – £712,000).
The Charity’s contributions to the scheme were £104,000 for the year (2023 – £101,000). The scheme is closed to new members and no existing employees are members.
## _**Present values of scheme liabilities, fair value of assets and deficit**_
||**2024**
**£’000**|2023
£’000|2022
£’000|2021
£’000|2020
£’000|2019
£’000
1,281
(1,653)
(372)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Fair value of scheme assets
Present value of scheme liabilities
Surplus(deficit)in scheme|**863**
**(413) **|712
(444)|840
(574)|779
(975)|852
(1,393)||
||**450**|268|266|(196)|(541)||
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **29**
**Notes to the financial statements** Year to 31 December 2024
## **17 Pension commitments** (continued)
## _**Present values of scheme liabilities, fair value of assets and deficit** (continued)_
Although the charity's defined benefit pension scheme's obligation is less than the fair value of plan assets at the balance sheet date, resulting in a surplus on the scheme, the charity has no indication that it is able to recover this surplus through either reduced contribution in the future or through refunds from the plan. As such, no asset has been recognised on the balance sheet with respect to the scheme.
## _**Movement in surplus during the year**_
|**_Movement in surplus during the year_**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2024**
**£’000**|2023
£’000|
|Surplus at 1 January 2024
Contributions
Net gain on scheme
Actuarial (losses) gains
Surplus at 31 December 2024|**268**
**104**
**16**
**62**|266
101
16
(115)|
||**450**|268|
## _**Reconciliation of opening and closing balances of the fair value of scheme assets**_
||**2024**
**£’000**|2023
£’000|
|---|---|---|
|Fair value of assets at start of period
Expected return on scheme assets
Actuarial (losses) gains
Benefits paid
Contributions by the Society
Fair value of assets at end ofperiod|**712**
**37**
**10**
**-**
**104**|840
38
(31)
(236)
101|
||**863**|712|
## _**Reconciliation of opening and closing balances of the present value of scheme liabilities**_
|**_liabilities_**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2024**
**£’000**|2023
£’000|
|Present value of liabilities at start of period
Interest cost
Actuarial gains (loss)
Benefits paid
Present value of liabilities at end ofperiod|**444**
**21**
**(52)**
**-**|574
22
84
(236)|
||**413**|444|
The estimated value of the employer contributions for the year ending 31 December 2025 is £nil (2024 – £101,000).
## _**Actuarial assumptions**_
A full actuarial valuation was carried out at 30 June 2023 and updated to 31 December 2024 by a qualified independent actuary. The major assumptions used by the actuary were:
||**2024**|2023|2022|2021|2020|2019|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Discount rate
Rate of increase in pensions in
payment for pensionable service
from 6 April 1997
Inflation assumption(RPI)|**5.60%**
**3.70%**|4.80%
3.60%|
4.90%
3.70%|
1.80%
3.70%|
1.40%
3.60%|
2.10%
3.60%|
||**3.20%**|3.10%|
3.20%|
3.30%|
2.90%|
3.00%|
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **30**
**Notes to the financial statements** Year to 31 December 2024
## **17 Pension commitments** (continued)
## _**Actuarial assumptions** (continued)_
The mortality assumptions adopted at 31 December 2024 imply the following life expectancies in years:
||Currentpensioners|Retiringin 20years|
|---|---|---|
|Males
Females|**20.1**
**22.1**|**21.4**
**23.6**|
## _**The assets in the scheme and the expected rate of return**_
||Value
at 31
December
2024
£’000|Value
at 31
December
2023
£’000|Value
at 31
December
2022
£’000|Value
at 31
December
2021
£’000|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Assets**
Equities
Bonds
Unitised with profits
Cash
Total market value of assets
Actuarial value of liabilities
Surplus(deficit)|144
33
111
575|135
28
97
452|124
26
344
346|138
22
378
241|
||863
(413)|712
(444)|840
(574)|779
(975)|
||450|268|266|(196)|
No long term expected rate of return has been provided as for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015. The expected return and interest cost have been replaced with a single net interest cost.
## _**Information in respect to statement of financial activities**_
_Analysis of net return on pension scheme_
|_Analysis of net return on pension scheme_|||
|---|---|---|
||**2024**
**£’000**|2023
£’000|
|Net interest cost and net return|**16**|16|
|_Amounts recognised as other gains and losses_|**2024**
**£’000**|2023
£’000|
|Actual return less expected return on pension scheme assets
Change in financial and demographic assumptions underlying the
scheme assets
Adjustment recognised in actuarial gains and losses to cap scheme
surplus*
Actuarial(losses) gains recognised|**10**
**52**
**(182)**|(31)
(84)
(2)|
||**(120)**|(117)|
*As noted above, the surplus in the scheme is irrecoverable. As such, recognition of the surplus on the balance sheet has been restricted to £nil. The adjustment of £182,000 (2023 – £2,000) has been offset against the overall actuarial gain of £62,000 (2023 – loss of £115,000) for the year.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **31**
**Notes to the financial statements** Year to 31 December 2024
## **18 Related party transactions**
Aside from the transactions disclosed in note 7, the trustees made aggregate donations of £nil to the charity during 2024 (2023 – £240).
During the year a close family member of Key Management was paid £2,745 (2023 - £nil) for services to the organisation. There were no other related party transactions requiring disclosure in the year (2023 – none).
## **19 Leasing commitments**
## _**Operating leases**_
At 31 December 2024 the Charity had total commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:
|eases as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
||Land and|buildings|
||**2024**
**£**|2023
£|
|Operating lease payments which expire:
Within oneyear|**11,550**|11,550|
||||
||**2024**
**£**|2023
£|
|Operating lease payments which expire:
Within oneyear|**1,380**|875|
The operating lease liabilities are subject to the terms of the agreements relating to the relevant land and buildings and other assets.
Incorporated Catholic Truth Society (The) **32**