## **Annual Report** 

**of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain 2025** 


2025 



## **CONTENTS** 

The Preamble of Alcoholics Anonymous Introduction 

Chairperson of the Board 

Personnel – Retirements; resignations; appointments Report of the Trustees Financial Statements 

Members of the General Service Board 

Auditors; Bankers; Solicitors; Investment Managers 

The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous 

## **The Preamble** 

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. 

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. 

There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. 

AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. 

_© Copyright the AA Grapevine Inc. 1947_ 

Annual Report | 2025 

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## **Annual Report of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) Limited** 

1 October 2024- 30 September 2025 

## **Introduction** 

## **Chairperson’s Introduction to Annual Report** 

It is a real privilege to present this year’s Annual Report on behalf of the General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain, and Continental Europe English speaking region (CER). 

The purpose of the GSB is to support the fellowship of Great Britain and English-speaking meetings in Continental Europe, in its primary purpose. That is, to carry the message of recovery from alcoholism to all who seek its help, to those associated with alcohol problems, and to the public at large. 

The charity continues to improve on both governance of its affairs and on the most effective use of its finances. In this, we adhere to the requirements of the Charity Commission, the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Concepts for Great Britain, and for World Service. Our annual report demonstrates how the charity has worked towards these aims in the last year. 

In addition to increasing effective governance and implementing Conference recommendations and board policy, our trustees - selected from our regions - are responsible for the various board disciplines. We have at present four Non-Alcoholic Trustees (NATs) on our board. Our NATs provide immeasurable assistance in adding balance to the board and different perspectives. They work very hard to help inform the public at large about our message, without the constraints of anonymity. They also serve on various board Subcommittees (SCs) and have been providing additional excellent guidance on governance. 

This year the Board has had vacancies for both categories of trustee. Of course, these vacancies mean an increased workload for all other trustees, and I thank them for stepping into the breaches. We do offer attendance at region assemblies where there is no local trustee, and hope that this will encourage future nominations. 

Our annual Conference in April 2025 was held in York. Although delegates were again given the opportunity to participate online rather than face to face, none chose that option, preferring to be there in person and in fellowship. Conference Steering Committee and the staff of the General Service Office (GSO) gave us a thoughtful and unifying experience, for which many thanks are due. Important direction was given to the GSB 

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through Conference recommendations. A new film and five new literature items were approved. These are being usefully employed by the fellowship. We presented a new alcoholic trustee to Conference 2025 together with four new NATs. We expect to present two new NATs and ten new alcoholic trustees to Conference in April 2026, making the GSB ever more diverse. GSB SCs continue embracing available technology with a comfortable balance of in person and online meetings. Hybrid participation continues for meetings in York at the GSO. 

Our three service offices are available to the fellowship for service meetings, and a weekly recovery meeting is now established at GSO in York. The Southern Service Office in London, offers a wide range of literature for sale, as well as providing a useful meeting space. Service meetings are regularly held there and also GB’s first Farsi speaking meeting. The office co-ordinated with Crisis in liaison at Christmas and is developing an archive display for visitors. The Northern Service Office in Glasgow hosts many service meetings, and very interesting Scottish archival material. Both satellite offices store banners and tablecloths for local conventions etc. 

Major projects realised this year were the AA National Survey and progress on the development of National Telephones. The National Survey received a favourable response rate from the fellowship, from which we can draw robust statistics. These will give the fellowship a clear picture on the composition of AAGB and CER. The next step for the Survey SC is to convey survey information to the fellowship. Meanwhile, our National Telephones development activity went through a rigorous testing phase with a new supplier. The Telephone SC is proofing a system that meets both the current and future needs of AA. 

Chat Now and the Online Response Service (ORS) have made their mark this year too, with an average of over 1,400 contacts between them per month. Over 50% of contacts for each service are newcomers. Clearly, this is a truly vital modern service in engaging with the still-suffering alcoholic, and in aiding them to reach the rooms. Our new website is attracting still greater traffic than before. It really benefits from a home page focus on stillsuffering alcoholics who are making their first contact with our fellowship. The fellowship, through its health service officers and others, continues to use the NICE recommendations to great effect. 

Conference-approved work on Inclusivity continues to concentrate on three core areas: Race Today, LGBTQIA+ and Accessibility, and to raise awareness on these across the fellowship. Conference-approved Safeguarding recommendations are being used by groups and intergroups to good effect, and a forum for shared experience from service position holders has been established. It is used well by participants. 

The Development Fund has contributed to International Literature, and to World Service Meeting Funds. The European Service meeting was held once again at York with forty- three participants from twenty-eight countries, plus representation from US/Canada along with the Chair from Ireland. Participants shared their service experience, strength and hope with each other, so they can build strong AA structures within their own counties, which meet the needs of the still suffering alcoholic. In addition, trustees have participated in the General Service Conferences of several European countries, and later shared experience in their service disciplines, which has been very helpful to the fellowship. East African countries are looking to AAGB and US/Canada to help with starting service structures across their counties. 

All four National Conventions happened during the year and were much appreciated by attendees, with several newcomers being welcomed to our Fellowship. In 2026 the Northern National Convention will be 50! Many thanks to the organising committees. Similarly, our three parliamentary events, in Westminster, Holyrood and at the Senedd all took place and we continue to not only explain AA’s message to those in political power, but ask them to carry our message, just as we ask of any professional organisation. 

All trustees, whichever their service, and all three service offices have worked tremendously hard for the fellowship in delivering primary purpose work, for which I truly give my humble thanks. 

Thank you all for allowing me to be of service. 

Joanna Faul **Chair – General Service Board** 

4 Annual Report | 2025 



## **GSB Personnel** 

## **Trustees who departed from the Board this year:** 

Justin Tunstall Ranjana Bell 

## **The following trustees were appointed to the Board:** 

Graham Duncan Jim Muelchi Mike Newton Jill Tolfrey Hassan Zaid 

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## **Report of the Trustees** 

The primary purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is to pass the message of recovery from alcoholism to those who seek help, making that information available to professionals, the media and the public. The General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain works to support the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous and to raise awareness of AA’s message of recovery. 

Our Tradition of Self Support, underpinned by the Alcoholics Anonymous (Dispositions) Act of 1986, ensures that AA is supported solely through the voluntary contributions of members. The charity continues to achieve a stable financial position and has been able to undertake initiatives that the Fellowship of AA has requested. 

Each trustee takes responsibility for a particular area of work within the Board activities, all of which are geared towards raising awareness of all that AA can offer those who seek help. The trustees stay abreast of developments and co-operate with the authorities in these professional areas by communicating on a regular basis, attending conferences and exhibitions and by developing projects for each professional body. 

**AA Service News (AASN) i** s a service information newsletter that is produced by the General Service Board and is distributed each quarter to over 4000 groups in print, and to approximately 2000 digitally, as well as intergroups and regions. 

AA Service News is also on the AAGB website, and previous issues can be found in the website Document Library. 

Included in AA Service News are the Conference questions and responses in the winter and summer issues respectively, messages from the General Secretary, bullet points from meetings of the GSB and adverts for vacancies on subcommittees. It also contains updates on special projects such as the British Big Book, and requests for input into new AA literature and pamphlets, and inspiring articles from members on their experience of service at all levels of our structure. 

**Archive Subcommittee** met three times during the past year, two online and one at the general service office. We continue to invite the AA archivist at the Borthwick Institute and some other staff members to the SC meetings, as it is proving to be informative and productive. The SC continues to overhaul the existing and create new AA archivists supporting literature. One revised pamphlet will be presented to conference 2026. 

The archive network meeting was held on the 19th and 20th of September 2025. A total of 30 members attended, 21 in person and 9 online, an increase of 9 attendees over 2024. 

The archives continue to receive donations from members of the fellowship, including a necklace-style engraved medal commemorating 25 years of AA, presented to Bill W at the Ohio convention. It is intended to display this medal. 

**Armed Services Subcommittee** met four times this year, twice online and twice at GSO. The SC consists of three trustees and two SC members. One member and two trustees will rotate out in January 2026. 

A survey of the AA confidential directory suggests that of the 16 regions, 9 have regional armed service liaison officers in post. The intergroups have 52 armed service liaison officers in post. The SC continues in its role to support the Armed Service Liaison Officers (ASLO) and Regional Armed Service Liaison Officers (RASLO). Support is restricted due to a lack of SC members. There are several vacancies on the SC which, if not filled, may impede the ability of the SC in its role of supporting ASLO and RASLO. 

The SC continues to maintain the Armed Services 12 step list, which is on a Google document and is available for telephone responders. 

The SC has an online workshop planned for March 2026 to assist existing LOs and encourage more members of the Fellowship into this very rewarding area of service. 

The SC continues to update Information on the services section of the AA website. 

The SC now has sufficient material to proceed with the process of creating new Armed Services literature and 

6 Annual Report | 2025 



would like to thank those members who have contributed written shares for this purpose. However, this process may be delayed due to a shortage of members. 

**Employment:** 2 new members joined the subcommittee in 2025 and it now has a full team of members to carry out its work. 

This year, we have presented at an event which was held by Wrigley’s solicitors, Circle Health and NatWest Bank. 

The SC also supported AA Bulgaria setting up an Employment seminar meeting through Zoom meetings and by providing literature, and a member from AA Bulgaria attended this year’s Employment seminar, for further support. 

In October, the Trustee for Probation on how the CHIT system can be used in Employment work and the value that it could add. 

**First Response Online Subcommittee (FROSC)** is responsible for the administration of our two online services: Chat Now and the Online Response Service (ORS), which are live chat and email services. 

The services are a vital part of our work carrying the message of recovery to the still suffering alcoholic, and the dedication of our responders ensures that the hand of AA is always there for anyone who is reaching out for help with their drinking. 

On average, the Online Response Service receives about 700 initial contact emails each month, with 900 emails being sent every month by our responders. Of the initial emails received, just over 50% are from suffering alcoholics, with the remainder being made up of enquiries from family and friends, professionals, and existing members of the Fellowship. 

On Chat Now, the responders receive an average of 720 chats each month, and like with ORS, just over 50% of these are from the still suffering alcoholic. 

An online workshop in June about our online services resulted in a significant number of applications to become responders. We will be holding another online workshop on 24th January 2026. 

Guidance for responders and all our safeguarding processes are continually being reviewed. All chats and 90% emails are screened to ensure best practice. 

Thanks to the commitment and effort made by our responders and by members of the SC, the services are operating smoothly and continuing to grow, and we offer our thanks to all of them for their dedication. 

**Health:** AA-GB’s Health Subcommittees are there to support the work of Regional Health Liaison officers in carrying AA’s message to the Health Professionals, and build awareness with the 2023 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard for treating people with Alcohol Use Disorders https://www. nice.org.uk/Guidance/qs11. 

In Scotland, we are grateful to Regional Health Liaison Officers who have joined the Scottish Government consultation to develop a new Alcohol (and Substance Misuse) Strategy. Across the United Kingdom, Health Services are increasingly willing to speak with ‘Lived Experience Recovery Organisations’ (LEROs) as they develop plans to meet local needs. Members who can represent our fellowship in this context carry out a significant public information service, and we thank them all. 

We’re currently refreshing and rebuilding health resources on the website. Published resources will appear on the Health Service page or in the Health section of the new Document Library. Internal resources and templates will be in the Health Filestore. 

The Annual Health Meeting with Regional Health Liaison Officers (RHLOs) and a hybrid Seminar took place in September 2025 and was a great success in creating awareness of the many initiatives in Health Liaison work and the challenges faced throughout the structure. 

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**Inclusivity Committee:** The Inclusivity Committee consists of 3 Working Groups (WG): 

Race2Day (WG) presented & held workshops at the Southern National, Birmingham Big Book, Heart of England and European Young People in AA in Glasgow. The Chair of the WG was elected to be a Trustee and will be rotating out of position after conference 2026. 

LGBTQIA+ (WG) has been focusing on revamping the ‘LGBT Voices’ pamphlet. This has been completed in time to present to Conference 2026. The Chair of the WG has also been elected to be a Trustee and will rotate out by April 2026. 

Accessibility (WG) This has been a difficult year for the members and chair of the WG, as they all have lived experience of accessibility issues, both visible and invisible. 

A question that the Access working group has posed is regarding Tradition 3 ‘The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking. How does this Tradition apply to Groups when considering members with accessibility needs? 

The WGs are now working together to consider how issues of Inclusivity can be better understood by the Fellowship and to stimulate discussion. 

**Literature:** All literature items approved by Conference 2025 have been actioned and printed with the revised AA Service and Structure handbooks available online and in hard copy. 

Three Chapters of the Service Handbook have been revised along with 6 pamphlets and 3 new pieces of literature, which will be presented at Conference 2026. The British Big Book working group is making good progress towards delivering the draft for Conference 2027 

**Northern National Convention:** The 49th Northern National Convention took place at the Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool, from Thursday, 27th March 2025 to Sunday, 30th March 2025. 1190 tickets were sold, an increase of 9% compared to the previous year. This has been the highest attendance over the last 20 years, and the committee members appreciate all the support from the Fellowship. 

The NNC is supported by the Northwest, Northeast and the Midlands Region, and its committee meets 4 times a year. 

Flyers for the event were distributed through the Regional Assemblies and available from the GSO. They are also included in the events section of the National Website, with a link to the NNC microsite. 

The committee have worked in preparation for the 50th Anniversary event. The theme is ‘A New Beginning’ and will take place from Thursday, 26th March 2026 - Sunday, 29th March 2026. The committee looks forward to celebrating the Anniversary and to give the Fellowship a joyful experience. 

**Welsh National Convention** was held this year on the weekend of 30th/31st May at the Metropole hotel, Llandrindod Wells. There were 197 attendees in total. 

Platform speaker meetings were held over the weekend, along with a Welsh speaker meeting on Saturday afternoon with simultaneous translation into English via headsets. 

There was entertainment on the Friday evening with musicians, and a disco and raffle were enjoyed on the Saturday evening. 

The Sunday morning spiritual service was held in both English and Welsh, with a choir of our Welsh-speaking members leading Calon Lan (pure heart) 

Marathon come-and-go meetings were run alongside the above. 

The WNC will take place at the Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells 30th May to 1st June 2025.  The theme is Love and Gratitude. There will be information about Young People and Telephone discipline. Fliers have been circulated, and we look forward to another successful year. 

Although this is a small National Convention, there will be a warm Welsh welcome for anyone attending. 

8 Annual Report | 2025 



**Scottish National Convention:** The 68th Scottish National Convention, Queens Hall, Dunoon, 9th to 11th May 2025. 

The Convention website (https://scottishnationalconvention.co.uk/) has been working well, and the convention was fully self-supporting, with attendance numbers up.  The TOR and accounts were approved at the AGM in July. Tradition Seven to GSO was also up to £1735.25. 

The regular meetings were well attended, with more being ‘open’ this year to encourage attendance by our nonalcoholic friends. An Al-Anon meeting room was also provided. Roundabout and Young People were represented in the service area with information on Probation and Prisons. Due to EURYPAA holding their convention in Glasgow this year, the SNC committee also supported their wish to raise awareness at the SNC. 

The 69th Scottish National Convention, 24th to 26th April 2026, will again be at The Queens Hall, Dunoon. The committee looks forward to welcoming you! 

**Southern National Convention:** Building on the success of the previous convention, the 2025 National Southern Convention took place by the sea at the Sand Bay Resort between the 19th and 21st September. Just over 700 members of the Fellowship attended the Convention, with 545 staying on site and a further 162 attending from Bristol and the surrounding area. 

Meetings were held throughout the weekend, with entertainment each evening with a presentation on the work of the General Service Board and an inclusivity workshop held on the Saturday.  Our friends at Al-Anon joined in with a programme of meetings throughout the weekend, including Al-Anon and Alateen shared platforms in the main hall on Friday and Saturday. 

The Convention was a great success, and the Convention Committee were pleased to be able to send a significant contribution to the General Service Office. The Convention is fully self-supporting for 2026. National Telephone Subcommittee has been working hard on fulfilling the Conference recommendation to find a better solution for the 0800 number. 

We have a working group that has been working closely with Lily, our potential provider, in testing the system provided. This has been a lengthy process because we want to make sure that it fulfils all the requirements for a better working system before switching from our current provider. 

The SC has been providing and revising various guidelines in the hopes of helping RTLOs, TLOs and responders/operators. These are all available on the website. 

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## **Parliamentary Events:** 

**Scottish Parliament Event:** This year’s Scottish Parliamentary Event took place on 12 March 2025 in the Fleming Room in Holyrood and was sponsored by Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie. The title and theme of the event was Dispelling the Myth: What do you know about AA? 

The professional speaker for the event was Dr James Douglas, a GP from Fort William, who has been a firm advocate of AA and has spoken and written about the benefits of AA in the past.  There were two AA speakers, and there was a lively question and answer session at the end that also included an impromptu testimony from an MSP regarding how AA so positively impacted her family. 

This year, there is a full committee that includes representation from all the Scottish Regions and staff from the Northern Service Office have secured an MSP sponsor for the event, Clare Haughey, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Rutherglen. 

It was decided to provisionally book a date in the 3rd week of June 2016. 

Following Conference 2026, a new Chair, a trustee from one of the Scottish regions, will be appointed to this committee.  It has been a joy and a privilege to work with this committee, and I am sure the event this year will be a resounding success. 

**Welsh Parliamentary Event:** Our annual report to professionals was held on the 6th November at the Senedd, Cardiff Bay, Wales. 

The event was introduced by our Chair, with our General Secretary explaining what AA is and how the charity operates within the Traditions, and I followed with some history and facts of AA in Wales, then proceeded to let them know what AA does within prisons, followed by the Prison video. This was followed by two members sharing their experience,strength and hope of recovery 

Our sponsoring AS/AM Peredur Owen Griffiths, Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales, had been delayed, then thanked us for attending and sharing our information with everyone. Next year’s date is to be arranged. 

**Westminster Parliamentary Event:** This year’s event, ‘A Resource to Professionals’, was held in The Cholmondeley Room at The House of Lords, and was sponsored by Lord Cameron of Dillington, to whom we are grateful for opening the presentation. There were 70 attendees. 

The committee has reflected on this event, and whilst being a fantastic venue, the Chlomondeley Room doesn’t serve our needs as well as Portcullis House, so have already booked Portcullis House for Tuesday 12th. May 2026. 

Our sponsor will be Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick. 

**PI & Ecomms Subcommittee** has been engaged in a range of different work asked of it by the General Service Board, on behalf of the Fellowship.  In addition, the SC has provided consistent support for users of the Filestore, the Regional and Intergroup Microsites and has maintained a constant presence on the AAGB Helpdesk. 

The AAGB website has had almost 600,000 visits to the website between April and December 2025.  Four times as many hits are made from general searches compared to users accessing a direct bookmark or link, and this highlights the good level of visibility for the website on the World Wide Web. 

The development of website functionality and content has continued with improvements to the user journey for newcomers, updates to the Group Information Registration Form and updates to simplify ordering and payments for purchases from the online shop. 

We will create on both Instagram and X, a trial non-interactive Social Media with a static post on each with a link to direct visitors to the AA GB Website.  The link includes a tracking element which allows us to see how many hits are received on the AA website from each of these social media channels. The evaluation of w-engagement, platforms and content will continue through 2026. 

10 Annual Report | 2025 



The SC is also evaluating the feasibility of using Meeting Guide by AA GB.  Meeting Guide (sometimes referred to as ‘Meeting Guide Technology) is a third-party digital app, managed by AA World Services, which can be used to help Fellowship members find AA meetings. 

The SC resumed publication of the PI Newsletter in 2025 after a break of a couple of years. Editions started in the first week of April and will continue quarterly in the first week of January, April, July and October.  Distribution is to service email addresses for Region and Intergroup Chairs & Secretaries, as well as Liaison Officers for PI, Armed Services, Employment, Health and Young People. 

Workplace, a communication and engagement platform used for service communication, has been retired by its owner (Meta), so the SC is trialling the integration of a blogging platform integrated with the Google suite of applications as a replacement, which we hope to roll out during 2026 to groups doing service. 

**Prisons:** At Conference 2025, our new pamphlet, AA in prisons, was accepted and available from GSO. An updated the Prison section of the Service handbook will be going to Conference 2026. Our Beyond the Bars newsletter is published 4 times a year and is available in the document library. An online prison workshop was held on the 30th of August with 58 attendees, and we plan another on 7th March 2026. 

The trustees are part of the HMPPS Mutual Aid forum, and I attended the 6th prison seminar in Bulgaria in October. 

It is my last year as a Trustee, and I thank everyone for all the work and help that have been given to me. 

**Probation:** The Probation / Community Justice Service discipline has had a productive year; recent figures show that 980 Alcoholics Anonymous Groups in GB now offer the ‘chit’ system, this is up from 718 at December 2024. Service work locally is taking place with enthusiastic members encouraging cooperation with the professional community. The GSB SC email address is working well to provide a central point of contact for members and outside agencies. 

Our second national online workshop attracted over sixty members interested in Probation service. We are planning a third, for 28th February 2026. Guidance has been produced for the Fellowship and professionals on the Chit system and placed on our website. We have also produced a new leaflet aimed at still-suffering alcoholics who find themselves in Police custody and revised our chapter in the GB service handbook. Both will go to Conference 2026. 

Recently, we gave an online presentation to the Kenyan Intergroup to aid them in developing their service structure, incorporating reaching those who have a desire to stop drinking and are involved with the Kenyan justice system. 

Current cooperation with HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) for their Approved Premises to increase awareness and reinvigorate connections on a local and national basis is expanding. HMPPS piloted ‘Recoveryfocussed Approved Premises’ and is keen to roll recovery out into all Approved Premises, with the support of local members. Many thanks to all members and Liaison Officers who are supporting this service. Cooperation with HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is also ongoing. HMCTS Headquarters Officials are learning that local members have worked with local courts and developed good cooperative working. In Scotland, members are working with Sheriff’s Courts as well as Local Authority Social Services, and Police Scotland’s local divisions to signpost people to Alcoholics Anonymous and welcome them to the Fellowship. 

We are continuing to review our Liaison officer’s pack and aim to have a refined document available for the Fellowship in early 2026. 

**Roundabout:** 2025 was sadly overshadowed by the illness and consequent resignation of our Trustee Andrina. The loss of her kind wisdom and practical nature was and continues to be sorely missed. The SC itself had a busy year attending 8 conventions which raised awareness of the magazine, obtained articles and interviews and shares from them, as well as encouraging new Subscriptions and is a great way of attracting people into Service. As well as meeting online three times the SC met face to face for a Workshop in Pitlochry. The SC its updated the Terms of Reference and its style Sheet for the Proofreaders. 

**SHARE:** This year, Share was present at the London Convention 2025 and also the Northern and Southern National Conventions. Our Editor was invited to the online Grapevine La Vina Magazine Workgroup in the USA to talk about Share. We produced the bumper 90th Anniversary issue in June with four extra pages to celebrate gratitude. 

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Our newest Editorial Reader represented us at the Roundabout Annual meeting in Glasgow, where he was warmly welcomed and gained valuable ideas and insight, which he reported back to the team. 

We also had two online meetings of the Share Editorial team and our annual Liaison Officers meeting at GSO in York. 

All the deadlines have been met with lots of great articles and beautiful photographs. However, we always need more, so while you’re penning your own article for us, please encourage your friends to write in too! 

This is a time of change at Share as we say goodbye, and a huge thank you, to our Editor Agnes, who has been the driving force behind the magazine and the committee for the past six years. Taking on the role of Editor is our current Assistant Editor, Bridget, who has been a hard-working member of the team for two years and has been shadowing the editor duties for twelve months, already having produced several issues. Caroline (an experienced Editorial Reader) will be stepping into the Assistant Editor role. So Share continues to be in good hands. 

As this is my last annual report for Share, I would like to thank the hard-working Share editorial team and also all of the Share liaison officers and group reps. I have learned so much from you and enjoyed being a part of the Share family. 

**Survey:** The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain (AAGB) Limited have conducted a survey of the Fellowship every five years since 1972. The intention of these surveys is to learn more about the Fellowship in GB and Continental Europe so that AA’s message of recovery may be disseminated more effectively to the still suffering alcoholic, thus helping us to fulfil our primary purpose. 

The Survey Subcommittee was established as a separate SC tasked to deliver the 2020 Survey. Previously, the Survey was delivered by the PI SC. Due to COVID and lockdown, the 2020 survey was delivered online for the first time. The decision to continue the survey online was agreed using what was learned in 2020 to improve the content and method of communication to the Fellowship and increase engagement. 

The 2025 survey was delivered on time, and the results are being analysed and will be reported on at Conference 2026. A leaflet has been submitted to Conference 2026 showing the headings that will be on the leaflet. The statistics will be inserted early in 2026. The leaflet will be available to be used as a public information outreach tool. 

**Young People:** This year marks 10 years since the Young People’s Liaison Officer position was introduced into the structure of AAGB, and it has been a busy and exciting year. There are increasing numbers of Young People’s meetings across the country that are carrying the message of recovery and providing identification for the younger alcoholic. Intergroup and Regional YPLOs are involved in workshops, poster campaigns, school talks and attendance at ‘freshers weeks’, to mention just a few of the ongoing initiatives. 

The Young People’s SC held a Roadshow in Birmingham on 21st June, which followed Roadshows in previous years held in Leeds, Cardiff and Glasgow, which led to increased numbers of Young People’s meetings and more members getting involved in service. 

We were represented at both the Welsh and Scottish National Conventions this year. The North West Regional Young Person’s Convention - ‘Manypaa 2025’ - took place in Manchester on 30th and 31st August, with the theme of ‘Young at Heart’. 

The SC has created a newsletter detailing some of the work being done in the YP discipline. The aim of the newsletter is partly to support and inspire YPLOs in the work that they are doing, and also to let the Fellowship as a whole know about the initiatives that are being undertaken by young people in AA. 

The WhatsApp group for the YPLOs, currently has 75 and is a great resource for YPLOs to keep in touch. In the 10 years since it was introduced to the service structure of AAGB, the Young People’s discipline has grown and evolved into a vital part of our primary purpose work of carrying the message to the still suffering alcoholic. 

12 Annual Report | 2025 



## **Financial Statement for 2024-2025 Annual Report** 

## **Annual Report Introduction** 

The Fellowship across AAGB has seen a stable year compared to 2023-24. There has been an increase of Income in the previous year  of 18% with an increase both in terms of contributions and from publication income. Expenditure has had a small increase of 3% in the year. This is largely because of salary increases and postage costs increases. Reductions across other cost lines have offset much of this Whilst this is an improving picture our reserves are below our Warranty 2/Prudent Reserve level at the end of the financial year. 

## **Investments** 

Our investments continue to be managed by Churches, Charities & Local Authorities (CCLA) which is an ethical company. During the year the charity received an income of £47,524 from our investments. 

## **Overall picture** 

Our Total Income for the year is £2,164,299 compared to £1,830,465 in 2023-24, an increase of £333,834. Contributions saw an increase of £205,361 and publication income saw an increase of £125,159. This is an overall increase on income of 18%. 

Our Total Expenditure for the year, inclusive of Restricted funds of £54,884 is £2,110,192 compared to £2,063,690 (inc. restricted funds £22,985) in 2023-24, an increase of £46,502. This is a small increase of 3% in the year. This is a result of an increase in certain expenditure lines, such as salary costs and postage, which have been off set against cost reductions, including website costs. We have not had significant conference project costs in this year. 

This leaves an operating surplus for the year of £53,718 before losses on investments. Our net losses on investments for 2024-25 is £59,737, resulting in a minor deficit position of (£6,019) for this financial year. This is improvement against the deficit of (£112,989) in the previous year. 

Based on expenditure from our unrestricted funds (£2,055,308), our Prudent Reserve target for 2024-25 is £2,569,135. Our Free reserves are calculated as £2,146,366 by taking unrestricted funds less stock & fixed asset balances. This leaves a Warranty 2 deficit of £422,769. 

## **Literature** 

Income from the sale of literature amounted to £977,883. This represents an increase from the previous year’s total of £852,724. Direct literature costs amounted to £385,296 compared to £335,628 in 2023-24. 

## **General Service Office** 

General Service Office Including Northern Service Office (NSO) and Southern Service Office (SSO) All three offices have continued to operate with a full complement of staff. Our staff have continued to split their time between working from home and in the offices. This arrangement has continued to work well. 

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The above figures are detailed in the following pages of this Annual Report. 

## **Financial Statement for Period ended 30th September 2025 Balance Sheet** 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
FIXED ASSETS 2025 Total Funds £ 2024 Total Funds £<br>Tangible Assets 6,660 2,195<br>Investments 1,179,442 1,239,179<br>1,186,102 1,241,374<br>CURRENT ASSETS<br>Stocks 195,395 147,945<br>Debtors 117,142        100,886<br>Cash at Bank +  1,097,964 1,096,453<br>Investments<br>1,410,501 1,345,284<br>CREDITORS<br>Amounts falling due  (78,600)   (63,025)<br>within one year<br>TOTAL ASSETS<br>Less Current Liabilities 1,311,901 1,282,259<br>NET ASSETS<br>2,518,003 2,523,633<br>CHARITY FUNDS<br>Unrestricted Funds 2,348,421 2,354,440<br>Restricted Funds 169,582 169,193<br>2,518,003 2,523,633<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


This information has the approval of the auditors and audited by BHP Accountants and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. 

14 Annual Report | 2025 



## **Statement of Financial Activities** 

## **(Incorporating Income & Expenditure Account) for year ended 30th September 2025** 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Unrestricted Restricted 2025 Total  2024 Total<br>Funds £ Funds £ Funds £ Funds £<br>INCOME RESOURCES<br>Income & Endowments from<br>Donations & Legacies 1,083,619 55,273 1,138,892 933,531<br>Other Trading Activities 977,883 977,883 852,724<br>Investment Income 47,524 47,524 44,210<br>Total Income 2,109,026 55,273 2,164,299  1,830,465<br>EXPENDITURE ON<br>Raising Funds 931,324 50,000 981,324 894,917<br>Charitable Activities 1,123,984 4,884 1,128,868  1,168,773<br>Total Expenditure 2,055,308 54,884 2,110,192 2,063,690<br>Net income/(expenditure)<br>before net (losses)/gains on<br>investments<br>Net (Losses)/Gains on  (59,737) (59,737) 120,236<br>Investments<br>Net income / (Expenditure) (6,019) 389 (5,630) (112,989)<br>RECONCILIATION of FUNDS<br>Total funds brought forward 2,358,440 169,193 2,523,633 2,636,622<br>Total funds carried forward 2,348,421 169,582 2,518,003 2,523,633<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


15 



## **Continuing Operations All incoming resources and resources expended arise from continuing activities NOTES to the FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the YEAR ENDED 30th SEPTEMBER 2025** 

|**DONATION & LEGACIES**|**2025 £**<br>**2024 £**|**2025 £**<br>**2024 £**|
|---|---|---|
|Fellowship Contributions|1,090,278<br>880,372||
|Gift Aid|20,851<br>25,695||
|National Convention Contributions|10,598<br>11,624||
|Conference Contributions|17,165<br>15,840||
||1,138,892<br>933,531||
||||
|**OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES**||**2025 £**<br>**2024 £**|
|Sales of Literature<br>Literature is sold at surplus to assist in support of the<br>Primary Purpose||977,883<br>852,724|
||||
|**INVESTMENT INCOME**||**2025 £**<br>**2024 £**|
|Fixed Asset Income<br>||35,257<br>35,057|
|Deposit Account Income||12,267<br>9,153|
|||47,524<br>44,210|
||||
|**EXPENDITURE – RAISING FUNDS**||**2025 £**<br>**2024 £**|
|Purchase of Literature<br>Staff Costs<br>Premises Costs<br>Offce Expenses<br>Public Information & Publication Costs<br>Conference Costs<br>Website<br>Irrecoverable VAT<br>Financial Expenses<br>General Expenses<br>Bad Debt Expense|<br> <br>|385,296<br>335,628<br>77,063<br>71,800<br>43,352<br>45,284<br>163,383<br>140,404<br>93,519<br>68,582<br>60,917<br>94,155<br>9,838<br>40,945<br>67,746<br>67,686<br>21,742<br>23,254<br>7,198<br>7,179<br>1,270<br>-|
|||931,324<br>894,917|



16 Annual Report | 2025 




**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – OTHER FELLOWSHIP  2025 £ 2024 £<br>SERVICES<br>Staff Costs       390,236 368,366<br>Premises Costs 86,634 86,644<br>Office Expenses 45,771 40,391<br>General Expenses 70,867 127,163<br>593,508 622,564<br>GOVERNANCE COSTS 2025 £ 2024 £<br>Trustee Expenses 32,780 51,673<br>Professional Expenses            45,448 35,445<br>  78,228    87,118<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


|**MANAGEMENT COSTS**|**2025 £**<br>**2024 £**|
|---|---|
|Staff Costs<br>Premises Costs<br>Offce Expenses<br>Financial Expenses<br>General Expenses|292,846<br>272,844<br>65,846<br>67,173<br>44,409<br>41,335<br>55<br>60<br>53,976<br>77,679|
||457,132<br>459,091|
|||
|**STAFF COSTS (as allocated above)**|**2025 £**<br>**2024 £**|
|Wages and Salaries<br>Social Security Costs<br>Contribution to Defned Beneft Pension Scheme|638,449<br>597,386<br>56,833<br>53,203<br>64,863<br>62,421|
||760,145<br>713,010|



17 



## **Members of the General Service Board** 

Holly Alexander Tim Barker Charon Burke Andrina Cassidy John Coady Graham Duncan Joanna Faul Carmel George Emma Gipson Maxine Jefferies Zelma Kesans Hamish McSwan Kieran Moriarty Jim Muelchi Mike Newton Levey Patocs Angela Sheridan Anthony Stephens Gretchen Swisher Dr Jil Tolfrey Dr Hassan Zaidi Ranjan Bhattacharyya 

## **Auditors** 

BHP Chartered Accountants 

Rievaulx House 1 St Mary’s Court Blossom Street York YO24 1AH 

General Secretary 

## **Bankers** 

HSBC Plc 

13 Parliament Street York YO1 8XS 

## **Solicitors** 

Wrigleys Solicitors LPP 

19 Cookridge Street Leeds LS2 EAG 

## **Investment Managers** 

CCLA Fund Managers Ltd Senator House 85 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4ET 

**Registered Charity Nos:** 

**226745** (England and Wales) **SCO38023** (Scotland) 

18 Annual Report | 2025 



## **The Twelve Traditions** 

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity 

2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority – a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. 

3. The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking. 

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole. 

5. Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. 

6. An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. 

7. Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions 

8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centres may employ special workers. 

9. AA as such, ought never be organised; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve. 

10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never to be drawn into public controversy. 

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films. 

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities. 

19 



Registered number: 00587316 Charity number: 226745/SCO38023 

## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

**(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **TRUSTEES' REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** 

**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025** 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## CONTENTS 

||Page|
|---|---|
|**Reference and administrative details of the charity, its Trustees and advisers**|1 - 2|
|**Chair's statement**|3 - 4|
|**Trustees' report**|5 - 20|
|**Independent auditors' report on the financial statements**|21 - 24|
|**Statement of financial activities**|25|
|**Balance sheet**|26|
|**Statement of cash flows**|27|
|**Notes to the financial statements**|28 - 45|



Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS _FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

|**Trustees**|Joanna Faul,Chair|
|---|---|
||HollyAlexander|
||Tim Barker|
||Charon Bourke|
||Andrina Cassidy|
||John Coady|
||Graham Duncan(appointed 13 April 2025)|
||Carmel George|
||Emma Gipson|
||Maxine Jefferies|
||Zelma Kesans|
||Malcolm McSwan|
||Dr Kieran Moriarty|
||James Muelchi(appointed 13 April 2025)|
||Michael Newton(appointed13April 2025)|
||Levente Patocs|
||Angela Sheridan|
||AnthonyStephens|
||Gretchen Swisher|
||Dr Jill Tolfrey (appointed 13 April 2025)|
||Dr Hassan Zaidi(appointed13April 2025)|
||Rajana Bell(resigned 13 April 2025)|
||Justin Tunstall,Chair(resigned 13 April 2025)|



**Company registered number** 00587316 **Charity registered number** 226745/SCO38023 **Registered office** 10 Toft Street York YO1 6JT **General secretary** Ranjan Bhattacharyya **Key management personnel** R Bhattacharyya - General Secretary M Tervet - Management Accountant J Pryke - General Service Board Administrator A M Smith - Northern Service Office Administrator S Smyth - Conference Co-ordinator, IT & Technical Manager S Wright - Office Manager L Diebler - Southern Service Office Manager E Lane - Southern Service Office Administrator (resigned 20 January 2025) 

Page 1 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS (CONTINUED) _FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

|**Independent auditors**|Sumer Auditco Limited|
|---|---|
||Rievaulx House|
||1 St Mary's Court|
||York|
||YO24 1AH|
|**Bankers**|HSBC Plc|
||13 Parliament Street|
||York|
||YO1 8XS|
|**Solicitors**|Wrigleys Solicitors LLP|
||3rd Floor|
||3 Wellington Place|
||Leeds|
||LS1 4AP|
|**Investment managers**|CCLA Fund Managers Ltd|
||Senator House|
||85 Queen Victoria Street|
||London|
||EC4V 4ET|



Page 2 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## CHAIR'S STATEMENT 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

It is a real privilege to present this year’s Annual Report on behalf of the General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain, and Continental Europe English speaking region (CER). 

The purpose of the GSB is to support the fellowship of Great Britain and English-speaking meetings in Continental Europe, in its primary purpose. That is, to carry the message of recovery from alcoholism to all who seek its help, to those associated with alcohol problems, and to the public at large. 

The charity continues to improve on both governance of its affairs and on the most effective use of its finances. In this, we adhere to the requirements of the Charity Commission, the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Concepts for Great Britain, and for World Service. Our annual report demonstrates how the charity has worked towards these aims in the last year. 

In addition to increasing effective governance and implementing Conference recommendations and board policy, our trustees - selected from our regions - are responsible for the various board disciplines. We have at present four NonAlcoholic Trustees (NATs) on our board. Our NATs provide immeasurable assistance in adding balance to the board and different perspectives. They work very hard to help inform the public at large about our message, without the constraints of anonymity. They also serve on various board Subcommittees (SCs) and have been providing additional excellent guidance on governance. 

This year the Board has had vacancies for both categories of trustee. Of course, these vacancies mean an increased workload for all other trustees, and I thank them for stepping into the breaches. We do offer attendance at region assemblies where there is no local trustee, and hope that this will encourage future nominations. 

Our annual Conference in April 2025 was held in York. Although delegates were again given the opportunity to participate online rather than face to face, none chose that option, preferring to be there in person and in fellowship. Conference Steering Committee and the staff of the General Service Office (GSO) gave us a thoughtful and unifying experience, for which many thanks are due. Important direction was given to the GSB through Conference recommendations. A new film and five new literature items were approved. These are being usefully employed by the fellowship. We presented a new alcoholic trustee to Conference 2025 together with four new NATs. We expect to present two new NATs and ten new alcoholic trustees to Conference in April 2026, making the GSB ever more diverse. GSB SCs continue embracing available technology with a comfortable balance of in person and online meetings. Hybrid participation continues for meetings in York at the GSO. 

Our three service offices are available to the fellowship for service meetings, and a weekly recovery meeting is now established at GSO in York. The Southern Service Office in London, offers a wide range of literature for sale, as well as providing a useful meeting space. Service meetings are regularly held there and also GB’s first Farsi speaking meeting. The office co-ordinated with Crisis in liaison at Christmas and is developing an archive display for visitors. The Northern Service Office in Glasgow hosts many service meetings, and very interesting Scottish archival material. Both satellite offices store banners and tablecloths for local conventions etc. 

Major projects realised this year were the AA National Survey and progress on the development of National Telephones. The National Survey received a favourable response rate from the fellowship, from which we can draw robust statistics. These will give the fellowship a clear picture on the composition of AAGB and CER. The next step for the Survey SC is to convey survey information to the fellowship. Meanwhile, our National Telephones development activity went through a rigorous testing phase with a new supplier. The Telephone SC is proofing a system that meets both the current and future needs of AA. 

Chat Now and the Online Response Service (ORS) have made their mark this year too, with an average of over 1,400 contacts between them per month. Over 50% of contacts for each service are newcomers. Clearly, this is a truly vital modern service in engaging with the still-suffering alcoholic, and in aiding them to reach the rooms. 

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Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## CHAIR'S STATEMENT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

Our new website is attracting still greater traffic than before. It really benefits from a home page focus on still-suffering alcoholics who are making their first contact with our fellowship. The fellowship, through its health service officers and others, continues to use the NICE recommendations to great effect. 

Conference-approved work on Inclusivity continues to concentrate on three core areas: Race Today, LGBTQIA+ and Accessibility, and to raise awareness on these across the fellowship. Conference-approved Safeguarding recommendations are being used by groups and intergroups to good effect, and a forum for shared experience from service position holders has been established. It is used well by participants. 

The Development Fund has contributed to International Literature, and to World Service Meeting Funds. The European Service meeting was held once again at York with forty- three participants from twenty-eight countries, plus representation from US/Canada along with the Chair from Ireland. Participants shared their service experience, strength and hope with each other, so they can build strong AA structures within their own counties, which meet the needs of the still suffering alcoholic. In addition, trustees have participated in the General Service Conferences of several European countries, and later shared experience in their service disciplines, which has been very helpful to the fellowship. East African countries are looking to AAGB and US/Canada to help with starting service structures across their counties. 

All four National Conventions happened during the year and were much appreciated by attendees, with several newcomers being welcomed to our Fellowship. In 2026 the Northern National Convention will be 50! Many thanks to the organising committees. Similarly, our three parliamentary events, in Westminster, Holyrood and at the Senedd all took place and we continue to not only explain AA’s message to those in political power, but ask them to carry our message, just as we ask of any professional organisation. 

All trustees, whichever their service, and all three service offices have worked tremendously hard for the fellowship in delivering primary purpose work, for which I truly give my humble thanks. 

Thank you all for allowing me to be of service. 

## Joanna Faul 


Signer ID: CMFIVEJLQ9... Chair Date: 25/02/2026 GMT 

Page 4 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## TRUSTEES' REPORT 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

The Trustees present their annual report together with the audited financial statements of the charity for the  1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025. The Annual Report serves the purposes of both a Trustees' report and a directors' report under company law. The Trustees confirm that the Annual Report and financial statements of the charitable company comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charitable company'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 (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019). 

Since the charity qualifies as small under section 382 of the Companies Act 2006, the Strategic Report required of medium and large companies under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors' Report) Regulations 2013 has been omitted. 

## _**Objectives and activities**_ 

## **a. Policies and objectives** 

The Charitable Company's main objective is to assist alcoholics to overcome their addiction to alcohol and maintain sobriety. To achieve that aim the Charitable Company; 

- serves the Fellowship known as Alcoholics Anonymous in such of its work of assisting alcoholics to achieve sobriety as is of a charitable nature 

- publishes and distributing books, pamphlets and other literature relating to alcoholism 

- explains the work of the Company to the General Public through the media, 

- holds net monies accruing to the Charitable Company pending application to the purposes of the Charitable Company. 

In these ways the Charitable Company supports independent local groups established to uphold the primary objective of the Charitable Company. 

## **b. Volunteers** 

The charitable company does use volunteers to deliver its services. 

## **c. Main activities undertaken to further the charity's purposes for the public benefit** 

The Charitable Company's aims and achievements are set out within this report. The activities set out in this report have been undertaken to further the Charitable Company's charitable purposes for the Public Benefit. The Trustees have complied with their duty under Section 17(5) of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to Public Benefit guidance published by the Charities Commission and the Trustees have paid due regard to this guidance in deciding what activities the Charitable Company should undertake. 

Page 5 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## _**Achievements and performance**_ 

## **a. Main achievements of the charity** 

The primary purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is to pass the message of recovery from alcoholism to those who seek help, making that information available to professionals, the media and the public. The General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain works to support the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous and to raise awareness of AA's message of recovery. 

Our Tradition of Self Support, underpinned by the Alcoholics Anonymous (Dispositions) Act of 1986, ensures that AA is supported solely through the voluntary contributions of members. The charity continues to achieve a stable financial position and has been able to undertake initiatives that the Fellowship of AA has requested. 

Each trustee takes responsibility for a particular area of work within the Board activities, all of which are geared towards raising awareness of all that AA can offer those who seek help. The trustees stay abreast of developments and co-operate with the authorities in these professional areas by communicating on a regular basis, attending conferences and exhibitions and by developing projects for each professional body. 

**AA Service News (AASN)** is a service information newsletter that is produced by the General Service Board and is distributed each quarter to over 4,000 groups in print, and to approximately 2,000 digitally, as well as intergroups and regions. 

AA Service News is also on the AAGB website, and previous issues can be found in the website Document Library. 

Included in AA Service News are the Conference questions and responses in the winter and summer issues respectively, messages from the General Secretary, bullet points from meetings of the GSB and adverts for vacancies on subcommittees. It also contains updates on special projects such as the British Big Book, and requests for input into new AA literature and pamphlets, and inspiring articles from members on their experience of service at all levels of our structure. 

**Archive Subcommittee** met three times during the past year, two online and one at the general service office. We continue to invite the AA archivist at the Borthwick Institute and some other staff members to the SC meetings, as it is proving to be informative and productive. The SC continues to overhaul the existing and create new AA archivists supporting literature. One revised pamphlet will be presented to conference 2026. 

The archive network meeting was held on the 19th and 20th of September 2025. A total of 30 members attended, 21 in person and 9 online, an increase of 9 attendees over 2024. 

The archives continue to receive donations from members of the fellowship, including a necklace-style engraved medal commemorating 25 years of AA, presented to Bill W at the Ohio convention. It is intended to display this medal. 

**Armed Services Subcommittee** met four times this year, twice online and twice at GSO. The SC consists of three trustees and two SC members. One member and two trustees will rotate out in January 2026. 

A survey of the AA confidential directory suggests that of the 16 regions, 9 have regional armed service liaison officers in post. The intergroups have 52 armed service liaison officers in post. The SC continues in its role to support the Armed Service Liaison Officers (ASLO) and Regional Armed Service Liaison Officers (RASLO). Support is restricted due to a lack of SC members. There are several vacancies on the SC which, if not filled, may impede the ability of the SC in its role of supporting ASLO and RASLO. 

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Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Achievements and performance (continued)** 

The SC continues to maintain the Armed Services 12 step list, which is on a Google document and is available for telephone responders. 

The SC has an online workshop planned for March 2026 to assist existing LOs and encourage more members of the Fellowship into this very rewarding area of service. 

The SC continues to update Information on the services section of the AA website. 

The SC now has sufficient material to proceed with the process of creating new Armed Services literature and would like to thank those members who have contributed written shares for this purpose. However, this process may be delayed due to a shortage of members. 

**The Employment Subcommittee:** 2 new members joined the subcommittee in 2025 and it now has a full team of members to carry out its work. 

This year, we have presented at an event which was held by Wrigley’s solicitors, Circle Health and NatWest Bank. 

The SC also supported AA Bulgaria setting up an Employment seminar meeting through Zoom meetings and by providing literature, and a member from AA Bulgaria attended this year’s Employment seminar, for further support. 

In October, the Trustee for Probation on how the CHIT system can be used in Employment work and the value that it could add. 

**The First Response Online Subcommittee (FROSC):** is responsible for the administration of our two online services: Chat Now and the Online Response Service (ORS) which are live chat and email services. 

The services are a vital part of our work carrying the message of recovery to the still suffering alcoholic, and the dedication of our responders ensures that the hand of AA is always there for anyone who is reaching out for help with their drinking. 

On average, the Online Response Service receives about 700 initial contact emails each month, with 900 emails being sent every month by our responders. Of the initial emails received, just over 50% are from suffering alcoholics, with the remainder being made up of enquiries from family and friends, professionals, and existing members of the Fellowship. On Chat Now, the responders receive an average of 720 chats each month, and like with ORS, just over 50% of these are from the still suffering alcoholic. 

An online workshop in June about our online services resulted in a significant number of applications to become responders. We will be holding another online workshop on 24th January 2026. 

Guidance for responders and all our safeguarding processes are continually being reviewed. All chats and 90% emails are screened to ensure best practice. 

Thanks to the commitment and effort made by our responders and by members of the SC, the services are operating smoothly and continuing to grow, and we offer our thanks to all of them for their dedication. 

**Health Subcommittee:** AA-GB’s Health Subcommittees are there to support the work of Regional Health Liaison officers in carrying AA’s message to the Health Professionals, and build awareness with the 2023 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard for treating people with Alcohol Use Disorders https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/qs11. 

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Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) _FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Achievements and performance (continued)** 

In Scotland, we are grateful to Regional Health Liaison Officers who have joined the Scottish Government consultation to develop a new Alcohol (and Substance Misuse) Strategy. Across the United Kingdom, Health Services are increasingly willing to speak with ‘Lived Experience Recovery Organisations’ (LEROs) as they develop plans to meet local needs. Members who can represent our fellowship in this context carry out a significant public information service, and we thank them all. 

We’re currently refreshing and rebuilding health resources on the website. Published resources will appear on the Health Service page or in the Health section of the new Document Library. Internal resources and templates will be in the Health Filestore. 

The Annual Health Meeting with Regional Health Liaison Officers (RHLOs) and a hybrid Seminar took place in September 2025 and was a great success in creating awareness of the many initiatives in Health Liaison work and the challenges faced throughout the structure. 

## **Inclusivity Committee** 

The Inclusivity Committee consists of 3 Working Groups (WG): 

**Race2Day (WG)** presented & held workshops at the Southern National, Birmingham Big Book, Heart of England and European Young People in AA in Glasgow. The Chair of the WG was elected to be a Trustee and will be rotating out of position after conference 2026. 

**LGBTQIA+ (WG)** has been focusing on revamping the ‘LGBT Voices’ pamphlet. This has been completed in time to present to Conference 2026. The Chair of the WG has also been elected to be a Trustee and will rotate out by April 2026. 

**Accessibility (WG)** This has been a difficult year for the members and chair of the WG, as they all have lived experience of accessibility issues, both visible and invisible. 

A question that the Access working group has posed is regarding Tradition 3 ‘The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking. How does this Tradition apply to Groups when considering members with accessibility needs?' 

The WGs are now working together to consider how issues of Inclusivity can be better understood by the Fellowship and to stimulate discussion. 

**Literature Subcommittee:** All literature items approved by Conference 2025 have been actioned and printed with the revised AA Service and Structure handbooks available online and in hard copy. 

Three Chapters of the Service Handbook have been revised along with 6 pamphlets and 3 new pieces of literature, which will be presented at Conference 2026. The British Big Book working group is making good progress towards delivering the draft for Conference 2027. 

**Northern National Convention (NNC):** The 49th Northern National Convention took place at the Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool, from Thursday, 27th March 2025 to Sunday, 30th March 2025. 1,190 tickets were issued, an increase of 9% compared to the previous year. This has been the highest attendance over the last 20 years, and the committee members appreciate all the support from the Fellowship. 

The NNC is supported by the Northwest, Northeast and the Midlands Region, and its committee meets 4 times a year. 

Flyers for the event were distributed through the Regional Assemblies and available from the GSO. They are also included in the events section of the National Website, with a link to the NNC microsite. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Achievements and performance (continued)** 

The committee have worked in preparation for the 50th Anniversary event. The theme is ‘A New Beginning’ and will take place from Thursday, 26th March 2026 - Sunday, 29th March 2026. The committee looks forward to celebrating the Anniversary and to give the Fellowship a joyful experience. 

**Welsh National Convention (WNC):** was held this year on the weekend of 30th/31st May at the Metropole hotel, Llandrindod Wells. There were 197 attendees in total. 

Platform speaker meetings were held over the weekend, along with a Welsh speaker meeting on Saturday afternoon with simultaneous translation into English via headsets. 

There was entertainment on the Friday evening with musicians, and a disco and raffle were enjoyed on the Saturday evening. 

The Sunday morning spiritual service was held in both English and Welsh, with a choir of our Welsh-speaking members leading Calon Lan (pure heart). 

Marathon come-and-go meetings were run alongside the above. 

The WNC will take place at the Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells 30th May to 1st June 2026. The theme is Love and Gratitude. There will be information about Young People and Telephone discipline. Fliers have been circulated, and we look forward to another successful year. 

Although this is a small National Convention, there will be a warm Welsh welcome for anyone attending. 

**Scottish National Convention** : The 68th Scottish National Convention, Queens Hall, Dunoon, 9th to 11th May 2025. 

The Convention website (https://scottishnationalconvention.co.uk/) has been working well, and the convention was fully self-supporting, with attendance numbers up. The TOR and accounts were approved at the AGM in July. Tradition Seven to GSO was also up to £1,735. 

The regular meetings were well attended, with more being ‘open’ this year to encourage attendance by our non-alcoholic friends. An Al-Anon meeting room was also provided. Roundabout and Young People were represented in the service area with information on Probation and Prisons. Due to EURYPAA holding their convention in Glasgow this year, the SNC committee also supported their wish to raise awareness at the SNC. 

The 69th Scottish National Convention, 24th to 26th April 2026, will again be at The Queens Hall, Dunoon. The committee looks forward to welcoming you! 

**Southern National Convention:** Building on the success of the previous convention, the 2025 National Southern Convention took place by the sea at the Sand Bay Resort between the 19th and 21st September. Just over 700 members of the Fellowship attended the Convention, with 545 staying on site and a further 162 attending from Bristol and the surrounding area. 

Meetings were held throughout the weekend, with entertainment each evening with a presentation on the work of the General Service Board and an inclusivity workshop held on the Saturday. Our friends at Al-Anon joined in with a programme of meetings throughout the weekend, including Al-Anon and Alateen shared platforms in the main hall on Friday and Saturday. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Achievements and performance (continued)** 

The Convention was a great success, and the Convention Committee were pleased to be able to send a significant contribution to the General Service Office. The Convention is fully self-supporting for 2026. 

**National Telephone Subcommittee:** has been working hard on fulfilling the Conference recommendation to find a better solution for the 0800 number. 

We have a working group that has been working closely with Lily, our potential provider, in testing the system provided. This has been a lengthy process because we want to make sure that it fulfils all the requirements for a better working system before switching from our current provider. 

The SC has been providing and revising various guidelines in the hopes of helping RTLOs, TLOs and responders/operators. These are all available on the website. 

## **Parliamentary Events** 

**The Scottish Parliament:** This year's Scottish Parliamentary Event took place on 12 March 2025 in the Fleming Room in Holyrood and was sponsored by Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie. The title and theme of the event was Dispelling the Myth: What do you know about AA? 

The professional speaker for the event was Dr James Douglas, a GP from Fort William, who has been a firm advocate of AA and has spoken and written about the benefits of AA in the past. There were two AA speakers, and there was a lively question and answer session at the end that also included an impromptu testimony from an MSP regarding how AA so positively impacted her family. 

This year, there is a full committee that includes representation from all the Scottish Regions and staff from the Northern Service Office have secured an MSP sponsor for the event, Clare Haughey, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Rutherglen. 

It was decided to provisionally book a date in the 3rd week of June 2026. 

Following Conference 2026, a new Chair, a trustee from one of the Scottish regions, will be appointed to this committee. It has been a joy and a privilege to work with this committee, and I am sure the event this year will be a resounding success. 

**Welsh Parliamentary Event:** Our annual report to professionals was held on the 6th November at the Senedd, Cardiff Bay, Wales. 

The event was introduced by our Chair, with our General Secretary explaining what AA is and how the charity operates within the Traditions, and I followed with some history and facts of AA in Wales, then proceeded to let them know what AA does within prisons, followed by the Prison video. This was followed by two members sharing their experience, strength and hope of recovery. 

Our sponsoring AS/AM Peredur Owen Griffiths, Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales, had been delayed, then thanked us for attending and sharing our information with everyone. 

Next year's date is to be arranged. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Achievements and performance (continued)** 

**Westminster Parliamentary Event:** This year's event, ‘A Resource to Professionals’, was held in The Cholmondeley Room at The House of Lords, and was sponsored by Lord Cameron of Dillington, to whom we are grateful for opening the presentation. There were 70 attendees. 

The committee has reflected on this event, and whilst being a fantastic venue, the Chlomondeley Room doesn’t serve our needs as well as Portcullis House, so have already booked Portcullis House for Tuesday 12th. May 2026. 

Our sponsor will be Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick. 

**PI & Ecomms Subcommittee** has been engaged in a range of different work asked of it by the General Service Board, on behalf of the Fellowship.  In addition, the SC has provided consistent support for users of the Filestore, the Regional and Intergroup Microsites and has maintained a constant presence on the AAGB Helpdesk. 

The AAGB website has had almost 600,000 visits to the website between April and December 2025.  Four times as many hits are made from general searches compared to users accessing a direct bookmark or link, and this highlights the good level of visibility for the website on the World Wide Web. 

The development of website functionality and content has continued with improvements to the user journey for newcomers, updates to the Group Information Registration Form and updates to simplify ordering and payments for purchases from the online shop. 

We will create on both Instagram and X, a trial non-interactive Social Media with a static post on each with a link to direct visitors to the AA GB Website.  The link includes a tracking element which allows us to see how many hits are received on the AA website from each of these social media channels. The evaluation of w-engagement, platforms and content will continue through 2026. 

The SC is also evaluating the feasibility of using Meeting Guide by AA GB.  Meeting Guide (sometimes referred to as ‘Meeting Guide Technology) is a third-party digital app, managed by AA World Services, which can be used to help Fellowship members find AA meetings. 

The SC resumed publication of the PI Newsletter in 2025 after a break of a couple of years. Editions started in the first week of April and will continue quarterly in the first week of January, April, July and October.  Distribution is to service email addresses for Region and Intergroup Chairs & Secretaries, as well as Liaison Officers for PI, Armed Services, Employment, Health and Young People. 

Workplace, a communication and engagement platform used for service communication, has been retired by its owner (Meta), so the SC is trialling the integration of a blogging platform integrated with the Google suite of applications as a replacement, which we hope to roll out during 2026 to groups doing service. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Achievements and performance (continued)** 

**Prison Subcommittee:** At Conference 2025, our new pamphlet, AA in prisons, was accepted and available from GSO. An updated the Prison section of the Service handbook will be going to Conference 2026. 

Our Beyond the Bars newsletter is published 4 times a year and is available in the document library. 

An online prison workshop was held on the 30th of August with 58 attendees, and we plan another on 7th March 2026. 

The trustees are part of the HMPPS Mutual Aid forum, and I attended the 6th prison seminar in Bulgaria in October. It is my last year as a Trustee, and I thank everyone for all the work and help that have been given to me. 

**The Probation Subcommittee** The Probation / Community Justice Service discipline has had a productive year; recent figures show that 980 Alcoholics Anonymous Groups in GB now offer the ‘chit’ system, this is up from 718 at December 2024. Service work locally is taking place with enthusiastic members encouraging cooperation with the professional community. The GSB SC email address is working well to provide a central point of contact for members and outside agencies. 

Our second national online workshop attracted over sixty members interested in Probation service. We are planning a third, for 28th February 2026. Guidance has been produced for the Fellowship and professionals on the Chit system and placed on our website. We have also produced a new leaflet aimed at still-suffering alcoholics who find themselves in Police custody and revised our chapter in the GB service handbook. Both will go to Conference 2026. 

Recently, we gave an online presentation to the Kenyan Intergroup to aid them in developing their service structure, incorporating reaching those who have a desire to stop drinking and are involved with the Kenyan justice system. 

Current cooperation with HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) for their Approved Premises to increase awareness and reinvigorate connections on a local and national basis is expanding. HMPPS piloted ‘Recovery-focussed Approved Premises’ and is keen to roll recovery out into all Approved Premises, with the support of local members. Many thanks to all members and Liaison Officers who are supporting this service. Cooperation with HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is also ongoing. HMCTS Headquarters Officials are learning that local members have worked with local courts and developed good cooperative working. In Scotland, members are working with Sheriff’s Courts as well as Local Authority Social Services, and Police Scotland’s local divisions to signpost people to Alcoholics Anonymous and welcome them to the Fellowship. 

We are continuing to review our Liaison officer’s pack and aim to have a refined document available for the Fellowship in early 2026. 

**Roundabout:** 2025 was sadly overshadowed by the illness and consequent resignation of our Trustee Andrina. The loss of her kind wisdom and practical nature was and continues to be sorely missed. The SC itself had a busy year attending 8 conventions which raised awareness of the magazine, obtained articles and interviews and shares from them, as well as encouraging new Subscriptions and is a great way of attracting people into Service. As well as meeting online three times the SC met face to face for a Workshop in Pitlochry. The SC its updated the Terms of Reference and its style Sheet for the Proofreaders. 

**Share Subcommittee:** This year, Share was present at the London Convention 2025 and also the Northern and Southern National Conventions. Our Editor was invited to the online Grapevine La Vina Magazine Workgroup in the USA to talk about Share. We produced the bumper 90th Anniversary issue in June with four extra pages to celebrate gratitude. 

Our newest Editorial Reader represented us at the Roundabout Annual meeting in Glasgow, where he was warmly welcomed and gained valuable ideas and insight, which he reported back to the team. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Achievements and performance (continued)** 

We also had two online meetings of the Share Editorial team and our annual Liaison Officers meeting at GSO in York. 

All the deadlines have been met with lots of great articles and beautiful photographs. However, we always need more, so while you’re penning your own article for us, please encourage your friends to write in too! 

This is a time of change at Share as we say goodbye, and a huge thank you, to our Editor Agnes, who has been the driving force behind the magazine and the committee for the past six years. Taking on the role of Editor is our current Assistant Editor, Bridget, who has been a hard-working member of the team for two years and has been shadowing the editor duties for twelve months, already having produced several issues. Caroline (an experienced Editorial Reader) will be stepping into the Assistant Editor role. So Share continues to be in good hands. 

I would like to thank the hard-working Share editorial team and also all of the Share liaison officers and group reps, and in particular Editor Agnes, as she hands over the role to Bridget. 

**Survey Subcommittee:** The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain (AAGB) Limited have conducted a survey of the Fellowship every five years since 1972. The intention of these surveys is to learn more about the Fellowship in GB and Continental Europe so that AA’s message of recovery may be disseminated more effectively to the still suffering alcoholic, thus helping us to fulfil our primary purpose. 

The Survey Subcommittee was established as a separate SC tasked to deliver the 2020 Survey. Previously, the Survey was delivered by the PI SC. Due to COVID and lockdown, the 2020 survey was delivered online for the first time. The decision to continue the survey online was agreed using what was learned in 2020 to improve the content and method of communication to the Fellowship and increase engagement. 

The 2025 survey was delivered on time, and the results are being analysed and will be reported on at Conference 2026. A leaflet has been submitted to Conference 2026 showing the headings that will be on the leaflet. The statistics will be inserted early in 2026. The leaflet will be available to be used as a public information outreach tool. 

**The Young People’s Subcommittee (YPSC)** This year marks 10 years since the Young People’s Liaison Officer position was introduced into the structure of AAGB, and it has been a busy and exciting year. There are increasing numbers of Young People’s meetings across the country that are carrying the message of recovery and providing identification for the younger alcoholic. Intergroup and Regional YPLOs are involved in workshops, poster campaigns, school talks and attendance at ‘freshers weeks’, to mention just a few of the ongoing initiatives. 

The Young People’s SC held a Roadshow in Birmingham on 21st June, which followed Roadshows in previous years held in Leeds, Cardiff and Glasgow, which led to increased numbers of Young People’s meetings and more members getting involved in service. 

We were represented at both the Welsh and Scottish National Conventions this year. The North West Regional Young Person’s Convention - ‘Manypaa 2025’ - took place in Manchester on 30th and 31st August, with the theme of ‘Young at Heart’. 

The SC has created a newsletter detailing some of the work being done in the YP discipline. The aim of the newsletter is partly to support and inspire YPLOs in the work that they are doing, and also to let the Fellowship as a whole know about the initiatives that are being undertaken by young people in AA. 

The WhatsApp group for the YPLOs, currently has 75 and is a great resource for YPLOs to keep in touch. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Achievements and performance (continued)** 

In the 10 years since it was introduced to the service structure of AAGB, the Young People’s discipline has grown and evolved into a vital part of our primary purpose work of carrying the message to the still suffering alcoholic. 

## **b. Investment policy and performance** 

The investment aim is to achieve steady growth of the capital over the medium term, by holding a proportion of investment funds in equity or equity-related investments, balanced by a substantial element of lower risk, stable investments of gilts or cash-based investments. 

The Charity now holds 400,653 units in the Fund which on 30 September 2025 had a market value of 294.38p per unit. Giving the Charity investment a market value of £1,179,442. Due to the fluctuations within the Stock Market this value will vary week by week. Notwithstanding the sale of the units our investment should still provide the Charity with an estimated regular income of approximately £40,000 per annum. 

## _**Financial review**_ 

## **a. Introduction** 

The Fellowship across AAGB has continued to recover, along with the rest of Society, from the impact of the general economy over the past few years. I’m pleased to inform that the Charity’s finances have remained in a stable position despite additional pressures of high inflation with reserves slightly under our Warranty 2 Reserves Level. 

## **b. 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. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **c. Reserves policy** 

The Trustees' have established a policy whereby reserves held by the Charity should exceed 1.25 years expenditure, which equates to approximately £2,569,135 (2024: £2,579,613). This is considered the minimum to ensure the continuation of the basic services to the Fellowship during times of economic stress. Total funds held at the year-end is £2,518,003 (2024: £2,523,633). Included in the total funds is a balance of restricted funds of £169,582 (2024: £169,193). 

AAGB calculates free reserves held as £2,146,366 by taking unrestricted funds less fixed asset and stock balances. This is within £422,769 of the target level. Using Charity Commission guidance (CC19), free reserves can also be calculated by taking unrestricted funds less fixed assets arriving at a balance of £2,341,761, which is within £227,374 of the target level. 

The GSB plan to utilise the funds which are currently surplus to basic requirements reserves by: 

1. Absorbing the price increases in the production of literature, and where possible, reducing the price of some literature to make it more accessible to Members; 

2. Maintaining the current level of subsidies, for example, absorbing any accommodation price increases that would otherwise result in increased Conference Delegate fees; 

3. Funding approved projects without prioritisation, in spite of price rises; 

4. Continuing to support the development of AA overseas by maintaining its level of contribution to the World Service Literature fund and responding positively to appeals from AAWS; and 

5. Continuing to fulfil existing and additional services, as requested by the Fellowship. 

## **d. Material investments policy** 

Our investments continue to be managed by Churches, Charities & Local Authorities (CCLA) which is an ethical company. During the year the charity received an income of £47,524 (2024: £44,210) from our investments. 

## **e. Principal risks and uncertainties** 

The major risks to which the Charity is exposed have been identified by the Trustees, including financial, the traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous and our reputation. Based on the risk register, AAGB identifies its key risks as being around safeguarding, felowship anonymity breaches and falling income for contributions and publications. The Charity is a nonpolitical organisation and dealing with preservation of integrity is covered in the 12 Traditions of AA, detailed on the next page. 

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Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity. 

2. For our purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. 

3. The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking. 

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole. 

5. Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. 

6. An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. 

7. Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. 

8. AA should remain forever non-professional, but our service centres may employ special workers. 

9. AA, as such, ought never be organised; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve. 

10. AA has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy. 

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films. 

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities. 

## **f. Financial risk management objectives and policies** 

Formal management control systems and procedures, operating policies and manual processes have been agreed and established as part of ongoing risk assessment, to mitigate risks. Mitigation of financial risk is further addressed by the policy of holding reserves, as detailed below. 

Our risk management policy is to support the financial and reputational integrity of the charity by: 

a: maintaining our free reserves to the value of 1.25 x annual expenditure through a policy of apportioning our reserves by the approximate ratio of 50:25:25 (Investments. Cash, Deposits) and 

b: upholding the reputation of the Charity by close adherence to the Charity Commission reporting guidelines on Safeguarding, by reporting to the Charity Commission any potential for reputational harm to the either the Charity or the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous which the Charity serves. 

## **g. Principal funding** 

Income from the sale of literature amounted to £977,883. This represents an increase from the previous year’s total of £852,724. 

The literature costs realised £363,078 compared to £335,628 in 2024. Our Total Income for the year is £2,164,299 (2024: £1,830,465). 

Our Total Expenditure for the year is £2,110,192 (2024: £2,063,690). 

Our Net Income for 2024-25 before unrealised losses on investments is £54,107 (2024: net expenditure before unrealised gain of £233,225). 

Our Net unrealised losses on Investments is £59,737 (2024: net unrealised gain £120,236). 

Our Net Expenditure for the year is £5,630 (2024: £112,989). 

Prudent Reserve is currently £2,569,135, which is defined as 1.25 year of expenditure (2024: £2,579,613). 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **General Service Office Including Northern Service Office (NSO) and Southern Service Office (SSO)** 

All three offices have continued to operate with a full complement of staff. Our staff have continued to split their time between working from home and in the offices. This arrangement has continued to work well. 

## _**Structure, governance and management**_ 

## **a. Constitution** 

The Charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. 

Governance - The Relationships between the Board and its Supporters and Consultation Mechanisms. 

The Board is a Limited Company regulated by its Memorandum and Articles of Association as laid down in the Companies Acts. This instrument is a legal document which has bearing only on The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) Limited. 

The Board serves the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous in Great Britain and, in common with other groups of Trusted Servants, depends upon the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, Twelve Concepts for Service and the Charter of the General Service Conference to guide its policies. 

Because the Board is a Charitable Company registered in England, Wales and Scotland these instruments must be appropriate to their application in Great Britain and written in language which makes it clear that the Board recognises its responsibilities under English and Scottish Law. 

Alcoholics Anonymous (The Fellowship) is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are selfsupporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organisation or institution, does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses or opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. 

AA members meet as Groups which form elected, representative service bodies, Intergroups and Regions, whose purpose is to facilitate the carrying of the AA message by the groups to the still-suffering alcoholic. This service structure nominates persons for election to the General Service Board. The General Service Board serves the Fellowship by providing central services of various types and is a registered charity. The Groups, Intergroups and Regions are recognised by the Charity Commissioners as informal, autonomous "affiliated groups" which have no independent constitution. As such, they are not to be accountable to the General Service Board nor to the Charity Commission. The governance of Alcoholics Anonymous in Great Britain is based on the voluntary instruments; The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, Twelve Concepts for Service and the Charter of the General Service Conference. Consultation between the main Charity, the General Service Board, and its Supporters, the Groups, Intergroups and Regions of Alcoholics Anonymous in Great Britain takes place on a regular basis through service forums and workshops and an annual General Service Conference comprised of elected delegates from each of the Regions in Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain and the Trustees of the Board. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Structure, governance and management (continued)** 

## **b. Methods of appointment or election of Trustees** 

Trustee appointments are made solely by the General Service Board - Trustees are nominated by Regional bodies of the Fellowship, interviewed by the Nominations Committee of the Board who recommend the candidate they feel is most suitable to the Board who consider the recommendation and decide on the appointment by vote, ratification of the Trustees takes place at our Annual Conference in April after which Trustees have full voting rights. The General Service Board reserves the right to revoke any appointment. 

## **c. Organisational structure and decision-making policies** 

The Board of Trustees makes policy based on its own initiative and guidance by the annual conference of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. This policy is executed via its General Service Office (and subsidiary offices the Northern Service Office and Southern Service Office) which is in charge of day to day operations. 

## **d. Policies adopted for the induction and training of Trustees** 

Induction takes place prior to the General Service Board meeting after Trustee appointments and consists of a presentation to explain the responsibilities of being a Trustee plus documentation which includes 'The Good Trustee Guide'. Subsequently every trustee attends external trustee training. 

## **e. Pay policy for key management personnel** 

The Directors consider the Board of Directors, who are also the Charity's Trustees, and the Senior Management Team comprise the Key Management Personnel of the Charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the Charity on a day to day basis. All Directors give of their time freely and no Director received any remuneration in the year. Details of Directors' expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in Note 29 to the Financial Statements. 

The pay for the Senior Management Team is reviewed annually and normally increased in accordance with average earnings and CPI inflation. In view of the nature of the Charity, the Directors benchmark against pay levels in other organisations. The remuneration benchmark is above the mid-point of the range paid for similar roles adjusted for a weighting of up to 30% for any additional responsibilities. If recruitment has proven difficult in the recent past a market addition is also paid. 

## **f. Related party relationships** 

The Charity serves the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous by taking guidance of goods and services to be rendered through its annual conference. It has no other relationships with any other charities and organisations in the pursuit of its charitable objectives. 

## **g. Trustees' indemnities** 

There is no qualifying third party indemnity provision in force at the time of approval of the report or during the period, for the benefit of one or more directors. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Plans for future periods** 

Future plans of the charity include the following: - 

- review of existing and the issue of new literature including leaflets and pamphlets 

- holding conventions 

- committees continue to support various groups 

- continuing support through phone lines and email more details are noted above in the achievements and performance section. 

## **Statement of Trustees' responsibilities** 

The Trustees (who are also the directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) 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). 

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial . Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they 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 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. 

## **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. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) _FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **Auditors** 

Sumer Auditco Limited were appointed as auditor to the company following BHP LLP becoming part of the Sumer Group on 31 December 2025, which required a change in audit firm to comply with applicable regulatory requirements. 

The designated Trustees will propose a motion reappointing the auditors, Sumer Auditco Limited,  at a meeting of the Trustees. 

Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees on and signed on their behalf by: 


Signer ID: CMFIVEJLQ9... **Joanna Faul** Chair Date: 25/02/2026 GMT 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF  THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED 

We have audited the financial statements of The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) Limited (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 30 September 2025, which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including 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 30 September 2025, and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including 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, The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 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 responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.  We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. 

## **Conclusions relating to going concern** 

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. 

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. 

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. 

## **Other information** 

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees' report, 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. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. 

We have nothing to report in this regard. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF  THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED (CONTINUED) 

## **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 includes the directors' report prepared 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 directors’ report included within the trustees' report 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 directors’ report included within 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 

- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or 

- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration 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 directors’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report. 

## **Responsibilities of trustees** 

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company 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 have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

## **Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** 

We have been appointed as auditor under Section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF  THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED (CONTINUED) 

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: 

- the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively has the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non compliance with applicable laws and regulations; 

- we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charitable company through discussions with management and trustees, and from our knowledge and experience of this organisation; 

- we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the charitable company, including the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, data protection, health and safety and employment laws; 

- we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquires of management and trustees; and 

- identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non compliance throughout the audit of the charitable company. 

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 and trustees as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, 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 risks of fraud through management override of controls, we: 

- performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected variances; 

- tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions; 

- assessed whether judgments and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in note 3 were indicative of potential bias; and investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions. 

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to: 

- agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation; 

- reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; and 

- enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims. 

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

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF  THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED (CONTINUED) 

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

## **Use of our report** 

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the charitable company's trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, and the Charitable Company's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 


Signer ID: CRZCVPKXXZ... Laura Masheder (Senior statutory auditor) 

for and on behalf of 

## **Sumer Auditco Limited** 

Statutory auditor Rievaulx House 1 St Mary's Court York YO24 1AH 

Date: 26/02/2026 GMT 

Sumer Auditco Limited is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of Section 1212 of the Companies Act. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) _FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

|**Note**<br>**Income from:**<br>Donations and legacies<br>4<br>Publication income<br>5<br>Investments<br>6<br>**Total income**<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Charitable activities - publications<br>7<br>Charitable activities - other activity<br>8<br>**Total expenditure**<br>**Net income/(expenditure) before net**<br>**(losses)/gains on investments**<br>Net (losses)/gains on investments<br>15<br>**Net movement in funds**<br>21<br>**Reconciliation of funds:**<br>Total funds brought forward<br>Net movement in funds<br>**Total funds carried forward**<br>21|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**1,083,619**<br>**977,883**<br>**47,524**<br>**2,109,026**<br>**931,324**<br>**1,123,984**<br>**2,055,308**<br>**53,718**<br>**(59,737)**<br>**(6,019)**<br>**2,354,440**<br>**(6,019)**<br>**2,348,421**|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**55,273**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**55,273**<br>**50,000**<br>**4,884**<br>**54,884**<br>**389**<br>**-**<br>**389**<br>**169,193**<br>**389**<br>**169,582**|**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**1,138,892**<br>**977,883**<br>**47,524**<br>**2,164,299**<br>**981,324**<br>**1,128,868**<br>**2,110,192**<br>**54,107**<br>**(59,737)**<br>**(5,630)**<br>**2,523,633**<br>**(5,630)**<br>**2,518,003**|Total<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>933,531<br>852,724<br>44,210<br>1,830,465<br>894,917<br>1,168,773<br>2,063,690<br>(233,225)<br>120,236<br>(112,989)<br>2,636,622<br>(112,989)<br>2,523,633|
|---|---|---|---|---|



The Statement of financial activities complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006 and includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. 

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

REGISTERED NUMBER: 00587316 

## BALANCE SHEET 

_AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

|**Note**<br>**Fixed assets**<br>Tangible assets<br>14<br>Investments<br>15<br>**Current assets**<br>Stocks<br>16<br>Debtors<br>17<br>Investments<br>18<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>**Current liabilities**<br>Creditors: amounts falling due within one year<br>19<br>**Net current assets**<br>**Total net assets**<br>**Charity funds**<br>Restricted funds<br>21<br>Unrestricted funds<br>21<br>**Total funds**|**195,395**<br>**117,142**<br>**486,047**<br>**611,917**<br>**1,410,501**<br>**(78,600)**|**2025**<br>**£**<br>**6,660**<br>**1,179,442**<br>**1,186,102**<br>**1,331,901**<br>**2,518,003**<br>**169,582**<br>**2,348,421**<br>**2,518,003**|147,945<br>100,886<br>486,047<br>610,406<br>1,345,284<br>(63,025)|2024<br>£<br>2,195<br>1,239,179|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||1,241,374<br>1,282,259|
|||||2,523,633|
|||||169,193<br>2,354,440|
|||||2,523,633|



The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and preparation of financial statements. 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to entities subject to the small companies regime. 

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by: 


Signer ID: CMFIVEJLQ9... 

**Joanna Faul** Trustee Date: 25/02/2026 GMT 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

|STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS<br>_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_|||
|---|---|---|
|**Note**<br>**Cash flows from operating activities**<br>Net cash used in operating activities<br>24<br>**Cash flows from investing activities**<br>Dividends, interests and rents from investments<br>Purchase of tangible fixed assets<br>**Net cash provided by investing activities**<br>**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year**<br>Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year<br>**Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year**<br>25|**2025**<br>**£**<br>**(37,413)**<br>**47,524**<br>**(8,600)**<br>**38,924**<br>**1,511**<br>**610,406**<br>**611,917**|2024<br>£<br>(252,917)<br>44,210<br>(2,778)<br>**41,432**<br>**(211,485)**<br>821,891<br>610,406|



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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **1. General information** 

The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) Limited is an incorporated charity registered in England and Wales. The charity is also registered in Scotland. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page1 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity's operations and activities are set out on page 2 of these financial statements and include assisting alcoholics to overcome their addiction to alcohol and maintain sobriety. 

In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. 

## **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 Companies Act 2006. 

The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) Limited 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. 

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £. 

## _**2.2 Going concern**_ 

As part of their assessment of the going concern basis of preparation, the trustees have considered the impact of current and recent events on the charity's activities and workforce, as well as the wider economy. The trustees are confident that they have in place plans to deal with any financial losses that may arise. 

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. 

## _**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. 

Donations receivable for the general purpose of the charity are credited to unrestricted funds. Donations for purpose restricted by the wishes of the donor are taken to restricted funds where these wishes are legally binding on the trustees. 

Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation. 

Investment income is accounted for in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **2. Accounting policies (continued)** 

## _**2.3 Income (continued)**_ 

Other income is recognised in the period in which it is receivable and to the extent the goods have been provided or on completion of the service. 

## _**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. 

Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the charity to raise funds for its charitable purposes and includes costs of all fundraising activities events and non-charitable trading. 

Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the charity's objectives, as well as any associated support costs. 

## _**2.5 Interest receivable**_ 

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 or payable by the institution with whom the funds are deposited. 

## _**2.6 Taxation**_ 

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. 

## _**2.7 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation**_ 

Tangible fixed assets costing £500 or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably. 

Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. All costs incurred to bring a tangible fixed asset into its intended working condition should be included in the measurement of cost. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **2. Accounting policies (continued)** 

## _**2.7 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation (continued)**_ 

At each reporting date the charity assesses whether there is any indication of impairment. If such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is determined to be the higher of its fair value less costs to sell and its value in use. An impairment loss is recognised where the carrying amount exceeds the recoverable amount. 

Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives . 

Depreciation is provided on the following basis: 

Fixtures and fittings - 25% per annum straight line Computer equipment - 33% per annum straight line 

The assets' residual values, useful lives and depreciation methods are reviewed, and adjusted prospectively if appropriate, or if there is an indication of a significant change since the last reporting date. 

## _**2.8 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. 

## _**2.9 Stocks**_ 

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value after making due allowance for obsolete and slow-moving stocks. 

## _**2.10 Debtors**_ 

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. 

## _**2.11 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. 

## _**2.12 Liabilities and provisions**_ 

Liabilities 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. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **2. Accounting policies (continued)** 

## _**2.12 Liabilities and provisions (continued)**_ 

Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide. 

## _**2.13 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. 

## _**2.14 Operating leases**_ 

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

## _**2.15 Pensions**_ 

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the charity to the fund in respect of the year. 

## _**2.16 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. 

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. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. 

Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund. 

## _**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. 

Provisions for slow moving and obsolete stock are based on management’s assessment of stock ageing and expected future sales, which require the use of judgement and estimation. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **4. Income from donations and legacies** 

|**_Donations_**<br>Contributions<br>Gift aid<br>Conventions<br>Conference contributions<br>Total 2024|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>1,035,005<br>20,851<br>10,598<br>17,165<br>1,083,619<br>884,193|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>55,273<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>55,273<br>49,338|**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**1,090,278**<br>**20,851**<br>**10,598**<br>**17,165**<br>**1,138,892**<br>933,531|Total<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>880,372<br>25,695<br>11,624<br>15,840<br>933,531|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||



## **5. Publication income** 

|Sales of literature<br>Total 2024|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>977,883<br>852,724|**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**977,883**<br>852,724|Total<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>852,724|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||



The charity benefits from the input of volunteers who assist with the packing of quarterly newsletters. In accordance with the Charities SORP, the economic contribution of volunteers is not recognised in the financial statements. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **6. Investment income** 

|Fixed asset investment income<br>Deposit account interest<br>Total 2024|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>35,257<br>12,267<br>47,524<br>44,210|**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**35,257**<br>**12,267**<br>**47,524**<br>44,210|Total<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>35,057<br>9,153<br>44,210|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||



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Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **7. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities - publications** 

|Purchase of literature<br>Premises costs<br>Office expenses<br>Public information and publication costs<br>Conference costs<br>Website<br>Irrecoverable VAT<br>Financial expenses<br>General expenses<br>Bad debt expense<br>Staff costs<br>Total 2024|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>385,296<br>43,352<br>163,383<br>93,519<br>60,917<br>9,838<br>67,746<br>21,742<br>7,198<br>1,270<br>77,063<br>931,324<br>894,917|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>50,000<br>-<br>-<br>50,000<br>-|**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**385,296**<br>**43,352**<br>**163,383**<br>**93,519**<br>**60,917**<br>**9,838**<br>**67,746**<br>**21,742**<br>**57,198**<br>**1,270**<br>**77,063**<br>**981,324**<br>894,917|Total<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>336,346<br>45,284<br>140,404<br>112,742<br>49,277<br>40,945<br>67,686<br>23,254<br>7,179<br>-<br>71,800<br>894,917|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||



## **8. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities - other activity** 

## _**Summary by fund type**_ 

|Charitable activities<br>Total 2024|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>1,123,984<br>1,145,815|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>4,884<br>22,958|**Total**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**1,128,868**<br>1,168,773|Total<br>2024<br>£<br>1,168,773|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||



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Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **9. Analysis of expenditure by activities** 

|Charitable activities<br>Total 2024<br>**Analysis of direct costs**<br>Staff costs<br>Premises costs<br>Office expenses<br>General expenses<br>Total 2024|**Activities**<br>**undertaken**<br>**directly**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>593,508<br>622,564|**Support costs**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>535,360<br>546,209<br>**Activities**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>390,236<br>86,634<br>45,771<br>70,867<br>593,508<br>622,564|**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**1,128,868**<br>1,168,773<br>**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**390,236**<br>**86,634**<br>**45,771**<br>**70,867**<br>**593,508**<br>622,564|Total<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>1,168,773|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||Total<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>368,366<br>86,644<br>40,391<br>127,163<br>622,564|
||||||



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Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **9. Analysis of expenditure by activities (continued)** 

## **Analysis of support costs** 

|Staff costs<br>Premises costs<br>Office expenses<br>Financial expenses<br>General expenses<br>Governance costs (note 10)<br>Total 2024<br>**10.**<br>**Governance costs**<br>Trustees' expenses<br>Professional fees<br>**11.**<br>**Net income/(expenditure)**<br>**_This is stated after charging:_**<br>Depreciation of tangible fixed assets owned by the charity<br>Operating lease expenditure|**Activities**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>292,846<br>65,846<br>44,409<br>55<br>53,976<br>78,228<br>535,360<br>546,209|**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**292,846**<br>**65,846**<br>**44,409**<br>**55**<br>**53,976**<br>**78,228**<br>**535,360**<br>546,209<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**32,780**<br>**45,448**<br>**78,228**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**4,135**<br>**196,769**|Total<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>272,844<br>67,173<br>41,335<br>60<br>77,679<br>87,118<br>546,209|
|---|---|---|---|
||||2024<br>£<br>51,673<br>35,445<br>87,118|
||||2024<br>£<br>2,104<br>176,996|



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Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **12. Auditors' remuneration** 

||**2025**|2024|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|£|
|Fees payable to the charity's auditor for the audit of the charity's annual accounts|**14,885**|14,175|
|Fees payable to the charity's auditor in respect of:|||
|All non-audit services not included above|**1,390**|1,325|



## **13. Staff costs** 

|Wages and salaries<br>Social security costs<br>Contribution to defined contribution pension schemes|**2025**<br>**£**<br>**638,449**<br>**56,833**<br>**64,863**<br>**760,145**|2024<br>£<br>597,386<br>53,203<br>62,421|
|---|---|---|
|||713,010|



Total staff costs are included within the expenditure categories analysed in notes 7, 8 and 9. Staff costs relating to publications are included within publications expenditure in note 7,  £77,063 (2024: £71,800). The balance of staff costs are included within charitable activities – other activity in note 8 and are split between direct costs £390,236 (2024: £368,366) and support costs £292,846 (2024: £272,844), which is shown in note 9. 

During the year, the charity paid a severance payment of £5,580 (2024: £nil) to one employee. 

The average number of persons employed by the charity during the year was as follows: 

|Full-time staff<br>Part-time staff|**2025**<br>**No.**<br>**11**<br>**10**<br>**21**|2024<br>No.<br>9<br>12|
|---|---|---|
|||21|



Page 37 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **13. Staff costs (continued)** 

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was: 

In the band £60,001 - £70,000 

**2025** 2024 **No.** No. **1** - 

During the year the key management personnel's remuneration, including employers' pension and national insurance, totaled £358,322 (2024: £357,477). The key management personnel are listed on page 1. 

## **14. Tangible fixed assets** 

|**_Cost or valuation_**<br>At 1 October 2024<br>Additions<br>Disposals<br>At 30 September 2025<br>**_Depreciation_**<br>At 1 October 2024<br>Charge for the year<br>On disposals<br>At 30 September 2025<br>**_Net book value_**<br>At 30 September 2025<br>At 30 September 2024|**Fixtures and**<br>**fittings**<br>**£**<br>**136,637**<br>**-**<br>**(135,758)**<br>**879**<br>**136,050**<br>**294**<br>**(135,758)**<br>**586**<br>**293**<br>587|**Computer**<br>**equipment**<br>**£**<br>**42,303**<br>**8,600**<br>**(39,377)**<br>**11,526**<br>**40,695**<br>**3,841**<br>**(39,377)**<br>**5,159**<br>**6,367**<br>1,608|**Total**<br>**£**<br>**178,940**<br>**8,600**<br>**(175,135)**<br>**12,405**<br>**176,745**<br>**4,135**<br>**(175,135)**<br>**5,745**<br>**6,660**<br>2,195|
|---|---|---|---|



Page 38 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

|NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS<br>_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_||
|---|---|
|**15.**<br>**Fixed asset investments**<br>**_Cost or valuation_**<br>At 1 October 2024<br>Revaluations<br>At 30 September 2025<br>**_Net book value_**<br>At 30 September 2025<br>At 30 September 2024<br>The historical cost of the listed investments is £880,171 (2024: £880,171).|**Listed**<br>**investments**<br>**£**<br>**1,239,179**<br>**(59,737)**<br>**1,179,442**<br>**1,179,442**<br>1,239,179|



|**16.**<br>**Stocks**<br>Goods for resale<br>**17.**<br>**Debtors**<br>**_Due within one year_**<br>Trade debtors<br>Other debtors<br>Prepayments|**2025**<br>**£**<br>**195,395**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**1,369**<br>**41,088**<br>**74,685**<br>**117,142**|2024<br>£<br>147,945<br>2024<br>£<br>1,825<br>32,132<br>66,929<br>100,886|
|---|---|---|



Page 39 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **18. Current asset investments** 

||**2025**|2024|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|£|
|Longer term deposits|**486,047**|486,047|



Current asset investments comprise a reserve account with a 1 year notice period. 

## **19. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year** 

|Trade creditors<br>Other creditors<br>Accruals and deferred income|**2025**<br>**£**<br>**26,471**<br>**3,281**<br>**48,848**<br>**78,600**|2024<br>£<br>23,605<br>5,583<br>33,837|
|---|---|---|
|||63,025|



## **20. Deferred income** 

|Deferred income at 1 October<br>Income deferred during the year<br>Amounts released from previous periods<br>**_Deferred income at 30 September_**|**2025**<br>**£**<br>**16,517**<br>**14,418**<br>**(16,517)**<br>**14,418**|2024<br>£<br>15,036<br>16,517<br>(15,036)|
|---|---|---|
|||16,517|



Deferred income includes amounts paid in advance for Share and Roundabout magazine subscription royalties. 

Page 40 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **21. Statement of funds** 

## **Statement of funds - current year** 

|**_Unrestricted funds_**<br>General Fund<br>**_Restricted funds_**<br>Development Fund<br>European Service Meeting<br>**_Total of funds_**<br>**Statement of funds - prior year**<br>**_Unrestricted funds_**<br>General Fund<br>**_Restricted funds_**<br>Development Fund<br>European Service Meeting<br>**_Total of funds_**|**Balance at 1**<br>**October 2024**<br>**£**<br>**2,354,440**<br>**115,961**<br>**53,232**<br>**169,193**<br>**2,523,633**<br>Balance at<br>1 October<br>2023<br>£<br>2,493,809<br>90,360<br>52,453<br>142,813<br>2,636,622|**Income**<br>**£**<br>**2,109,026**<br>**30,603**<br>**24,670**<br>**55,273**<br>**2,164,299**<br>Income<br>£<br>1,781,127<br>25,659<br>23,679<br>49,338<br>1,830,465|**Expenditure**<br>**£**<br>**(2,055,308)**<br>**(50,045)**<br>**(4,839)**<br>**(54,884)**<br>**(2,110,192)**<br>Expenditure<br>£<br>(2,040,732)<br>(58)<br>(22,900)<br>(22,958)<br>(2,063,690)|**Gains/**<br>**(Losses)**<br>**£**<br>**(59,737)**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**(59,737)**<br>Gains/<br>(Losses)<br>£<br>120,236<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>120,236|**Balance at 30**<br>**September**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**2,348,421**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||**96,519**<br>**73,063**<br>**169,582**|
||||||**2,518,003**|
||||||Balance at<br>30 September<br>2024<br>£<br>2,354,440|
||||||115,961<br>53,232<br>169,193|
||||||2,523,633|



Page 41 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **21. Statement of funds (continued)** 

The Development fund relates to book royalties from the sale of The Big Book, As Bill Sees It and 12 Steps and 12 Traditions. Expenditure for the Development fund is subject to board approval and is used to help and support the establishment of the Fellowship abroad. 

The primary purpose of the European Service Meeting fund is to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers, whoever he may be, whatever language he speaks. The European Service Meeting fund is administered by the charity and is currently self-supporting by contributions of those countries which attend the European Service Meeting. 

## **22. Summary of funds** 

## **Summary of funds - current year** 

|General funds<br>Restricted funds<br>**Summary of funds - prior year**<br>General funds<br>Restricted funds|**Balance at 1**<br>**October 2024**<br>**£**<br>**2,354,440**<br>**169,193**<br>**2,523,633**<br>Balance at<br>1 October<br>2023<br>£<br>2,493,809<br>142,813<br>2,636,622|**Income**<br>**£**<br>**2,109,026**<br>**55,273**<br>**2,164,299**<br>Income<br>£<br>1,781,127<br>49,338<br>1,830,465|**Expenditure**<br>**£**<br>**(2,055,308)**<br>**(54,884)**<br>**(2,110,192)**<br>Expenditure<br>£<br>(2,040,732)<br>(22,958)<br>(2,063,690)|**Gains/**<br>**(Losses)**<br>**£**<br>**(59,737)**<br>**-**<br>**(59,737)**<br>Gains/<br>(Losses)<br>£<br>120,236<br>-<br>120,236|**Balance at 30**<br>**September**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**2,348,421**<br>**169,582**<br>**2,518,003**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||Balance at<br>30 September<br>2024<br>£<br>2,354,440<br>169,193<br>2,523,633|



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Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **23. Analysis of net assets between funds** 

## **Analysis of net assets between funds - current year** 

|Tangible fixed assets<br>Fixed asset investments<br>Current assets<br>Creditors due within one year<br>**_Total_**<br>**Analysis of net assets between funds - prior year**<br>Tangible fixed assets<br>Fixed asset investments<br>Current assets<br>Creditors due within one year<br>**_Total_**|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>6,660<br>1,179,442<br>1,240,919<br>(78,600)<br>2,348,421<br>Unrestricted<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>2,195<br>1,239,179<br>1,176,091<br>(63,025)<br>2,354,440|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>-<br>-<br>169,582<br>-<br>169,582<br>Restricted<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>-<br>-<br>169,193<br>-<br>169,193|**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**6,660**<br>**1,179,442**<br>**1,410,501**<br>**(78,600)**<br>**2,518,003**<br>Total<br>funds<br>2024<br>£<br>2,195<br>1,239,179<br>1,345,284<br>(63,025)<br>2,523,633|
|---|---|---|---|



Page 43 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **24. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities** 

|Net expenditure for the year (as per Statement of Financial Activities)<br>**_Adjustments for:_**<br>Depreciation charges<br>(Losses)/gains on investments<br>Dividends and interest from investments<br>(Increase)/decrease in stocks<br>(Increase) in debtors<br>Increase/(decrease) in creditors<br>**_Net cash used in operating activities_**<br>**25.**<br>**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**<br>Cash in hand<br>**_Total cash and cash equivalents_**<br>**26.**<br>**Analysis of changes in net debt**<br>**At 1 October**<br>**2024**<br>**£**<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>**610,406**<br>**610,406**|**2025**<br>**£**<br>**(5,630)**<br>**4,135**<br>**59,737**<br>**(47,524)**<br>**(47,450)**<br>**(16,256)**<br>**15,575**<br>**(37,413)**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**611,917**<br>**611,917**<br>**Cash flows**<br>**£**<br>**1,511**<br>**1,511**|2024<br>£<br>(112,989)<br>2,104<br>(120,236)<br>(44,210)<br>47,728<br>(4,307)<br>(21,007)<br>(252,917)<br>2024<br>£<br>610,406<br>610,406<br>**At 30**<br>**September**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>**611,917**<br>**611,917**|
|---|---|---|



The charitable company had no debt in the current or previous financial year. 

Page 44 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

_FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025_ 

## **27. Pension commitments** 

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. The amount recognised as an expense in the period was £64,863 (2024: £62,421). 

## **28. Operating lease commitments** 

At 30 September 2025 the charity had commitments to make future minimum lease payments under noncancellable operating leases as follows: 

|Not later than 1 year<br>Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years<br>Later than 5 years|**2025**<br>**£**<br>**146,367**<br>**495,268**<br>**160,030**<br>**801,665**|2024<br>£<br>146,367<br>514,151<br>287,514|
|---|---|---|
|||948,032|



## **29. Related party transactions** 

## **Trustee remuneration and benefits** 

None of the trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with their charity or a related entity. 

## **Trustee expenses** 

Expenses amount to £31,185 were paid to all trustees and the Charity Secretary for expenses relating to travel, subsistence and accommodation whilst attending meetings and events on behalf of the general service board (2024: £51,673 to all trustees). 

## **Trustee other related parties** 

There are no other related parties in the current or previous year. 

Page 45 

Document ID: 2326befe98b48672f04c49f7c8b01796b4621dc6857e96d97fb2cae2950898f4 



## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF  THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED 

We have audited the financial statements of The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) Limited (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 30 September 2025, which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including 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 30 September 2025, and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including 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, The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 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 responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.  We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. 

## **Conclusions relating to going concern** 

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. 

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. 

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. 

## **Other information** 

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees' report, 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. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. 

We have nothing to report in this regard. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF  THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED (CONTINUED) 

## **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 includes the directors' report prepared 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 directors’ report included within the trustees' report 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 directors’ report included within 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 

- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or 

- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration 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 directors’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report. 

## **Responsibilities of trustees** 

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company 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 have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

## **Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** 

We have been appointed as auditor under Section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder. 

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF  THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED (CONTINUED) 

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: 

- the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively has the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non compliance with applicable laws and regulations; 

- we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charitable company through discussions with management and trustees, and from our knowledge and experience of this organisation; 

- we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the charitable company, including the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, data protection, health and safety and employment laws; 

- we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquires of management and trustees; and 

- identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non compliance throughout the audit of the charitable company. 

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 and trustees as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, 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 risks of fraud through management override of controls, we: 

- performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected variances; 

- tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions; 

- assessed whether judgments and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in note 3 were indicative of potential bias; and investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions. 

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to: 

- agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation; 

- reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; and 

- enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims. 

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

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## **THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED** 

## **(A Company Limited by Guarantee)** 

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF  THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (GREAT BRITAIN) LIMITED (CONTINUED) 

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

## **Use of our report** 

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the charitable company's trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, and the Charitable Company's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 


Signer ID: CRZCVPKXXZ... Laura Masheder (Senior statutory auditor) 

for and on behalf of 

## **Sumer Auditco Limited** 

Statutory auditor Rievaulx House 1 St Mary's Court York YO24 1AH 

Date: 26/02/2026 GMT 

Sumer Auditco Limited is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of Section 1212 of the Companies Act. 

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