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2020-12-31-accounts

The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees Annual Report

The trustees are pleased to present their Report and the Group Financial Statements of The British Psychological Society (‘the Society’) for the year ended 31 December 2020

The Society operates both in the UK and worldwide and is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under registration number 229642. The Society is also registered in Scotland with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) under registration number SC039452. It is incorporated by Royal Charter. The principal place of business is St. Andrew’s House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7DR.

The trustees are responsible for ensuring that the financial statements prepared give a true and fair view of the group’s activities and are presented in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting for 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 (FRS102).

Structure, governance and management

The Society is governed by a Royal Charter, originally granted in February 1965 and last revised in November 2010, which defines the Society’s objects as:

‘to promote the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of psychology pure and applied and especially to promote the efficiency and usefulness of members of the Society by setting up a high standard of professional education and knowledge.’

Legal and administrative information, including details of the trustees, Chief Executive and Senior Management Team, can be found on pages 43 and 44 or on the Society’s website: www.bps.org.uk

The trustees are responsible for the governance of the Society: the management is devolved to the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team.

Governance and internal control

Trustees meet regularly to review the Society’s strategy and performance. The Society’s Royal Charter and Statutes set out the composition of the Trustee Board and how trustees are appointed. There is an induction process for new trustees and ongoing training and development initiatives, including briefings by external specialists on key areas of knowledge relevant to the role of the Board.

A number of governance reforms have been identified to reflect excellent practice as outlined by the Charity Code of Governance, so a review of the Society’s Charter and Statutes is being undertaken. This includes formalising the process for review of Board performance, and ensuring the composition of the Board is demographically diverse and that members have an appropriate range of relevant skills, knowledge and experience. Fostering diversity in leadership has been established as a central component of recruitment of the Society’s chief executive and senior managers.

The Society’s pay policy is designed to maintain sustainable and fair levels of pay at the same time as attracting and retaining the right people to deliver its charitable objectives. In setting appropriate levels of senior management pay, the Society looks at the skills, experience and competencies required for each role. Roles are graded following external evaluation and salary is set within the pay scales of the grade, except where the benchmarking of a role (via external agencies and proprietary pay surveys) demonstrates that the level of pay for the post needs to be adjusted to attract candidates of the calibre and experience required and to bring the salary for the role in line with the market. Salary levels are disclosed in note 11 to these accounts.

The Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee received remuneration in the year. Details of Trustee expenses are disclosed in note 12 to the accounts.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees Annual Report (Continued)

There are three sub-committees of the Board of Trustees which report directly to the Board providing oversight of Risk and Assurance, Human Resources and Finance. The terms of reference of each of the committees were revised in 2018 to support strategic oversight of these key areas.

Public benefit

The trustees have reviewed this in conjunction with the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, and have concluded:

Strategic Report

Financial review

The Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities for the year is set out on page 16 of the full financial statements .

Income

Income in the year reduced relative to 2019 due to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions and its effect on key services such as conferencing and training. Subscription income was marginally down impacted by an increased number of members requesting the hardship rate as a result of Covid-19. Income from the journals partnership with Wiley Blackwell was also marginally down compared to 2019 for the same reason. Other income was also down as a result of Covid-19 and this included advertising and rental income. A furlough grant of £23k was received during the year and is included within other income.

Expenditure

Overall costs continued to be well controlled in 2020 and were significantly down as a result of many areas of the organisation’s activities being curtailed by Covid-19 restrictions.

Principal sources of funding

Around 50 per cent of the Society’s income derives from membership subscriptions, with a further 30 per cent from journal publications, qualifications, accreditation and conferences and training. During the year the Society applied for and drew down a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan of £2.2m to assist with the downturn in activities and cashflow related to the Covid-19 restrictions.

Investment policy and returns

The trustees have an agreed approach to ethical investment, which they review regularly. The investment policy was substantially revised in 2018, in particular to take account of ethical and environmental considerations, and is now publicly available on the Society’s website.

The Society’s investments with Investec Wealth and Investments Ltd were sold during the year and the funds were invested in accumulation units of the COIF Charities Investment Fund managed by CCLA, retaining a small deposit fund for liquidity.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees ANNUAL REPORT (Continued)

The portfolio performed well after recovering from falls in early 2020, adding £0.9m to the value by the end of the year. The performance has been driven by asset allocation and stock selection with a focus on quality companies with robust balance sheets and strong free cashflow and companies with these characteristics have been resilient during the global pandemic.

New trading company

BPS Assessments and Awards Limited was incorporated on 13 June 2020. The company will commence operations in 2021, providing end point assessments for psychology apprenticeship standards in England.

Society reserves

The trustees have reviewed the Society’s reserves in line with the Charity Commission’s guidance. They have included unrestricted funds, restricted funds and the designated funds.

Unrestricted funds

The trustees consider they need to take a prudent view of the future, in order to be able to maintain the viability of the organisation. They have decided that a reserves level equivalent to nine months’ income is an appropriate guideline for an organisation of this size and complexity. At 31 December 2020, the free reserves are £10,596,000 after designating funds for the Member Network Review. This equates to 12 months’ income based on current income levels.

Restricted funds

The Society has a number of restricted funds at its disposal and the Trustees review these on a regular basis. The total restricted funds as at 31 December 2020 are £58,231 (2019: £58,231).

Designated funds

A fund of £6m was set aside during 2019 to meet the costs of the Change Programme, which is now well under way. The programme includes replacement of the Society’s key IT systems and spend on initiatives to add member value and equip the organisation for future challenges. A designated fund of £320,000 was set up in 2020 for the Network Member Review, which commenced in 2020. The total of the designated funds as at 31 December 2020 is £2,776,000, (2019: £4,701,000).

Achievements and performance

In a year of unique challenge, when the global pandemic forced our offices in Leicester and London to close and staff and members to work from home, we adapted swiftly to the changing landscape and seized opportunities to ensure that work continued apace.

The pandemic brought into sharp focus the mental health challenges across every part of society on a scale that was previously unimagined. Our members have played a pivotal role in helping the nation to cope and, as the BPS responded to help support a society in lockdown and a National Health Service at the very limits of its capacity, we continued to be a strong advocate for psychology and psychologists at every level.

We have worked to support our members in the excellent work they do, engage more and work to understand their needs, increase our public, media and stakeholder engagement and sought to influence public policy at the highest level. Despite remote working from March onwards, we continued to produce high-quality journals, publications, newsletters and online events for our members. Not least, we pressed ahead with our investment in people and systems to take forward the successful realisation of the ambitious change programme set out in last year’s report.

Moving psychological science forward

We have built on our commitment to moving psychological science forward throughout 2020 and worked in close partnership with member networks to be highly responsive to the distancing challenges of the pandemic by offering events online. Members have responded enthusiastically to these new opportunities and taken full advantage.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees ANNUAL REPORT (Continued)

More than 169 webinars were delivered - a combination of CPD, open science and networking events - with more than 19,000 delegates attending virtual events. In addition, we have worked to drive a ‘business as usual’ approach to supporting networks during the pandemic.

The hugely successful Special Group of Coaching Psychology conference on 31 May was the society’s first full online conference, comprising 17 speakers from across the globe across 16 hours and 400 delegates. Since then we have managed 86 AGMs, 66 of which have been online, resulting in increased attendance and engagement. During the year, we administered more than 350 member network meetings, 319 of which were conducted virtually since March when our offices closed for lockdown.

We closed the year with 46,000 member network registrations, an increase of 1,200 on the year before. We also found ways to work more closely, engage, inform and collaborate, providing opportunities to share and find fresh ways of working together – this included introducing forums for division and special group chairs, section chairs, branch chairs and treasurers.

The two-day BPS conference and AGM went digital at short notice, with excellent key note speakers and more than 880 delegates bidding farewell to outgoing president David Murphy and hearing about our future vision from incoming president Hazel McLaughlin.

Supporting our members

The society grew its membership by five per cent in 2020, with the most notable growth in our student member category.

31/12/2020
Chartered 20,113
Graduate 26,600
Student 16,793
Total 63,506
Affiliate
Subscriber
630
E-Subscriber 1,962
Overall total 66,098

We have begun to put in place a number of priority initiatives to enhance society membership and, in some instances, these will have a significant strategic impact on the future structure of the society.

We took forward the Member Journey Initiative, undertaking a significant review of what it means to be a member, understanding member journeys in terms of how people come into membership of the society and what it is like to navigate psychology as a profession. More than 3,000 members engaged in different ways and we also engaged non-members and those who left membership of the BPS.

We’ve introduced a more segmented approach, to make sure that individuals are receiving benefits relevant to them, and meet people’s needs throughout their psychology journey. This begins with schools and teachers, working alongside them to create an early awareness of psychology to evolve and sustain our student membership.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees ANNUAL REPORT (Continued)

We launched BPS Learn, our new professional development platform, signalling a new era of digital delivery for the society and allowing our members to develop their skills online. We brought the development of CPD products in-house, starting with two new e-learning products: Supervision Skills (launched in September) and Ethics (launched in December). To date, the supervision course has 106 learners enrolled and the ethics course has 20.

We moved quickly at the start of the first lockdown to move from face-to-face training to webinars and we have run 28 live/recorded, with more than 880 participants.

Looking to the future, we initiated reviews of our member networks and membership grades, with these two projects set to make BPS membership even more valuable and relevant for the psychology community.

Our magazine, The Psychologist, is an increasingly popular member benefit that attracted two million users to its website, up 11 per cent on the year before. Its community also grew on social media, including 110,000 followers on Twitter. A focus on channels, community and content has helped us to put out packed and diverse print editions. The combined summer edition ‘Towards the new normal and beyond’ featured the voices of more than 150 psychologists: a real collaborative and creative effort in challenging circumstances. We produced more ‘online only’ content than ever, particularly around Covid-19. We also put on several webinars and workshops, including one around our summer edition theme which was well attended and has been viewed by around 7,000 people.

Our Member Communications work stream was completed in 2020 to centralise, streamline and develop ways of making sure members get the information they need. Since the first refreshed Member Update and Events Updates were sent out a year ago, we have increased the number of members signed up to receive emails from the society and steadily expanded our readership.

We have also collaborated successfully with member networks to send out more than 200 newsletters across the year, establishing a network of communications contacts to help to co-ordinate planning for scheduled newsletters and media comment.

Online Communities, our platform designed to increase opportunities for member discussion and collaboration, has also gained ground this year, with 7,469 members signed-up to access the platform across all of the online communities in the last 12 months.

Promoting the highest standards of education

We have responded swiftly to adapt to remote online working to ensure that the highest standards in psychology education were maintained during the pandemic. The Society plays a key role in accrediting university courses, as well as training programmes, and we have worked to achieve a seamless process in the face of the year’s challenges.

In collaboration with our Undergraduate Education Committee and our Training Committees, we have honed the excellence of our training standards. This includes the overseeing of the accreditation process for programmes in psychology delivered by stakeholders. During the academic session 2019/2020 the committees began the review process for their accreditation standards, which is ongoing.

In response to the pandemic, to safeguard accreditation, we developed comprehensive guidance detailing the flexible arrangements that were allowed for stakeholders to continue to ensure that their programmes remained accredited. All students and trainees on programmes were reassured that their accreditation would not be adversely affected.

We also developed new revised accreditation visit guidance for stakeholders and reviewers and the first remote visits have been undertaken. Accreditation visits will continue in this format for the near future.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees ANNUAL REPORT (Continued)

Working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders, we have continued to support and collaborate on developments for those working in roles to deliver effective care in mental health services, IAPT and children and young people’s mental health. This includes the development of accreditation standards to quality assure training and a registration scheme for individual recognition of practitioners in wider psychological roles in the absence of regulation.

Work also began to standardise the way we maintain and develop society registers and directories, putting in place a quality assurance framework to increase robustness and enhance their profile both externally and among members.

We are proud to have been awarded end-point assessment organisation status approved by the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education (August 2020), the regulator for apprenticeships. It means we will assess the knowledge, skills and behaviours that apprentices have learned throughout an apprenticeship to ensure they are competent.

We continue to maintain a strong position with the number of RQTU members registering with us each year – currently 10,804. We have also appointed a new principal verifier, senior editor and worked with a new task and finish group who have been drawing up priorities and actions to refresh, improve and promote the PTC.

The pandemic brought with it some initial challenges for the Society’s qualifications in March, when the UK went into lockdown. The team responded quickly to resolve issues, including the challenges trainees were suddenly facing, by offering interruptions to those who were either on furlough or facing redundancy, and providing extra tele-clinics to ensure support was in place. In addition, all face-to-face viva assessments were offered via Zoom, so that trainees’ progress wasn’t affected.

For some qualifications there has been a decline in enrolments, due to the impact of the pandemic on businesses, but there has been an increase in interest and enrolments on the Qualification in Counselling Psychology (QCoP). The launch of BPS Learn will continue to provide an opportunity to ensure trainees receive an excellent standard of service and support throughout their enrolment.

Enrolments for qualifications are:

Qualification Number of confirmed
enrolments during2020
Clinical Neuro 2
Counselling 6
Educational 24*
Forensic 20
Health 5
Occupational 16
Sport & Exercise 24
* Annual cohort

Developments in research excellence

First class research is at the heart of our discipline, underpinning all that we do with the potential to change lives.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees ANNUAL REPORT (Continued)

The past year saw exciting developments in the national Research Excellence Framework as a direct result of BPS lobbying. This includes the appointment of an expert in qualitative methods to be appointed to Unit of Assessment 4: Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience. An expert in clinical psychology was also appointed, plus additional experts in developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology and social psychology. BPS journals and books brought in a net income of £1,230,000.

Another important initiative was the release of a Covid-19 research resources hub to support researchers in conducting their research during the pandemic, along with ethics guidance for conducting research during the pandemic. We released an extensive list of ethics FAQs on the website and completed nine substantial online surveys and analysed more than 4,500 responses.

Our highly regarded BPS journal portfolio, managed by Wiley, comprises 11 titles and includes the British Journal of Psychology. Six of these titles saw an increase in their impact factor in 2020.

A key part of promoting open and transparent research practices is accepting registered reports for all our titles, and that number rose from nine in the previous year to 41 in 2020.

Support was given for online research training and experience to undergraduate applicants to the grant and bursary scheme, who received total funding from the BPS of £35,700. This also funded virtual workshops and presentations and attendance at national and international online events. The numbers on offer - three grants and 19 bursaries – were naturally reduced due to the pandemic.

Our popular Research Digest reached nearly three million users via our blog, accompanied by a weekly email going to 75,000 readers. Four episodes of the PsychCrunch podcast were also released.

Influencing public policy

The pandemic has been at the front of our minds in the work we have undertaken this year to influence policy-makers and ensure our members’ voices are heard. Crucially, we supported the NHS workforce by advising the Covid-19 Taskforce, meeting relevant ministers and working closely with Lisa Cameron MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Psychology to secure a Westminster Hall debate on support for frontline workers. We ensured that BPS guidance was shared with our key stakeholders, including government departments, Parliamentarians and the NHS.

The BPS responded to 25 consultations in 2020 and put BPS members forward to give oral evidence to the House of Lords inquiry on Living online: the long-term impact on wellbeing, as well as two separate Covid19 related consultations in the Welsh Assembly.

We engaged with Parliamentarians in Westminster and across the Devolved Nations to table parliamentary debates, oral and written questions and motions in order to support our wider policy objectives. Through our Senate campaign, From Poverty to Flourishing, we have engaged across the political spectrum and in all four devolved nations. To date the campaign has produced two comprehensive briefing papers and two additional papers are in progress. The insight from this campaign is a starting point from which to influence policy-makers by helping them understand the psychological underpinnings of poverty and what actions are required now and into the future.

Through our Psychological Government programme, we published a report, Cognitive Strain in Parliament, showing the psychological impact of working in Parliament and we are now working with the house authorities to implement its recommendations. We also hosted a lively discussion between Matthew Taylor CBE (chief executive of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts), and John Amaechi OBE, (CEO of APS and member of the Psychological Government steering group) about bringing people into policy making.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees ANNUAL REPORT (Continued)

Improving psychology’s visibility

The year brought a media thirst for expert comment on mental health aspects of the Coronavirus pandemic and we handled an unprecedented number of media enquiries, which soared by 85 per cent across the summer, at one point reaching a surge of 141 per cent.

Our proactive work with journalists to offer expert psychological insight from our members led to a significant rise in our media presence, with the BPS mentioned in more than 4,000 articles in nearly 1,000 media outlets – a rise of more than 46 per cent, gained not only through a 68 per cent increase in news releases issued but also through increased one-to-one contact with key national journalists to directly influence coverage.

We helped nearly 800 journalists looking for expert comment, in addition to selected contacts we approached proactively, and this work led to our members’ expertise being reported in newspaper articles, radio interviews, news websites and television all over the world. Highlights included the Christmas period when we achieved three articles in the Guardian, in print and online, as well as the Telegraph and Daily Mail. We also saw a 69 per cent increase in views of BPS news web items. This year we published 120 periodical issues for 40 different member networks.. We enabled output from nine member-led Covid-19 specialist groups by creating 64 Covid-19 guidance documents for a professional audience, from psychological needs of healthcare staff to adaptations for practitioners during Covid-19, plus 19 guidance documents for the public, including information on shielding, working from home and ways to cope with grief.

Various pieces of our Covid-19 guidance were translated into seven different languages. In all, the various Coronavirus Resources on the BPS website have been visited 134,249 times.

We produced 38 new reports for our member networks, including: Understanding Depression, Prescribing rights for psychologists, Approved mental health clinicians, Lived experience in clinical training, Update to psychologists working with animals, and Cognitive strain in parliament.

We began a print on demand service for some books, enabling readers to buy a hard copy from online booksellers, for delivery anywhere in the world.

We supported the promotion of a wide range of BPS products and services, including membership recruitment and retention, our member networks, professional development products, events and raising brand awareness.

Increased focus on delivering digital products and services that meet the needs and expectations of our members and customers has helped to drive significantly more people to our website. There were more than 9.2 million visits last year – a 15 per cent increase compared with the previous 12 months. Member log-ins increased by 25 per cent in 2020, which enables members to take advantage of the full range of digital member benefits.

The website is also helping to attract prospective members - there was a 25 per cent increase in traffic to the ‘join us’ pages compared with a year earlier. Significantly, we saw a 35 per cent increase in traffic to our student applications pages - a key entry point for BPS membership.

Our social media presence continues to grow, with our following across each of our three key platforms – Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter – increasing considerably in 2020. Facebook is our largest platform, with more than 260,000 followers – a figure that grew by 14,000 last year, with our posts gaining nearly 40,000 engagements.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees ANNUAL REPORT (Continued)

Over the course of 2020 we created, edited, and uploaded almost 200 new pieces of content to our YouTube channel, from recorded webinars and conference videos to interviews, member stories, and Coronavirus resources/responses. Much of this video content is used on our social media and features on the website, helping to provide a more enriching experience for visitors.

Preparing for change

Following approval from the Board of Trustees in June 2019, our three-year Change Programme has progressed well throughout 2020, helping the BPS to rise to the challenges of a rapidly changing landscape.

Work is nearing completion on the Organisational Development work stream and during 2020 we have developed an effective, consistent approach to attracting and retaining volunteers who perform unpaid society roles.

We have taken forward a number of projects under the Membership work stream, completing the Membership Review, which allows us to engage more effectively with our members. We have redesigned our procurement policies and processes and have used them to make savings when tendering for high value contracts for the society.

The Member Communications work stream was completed successfully and opportunities for digital solutions for publications to increase discovery and reduce printing have been explored in a review, with recommendations to be implemented in 2021. Work to upgrade our core business systems began in earnest and the VLE launch has provided a backbone to all our new online CPD courses.

Risk assessment

The trustees take their responsibilities with regards to risk assessment very seriously and regularly review risks using the electronic risk management and tracking system introduced in 2018. There is a regular review of the principal risks and uncertainties facing the charity and its subsidiary undertaking BPS Communications Limited and the plans and strategies for mitigating the risks identified.

The Society has identified reputational risk as a major issue, which could result in loss of trust in the Society by external stakeholders. During the year, the Trustees were able to review the strengthened complaints process and consider other quality assurance initiatives to be developed moving forward to mitigate this risk to the Society.

As a member organisation, the Society faces a major risk if it fails to meet member needs and to provide value for money, impacting on our ability to retain and attract new members, future income generation and ultimately the loss of professional impact of the Society. Strategies for mitigation include ensuring that member feedback is gathered and assessed, a regular review of member benefits and ensuring the activities of the Society continue to be seen to have an impact and relevance to the discipline of psychology, psychologists, and the wider public.

The outbreak of the COVID - 19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions requiring remote working from March 2020 has had a significant impact on the work of the Society. The COVID restrictions imposed by the UK Government have forced the organisation to adapt to a new way of working and to adapt the service offering to members. It has involved cancellation of events, volatility in investment values and impacts on a number of income streams. These restrictions are likely to remain in place until the end of September 2021 and the impact on performance has been taken into account in the Budget for 2021. Risks are being closely monitored as the full impact on the economy has yet to be understood and plans have been put in place to mitigate the impact on the organisation with robust controls over expenditure.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees ANNUAL REPORT (Continued)

In January 2020, the BPS commissioned an external investigation after uncovering the fraudulent misuse of two society credit cards by a female member of staff who has since left the Society. The findings were reported to the police and now form part of an ongoing investigation. The investigation is currently based around the sum of c.£71,000 but this figure is subject to confirmation as a result of the continuing police investigation. The society has fidelity insurance which has enabled the organisation to be reimbursed for the majority of the losses. Although the loss suffered by the fraud is not considered material for reporting purposes, it is included in these accounts in the interests of transparency. Since uncovering the fraud the Society has strengthened its financial processes and procedures to prevent repetition.

Employee involvement and employment

Society employees are consulted on issues of concern to them and, where appropriate, individual consultation has taken place. All employees are regularly kept up-to-date on specific matters by department directors. The Society continues to negotiate with the recognised trade union, Unite, on all matters regarding terms and conditions of employment.

Auditors

The Society’s appointed external auditors are Mazars LLP. Their help and advice during the year has been appreciated.

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The British Psychological Society

2020 Trustees ANNUAL REPORT (Continued)

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to financial statements

The Society trustees are responsible for preparing a Trustees’ Annual Report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England, Wales and Scotland requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Society and the Group and of the incoming resources and the application of resources of the Society and the Group for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Society and the Group and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the provisions of the Royal Charter. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Society and the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Society’s website in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements. This may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Statement on disclosure of information to auditors

The Trustees who were in office on the date of approval of these financial statements have confirmed, as far as they are aware, that there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware. All the Trustees have confirmed that they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that it has been communicated to the auditor.

Professor C McGuinness 18 June 2021 Interim Chair of the Board of Trustees

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The British Psychological Society

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The British Psychological Society (the ‘parent charity’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31st December 2020 which comprise the Group and Society Statement of Financial Activities, the Group and Society Balance Sheets, the Group Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and the parent charity 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 group's and the parent charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the 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 Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. 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.

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The British Psychological Society

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY (continued)

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

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, regulations 6 and 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Charities Act 2011.

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charity and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Strategic Report or the Trustees’ Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement set out on page 11, the trustees 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 group’s and the parent charity’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 group or the parent charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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The British Psychological Society

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY (continued)

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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 the 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. Based on our understanding of the group and the parent charity, and its industry, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to UK tax legislation, employment regulation, fraud, non-compliance with implementation of government support schemes relating to COVID-19, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements, such as the Charities Act 2011.

We evaluated the trustees’ and management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to posting manual journal entries to manipulate financial performance, inappropriately shifting the timing and basis of revenue recognition, management bias through judgements and assumptions in significant accounting estimates, in particular in relation to fund accounting, and significant one-off or unusual transactions.

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to those identified risks, including non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) and fraud that are material to the financial statements. Our audit procedures included but were not limited to:

Our audit procedures in relation to fraud included but were not limited to:

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of irregularities including fraud rests with management. As with any audit, there remained a risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations or the override of internal controls.

14

The British Psychological Society

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY (continued)

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

Use of the audit report

This report is made solely to the charity’s members as a body in accordance with section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s members as a body for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

WaganeLLP

Mazars LLP

Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor

First Floor

Two Chamberlain Square

Birmingham B3 3AX

Date 6 July 2021

Mazars LLP is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

15

The British Psychological Society

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

for the year ended 31 December 2020

Note
Income:
Income from charitable activities:
Subscriptions
Registers and directories
Conferences and events
Journals and book publishing
4
Other income
5
Income from Trading operations
7
Investment income
6
Total Income
Expenditure:
Expenditure on raising funds:
Trading costs
7
Investment management fees
Expenditure on charitable
activities:
Advancement of psychology
Application of psychology
Conferences and events
Co-operation with organisations
Diffusion of knowledge
Examinations and training
Membership
Science and policy
Other expenditure:
Pension provision
Change programme costs
24
Total expenditure
8
Net (losses)/gains on investments 14
Net (loss)/income
Transfer between funds
17
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
2020
Unrestricted
Funds
£'000
6,182
521
300
2,016
1,456
322
42
10,839
308
16
2,161
827
405
289
2,727
1,448
2,577
1,022
-
2,229
14,009
1,388
(1,782)
1,925
143
18,305
18,448
2020
Designated
Funds
£'000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(1,925)
(1,925)
4,701
2,776
2020
Restricted
Funds
£'000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
58
58
2020
Total
£'000
6,182
521
300
2,016
1,456
322
42
10,839
308
16
2,161
827
405
289
2,727
1,448
2,577
1,022
-
2,229
14,009
1,388
(1,782)
-
(1,782)
23,604
21,282
2019
Total
£'000
6,516
666
964
2,143
1,861
386
427
12,963
336
58
2,533
2,083
1,126
331
2,595
1,614
2,810
964
763
1,299
16,512
2,220
(1,329)
-
(1,329)
24,393
23,604

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. All income and expenditure for the year ended 31 December 2019 was unrestricted.

16

The British Psychological Society

THE SOCIETY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

for the year ended 31 December 2020

Note
Income:
Income from charitable activities:
Subscriptions
Registers and directories
Conferences and events
Journals and book publishing
4
Other income
5
Income from Trading operations
7
Investment income
6
Total Income
Expenditure:
Expenditure on raising funds:
Investment management fees
Expenditure on charitable
activities:
Advancement of psychology
Application of psychology
Conferences and events
Co-operation with organisations
Diffusion of knowledge
Examinations and training
Membership
Science and policy
Other expenditure:
Pension provision
Change programme costs
24
Total expenditure
8
Net (losses)/gains on investments
14
Net (loss)/income
Transfer between funds
17
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
2020
Unrestricted
Funds
£'000
6,182
521
300
2,016
1,456
14
42
10,531
16
2,161
827
405
289
2,727
1,448
2,577
1,022
-
2,229
13,701
1,388
(1,782)
1,925
143
18,305
18,448
2020
Designated
Funds
£'000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(1,925)
(1,925)
4,701
2,776
2020
Restricted
Funds
£'000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

-
-
-
-
58
58
2020
Total
£'000
6,182
521
300
2,016
1,456
14
42
10,531
16
2,161
827
405
289
2,727
1,448
2,577
1,022
-
2,229
13,701
1,388
(1,782)
-
(1,782)
23,064
21,282
2019
Total
£'000
6,516
666
964
2,143
1,861
126
427
12,703
58
2,533
2,083
1,126
331
2,595
1,614
2,810
964
763
1,299
16,176
2,220
(1,253)
-
(1,253)
24,317
23,064

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. All income and expenditure for the year ended 31 December 2019 was unrestricted.

17

The British Psychological Society

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

at 31 December 2020

Note 2020 2019
£'000 £'000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 13 7,852 8,101
Investments 14 16,105 15,200
Total fixed assets 23,957 23,301
Current assets
Debtors 15 1,476 2,386
Cash at bank and in hand 1,683 732
3,159 3,118
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 16 (3,744) (3,355)
Net current assets (585) (237)
Creditors: amounts falling due in more than one year 16 (2,090) -
Net assets 21,282 23,604
The funds of the group:
Restricted income funds 17 58 58
Unrestricted funds: 17
General funds 14,389 14,231
Designated funds 2,776 4,701
Revaluation reserve 4,059 4,074
Total unrestricted funds 17 21,224 23,006
Total funds 21,282 23,064

The financial statements on pages 16 to 42 were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 18 June 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

Professor C McGuinness Interim Chair of the Board of Trustees

18

The British Psychological Society

SOCIETY BALANCE SHEET

at 31 December 2020

Note 2020 2019
£'000 £'000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 13 7,852 8,101
Investments 14 16,105 15,200
Total fixed assets 23,957 23,301
Current assets
Debtors 15 1,716 2,695
Cash at bank and in hand 1,663 683
3,379 3,378
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 16 (3,964) (3,615)
Net current assets (585) (237)
Creditors: amounts falling due in more than one year (2,090) -
Net assets 21,282 23,064
The funds of the Society:
Restricted income funds 17 58 58
Unrestricted funds: 17
General funds 14,389 14,231
Designated funds 2,776 4,701
Revaluation reserve 4,059 4,074
Total unrestricted funds 17 21,224 23,006
Total funds 21,282 23,064

The financial statements on pages 16 to 42 were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 18 June 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

Professor C McGuinness Interim Chair of the Board of Trustees

19

The British Psychological Society

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS for the year ended 31 December 2020

Note
Cash provided by operating
activities
21
Cash flow from investing activities:
Dividend and interest from investments
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Disposal of tangible fixed assets
Purchase of investments
Proceeds from sales of investments
Cash generated from/(used in)
investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents
in the year
Cash and cash equivalents
at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
year
Group
2020
£'000
482
42
(55)
-
(15,154)
15,636
469
951
732
1,683
Group
2019
£'000
(3,694)
427
(150)
30
(2,073)
3,222
1,456
(2,508)
3,240
732
Society
2020
£'000
511
42
(55)
-
(15,154)
15,636
469
980
683
1,663
Society
2019
£'000
(3,848)
427
(150)
30
(2,073)
3,222
1,456
(2,392)
3,075
683

20

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

1. CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF MANAGEMENT JUDGEMENT

Estimates and judgements 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.

Classification between Property, Plant and Equipment and Investment Properties

Management determine whether a property qualifies as an investment property and has developed criteria in making that judgement. An investment property is a property held to earn rentals or for capital appreciation or both. Therefore, management consider whether a property generates cash flows largely independently of other assets held.

One of the group’s properties comprises a portion that is held to generate rental income and another portion which is used for the supply of services and administrative purposes. These portions cannot be sold separately and management consider the portion of the property which generates rental income to be insignificant. Therefore, this property has been accounted for as Property, Plant and Equipment. The net book value of this property as at 31 December 2020 was £5,657,061 (2019: £5,712,363).

Provisions for Bad Debts

A provision is made for bad debts. The bad debt provision requires management’s best estimate of the costs that will be incurred against debtors based on contractual requirements and management’s judgement regarding the associated future cash inflows. The value of the bad debt provision recognised as at 31 December 2020 was £103,143 (2019: £170,475).

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

(a) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102))and the Charities Act 2011, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice as it applies from 1 January 2015.

The British Psychological Society 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 note(s).

21

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

(b) Preparation of accounts on a going concern basis

The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis. Having carried out a detailed review of the Group’s resources and the challenges presented by the current economic climate, the trustees are satisfied that the Group has sufficient cash flows to meet its liabilities as they fall due for at least one year from the date of approval of the accounts.

There are no significant financial uncertainties which the trustees consider are a significant risk to the ability of the Group to trade as a going concern in the foreseeable future.

(c) Group financial statements

The group financial statements consolidate the results of the Society and its wholly owned subsidiary undertaking at 31 December using acquisition accounting on a line by line basis. Uniform accounting policies are adopted across the group and intergroup transactions and balances are eliminated.

(d) Income recognition

Income is recognised when the Society has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Members’ subscriptions represent subscriptions in respect of the accounting year and arrears received during the year. Subscriptions received in advance relating to the subsequent year are excluded from income and carried forward as deferred income.

Exams, accreditation and conferences income represents income received during the year in respect of the accounting year. Any income received in advance is excluded and carried forward as deferred income. Any income due at the year-end is treated as a debtor.

Journal income represents income received during the year in respect of the accounting year. Any income due at the year-end is treated as a debtor

Rental income on assets leased under operating leases is recognised on a straight-line basis over the lease term within the statement of financial activities.

Income arising from amounts invested in accumulation units in the COIF Charities Investment Fund cannot be determined separately and is treated as unrealised gains in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Other income is recognised on a receivable basis.

(e) Investments and investment income

All listed investments are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date. Both realised and unrealised gains and losses are shown in the Consolidated and Society’s Statement of Financial Activities. The Statement of Financial Activities includes the net gains and losses arising from revaluations and disposals throughout the year. Income arising from amounts invested in accumulation units in the COIF Charities Investment Fund cannot be determined separately and is treated as unrealised gains in the Statement of Financial Activities. The fair value of the investments quoted on a recognised stock exchange is the quoted bid price.

22

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

(f) Fund accounting

The Society has various types of funds for which it is responsible and which require separate disclosure. These are as follows:

General funds

This contains funds that are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees of the Society in the furtherance of the objectives of the Society and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds

The Society may, following approval of the Trustees of the Society, set aside funds for specific purposes that would otherwise form part of the general funds.

Restricted funds

These comprise funds and donations to the Society that are restricted to the furtherance of one or more specific objectives of the Society.

Revaluation reserve

This fund represents the surplus from the revaluation to fair value at 1 January 2014, permitted by FRS102 transition provisions, with respect to freehold land and building to determine the new deemed cost at that date.

(g) Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that the Trustees consider are consistent with the objectives of the Society. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to a particular objective they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

(h) Value added tax (VAT)

The Society is treated as partially exempt for VAT purposes. Consequently not all input tax is able to be reclaimed. Any residual amount becomes an expense of the Society and this amount is included in support costs.

(i) Allocation of support costs

Support costs are accounted for on an accruals basis and comprise those costs which are not regarded as direct charitable expenditure or cannot readily be allocated to any one heading. These costs include, inter alia, the costs of managing the Society’s assets, organisational management, together with administration and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements. Also included are those costs for Leicester and London premises, equipment repairs, system development and depreciation. Legal and professional fees and audit costs are also included as well as irrecoverable VAT.

(j) Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are initially recorded at cost and subsequently measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. Depreciation is provided on the straight line basis at rates estimated to write off the assets over the rest of their economic lives. No depreciation is provided on freehold land.

23

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued )

The rates used for other assets are as follows:

Freehold buildings purchased - 2% per annum
Subsequent improvements to freehold buildings - 10% per annum
Computer equipment - 33% per annum
Printing equipment - 20% per annum
Office equipment, principally furniture - 10% per annum

Residual value is calculated on prices prevailing at the reporting date, after estimated costs of disposal, for the assets as if it were at the age and in the condition expected at the end of its useful life.

(k) Society Library

The Society has a comprehensive collection of books and periodicals housed at the University of London’s Senate House, Malet Street, London. It would be of a significant cost to the Group and Society to value this collection and therefore they are carried at a notional value of £2 in the balance sheet.

(l) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered.

(m) Cash at bank and in hand

(n) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the Society has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

(o) Financial instruments

(p) Pension scheme

The Society operates a defined contribution pension scheme the assets of which are invested and managed independently of the finances of the Society. The costs of providing pensions for employees are charged in the Statement of Financial Activities and represents contributions payable in the year.

(q) Taxation

The Society is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

24

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued )

(r) Operating leases

Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged on a straight line basis to the Statement of Financial Activities over the period of the lease.

3. LEGAL STATUS OF THE SOCIETY

The British Psychological Society (Society) is incorporated by Royal Charter and is registered at the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The Society is also registered separately in Scotland with the OSCR. The Society is governed by a Royal Charter originally granted in February 1965 and last revised in November 2010.

The address of the Society’s principal place of business is St Andrew’s House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester, LE1 7DR.

The Group consists of The British Psychological Society and its two subsidiaries, BPS Communications Limited and BPS Assessments and Awards Limited, whose registered office is St Andrew’s House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester, LE1 7DR.

The Group’s principal objective is to promote the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of psychology pure and applied and especially to promote the efficiency and usefulness of members of the Society by setting up a high standard of professional education and knowledge.

25

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

4. JOURNALS AND BOOK PUBLISHING

4. JOURNALS AND BOOK PUBLISHING
Income from journal subscriptions and sales
Income from book and publications sales
2020
£'000
1,992
24
2,016
2019
£'000
2,120
23
2,143

5. OTHER INCOME

THER INCOME
Advertising revenue
Examination income
Quality assurance
Rental income
Professional Development Centre
Sundry income
2020
£'000
139
415
629
90
135
48
1,456
2019
£'000
201
735
518
223
167
17
1,861

Sundry income includes furlough grants of £23,000

6. INVESTMENT INCOME

NVESTMENT INCOME
Income from listed investments
Bank and money market interest
2020
£'000
24
18
42
2019
£'000
415
12
427

26

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

7. NET INCOME FROM TRADING ACTIVITIES OF SUBSIDIARY

The Society is the 100% owner, through nominees, of BPS Communications Limited (company number 0132669), which runs the commercial advertising services for The British Psychological Society. The company distributes any profits to the Society each year under the Gift Aid scheme. BPS Assessments and Awards Limited, incorporated in June 2020, will commence operations in 2021.

Trading results of BPS Communications Limited for the twelve months to 31 December 2020 are shown below.

Turnover
Cost of sales
Gross profit
Distribution costs
Administrative costs
Loss before taxation
Loss for year
The assets and liabilities of the subsidiary are:
Current assets:
Debtors
Cash at bank
Creditors: amount falling within one year
2020
£'000
322
(116)
206
(153)
(55)
(2)
(2)
2020
£'000
396
20
416
(418)
(2)
2019
£'000
380
(133)
247
(166)
(74)
7
7
2019
£'000
456
49
505
(505)
-

During the year the Society charged BPS Communications Limited service charges amounting to £14,415 (2019: £44,000) in respect of services provided by the Society. Trading costs, excluding these costs, amount to £310,000 (2019: £329,000). At the year-end, the Society was owed £355,000 (2019: £461,000) by BPS Communications Limited and owed BPS Communications Limited £281,000 (2019: £304,000).

All profits generated by BPS Communications Limited for 2020 are distributed to the British Psychological in Society under Gift Aid.

27

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

8. TOTAL EXPENDITURE

Group
Expenditure on charitable activities:
Advancement of psychology
Journal costs
Direct salaries
Other direct costs
Support costs
Application of psychology
Section expenditure
Direct salaries
Other direct costs
Support costs
Conferences and events
Society conferences
Direct salaries
Other direct costs
Support costs
Co-operation with other organisations
Direct salaries
Other direct costs
Support costs
Diffusion of knowledge
Publishing costs
Direct salaries
Other direct costs
Support costs
Examinations and training
Examinations costs
Direct salaries
Other direct costs
Support costs
2020
£'000
806
919
155
281
2,161
704
76
27
20
827
183
151
25
46
405
197
33
59
289
539
1,491
237
460
2,727
338
753
127
230
1,448
2019
£'000
1,085
848
322
278
2,533
1,963
65
30
25
2,083
404
422
161
149
1,136
187
82
62
331
708
1,107
418
362
2,595
409
704
269
232
1,614

28

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

8. TOTAL EXPENDITURE (continued)

Group
Expenditure on charitable activities:
Membership
Direct salaries
Other direct costs
Support costs
Science and policy
Direct salaries
Other direct costs
Support costs
Trading costs
Investment management fees
Pension provision
Change programme costs
Total expenditure
2020
£'000
1,749
294
534
2,577
693
117
212
1,022
308
16
-
2,229
2,553
14,009
2019
£'000
1,643
626
541
2,810
563
215
186
964
336
58
763
1,299
2,456
16,512

Society

The total expenditure during the year was £13,701,000 (2019: £16,176,000), which includes all the cost analysis within the group total expenditure above apart from the trading costs £308,000 (2019: £336,000).

29

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

31 December 2020 31 December 2020 31 December 2020
9. SUPPORT COST ALLOCATION
Property IT HR & Directorate
costs costs Finance costs 2020 2019
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Charitable expenditure:
Advancement of psychology 32 50 116 83 281 278
Application of psychology 2 4 8 6 20 25
Conferences and events 5 8 19 14 46 139
Co-operation 7
55
10 24 17 58 62
Diffusion of knowledge 81 189 135 460 362
Examinations and training 27 41 95 68 231 232
Membership 63 94 220 157 534 541
Science and policy 26 37 87 62 212 186
Total expenditure 217 325 758 542 1,842 1,825

The Group has identified the costs of the support function and costs which relate to the governance function which amount to £549,334 (2019 restated: £430,910). The support costs are apportioned between the eight key charitable activities undertaken (see note 8) in the year.

Cost allocation includes an element of judgement and the Society has had to consider the cost benefit of detailed calculations and record keeping. All categories have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, which are analysed above.

30

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

10. NET INCOME FOR THE YEAR

Group and Society

Net income is stated after charging:

Depreciation
Auditors' remuneration - audit services
- other services
11. STAFF NUMBERS AND EMOLUMENTS
The average number of persons employed during the year was as follows:
2020
2020
Full
Part
time
time
Leicester office
107
20
London office
8
1
Regional centres
1
0
116
21
Average FTE was 131 (2019: 117).
Remuneration of employees was as follows:
2020
2019
Total
Total
£'000
£'000
Gross wages and salaries
5,281
4,216
Employer's National Insurance
550
419
Defined contribution pension costs
469
371
6,300
5,006
Depreciation
Auditors' remuneration - audit services
- other services
11. STAFF NUMBERS AND EMOLUMENTS
The average number of persons employed during the year was as follows:
2020
2020
Full
Part
time
time
Leicester office
107
20
London office
8
1
Regional centres
1
0
116
21
Average FTE was 131 (2019: 117).
Remuneration of employees was as follows:
2020
2019
Total
Total
£'000
£'000
Gross wages and salaries
5,281
4,216
Employer's National Insurance
550
419
Defined contribution pension costs
469
371
6,300
5,006
2020
£'000
304
28
2
2019
Full
time
93
6
1

2019
£'000
308
22
2
2019
Part
time
22
2
2
21 100 26
2019
Total
£'000
4,216
419
371
5,006

Furlough grants received during the year of £23,000 have been included under other income.

During the year statutory redundancy and termination payments to 8 employees amounted to £86,368 (2019: £171,685).

31

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND S ~~OCIETY FIN~~ A ~~NCIAL STAT~~ EMENTS 31 December 2020

11. STAFF NUMBERS AND EMOLUMENTS (continued)

The Group operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Group in an independently administered fund. The contributions payable by the Group and charged to the Statement of Financial Activities were £469,000 (2019: £371,000), of which £61,707 (2019: £54,240) were due at the year-end.

The number of employees earning over £60,000 (excluding pension contributions) was as follows:

s follows:
2020 2019
Number Number
£60,000 - £69,999 4 1
£70,000 - £79,999 - 1
£80,000 - £89,999 2 -
£90,000 - £99,999 2 1
£100,000 -£109,999 - 1
£110,000 - £119,999 1 1
£120,000 - £129,999 1 -

During the year the group paid pension contributions in respect of the above higher paid individuals amounting to £85,746 (2019: £29,249).

12 . TRUSTEES’ EMOLUMENTS AND REIMBURSED EXPENSES

The Trustees neither received nor waived any emoluments during the year and for 2020 travelling and subsistence expenses were repaid to 7 Trustees (2019: 16) totalling £2,219 (2019: £10,647).

The key management personnel of the Society comprise the Trustees, the Chief Executive and the Senior Management Team. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Society were £869,572 (2019: £568,441) representing a full years costs of new members of the senior management team recruited in 2019.

The Society has taken out Trustees’ indemnity insurance providing cover of five million pounds. The cost of this insurance for the year was £4,004 (2019: £4,351). No claims have been made under this policy.

The Royal Charter states that “the President and Honorary General Secretary may receive payment out of the property of the Society to compensate them for the sum or sums of money lost from employment or deducted from their earnings by their employers in respect of time spent on the conduct of the business of the Society”.

2020
2019
£ £
President 2019 – 2020 £nil £nil
President 2018 - 2019 £nil £13,125
Honorary General Secretary £nil £nil

32

The British Psychological ~~Society~~

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

13. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Group and Society

Cost
At 1 January 2020
Additions
Disposals
At 31 December 2020
Depreciation
At 1 January 2020
Charge for the year
Disposals
At 31 December 2020
Net book value
At 31 December 2020
At 31 December 2019
Freehold
land
& buildings
£'000
9,260
-
-
9,260
1,489
211
-
1,700
7,560
7,771
Computer &
Print
£'000
308
54
-
362
209
55
-
264
98
99
Office
equipment
£'000
382
1
-
383
151
38
189
194
231
Total
£'000
9,950
55
-
10,005
1,849
304
-
2,153
7,852
8,101

It is not considered practicable to segregate the tangible fixed assets between those used for management, administration and support purposes and those which are used for directly charitable purposes. All of the assets form an integral part of the activities that enable the Society to further its charitable objectives.

The Group and Society revalued the freehold land and buildings at 1 January 2014 at £8,265,000. The valuation was carried out by Underwoods LLP using the Market Approach method to determine the Fair Value at those dates. The Group and Society took advantage of the provisions contained in FRS102 for firsttime adopters to use the Fair Value Valuations at 1 January 2014 to be the deemed cost of the freehold land and buildings at that date, being the date of transition.

Included in the net book value of the freehold land and building of £7,560,000 (2019: £7,771,000) is £3,855,000 (2019: £3,855,000) relating to non-depreciated freehold land.

33

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

Cash awaiting investment
14. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS
Group and Society
Market value at 1 January 2020
Additions
Disposal proceeds
Net investment (loss)/gain unrealised
Net investment gain/(loss) realised
Market value at 31 December 2020
Total at 31 December 2020
-
2020
£'000
15,200
15,154
(15,636)
1,451
(64)
16,105
16,105
1,248
2019
£'000
13,418
2,073
(3,759)
1,879
341
13,952
15,200

In the first quarter of 2020, the Society sold all investments held with Investec. Disposals totalled £15,636,000 with realised losses in respect of these equalling £64,000. The proceeds and any income received following disposals, other than £500,000 retained to support cash flow during the year, were reinvested with CCLA during the year in accumulation units and a cash deposit to maintain liquidity

At 31 December 2020, the investment portfolio consisted of 3,556,725 units invested in accumulation units of the COIF Charities Investment Fund managed by CCLA with a bid market valuation of £15,102,000 and a balance of £1,003,000 was held in a cash deposit with CCLA. Income arising from amounts invested in the COIF Charities Investment Fund cannot be determined separately and is treated as unrealised gains in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Asset allocation of the COIF Investment Fund as at 31 December 2020:

Overseas Equities 69.29%
UK Equities 9.25%
Infrastructure & Operating Assets 7.81%
Cash & Near Cash 4.66%
Property 4.27%
Contractual, Private Equity & Other 4.72%

Investment assets in 2019 comprised of £12,405,000 in UK and overseas equities, £1,547,000 in fixed interest securities and £1,247,000 in cash.

15. DEBTORS

Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
Amounts due from subsidiary
company
VAT recoverable
2020
Group
£'000
303
1,041
-
131
1,475
2019
Group
£'000
1,204
929
-
253
2,386
2020
Society
£'000
188
1,041
355
131
1,715
2019
Society
£'000
1,084
897
461
253
2,695

34

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

16. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Trade creditors
Subscriptions received in advance
Other deferred income
Other creditors
Accruals
Amounts due to subsidiary company
Other taxation and social security
Bank Loan
Group and Society Deferred Income
Balance as at 1 January
Amounts released from previous year
Income deferred in the year
Balance as at 31 December
2020
Group
£'000
415
1,114
913
395
642
-
155
110
3,744
2019
Group
£'000
524
646
1,262
408
359
-
156
-
3,355
Group
£'000
1,908
(1,908)
2,027
2,027
2020
Society
£'000
354
1,114
913
395
642
281
155
110
3,964
Society
£'000
1,903
(1,903)
2,027
2,027
2019
Society
£'000
503
646
1,257
408
353
304
144
-
3,615

Other deferred income comprises Exams fees (£481,229) (2019: £708,570), Annual Conference (£331) (2019: £88,439), Accreditation fees (£432,302) (2019: £432,546) and Professional Development Centre £nil (2018; £27,485).

16. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE IN MORE THAN ONE YEAR

CBILS Bank Loan 2020
Group
£'000
2,090
2,090
2019
Group
£'000
-
-
2020
Society
£'000
2,090
2,090
2019
Society
£'000
-
-

35

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

16. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE IN MORE THAN ONE YEAR (continued)

A Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan of £2,200,000 was drawn down on 2[nd] October 2020, this has a 12 month Capital and Interest free period and is then due to be repaid over 60 instalments. The Loan was secured a rate of base rate plus 1.69% per annum.

17. ANALYSIS OF CHARITABLE FUNDS

Group

Analysis of movements in unrestricted funds

General
Designated fund
Revaluation reserve
Funds
brought
forward at
1 Jan 2020
£’000
14,231
4,701
4,074
23,006
Income
£’000
10,839
-
-
10,839
Expenditure
£’000
(11,764)
(2,245)
-
(14,009)
Gains,
losses
and
transfers
£’000
1,083
320
(15)
1,388
Funds
carried
forward at
31 Dec 2020
£’000
14,389
2,776
4,059
21,224

Society Analysis of movements in unrestricted funds

General
Designated fund
Revaluation reserve
Funds
brought
forward at
1 Jan 2020
£’000
14,231
4,701
4,074
23,006
Income
£’000
10,531
-
-
10,531
Expenditure
£’000
(11,456)
(2,245)
-
(13,701)
Gains,
losses
and
transfers
£’000
1,083
320
(15)
1,388
Funds
carried
forward at
31 Dec 2020
£’000
14,389
2,776
4,059
21,224

36

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

17. ANALYSIS OF CHARITABLE FUNDS (continued)

Group

General
Designated fund
Revaluation reserve
ciety
General
Designated fund
Revaluation reserve
Funds
brought
forward at
1 Jan 2019
Restated
£’000
19,111
335
4,089
24,335
Funds
brought
forward at
1 Jan 2019
Restated
£’000
19,835
335
4,089
24,259
Income
£’000
12,963
-
-
12,963
Income
£’000
12,703
-
-
12,703
Expenditure
£’000
(15,213)
(1,299)
-
(16,512)
Expenditure
£’000
(14,877)
(1,299)
-
(16,176)
Gains,
losses
and
transfers
£’000
(3,430)
5,665
(15)
2,220
Gains,
losses
and
transfers
£’000
(3,430)
5,665
(15)
2,220
Funds
carried
forward at
31 Dec 2019
£’000
14,231
4,701
4,074
23,006
Funds
carried
forward at
31 Dec 2019
£’000
14,231
4,701
4,074
23,006

Society

General funds contain the funds that are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees of the Society in the furtherance of the objectives of the Society.

Expenditure of £2,229,000 on the Change Programme was charged to the designated fund during the year. A new designated fund of £320,000 was created to meet the costs of the Member Journey Review over the next three years. Expenditure of £16,000 was charged to this fund during the year.

Revaluation reserve: This fund represents the surplus from the revaluation to fair value at 1 January 2014, permitted by FRS 102 transitions provisions, with respect to freehold land and building to determine the new deemed cost at that date. An annual transfer is made between the revaluation reserve and retained earnings for assets which are depreciated and does not include any amounts for non-depreciable land.

37

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

17. ANALYSIS OF CHARITABLE FUNDS (continued)

Group and Society

Analysis of movements in restricted funds

William Inman
Visual archive
BJEP fund
William Inman
Visual archive
BJEP fund
Funds
brought
forward at
1 Jan 2020
£’000
7
10
41
58
Funds
brought
forward at
1 Jan 2019
£’000
7
10
41
58
Income
£’000
-
-
-
-
Income
£’000
-
-
-
-
Expenditure
£’000
-
-
-
-
Expenditure
£’000
-
-
-
-
Gains
and
losses

£’000
-
-
-
-
Gains
and
losses
£’000
-
-
-
-
Funds
carried
forward at
31 Dec 2020
£’000
7
10
41
58
Funds
carried
forward at
31 Dec
2019
£’000
7
10
41
58

The William Inman Fund was set up in 1968 following a bequest of £1,000 to the Society to provide an annual prize. The Visual Archive is a legacy that was left to the Society in 1988 to provide for a visual library. The British Journal of Educational Psychology fund is for the development of the journal along with the other Society titles.

38

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

18. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The carrying amount of the Group's and Society’s financial instruments at 31 December were:

Financial assets
Debt instruments measured at
amortised cost
Instruments measured at fair value
through profit or loss
Total net assets
Financial liabilities
Debt instruments measured at
amortised cost
Instruments measured at fair value
through profit and loss
2020
Group
£'000
884
16,105
16,989
1,391
2,200
3,591
2019
Group
£'000
1,698
15,200
16,898
1,270
-
1,270
2020
Society
£'000
1,239
16,105
17,344
1,672
2,220
3,872
2019
Society
£'000
2,159
15,200
17,359
1,568
-
1,568

19. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS Group

Fund balances at 31 December 2020 are represented by:

Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Long term liabilities
Total net assets
Unrestricted
£'000
7,852
16,105
3,101
(3,744)
(2,090)
21,224
Restricted
£'000
-
-
58
-
-
58
Total
£'000
7,852
16,105
3,159
(3,744)
(2,090)
21,282

39

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND SOCIETY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

19. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS (continued)

Society

Fund balances at 31 December 2020 are represented by:

Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Long term liabilities
Total net assets
Unrestricted
£'000
7,852
16,105
3,321
(3,964)
(2,090)
21,224
Restricted
£'000
-
-
58
-
-
58
Total
£'000
7,852
16,105
3,379
(3,964)
(2,090)
21,282

Group

Fund balances at 31 December 2019 were represented by:

Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets
Unrestricted
£'000
8,101
15,200
3,060
(3,355)
23,006
Restricted
£'000
-
-
58
-
58
Total
£'000
8,101
15,200
3,118
(3,355)
23,064

Society

Fund balances at 31 December 2019 were represented by:

Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets
Unrestricted
£'000
8,101
15,200
3,320
(3,615)
23,006
Restricted
£'000
-
-
58
-
58
Total
£'000
8,101
15,200
3,378
(3,615)
23,064

20. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

There were no capital commitments contracted for but not provided in 2020 and 2019.

40

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

21. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net (outgoing)/incoming resources
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Loss/(Gains) on investments
Investment income in investing activities
Decrease in debtors
Increase in creditors
Increase in Loans
Net cash provided by operating activities
22. RECONCILIATION OF NET DEBT
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash
Borrowings
Debt due within one year
Debt due after one year
Group
2020
£'000
(1,782)
304
(1,388)
(42)
911
389
2,090
482
January
2020
£'000
732
732
-
-

-
Group
2019
£'000
(1,329)
308
(2,220)

(427)
978
(511)
(763)
(3,964)
Cash
Flows
£'000
951
951
110
2,090
2,200
Society
2020
£'000
(1,782)
304
(1,388)
(42)
980
349
2,090
511
Non-Cash
Changes
£'000
-
-
-
-

-
Society
2019
£'000
(1,253)
308
(2,220)
(427)
964
(457)
(763)
(3,848)
December
2020
£'000
1,683

1,683
110
2,090
2,200

41

The British Psychological Society

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 December 2020

23. COMMITMENTS UNDER OPERATING LEASES

The Group and Society as a lessee:

The total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases for land and buildings as set out below.

2020 2019
£’000 £’000
Amounts due:
Within 1 year 4 4

The Group and Society as lessor:

At the year end, the Group had contracted with tenants, under non-cancellable operating leases, for the following total future minimum leases payments:

2020 2019
£’000 £’000
Amounts receivable:
Less one year 22 62
Between one and five years - -

The Group and Society have leased out part of the freehold land and buildings used by them to a third party. The Trustees have considered the terms of the lease and future purpose of the property and consider the rent received in proportion of the freehold land and building held to be insignificant and therefore have not accounted for the part leased as an investment property

42

The British Psychological Society

Legal and Administrative Information

Trustees President Vacant
Mr D Murphy (to 30.06.2020)
Dr H McLaughlin (from 30.06.2020 to
12.04.2021)
President Elect Dr H McLaughlin (to 30.06.2020)
Dr N MacLennan (to 04.05.2021)
Vice President Mr D Murphy (to 10.02.2021)
Vacant
Honorary General Secretary Dr C A Allan
Honorary Treasurer Dr R Gervais
Trustee Ms A Clarke
Trustee Mr C D Lynch (to 29.01.2021)
Trustee Professor C McGuinness (from
01.05.2020)
Trustee Professor D B O’Connor
Trustee Dr J Foster (to 23.09.2020)
Trustee Dr A Jowett
Trustee Ms C Buxton
Trustee Professor C Stott (to 12.06.2020)
Trustee Dr E Cohen-Tovee (from 19.07.2019)
Trustee Professor N Stack (from 07.05.2021)
Chief Executive and Senior
Management Team
Chief Executive Mr S Bajwa
Director of Change Programme Ms D Ashby
Director of Communications Ms R Dufton
and Engagement
Director of IT Mr M Laffan
Director of Finance and Mr H Hadani (to 14.12.2020)
Resources
Director of Policy Ms K Scott (to 09.10.2020)
Director of Membership and Ms K Beamish
Professional Development
Director of Knowledge and Ms D Malpass (from 13.01.2020)
Insight
Head of Legal and Governance
Ms C Attfield
Principal place of business St Andrew’s House
48 Princess Road East
Leicester
LE1 7DR

43

The British Psychological Society

Legal and Administrative Information (continued)

Statutory auditors Mazars LLP
Statutory Auditor
First Floor
Two Chamberlain Square
Birmingham
B3 3AX
Principal banker The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
5 Market Street
Leicester
LE1 6DN
Legal advisors Bates Wells Braithwaite LLP
10 Queens Street Place
London
EC4R 1BE
Nelsons
37 New Walk
Leicester
LE1 6TU
Pension advisors Aegon
Platform Client Services
1-3 Lochside Crescent
Edinburgh Park
Edinburgh
EH12 9SE
Investment managers CCLA
Senator House
85 Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4V 4ET
Registered Charity Number 229642
England and Wales
OSCR Charity Number SC039452
Scotland

44