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2021-03-31-accounts

BIBLE READING FELLOWSHIP

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

COMPANY REGISTERED NO: 00301324 REGISTERED CHARITY NO: 233280

Bible Reading Fellowship

INDEX TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31 MARCH 2021

Reference and Administrative Information .......................................................................................................................... 3 Report of the Council ............................................................................................................................................................ 4 Independent Auditor’s Report ............................................................................................................................................ 15 Statement of Financial Activities 2021 ............................................................................................................................... 18 Statement of Financial Activities 2020 ............................................................................................................................... 19 Balance Sheet ...................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Statement of Cash Flows ................................................................................................................................................... 21 Notes to the Financial Statements ..................................................................................................................................... 22

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Bible Reading Fellowship

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Registered Name: Bible Reading Fellowship (also known as ‘BRF’) Charity Registration Number: 233280 Company Registered Number: 301324 Registered Office: 15 The Chambers, Vineyard, Abingdon OX14 3FE Vice Presidents: Mrs A Donald Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint Canon Dr G Lings Rt Revd S Platten Rt Revd T Thornton Rt Revd M Turnbull Council / Trustees: Rt Revd C Fletcher OBE (Chair) Canon Dr C Baxter CBE (Vice Chair) ^ Mrs J Agg * Mr A J Barton * Mr A Booth ^ Mr P A Cox * Revd S Hayes * Mr J Hills (Treasurer) (appointed 18 March 2021) Mr A Howard (appointed 18 March 2021) * Mr P R Lloyd (retired 18 March 2021)

Senior Management Team: Canon R Fisher Chief Executive Miss J Elliott Head of Finance and Operations Mrs K Laister Head of Marketing and Communications Ms J MacNaughton (from Sep20) Head of Fundraising Mrs S Sheerin Head of People Mrs O Warburton Head of Content Creation Company Secretary: Miss J Elliott Auditors: Azets Audit Services, Gladstone House, 77–79 High Street, Egham, Surrey, TW20 9HY Bankers: The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Drummonds Branch 49 Charing Cross, Admiralty Arch, London SW1A 2DX Investment Advisers: Argentis Financial Planning Ltd, 1[st] Floor, Building 1, Genesis Business Park, Woking, Surrey, GU21 5RW Solicitors: Blake Morgan LLP, Seacourt Tower, West Way, Oxford OX2 0FB

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL

The Council presents its report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2021.

Introduction from the Chief Executive

‘Extraordinary’ and ‘unprecedented’ have become rather overused terms, but they sum up the last year very well. At the start of the pandemic, we decided to continue with as much of our ministry as we could. This proved to be the right decision and we have seen over the year just how much this has been appreciated across all our ministry communities. There have been significant challenges to overcome, but also opportunities to do things differently, or for the first time. We have seen just how much it is possible to achieve, despite being a dispersed staff team throughout the year.

During the year no face-to-face training or events were possible. Most Messy Churches were unable to meet in person. Many Anna Chaplains were unable to go into care homes. Parents were under pressure, having to balance the demands of work and home-schooling during the first half of the year. Through the various lockdowns, many of us experienced the sense of loneliness and isolation that is a daily reality for so many across our nation.

Nevertheless, we’ve seen a remarkable amount of creativity both from our own staff team and also within our ministry networks, as together we’ve found new and imaginative ways to continue doing what we do and sharing these ideas widely.

Zoom and Facebook Live enabled us to reimagine and offer training, support, networking and events online across all of our ministries, making these more accessible than ever – bringing people together from the length and breadth of the UK, and from numerous other countries too. This has created a stronger than ever sense of connectedness between BRF and each of the ministry communities we serve and resource.

We’ve also been able to respond quickly to needs as they’ve arisen. We’ve adapted existing materials to make them available online and created new resources in response to the pandemic, such as downloadable ideas and materials from Messy Church and Parenting for Faith for families to use at home and a series of Carer’s Guides booklets for those working in care homes. Many of our readers have been struck by how apposite the Bible readings and reflections have been across our series, even though most were written before the pandemic began.

All of this has been made possible thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the individuals, churches and charitable trusts that have supported BRF during the year. We are so thankful for this, especially in a year that has been financially difficult for so many.

It has been a challenging and testing year, but it has also been a year in which we have seen God powerfully at work in and through BRF. Next year, 2022, sees BRF’s centenary and we look forward to all God has in store for us, giving thanks for all who work with us, support us and pray for us.

Richard Fisher Chief Executive

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL

Aims, objectives and activities

BRF’s charitable objectives are to advance the Christian religion by encouraging understanding of the Bible by people of all ages and encouraging and resourcing the development of Christian life and/or ministry among people of all ages. BRF is a Christian charity that is passionate about enabling people of all ages to grow in faith and understanding of the Bible. BRF resources the spiritual journey of individuals and the mission and ministry of local churches.

BRF’s strategic priorities

BRF’s strategic priorities are:

BRF works with two key constituencies:

Strategic report

Achievements and performance

Anna Chaplaincy – offering spiritual care in later life

Debbie Thrower, Anna Chaplaincy pioneer, writes:

Anna Chaplaincy is in better shape than we’d have dared hope when lockdown began. An upside of the pandemic has been Zoom’s ability to keep us in touch with our network.

At first stumped by face-to-face visiting being curtailed, necessity was the mother of invention when it came to chaplains discovering new ways of maintaining contact with those they support and, indeed, with us, the core team at BRF helping to unite, motivate, up-skill and support them .

We now have regular Zoom Network Get-Togethers, themed workshops and online training courses. We discovered we could meet virtually over two days for our annual ‘Gathering’ of the network in October and still chat, laugh and weep together. The theme, ‘Stories of Resilience and Hope’, allowed time for lament and the airing of frustrations over the way their ministries were being thwarted, but this was soon followed by remarkable examples of Anna Chaplains finding new routes to reach older people and encourage them: from doorstep pop-rounds, recorded services on DVDs and telephone ministry, which can enable even deeper relationships to be forged, to arts projects such as the knitting of holding crosses, lovingly made literally in their thousands as gifts for those confined because of Covid-19.

Anna Chaplains found ways to support care workers and remind people experiencing acute loneliness that they’re remembered and appreciated. Many of those ministering, and in the older age category themselves, have found renewed meaning and purpose helping others.

During the autumn we commissioned independent research into Anna Chaplaincy’s effectiveness, as well as conducting our own network survey. Both highlighted how the majority of Anna Chaplains are sixty- to seventy-year-olds (typically, though far from exclusively, lay women), who work in myriad settings, and that ‘love shines through all their interactions’.

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To our surprise, there’s been no shortage of new people discerning a vocation to this work and stepping forward to become Anna Chaplains. The network has increased from 146 to 163 members during the year, with an estimated 1,300 volunteers working alongside them.

National advocacy has also been boosted: we led the Church of England’s weekly online service highlighting care home ministry, conducted BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship to mark a year since lockdown and were asked to speak as a panelmember at the launch of the Archbishops’ ‘Reimagining Care’ Commission. It’s been a year like no other… but it’s only served to heighten awareness of Anna Chaplaincy’s offering of comfort, succour and hope.

Living Faith – resourcing your spiritual journey Olivia Warburton, Living Faith lead, writes:

2020–21 was a pivotal year for Living Faith as it transitioned into a fully defined ministry in its own right. The pandemic caused challenges, particularly with the prolonged closure of bookshops, but other opportunities arose to encourage vibrant Christian faith through the Bible, prayer and fellowship.

In the first lockdown we rapidly put together a ‘spiritual resource package’ for those isolated at home, and made available PDF versions of other resources with clear resonance at this time. Many churches contacted us asking to share extracts digitally with their congregations.

We pressed forward with commissioned projects, a number of which proved especially timely in the context of the pandemic. In response to the reported rise in domestic violence, we released an advance chapter from Helen Paynter’s The Bible Doesn’t Tell Me So , which speaks love and acceptance to the victims of abuse. Gordon Giles’ At Home in Advent took on new meaning as everyone stayed at home, and saw strong sales. Many responded to Sally Welch’s reflections on Ezekiel in New Daylight to say how relevant these were, marvelling at the fact that they were written months before we had even heard of coronavirus.

In addition to our five popular daily Bible reading notes series, we produced 26 (2020:43) new titles and 3 new editions during the year. Other highlights included the BRF Lent book Opening Our Lives by Trystan Owain Hughes, Seven Sacred Spaces by George Lings and the Parenting for Faith book Babies and Toddlers by Rachel Turner. At very short notice we were also able to publish Comfortable Words by Bishop Steven Croft to coincide with the anniversary of the first lockdown. During the year 156,265 copies of BRF publications were sold in print and digital formats.

Our Holy Habits discipleship programme broke new ground, running two successful online home groups during the year. The second of these accompanied the Holy Habits: Following Jesus Lent group study resource, and the related videos saw 3,000+ views on YouTube.

Living Faith authors are now writing regularly for both brf.org.uk and brfonline.org.uk, and a new Resource Hub was created on brf.org.uk and is starting to be populated with a range of materials for churches and individuals. As part of Living Faith’s new blended model of paid-for resources and free content, underpinned by funding support where required, we also secured funding for a pilot project to make nearly 1,000 copies of The Easter Story booklet freely available to churches.

Messy Church – Church, but not as you know it Lucy Moore, Messy Church founder and team leader, writes:

It has been a challenging year, when local Messy Churches have had to reimagine how to be church during lockdown. But there has still been much to give thanks for.

The support structure for Messy Church leaders has been recreated successfully. The old Regional Coordinator network was reformed into nine volunteer support teams in December 2020, to focus on needs and skills rather than on geographical areas. When Jane Butler joined the staff team as Coordinator in January 2021, she took on responsibility for the support and development of several of these teams.

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The team has continued to help Messy Churches connect through Facebook Lives every Wednesday for over a year and through one-off events such as the Messy Adventure for Ascension Day 2020. A new group of teenage Messy Church leaders has met regularly on Zoom, encouraging young leaders in the UK and Australia. The international planning group for our 2022 conference includes three young leaders.

Training has also been reinvented, with the Trainers team opening up the possibility of offering more frequent ‘Messy Masterclasses’ online, accessible to people anywhere in the world. The programme of three different Masterclasses ( Starting a Messy Church , Reimagining your Messy Church and Messy Church Discipleship ) has been running since January 2021. Bespoke online training has also taken place for UK and overseas participants, including a series of sessions for Swedish ministers, St Padarn’s Institute, the Australian Messy Church national conference and several Fresh Expressions events.

Resources have been created to support leaders through a difficult time. First Lucy, then the Writers team, have continued to supply monthly Messy Church at Home sessions, reaching up to 30,000 people a time. In addition, Lucy contributed written and video content from Messy Church for the Fresh Expressions ‘Godsend’ app. Messy Discipleship, a Messy Church Does Science after-school club resource and a new edition of Messy Nativity were all published this year, in addition to the regular four-monthly Get Messy! magazine.

Developing the depth of Messy Church was a challenge under these circumstances, but the research project A Voyage of Discovery , funded by the Church of England and begun in 2019, was brought to a successful conclusion with the publication of the report and accompanying materials to deepen discipleship in a Messy Church context. Presentations and discussions about these valuable findings are ongoing.

Parenting for Faith – equipping parents to raise God-connected children and teens Rachel Turner, Parenting for Faith pioneer, writes:

For Parenting for Faith, 2020-2021 has been a year of fruit and adaption. With the onset of the first lockdown, the traditional structure of how churches and parents disciple the next generation was thrown up in the air. Churches struggled with how to keep the spiritual lives of children and young people going. Parents felt the weight of having to do not only school at home but also church. Parenting for Faith already had many online resources streams – articles and videos on the website, online Parenting for Faith courses on Zoom, Facebook Live events – and robust social media. We responded by creating new content to coach families and churches through the transition to a new way of discipleship in lockdown, highlighting how to use our online resources, and investing in a pattern of online encouragement and community.

Around the nation, many charities and organisations began to furlough their workers. However, the full Parenting for Faith team were able to continue throughout the pandemic. Therefore, we were available to partner with organisations and churches, respond to media requests, take speaking engagements and be a consistent presence nationally when many voices advocating for children, young people and families had been furloughed.

Two new Parenting for Faith books were published during the year. The first, Parenting as a Church Leader: Helping your family thrive , was released about a month into the first lockdown. Since then, we have run multiple online Zoom courses based on the book, walking with church leaders to consider their families in this season and long term. The second book, Babies and Toddlers: Nurturing your child’s spiritual life, was released in February 2021. Anna Hawken took the lead in creating an online conference to launch the book, and over 350 people attended. We created a babies and toddlers bite-sized version of the Parenting for Faith course for use in toddler groups and parents’ groups and some baptism and dedication prep videos. We have a steady stream of stories coming in since then of people using these resources in their local communities and churches.

We have also launched our Cliff College Certificate in Parenting for Faith, and our first cohort of 48 people began on the journey. We have created an online community for them to communicate through, and we meet with them online once a month. We are deeply encouraged at seeing leaders fully grasp the principles of Parenting for Faith and use them across multiple countries around the world.

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL

Barnabas in Schools

As mentioned in our Annual Report last year, we announced the difficult decision in July 2020 to draw our Barnabas in Schools programme to a close after 20 years of working with primary schools. We give thanks for the 500,000 plus children that were able to experience a Barnabas RE Day during this period and for the individuals, churches and charitable trusts whose generous support made this programme possible over the years. During the year some of the key online educational resources from Barnabas in Schools were moved across to the Resource Hub on the BRF website so that these continue to be available.

Planned activities

Our plans for 2020–2021, as set out in our last Annual Report, included the following:

Most of the above have already been commented upon. For the other points, these are set out below.

Website

The new website was launched in May 2020 and connects all the ministries of BRF. It also shares stories each week from a variety of different contributors. The website incorporates a Resource Hub through which we continue to make available key Barnabas in Schools resources, following the closure of the programme, as well as a wide range of ideas to resource children’s ministry in churches.

Volunteers

During the year BRF appointed a Volunteer Advocate Lead. She has started the process of recruiting and supporting a team of volunteers who will promote the work of BRF and its ministries within their churches and communities.

Centenary 2022

Many plans have been made for the celebration in 2022. These include publication of a range of limited-edition ‘Centenary Classics’ hardback books and an online service of celebration and thanksgiving. Former editor of New Daylight, Sally Welch, will write the Advent and Lent books for the centenary year. A commemorative rose will also be available to purchase.

Data and website integration

During the year it was determined that in order to carry out this work, further project management capacity was required. Internal promotion enabled that to happen and the project will now commerce in the coming year.

IT servers

The servers were replaced as planned during the year. The increase in demand for electronic and online working arrangements has further increased the demand on these assets.

Plans for future periods

BRF plans to continue with the activities outlined above, subject to securing the funding necessary. Particular developments for the coming year include:

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Financial review

In 2021, total income was up 13% to £2,118,568 (2020: £1,873,924).

62% of income in 2021 was voluntary and BRF is grateful for the support from our donors to enable us to carry out work across our ministries. Voluntary income was £1,322,716, up from the 2020 figure of £910,364. Of the voluntary income received during the year, 43% (2020: 55%) came from individual donations (including legacies) and 57% (2020: 45%) from charitable trust grants. Income from legacies was £4,207. Of the total voluntary income received, 57% was restricted for specific ministries. The cost of raising funds was £232,009, amounting to 12% of expenditure.

A significant portion of income was from the sale of resources and events, amounting to £781,701. We wish to enable individuals to grow in their faith, and as such a pricing strategy is adopted to make it as affordable as possible to our readers and event attendees. The sales of BRF’s Bible reading notes range account for the majority of the income from sales of resources, with New Daylight as our flagship publication. This income stream continues to slowly decline. This year was our first where we received voluntary income for the Living Faith ministry which enabled us to produce publications that otherwise could not have been produced, as well as the ability to give some publications away for free. The sales from events were lower this year as in-person events were cancelled. In the second half of the year, some paid-for online events were run.

Expenditure was lower year on year at £1,944,284 (2020: £2,082,736), in part due to lower in-person activity during the year such as travel costs, event costs and office costs. Payroll costs remain the most significant cost; however, this doesn’t recognise the contribution of the volunteers that support BRF’s work.

BRF owns a property in which the head office is based. This property is owned outright.

Following the drop in the valuation at the end of last year the investments have recovered during the year. The yearend valuation was £921,551 (2020: £872,545). £107,841 was realised in the year from the assets of the development fund.

The overall net movement of funds of £331,131 (2020: £(241,880)) provided overall reserves at 31 March 2021 of £2,144,818 (2020: £1,813,687), of which unrestricted reserves were £2,057,806 (2020: £1,755,409).

Principal funding sources

BRF generates 36.9% (2020: 50.4%) of our annual overall funding from income from sales of resources and fees charged for training and events. The growth and expansion of BRF’s work, particularly its specific ministries over the past 20 years, have been made possible largely through the very generous support of individual donors, churches and charitable trusts.

Other than Gift Aid, BRF normally receives no funding from government or other statutory bodies, or from the National Lottery. During the year some staff were furloughed. We received £78,345 from the government.

Fundraising

Recognising our dependence on voluntary income, BRF aims to inspire and encourage others to give in support of our work. BRF seeks to act responsibly in our communications with supporters and donors. In our approach to potential donors, we will never subject anyone to pressure or a ‘hard sell’, but will always treat individuals with dignity, integrity and respect. We are aware that some of our donors may be older, potentially vulnerable adults. BRF has guidance for staff on identifying vulnerable older donors and how to work with them in a way that maintains their dignity. We seek to work to the highest level of transparency, integrity and respect towards all who engage with the charity, including those who give to our work.

All fundraising activity is carried out by BRF’s in-house fundraising team, managed during the year by BRF’s Head of Fundraising, working closely with the Chief Executive. No professional fundraiser or commercial participator was used during the year. BRF is registered with the Fundraising Regulator, adheres to the standards of the Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice and has signed up to receive suppressions under the Fundraising Preference Service.

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BRF’s fundraising team looks for appropriate ways to share our funding needs with those churches and individuals who engage with the charity and its particular ministries, alongside identifying charitable trusts and foundations whom we may approach for grant funding support.

BRF benefitted from a number of significant grants from the following charitable trusts: The Douglas Trust, The Bishop Radford Trust, The Jerusalem Trust, The Kirby Laing Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Stewardship, Allchurches Trust Limited, The Mercers’ Company, The Maurice & Hilda Laing Charitable Trust.

BRF supporters, readers and subscribers are kept informed about BRF’s wider ministry and funding needs through articles in New Daylight and Guidelines Bible reading notes, through regular newsletters such as BRF News and through our social media channels.

No complaints were received during the year about fundraising for the charity.

The Trustees wish to thank all the individuals, churches and charitable trusts for their generous funding support during the year.

Reserves policy

BRF’s reserves are unrestricted funds that are freely available to spend on its charitable purposes.

BRF’s various ministries (particularly Messy Church, Anna Chaplaincy and Parenting for Faith) are almost exclusively funded from voluntary income. Much of the recent development of these ministries has been made possible through generous grants from individuals and charitable trusts. However, donor and grant income is unpredictable; while BRF seeks to secure funding each year to cover the annual costs of its ministries, reserves are extremely important in providing resilience and sustainability. Reserves also provide the potential to invest in new developments and opportunities.

The status of reserves is reported within BRF’s monthly management accounts and reviewed by the Finance Committee, which meets four times a year. The level of reserves needed is reviewed each year by the full Council when the annual budget is agreed, so there is an integrated approach to BRF’s overall financial planning.

The Trustees consider that BRF requires unrestricted free reserves of 50% (i.e. six months) of annual budgeted expenditure for its charitable activities. These reserves enable us to make good any fluctuations in voluntary income and any shortfall of income over expenditure for these ministries, allowing time for us to seek alternative sources of income and enabling us to continue the delivery of our charitable activities each year.

The Trustees continue to hold the view, therefore, that a level of £1,063,611 is currently appropriate in order to safeguard future activities. At the end of March 2021, BRF’s total funds were £2,144,818 (of which free reserves comprised £1,447,364). These comprised:

£1,447,364 General funds £251,946 Development fund £23,900 Centenary fund £334,596 Property fund £87,012 Restricted funds, available for use only for the specific charitable activity for which they are given

The development, centenary and property funds are designated. The purpose of the development fund, which has been invested, is to provide designated funding for two senior posts over a period of around five years (two to three years remaining). The centenary fund has been created to fund events to mark BRF’s centenary in 2022. The property fund is a designated fund representing the net book value of the charity’s long leasehold property.

These funds are considered to be adequate for the immediate future requirements of BRF’s activities. At the end of March 2021, BRF had 8.2 months (2020: 5.5 months) of free unrestricted fund reserves.

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Going concern

The Trustees expect the charity to continue to operate for more than twelve months from the date of this report. As such they consider the charity to be a going concern. Along with the senior management team, the Trustees regularly review historical and projected financial information as well as reviewing future strategic plans.

Investment policy

BRF held investments of £921,551 at 31 March 2021. BRF splits the investments between two funds, portfolio 1, invested in Cofunds, an unrestricted fund for general use, and portfolio 2, again invested in Cofunds, unrestricted though designated as the development fund. BRF takes an ethical investment approach. All ethical investments are deemed as matching the criteria as described by the EIRIS Foundation research or other recognised ethical investment bodies. BRF engages Argentis Financial Planning Ltd as investment advisers.

The investment policy, reviewed and agreed by BRF’s Trustees on 14 June 2018, is that all investments with Cofunds are held in ethical investments and should not hold more than 30% (+/- 3%) in equities. The Trustees’ attitude to investment risk is Moderately Cautious, and they seek to achieve BRF’s investment objectives by investing prudently in a broad range of fixed interest securities and equities which are quoted on a Recognised Investment Exchange and unit trusts and OEICs (open-ended investment companies) which are authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

The objective for portfolio 1 is to provide a balanced return between income and capital, both of which may be used at any time for the furtherance of BRF’s aims. The portfolio is therefore managed on a total return basis, targeting 1–2% above inflation as a total return. Dividends and interest are paid away monthly to BRF. To the year ending 31 March 2021, our investment report showed that the portfolio produced a total return after fees of 22.2%.

The objective for portfolio 2 was and is to create sufficient income and capital growth to enable BRF to fund particular staff roles for a minimum of five years. The investment is anticipated to be depleted over a six-year period, with funds drawn down as required at the end of each financial year. Both capital and income may be used for the furtherance of the portfolio’s objective and therefore the portfolio is managed on a total return basis. Dividends and interest are split with part of the fund being accumulated and part paid away monthly. To the year ending 31 March 2021, our investment report showed that the portfolio produced a total return after fees of 14.7%.

The Trustees receive quarterly valuations and the Finance Committee reviews the investment at each of its meetings.

Taxation

The company is entitled to exemption from taxation on income and capital gains to the extent that the funds are applied for charitable purposes.

Structure, governance and management

Governing document

Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) was established in 1922. It is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 30 May 1935 and registered as a charity on 1 February 1965. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. BRF’s charitable objectives are ‘to advance Christian religion by:

The Memorandum of Association prohibits the distribution of the income and property of BRF to the members. Upon dissolution or winding up of BRF, the assets shall be given or transferred to some similar institution or institutions having objects similar to BRF.

Appointment of Trustees

The directors of the company are also charity Trustees for the purposes of charity law and under the company’s Articles are known as members of the Council. Under the requirements of the Articles of Association, there is no fixed term of service for members of the Council, but one-third of the members retire at the March Council meeting each year, determined by length of service. Retiring members may be re-elected to serve again.

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Mr P Lloyd, Canon Dr C Baxter and Mrs J Agg were due to retire during the year. Canon Dr C Baxter and Mrs J Agg offered themselves for re-election and were re-elected.

Mr P Lloyd retired after many years’ service. BRF is thankful for all he has done, especially in the role of treasurer for the charity.

Mr J Hills and Mr A Howard were appointed to the Council on 18 March 2021. Mr J Hills also took on the role of treasurer.

The Council aims to reflect the breadth of church tradition that BRF seeks to serve, and the breadth of activities with which the charity is engaged. The skill set of the Council is periodically reviewed and if a gap is identified steps are taken to recruit a Trustee with skills and experience in that field.

New Trustees are externally recruited or recommended by current Council or staff members. They are issued with briefing papers about the nature, aims and objectives of the charity, and are interviewed by the Chief Executive and usually at least one Council member. Candidates are invited to attend up to two Trustee and/or Committee meetings before proceeding with the formal joining procedure.

The charity has six vice presidents. This role is honorary and the vice presidents support the charity in an advocacy and advisory capacity.

Trustee induction and training

In practice, most new Trustees are already familiar with at least some aspects of the work of the charity. Upon joining the Council, they are provided with detailed information about our vision, including major initiatives and key issues, organisation structure, copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the latest financial statements. All Trustees are issued with a copy of The Essential Trustee: What you need to know (CC3) , as well as Welcome – you’re a charity Trustee , both published by the Charity Commission.

A formal induction programme provides Trustees with a detailed insight into the different aspects of our work and a chance to meet members of staff. This is available to both new and current Trustees.

Organisation

The Council, BRF’s policy-making body, is responsible for the overall vision, direction and strategy of the charity and meets four times a year. A Finance Committee, comprising at least three Trustees, also meets four times a year. A People Committee, comprising two Trustees, the CEO and Head of People, meets at least three times per year. A Management team, comprising the Chief Executive, Head of Content Creation, Head of Finance and Operations, Head of Fundraising, Head of Marketing and Communications and Head of People, manages the day-to-day operations and has delegated authority, approved by the Council, for operational matters including finance and employment.

Pay policy for senior staff

No Trustee received any remuneration, nor did they receive any other benefit during the year in their role as a member of the Council.

The Trustees, through the People Committee, annually review all staff salaries. Within the scope of the organisational review conducted during the year, all salaries were also reviewed to ensure they appropriately reflected the duties of the individual postholders. In recruiting for new positions, the Senior Management team take into consideration current market rates and salary levels for similar posts in comparable organisations, as well as the experience of applicants. The salaries of members of the Senior Management team (who are listed on page 3) are similarly determined according to these criteria.

Risk management

The Council and Management team identify and evaluate risks to the charity on an ongoing basis and action is agreed to mitigate any new significant risk at the earliest opportunity. A full review of the operational, financial, reputational and ministry risks to the charity is conducted annually. The risk register documents the identification and evaluation of risks and the likelihood of their occurrence across all aspects of the charity and its activities, and reports on processes in place or being developed to manage these risks.

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The principal risks are identified as:

Risk Mitigating action
Voluntary income Negative macro economic factors further
limiting sources of voluntary income to
support charitable activities.		 Raising the profile of BRF and its vision;
additional investment in the fundraising
team; continuing development of a major
gifts programme. Finding new streams
such as merchandising and text giving.
Income from sales of
resources		 Competitive market for Bible reading notes,
as well as continued pressures on the
Christian bookshop market, leading to a
reduction in income.		 Development of a range of routes
to reach end users; sponsorship of new
products.
Staff Loss of knowledge and interruption to the
business through staff leaving and the
challenge of recruiting suitable candidates
to fill vacant and new positions.		 Business continuity planning; articulation
of BRF’s core values as an organisation
and embedding these within its day-to-
day operations.
Reputation Negative reaction to one or more of our
ministries (including ministries that interact
with children), publications or fundraising
campaigns.		 Implementation and regular review of
policies and procedures, including
safeguarding and volunteer agreements;
CPD programme for freelancers working
with churches; complaints procedure;
ability to respond swiftly in the event of a
problem arising. Membership of the
Chartered Institute of Fundraising.
Data Loss of personal data, including sensitive
data and data processed through fundraising
activities; risk of cyberattack.		 Continual improvement program on the
handling of personal data; registration
with appropriate regulators such as cyber
essentials and CPD by staff members; IT
controls in place and cyber insurance.

Public benefit statement

In shaping our objectives and planning our activities, the Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Companies Act 2006 to have due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission, including the guidance on public benefit and fee charging, and the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion and for the advancement of education. BRF relies on income from grants and donations, along with the sales of publications and fees for some training and events, to cover its operating costs. In setting the prices for publications and the level of fees, the Trustees are concerned to make what we have to offer as accessible and as affordable as possible throughout the United Kingdom.

All that we do is accessible to all of the wider public, and many benefit from BRF’s charitable activities. BRF’s charitable activities resource individual adults, children and families, parents, ordained and lay leaders in churches, Messy Church leaders and Anna Chaplains and others in equivalent roles. We do so through producing Bible reading notes, books and other resources, offering conferences, providing training and consultancy and through our specific ministries and websites.

Councillors’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The Council members (who are also the charity Trustees and the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of Council and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Council members to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources,

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL

14

including the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the Council members are required to:

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

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

Statement as to disclosure to our auditors

In so far as the Council members are aware, at the time of approving our Councils’ annual report:

This report was approved by the Council on Thursday 23 September 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

The Rt Revd Colin Fletcher – Council member

Mr Julian Hills – Council member

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

15

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF Bible Reading Fellowship

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Bible Reading Fellowship (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise; The Statement of Financial Activities Incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account, the Balance Sheet, the 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 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:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on 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 Council members are responsible for the 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.

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.

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

16

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Council.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of the Council

As explained more fully in the Council responsibilities statement, the Council members (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 Council 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 Council members 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 Council either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

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

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above and on the Financial Reporting Council’s website, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.

We obtain and update our understanding of the entity, its activities, its control environment, and likely future developments, including in relation to the legal and regulatory framework applicable and how the entity is complying with that framework. Based on this understanding, we identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. This includes consideration of the risk of acts by the entity that were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud.

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

17

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, we designed procedures which included:

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 of not detecting a material misstatement arising from fraud is also higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.

Use of our report

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

Paul Creasey (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Azets Audit Services Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants Gladstone House, 77–79 High Street, Egham, Surrey TW20 9HY

23 September 2021

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

18

Bible Reading Fellowship

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Notes
Income from:
Donations and legacies
Donations
Grants
Legacies
Charitable activities
Working with individuals
and churches
Working with primary
schools
Investments
Interest received
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
5
Charitable activities
4
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure)
before investment gains
Gain/(loss) on investment
12
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
18
Net movement in funds
8
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought
forward
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
funds
£
372,700
191,425
4,207
745,641
-
14,151
1,328,124
112,362
977,640
1,090,002
238,122
156,847
394,969
(92,572)
302,397
1,755,409
2,057,806		 Restricted
funds
£
198,190
556,194
-
35,955
105
-
790,444
119,647
734,635
854,282
(63,838)
-
(63,838)
92,572
28,734
58,278
87,012		 2021
total
£
570,890
747,619
4,207
781,596
105
14,151
2,118,568
232,009
1,712,275
1,944,284
174,284
156,847
331,131
-
331,131
1,813,687
2,144,818		 2020
total
£
491,722
407,963
10,679
919,360
25,401
18,799
1,873,924
193,240
1,889,496
2,082,736
(208,812)
(33,068)
(241,880)
-
_
(241,880)
2,055,567
1,813,687

None of the charity’s major activities were acquired or discontinued during the above two financial periods. The charity has no recognised gains or losses other than the deficit for the above two financial periods.

The notes on pages 22 to 34 form part of these financial statements.

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

19

Bible Reading Fellowship

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020

Notes
Income from:
Donations and legacies
Donations
Grants
Legacies
Charitable activities
Working with individuals
and churches
Working with primary
schools
Investments
Interest received
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
5
Charitable activities
4
Total expenditure
Net (expenditure)
before investment gains
(Loss) on investment
12
Net (expenditure)
Transfers between funds
18
Net movement in funds
8
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought
forward
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
funds
£
254,961
70,310
10,679
794,900
-
18,799
1,149,649
90,823
1,077,588
1,168,411
(18,762)
(33,068)
(51,830)
(117,629)
___
(169,459)
1,924,868
1,755,409		 Restricted
funds
£
236,761
337,653
-
124,460
25,401
-
724,275
102,417
811,908
914,325
(190,050)
-
(190,050)
117,629
_ __
(72,421)
130,699
58,278		 2020
Total
£
491,722
407,963
10,679
919,360
25,401
18,799
1,873,924
193,240
1,889,496
2,082,736
(208,812)
(33,068)
(241,880)
-
__
(241,880)
2,055,567
1,813,687

None of the charity’s major activities were acquired or discontinued during the above two financial periods. The charity has no recognised gains or losses other than the deficit for the above two financial periods.

The notes on pages 22 to 34 form part of these financial statements.

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2021

20

Bible Reading Fellowship

(Company registration number 00301324) (Charity registration number 233280)

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2021

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
11
Investments
12
Current assets
Stocks
13
Debtors
14
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
15
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
16
Net assets
Charity funds
Restricted funds
17
Unrestricted funds
18
Designated funds
Total charity funds		 2021
£
410,239
921,551
1,331,790
115,707
163,486
808,150
1,087,343
261,596
825,747
2,157,537
12,719
2,144,818
87,012
1,447,364
610,442
2,144,818		 2020
£
380,240
872,545
1,252,785
152,795
182,758
505,459
841,012
270,300
570,712
1,823,497
9,810
1,813,687
58,278
1,072,965
682,444
1,813,687

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Council on 23 September 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

The Rt Revd C Fletcher

Mr J Hills Council members

The notes on pages 22 to 34 form part of these financial statements.

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

21

Bible Reading Fellowship

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period
Adjustments to cash flows from non-cash items
Depreciation
11
Realised (gain) on disposal of investments
12
Unrealised (gain)/loss on revaluation of investments
12
Working capital adjustments
Decrease/(increase) in stock and work in progress
13
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
14
(Decrease)/increase in creditors
15
Net cash flow from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Payments for tangible assets
11
Sale proceeds of investments
12
Net cash flow used in investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Repayment of loans
Net cash flows from financing activities
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 2020
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2021
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Current accounts
Deposit accounts		 2021
£
331,131
34,286
(11,357)
(145,490)
208,570
37,088
19,272
(5,795)		 2020
£
(241,880)
34,017
(1,234)
34,302
(174,795)
19,089
93,878
(128,366)
259,135
(64,285)
107,841
43,556
-
-
302,691
505,459
808,150
808,150
808,150		 (190,194)
(17,874)
92,924
77,050
-
-
(113,144)
618,603
505,459
505,459
-
505,459

The notes on pages 22 to 34 form part of these financial statements.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

22

Bible Reading Fellowship

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

1 CHARITY DETAILS

BRF (Bible Reading Fellowship) is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales, company registration number 00301324, charity registration number 233280. The company is a public benefit entity.

Its registered office is: 15 The Chambers Vineyard Abingdon Oxfordshire OX14 3FE

2 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared using the historical cost convention and in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

Investment income is included when receivable.

Resources expended

Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accrual basis inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered.

Certain expenditure is directly attributable to specific activities and has been included in those cost categories. Certain other costs, which are attributable to more than one activity, are apportioned across cost categories on the basis of the number of staff engaged in that activity.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

23

Depreciation of tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided in equal annual instalments over the estimated lives of the assets. The rates of depreciation are as follows:

n are as follows:
Long leasehold property 50 years
Office equipment and furniture 5 years
Computer software and hardware 3 years
Computer server 6 years

Each class of asset is included at cost. Equipment costing less than £500 is taken to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year of purchase.

Foreign currencies and presentational currency

Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are converted at the year-end exchange rate. All exchange differences are reflected in the income and expenditure account. The presentation currency used is Sterling.

Stock and work in progress

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Provision is made for slow-moving and obsolete stocks.

Pension scheme

Contributions to defined contribution pension schemes are charged to the income and expenditure account for the year in which they are payable to the schemes.

Fund accounting

Funds held by the charity are either:

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Operating leases

Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged to the revenue account on a straight-line basis.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.

Fixed asset investments

Investments held with Cofunds (Aegon UK) are included in the accounts at market value at 31 March 2021.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

24

Trade creditors

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if the charitable company does not have an unconditional right, at the end of the reporting period, to defer settlement of the creditor for at least twelve months after the reporting date. If there is an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least twelve months after the reporting date, they are presented as non-current liabilities.

Trade creditors are recognised at the transaction price.

Provisions

Provisions are recognised when the company has an obligation at the reporting date as a result of a past event. It is probable that the company will be required to settle that obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.

Going concern

There are no material uncertainties that cast significant doubt upon the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. Forecasts have been prepared and reviewed for future periods. A key judgement in making the assessment is the ability to continue to fundraise income. In making these forecasts, the trustees have considered the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on the charity and its donors, income streams and trading partners. Accordingly, it is appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these financial statements.

Financial instruments

(i) Financial assets

commercial paper, are initially recognised at transaction price, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Such assets are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

evidence of impairment. If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss.

If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in profit or loss.

joint ventures, are initially measured at fair value, which is normally the transaction price. Such assets are subsequently carried at fair value and the changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss, except that investments in equity instruments that are not publicly traded and whose fair values cannot be measured reliably are measured at cost less impairment.

settled, or (b) substantially all the risks and rewards of the ownership of the asset are transferred to another party, or (c) despite having retained some significant risks and rewards of ownership, control of the asset has been transferred to another party who has the practical ability to unilaterally sell the asset to an unrelated third party without imposing additional restrictions.

(ii) Financial liabilities

unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

25

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the liability is extinguished, that is, when the contractual obligation is discharged, cancelled or expires.

(iii) Offsetting

is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

3

TURNOVER

Turnover is the total amount receivable by the charity in the ordinary course of business with outside customers for goods supplied and services provided, excluding VAT.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

26

4 CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

4
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Working with individuals and churches
General charity activities
Living Faith - Resources and publications
Living Faith - Conferences
Developing countries
Messy Church
Anna Chaplaincy
Parenting for Faith
Centenary
Working with primary schools
Barnabas in Schools
Governance costs (note 7)
Total expenditure on charitable activities		 Total
2021
2020
£
£
244,807
160,439
715,155
888,494
2,475
14,814
-
1,000
197,180
262,492
150,221
143,628
302,856
212,098
1,100
-
1,613,795
1,682,965
66,793
165,818
31,687
40,713
1,712,275
1,889,496
Total
2021
2020
£
£		 Direct costs
2021
2020
£
£
55,732
29,909
357,333
407,445
2,475
14,814
-
1,000
9,586
72,700
12,430
20,256
96,538
29,677
1,100
-
535,196
575,801
9,547
31,464
9,546
13,186
554,289
620,451
Direct costs
2021
2020
£
£
-
-
13,842
27,258
13,842
27,258		 Salaries and staff costs
2021
2020
£
£
164,259
95,076
297,971
370,064
-
-
-
-
168,193
176,042
122,609
109,622
185,229
168,671
-
-
938,261
919,475
53,035
120,604
22,141
27,527
1,013,437
1,067,606
Salaries and staff costs
2021
2020
£
£
218,167
165,982
-
-
218,167
165,982		 Support costs
2021
2020
£
£
24,816
35,454
59,851
110,985
-
-
-
-
19,401
13,750
15,182
13,750
21,089
13,750
-
-
140,338
187,689
4,211
13,750
-
-
144,549
201,439
535,196
9,547
9,546		 187,689
13,750
-
554,289 201,439
5
RAISING FUNDS
Staff
Fundraising costs		 Direct Salaries and Support costs
2021
£		 2021
£		 2021
£
218,167
-
218,167		 2021
£
-
-
-		 2020
£
218,167
13,842
232,009		 165,982
27,258
193,240		 -
13,842
13,842		 -
-
-

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

27

6 ANALYSIS OF SUPPORT COSTS

IT
Accommodation
Legal and professional
Telephone
Depreciation
Bank charges
Printing, postage and stationery
Sundry administration		 2021
£
39,127
28,159
1,777
11,665
34,286
12,588
6,207		 2020
£
41,723
71,692
1,779
9,269
34,017
10,816
12,143
20,477
201,916
10,740
144,549
7
GOVERNANCE COSTS
Audit and accountancy
Staff costs
Trustee meetings and other		 2021
£
9,500
22,141
46
31,687		 2020
£
9,000
27,527
4,186
40,713
8
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
The movement for the year is stated after charging:
Depreciation
Payments under operating leases
Auditors’ remuneration		 2021
£
34,286
3,951
8,000		 2020
£
34,017
17,826
8,000

9

COUNCIL MEMBERS REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES

No fees or emoluments were paid to any member of the Council during the year (2020: £nil) in their role as a member of the Council. A total of £nil (2020: £1,859) was reimbursed to nil (2020: six) members of the Council in respect of travel costs incurred while engaged on the charity’s business.

A Council member also received £nil (2020: £990) in respect of services provided in the delivery of Barnabas RE Days.

Donations of £10,905 were received from Council members during the year (2020: £13,850).

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

28

10 EMPLOYEE REMUNERATION

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2021
£
1,011,002
84,747
80,730
1,176,479		 2020
£
1,027,519
92,324
77,045
1,196,888

The average number of persons employed was 42 (2020: 41).

No employee received remuneration of more than £60,000 per annum (2020: one).

The number of staff to whom retirement benefits are accruing under deferred annuity schemes is 39 (2020: 41).

The employee benefits of key management personnel was £307,165 (2020: £286,838). Key management personnel are staff members who served on the senior management team during the year.

11 TANGIBLE ASSETS

Cost
At 1 April 2020
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2021
Depreciation
At 1 April 2020
Charge for the year
Released on disposals
At 31 March 2021
Net book value
At 31 March 2021
At 31 March 2020		 Long
leasehold
land and
buildings
£
460,000
-
-
460,000
116,200
9,204
-
125,404
334,596
343,800		 Computer
equipment
£
163,141
64,285
(95,045)
132,381
144,928
18,076
(95,045)
67,959
64,422
18,213		 Furniture
and office
equipment
£
92,776
-
(4,199)
88,577
74,549
7,006
(4,199)
77,356
11,221
18,227		 Total
£
715,917
64,285
(99,244)
680,958
335,677
34,286
(99,244)
270,719
410,239
380,240

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

29

12
FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS (Listed investments)
Valuation 1 April 2020
Additions
Disposals (sale proceeds)
Realised gain on disposal
Unrealised gain/(loss)on revaluation
Valuation 31 March 2021
13
STOCKS AND WORK IN PROGRESS
Publications for sale
Work in progress
14
DEBTORS
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
Amounts owed by book distributors
15
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Taxation and social security
Accruals
Deferred income – publications invoiced in advance		 2021
£
872,545
-
(107,841)
11,357
145,490
921,551
2021
£
79,857
35,850
115,707
2021
£
92,834
6,560
16,436
47,656
163,486
2021
£
38,606
22,630
54,020
146,340		 2020
£
1,000,537
-
(92,924)
1,234
(34,302)
872,545
2020
£
109,120
43,675
152,795
2020
£
93,421
10,281
24,132
54,924
182,758
2020
£
54,964
23,774
42,721
148,841
261,596 270,300

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

30

An analysis of the movement on the deferred income account is
as follows:
Deferred income brought forward
Released to income during the year
Deferred in the year
Deferred income carried forward
Deferred income due within one year
Deferred income due after one year
16
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR
Deferred income		 2021
£
158,651
(148,841)
149,249
159,059
146,340
12,719
159,059
2021
£
12,719
12,719		 2020
£
169,575
(156,699)
145,775
158,651
148,841
9,810
158,651
2020
£
9,810
9,810

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

31

17 RESTRICTED INCOME FUNDS

Barnabas
in Schools
Parenting
for Faith
Messy
Church
Anna
Chaplaincy
Developing
countries
Total
2021
Total
2020
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
-
46,968
-
-
11,310
58,278
130,699
Balance at 1 April 2020
Donations 27,640
3,990
91,545
74,571
444
198,190
236,761
20,097
340,734
103,323
92,040
-
556,194
337,653
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
105
18,489
12,321
5,145
-
36,060
149,861
(16,703)
(27,077)
(39,604)
(36,263)
-
119,647
(102,417)
(66,793)
(302,856)
(197,180)
(150,221)
-
(717,050)
(785,036)
(2,614)
(4,990)
(4,990)
(4,990)
-
(17,585)
(26,872)
Grants
Legacies
Training, events, interest and other income
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Governance costs
Movement in funds for year (38,268)
28,290
(34,585)
(19,719)
444
(63,838)
(190,050)
Transfer from unrestricted 38,268
34,585
19,719
-
92,572
117,629
Balance at 31 March 2021 -
75,258
-
-
11,754
87,012
58,278

– f) Developing countries The fund enables BRF to provide resources to help clergy, church groups and organisations involved in training Christian publishers in developing countries.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

32

18 UNRESTRICTED FUNDS

Unrestricted funds at 1 April
2020
Surplus/(Deficit) for the year
(Losses)/gains on investments
Transfer from development fund
Transfer to restricted funds
Transfer from property fund
Unrestricted funds carried
forward at 31 March 2021		 General
funds
£
1,072,965
239,222
110,704
107,841
(92,572)
9,204
1,447,364		 Develop-
ment fund
£
313,644
-
46,143
(107,841)
-
-
251,946		 Centenary
fund
£
25,000
(1,100)
-
-
-
-
23,900		 Property
fund
£
343,800
-
-
-
-
(9,204)
334,596
Total
£
1,755,409
238,122
156,847
(92,572)
-
2,057,806

The property fund is a designated fund representing the net book value of the charity’s leasehold property. The purpose of the development fund, which has been invested, is to provide designated funding for two senior management posts over five years. There are two to three years remaining. The centenary fund has been created to fund events to mark the charity’s centenary in 2022 and to fund new initiatives.

Transfers to restricted funds took place to eliminate deficits on some restricted funds (see note 17).

19 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Net assets at 31 March 2021
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Cash at bank and in hand
Stocks, work in progress and
debtors
Creditors falling due within
one year
Creditors falling due after one
year		 Restricted
funds
£
-
-
83,368
4,634
(990)
-
87,012		 General
funds
£
75,643
669,605
700,882
274,559
(260,606)
(12,719)
1,447,364		 Property
fund
£
334,596
-
-
-
-
-
334,596		 Centenary &
development
funds
£
-
251,946
23,900
-
-
-
275,846		 Total
£
410,239
921,551
808,150
279,193
(261,596)
(12,719)
2,144,818

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

33

Net assets at 31 March 2020
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Cash at bank and in hand
Stocks, work in progress and
debtors
Creditors falling due within
one year
Creditors falling due after one
year		 Restricted
funds
£
-
-
50,643
9,944
(2,309)
-
58,278		 General
funds
£
36,440
558,901
429,816
325,609
(267,991)
(9,810)
1,072,965		 Property
fund
£
343,800
-
-
-
-
-
343,800		 Centenary &
development
funds
£
-
313,644
25,000
-
-
-
338,644		 Total
£
380,240
872,545
505,459
335,553
(270,300)
(9,810)
1,813,687

20 COMMITMENTS UNDER OPERATING LEASES

At 31 March 2021, BRF had commitments under operating leases of £2,305 (2020: £3,952) payable within one year, and £nil (2020: £2,305) in respect of operating leases expiring in two to five years.

21 PENSION SCHEME

For eligible salaried employees, BRF participates in the Pension Builder Scheme section of CWPF for lay staff. The Scheme is administered by the Church of England Pensions Board, which holds the assets of the schemes separately from those of the employer and the other participating employers.

Pension Builder Classic

The Pension Builder Scheme of the Church Workers Pension Fund is made up of two sections, Pension Builder Classic and Pension Builder 2014, both of which are classed as defined benefit schemes. BRF is part of the Pension Builder Classic part of the Pension Fund.

Pension Builder Classic provides a pension for members for payment from retirement, accumulated from contributions paid and converted into a deferred annuity during employment based on terms set and reviewed by the Church of England Pensions Board from time to time. Bonuses may also be declared, depending upon the investment returns and other factors.

There is no subdivision of assets between employers in each section of the Pension Builder Scheme.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

34

The scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. This is because it is not possible to attribute the Pension Builder Scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers and that contributions are accounted for as if the scheme were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged to the SoFA in the year are contributions payable (2021: £80,730; 2020: £77,045).

A valuation of the Pension Builder Classic scheme is carried out once every three years. The most recent scheme valuation completed was carried out as of 31 December 2019. This revealed, on the ongoing assumptions used, a deficit of £9.3m. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time as the scheme intends to recover through holding back discretionary bonuses.

There were contributions of £6,711 outstanding at the year end (2020: £7,162).

BRF had 37 active members and 22 deferred members and 7 pensioners at 31 March 2021 (2020: 37 active members and four deferred members).

22 Financial instruments

Categorisation of financial instruments

Financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss
(investment)
Financial assets that are debt instruments measured at amortised cost
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost		 2021
£
921,551
954,725
38,606
1,914,882		 2020
£
872,545
663,213
54,964
1,590,722

For a breakdown of the fair value of the investments as well as the element charged to the statement of financial activity, see note 12.

23 Analysis of changes in net funds

Net funds at 31 March 2021
Cash		 At start of year
£
505,459		 Cashflows
£
302,691		 At end of year
£
808,150

24 Post-balance sheet events

There have been no events since the balance sheet date that need to be disclosed in the accounts.