COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION
REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
INDEX
| Page | |
|---|---|
| 3 | President’s Statement |
| 4 | Financial Report |
| 5 | Bar charts of income and expenditure |
| 6 | Activity and Membership Report |
| 8 | Independent Examiner’s Report |
| 9 | Table 1: Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) |
| 9 | Table 2: Fund Movement Summary |
| 10 | Table 3: Balance Sheet |
| 11 | Notes to the Accounts and allocation of assets and liabilities to funds |
| 14 | Table 4: Analysis of receipts and payments |
| 16 | Table 5a: Monthly income and expenditure totals |
| 17 | Table 5b: Comparison of previous year totals |
CHARITY REGISTRATION No. 250739
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
REPORT OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL
The Commonwealth Forestry Association presents its report and accounts for the year ended 31st December 2021.
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
The name of the charity is the Commonwealth Forestry Association, Charities Registration Number 250739. The governing document is the Royal Charter of 1st November 1921, as amended by Supplemental Charters of 28th November 1962 and 2019. The Association has no share capital.
Objects
The objective of the Commonwealth Forestry Association is to promote the conservation and sustainable management of the world's forests and the contributions they make to peoples’ livelihoods through improved communication amongst forestry professionals and all those with an interest in the world’s forests.
Management structure
| Patron | HRH Prince Charles The Prince ofWales |
|
|---|---|---|
| Executive | President : Executive Director : Finance Manager : |
John Innes Alan Pottinger Marcus Robbins |
| Advisory group | Graduate Student, UBC, Canada | Samuel Adeyanju |
| Director, Margules Groome Consulting Pty Ltd | Rob de Fegley | |
| CEO and Conservator of Forests at the Forestry Department, Jamaica |
Marylin Headley | |
| International Forestry Students Association, CFA rep. | Catherine Pearson | |
| Oxford Long-term Ecology lab, University of Oxford | Gill Petrokofsky | |
| Head Forester, Duchy of Cornwall, UK | Geraint Richards | |
| Professor of Tropical Forest Conservation, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia |
Jeff Sayer | |
| Regional coordinators | Europe : Africa : South Asia : South East Asia and Pacific : Americas and Caribbean: |
Adrian Whiteman Ben Chikamai R.V. Singh Michael Bleby Shashi Kant |
| Trustees | Mary Hobley John Hudson Peter Latham |
|
Correspondence address
The Crib, Dinchope, Craven Arms, Shropshire, SY7 9JJ
Independent examiner
Chapman, Robinson & Moore were re-appointed at the Annual General Meeting.
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
NARRATIVE REVIEW OF THE YEAR
PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT
Like 2020, 2021 was a very unusual year for everyone. The Covid pandemic continued, severely limiting international travel. However, more and more people became familiar with and in some cases even comfortable with remote connections through tools such as Zoom. The biggest difficulty with such meetings continued to be the range of time zones that Commonwealth countries are located in: someone inevitably has to join meetings in the early hours of the morning.
The familiarity with remote connections enabled the Commonwealth Forestry Conference to be held online for the first time. Reactions to this were mixed, and many people missed the opportunity to meet informally with other delegates. However, participants were drawn from a record number of countries, reflecting the much greater accessibility that an online conference provides. Registration costs were also held to a minimum, and many younger delegates were given free registration. This resulted in a significant number of students attending the conference, an outcome that is entirely consistent with the aims of the Commonwealth Forestry Association. The large numbers of younger delegates is also a sign of a healthy interest in forestry within the Commonwealth and internationally more generally.
As reported below, the other activities of the Association continued. Alan Pottinger ensured that both the journal and the newsletter continued to inform members of the Association, and many others. The newsletter is now reaching larger numbers of people due to the partnership between the Association and the International Society of Tropical Foresters. The journal continues to be well-read, as demonstrated by the payments received from the journal aggregators.
The Young Forester Award winners continued to adapt to the dual problem of refused work visas by the Canadian government and travel restrictions imposed by Covid. As explained below, one winner has been trying to complete fieldwork in Kenya. Unfortunately, contact has been lost with the other winner.
The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy project continues to attract nominations and almost all Commonwealth countries had committed to the project by the end of the year.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alan Pottinger and Marcus Robbins for the excellent work that they have done over the past year, and their continued dedication to the Association.
Signed on behalf of the Commonwealth Forestry Association
Date: 29 April, 2022
John Innes, President
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
NARRATIVE REVIEW OF THE YEAR, continued.
FINANCIAL REPORT
The financial situation of the CFA is summarised in the following three tables:
1. Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) (page 9)
2. Fund movement (page 9)
3. Balance Sheet (page 10)
There was a surplus at the end of 2021 of £91,753 (2020 surplus £1824). Our net assets have increased to £246,140 (2019 £141,989). This sudden increase is due to a bequest of £100,000 (see below under investment). See overall trend in capital account since 1997 on page 5.
Bank accounts: Our account continues to be with the Co-operative Bank.
Investment: The investment account, managed by Rathbones, continues to provide a balance of income and capital growth with a low/medium degree of risk. The interest paid this year was £1316. The current value on holdings in our portfolio increased over the year by £12,398 to £218,303 (initial deposits £180,000). The additional deposit of £100,000 came from the very generous bequest from our past President, Jim Ball.
Payment methods : Income deposits continue mainly with Charity Checkout (Enthuse). All general payments are done by online banking.
Income sources: Our income £172,242 (2020 £76,940) was mainly dependent on the International Forestry Review organisational subscriptions, membership dues, donations, and online fees (BioOne aggregator, JSTOR digital library, and Open Access). This year it has significantly increased because of the bequest noted above. However, if this is deducted, total income from other sources continues to decrease, and so we need to keep on exploring new sources.
Expenditure: The total was £80,489 (2020 £75,115). As before, staff payments and review production make up the bulk of expenditure. Recurrent costs have continued to increase in line with cost of living.
A table comparing income and expenditure totals between 2020 and 2021 is given on page 17. Note that there are new nominal accounts for online journal income.
The year-end financial position was considered satisfactory to meet current commitments and objectives, and accordingly the accounts were prepared on a going-concern basis.
Marcus Robbins Treasurer
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
NARRATIVE REVIEW OF THE YEAR, continued.
Bar charts of income and expenditure
Trend in Capital Account
| TREND in CFA | TREND in CFA | CAPIT | AL ACCOUNT 1997- 2020 | AL ACCOUNT 1997- 2020 | AL ACCOUNT 1997- 2020 | AL ACCOUNT 1997- 2020 | AL ACCOUNT 1997- 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEAR | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 201 | 0 2011 |
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||
| General Fund | 1,843 | 6,837 | 7,877 | -1,371 | -10,132 | -27,905 | -34,236 | -27,122 | **-20,050 ** | -11,062 | -9,178 | 7,160 | 8,462 | 30,27 | 1 32,728 |
37,835 | 47,64 | 5 59,639 |
54,470 | 62,075 | 83,657 | 79,493 | 78,692 | 81,594 | 171,361 | |||
| Other Funds | 47,098 | 49,140 | 50,056 | 47,967 | 36,927 | 38,226 | 38,163 | 41,872 | 41,011 | 41,010 | 46,559 | 48,215 | 48,319 | 42,01 | 8 40,321 |
39,920 | 41,68 | 1 44,392 |
51,666 | 51,432 | 55,292 | 51,112 | 49,903 | 60,395 | 70,740 | |||
| CAPITAL ACCOUNT | 48,941 | 55,977 | 58,380 | 46,597 | 26,894 | 10,324 | 3,927 | 14,750 | 20,961 | 29,948 | 37,381 | 55,375 | 56,781 | 72,28 | 9 73,049 |
77,757 | 89,32 | 6 **104,031 ** |
**106,136 ** | 113,507 | 138,950 | **130,606 ** | **128,595 ** | 141,989 | 242,101 | |||
| (= Assets less liabilities) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 300000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 250000 , |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| , | ~~CAPITAL~~ ~~ACCOU~~ |
~~T~~ |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 200,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ~~150,000~~ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GENERAL FUND |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ~~50,000~~ ~~100,000~~ |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ~~0~~ |
1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 20 | 10 2011 |
2012 | 201 | 3 2014 |
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 ~~OTHER~~ |
2020 ~~FUNDS~~ |
2021 | |||
| -50000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| , | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
NARRATIVE REVIEW OF THE YEAR, continued.
ACTIVITY and MEMBERSHIP REPORT
The following have been the main activities:
Commonwealth Forestry Conference
The 20th Commonwealth Forestry Conference was held online in August by the hosts, the University of British Columbia (UBC), and organised by the CFA President and Dean of Forestry at UBC, John Innes. With the innovative online format hailed by many participants as the way for the meeting to be held in the future, the CFC brought together more than 420 delegates (34 % of them students) from 50 countries covering 17 time zones. All of the sessions were recorded (another CFC first) and were available on the CFC website for six months.
Highlights of the CFC included:
-
10 Keynote Speakers, 5 distinguished speakers for opening and closing ceremonies
-
2 Special Sessions with 11 invited speakers
-
180 Presenters (oral and poster presentations)
-
3 Minute Talk Challenge for students: 1 slide, 3 minutes each, 13 contestants from around the world
Conference topics included: Bioeconomy and Ecosystem services, Education and Careers, Communicating forestry to outside audiences, Climate change, Technology and Innovation, Indigenous and Community forestry, Conservation valuation, Old-growth management, and Urban Forestry, plus meetings of IUFRO Divisions 6 and 9: Social aspects, forest policy and economics.
Holding the meeting online meant that the CFC’s carbon emission savings amounted to more than 200 passenger vehicles driving for one year, or one passenger vehicle driving for 3.5 Million kilometers! A range of outputs from the meeting is available at the CFC website at cfc2021.ubc.ca .
Publications
-
Publication of four regular issues of the International Forestry Review plus two Special Issues: Commonwealth Forestry Conference 2021 – Abstracts and Multi-stakeholder forums in forestry
-
and the development of Special Issues: Social impacts of logging and Indigenous People and Forests .
-
Publication of four issues of the CFA Newsletter .
Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy
- After another successful year of working with national governments, 52 Commonwealth countries had committed to involvement in the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy (QCC) by the end of the 2021. The QCC website at queenscommonwealthcanopy.org was updated to include all new dedications as well as highlighting a range of case studies.
Young Forester Award
- Unfortunately, it has not been possible to continue the working relationship with our Young Forester Award winner from Zambia, Thawanda Masiye, due to lack of communication on her part. However, in spite of the restrictions placed on his fieldwork, our second Young Forester Award winner, Gerald Osuka from Kenya, has been able to continue his research, and report to us on his work examining the relationship between forest management and the conservation of vultures in Kenya.
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
Membership report 2021
| Category | Year | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Individual – developed country | 110 | 93 | 64 | 65 | 63 | 41 | 42 |
| Individual - developingCountry | 39 | 80 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 18 | 17 |
| Life | 74 | 69 | 51 | 45 | 44 | 40 | 38 |
| Student | 24 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Subscriber | 89 | 61 | 45 | 49 | 52 | 44 | 40 |
| National forestryassociation | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| PERI subscriber* | 102 | 99 | 99 | 99 | n/a | n/a | |
| Complimentary | 62 | 53 | 54 | 53 | 55 | 55 | 54 |
| Basic** | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 140 | 160 |
| TOTAL | 505 | 467 | 335 | 340 | 247 | 341 | 355 |
* PERI scheme concluded in 2019
** Basic membership started in 2020
As in previous years, it is important to mention two points: that many people access our publications via their institutions but are not recorded as members, and that an increasing number of subscribing agencies are paying to access the International Forestry Review and the CFA Newsletter through ‘aggregators’ rather than via the CFA directly thereby not appearing in our membership report. This means that our recorded membership numbers are not an effective means of assessing our reach.
Alan Pottinger, Executive Director Jenny Steel, Membership Manager
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE GOVERNING COUNCIL
I report on the accounts of The Commonwealth Forestry Association for the year ended 31st December 2020 which are set out on pages 8 to 16.
Respective responsibilities of the Trustees, Financial Manager and Examiner
The Charity’s Trustees and Financial Manager are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
-
examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
-
follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act); and
-
state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of Independent examiner’s report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the association and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair view” and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
-
Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
-
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
-
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met; or:
-
To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
…………………………………………………… Date…..………….. 2021
J.R.Moore FCA Chapman Robinson & Moore Ltd Registered Accountants and Auditors
30 Bankside Court
Stationfields, Kidlington, Oxford, Oxon OX5 1JE
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
TABLE 1: STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (SOFA) Period: 01 January 2021 to 31 December 2021
TABLE 2: FUND MOVEMENT SUMMARY Period: 01 January 2021 to 31 December 2021
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
TABLE 3: BALANCE SHEET
As of: 31 December 2021
Signed on behalf of the Commonwealth Forestry Association
Date 29[th] April 2022 John Innes, President
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR TO 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
1. Responsibilities
The Financial Manager, in consultation with the Trustees and Executive Director, is responsible for preparing the accounts for each financial year in a way in which they give a true and fair view of the incoming resources and application of the resources of the Association during the year and of its state affairs at the end of the year. In preparing accounts giving a true and fair view, the Financial Manager is required to select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Association will continue in business.
The Financial Manager is responsible for ensuring that proper accounting records are maintained, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Association and which comply with the Charities Act 1993, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 1995 and the Charter and Bye-laws of the Association. He is also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Association and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
2. Principal Accounting Policies
The accounts have been prepared under historical cost convention and in accordance with applicable Accounting Standards. The Association has adopted the SORP 'Accounting by Charities'.
(a) Membership dues and Review subscriptions
Fees are accounted for on a received basis adjusted for fees received in advance. In addition to the Life Members Appeal, fees received for life membership have been written back on an equal annual basis until the year ending 31 December 2008.
(b) Donations and grants receivable
Donations and grants towards specific items of expenditure are matched against that expenditure when incurred. Grants for specific periods are accounted for in the period when they are due.
(c) Fund accounting
Restricted funds represent grants and donations received where the donor has specified for what they may be used. Unrestricted funds represent income which is expendable in the furtherance of the objectives of the Association.
(d) Allocation of costs
All costs are allocated as direct charitable expenditure other than management and administration.
(e) Incoming resources are stated in the SOFA gross of expenditure.
- (f) Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value.
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR TO 31[st] DECEMBER 2021(cont.)
3. Staff costs and consultancy
| Gross salaries and wages Social security costs Less: allocated to Review and other costs Consultancy – personnel (accountancy, database) The average number of employees during the year was: Office and management Governance costs: Independent examiner's fee Other examiner's fees included above: Accountancy |
2021 2020 26,765 26,265 16,288 15,224 |
|---|---|
| 43,053 41,489 28,699 27,659 |
|
| 14,354 £13,830 6,024 4,988 |
|
| £20,378 £18,818 |
|
| 2 2 480 480 480 480 |
|
| £960 £960 |
4. Taxation
There is no provision for taxation as the Association's charitable status exempts it from liability.
5. Debtors
| Prepayments and other debtors . Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Deferred income Accruals |
2021 2020 |
|---|---|
| - - |
|
| 2021 2020 8,438 5,250 0 0 |
|
| 8,438 5,250 |
6. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
7. Association status
Liability of members of the Association is limited to their annual subscription, as determined by the Governing Council.
7b. BioOne income.
Note that BioOne income (FBION) is represented by previous year’s income and is unadjusted. This is because all fees come in after accounts have been prepared and submitted to the examiner.
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR TO 31[st] DECEMBER 2021 (cont.)
8. Allocation of balance sheet assets and liabilities to funds
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
TABLE 4: ANALYSIS OF RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS (2021) Period 01 January 2021 to December 2021
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
TABLE 4: ANALYSIS OF RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS (2021) continued
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
TABLE 5: Monthly Income and Expenditure totals
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COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
TABLE 5b: Comparison previous year’s totals Income and Expenditure
17