Treasurer’s Report to Trustees at the MOC AGM – 15 March 2023 

Here is my report on the Morriston Orpheus Choir 2022 Accounts. The documents I’ll be covering have already been circulated by the Gen Sec for you to follow. Some paper copies may also be available. 

I would normally at this stage of my report be thanking all those choristers and supporters who have assisted in ticket and CD sales, gathering cash so on, but those activities have been minimal this year.  I haven’t forgotten those contributions from previous years and ask that they don’t forget to come out of the woodwork again in the future particularly in connection with the Annual at the Brangwyn. 

It goes without saying that this year has been the start of a recovery period for the Choir, following nearly 3 years of uncertainty.  The positive that we have to take out of all the recent past is that we are still an operating Choir whilst others are not.  Other factors such as recruiting a new MD, and bringing remote recording technology to choristers who had no previous experience of it are also quite remarkable achievements given the circumstances. 

You will shortly see from the figures,- and I will shortly demonstrate to you, - that the impact of Covid has started to impact on our overall operating funds despite, to date not having dipped into our reserves.  Managing the Choir’s cashflow can be a constant challenge.  There are those who might say that might have been too conservative in that regard and when we consider all that’s happened recently it’s surprising that we haven’t had to do so before.  I expect to have to do that this year, due, amongst other things, to having to find up to £5000 in 2023 to fund the hiring of rehearsal rooms whether it’s the Calon Lan Centre or somewhere else.  I haven’t yet ruled out other ways of meeting these costs.  Our subs, even at the current rates are way below other choirs. 

It continues to be a concern to me that due inflation, our reserves, substantial as they are, will, year on year buy us less, - a problem many of us face in our personal lives. Fortunately interest rates for our NS&I investment have recovered substantially, growing throughout 2022 to close to where they were pre-Covid. 

These accounts are currently at ‘final draft’ status but have been explained to and been accepted by the Management Committee. There may be some minor changes or corrections as a result of this meeting and possibly further discussions our accountant.  Anything significant will be reported back.  We have again been fortunate to acquire retired chartered accountant David Jenkins’ services for formal compilation of this years’ accounts for a minimal charge. However, he is partial to a bottle or two of red wine and I have again made the appropriate arrangements in that department! 

The 3 main documents that I have received are the Income Sheet, the Expenditure Sheet and the Balance Sheet 

Let’s look at the Income Sheet first. 

I’ll address some of the major items. You will see that our income from engagements grew dramatically from £750 to over £21k. Personally I was surprised it was this good when I did the numbers.  If the DTRH Festival hadn’t defaulted on us to the tune of £3200 this would have 

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Treasurer’s Report to Trustees at the MOC AGM – 15 March 2023 

been an even better result.  CD sales are still low as it’s becoming an older technology. The value of our stock has been further written down to realistic values in this set of accounts. 

Tesco Gift Voucher sales have been suspended since mid-2020  as demand had fallen dramatically. As it’s unlikely to be resumed I would ask choristers who think they still have some commission accrued to contact me to have it paid out.  I have the relevant ledgers with me tonight. 

Other items are very similar to 2021, however we had a major item of £2,500 under Royalties due to one of our CD tracks being used in a film.  We did not have the continued benefit of the anonymous donation at the end of 2022, as we did in 2021, to assist with the Calon Lan Centre rental costs in 2023. 

Subs collected reduced slightly reflecting our overall reduction in numbers, and the annual Gift Aid Claim made in December, although lower than 2021,provided a valuable £2,190 boost to our income. 

## Questions? 

If there aren’t any more questions on Income, I’ll move on to Expenditure. 

## Expenditure Sheet 

I’ll address some of the major items. Firstly you will also see that music staff costs including honoraria, fees and expenses increased dramatically in 2022, as our music staff were back to hammering the M4 in their respective vehicles. 

The Choir supported the YWSotY Competition as usual by providing the Ivor E Sims Award to the winner, but this was reduced to £1,500, reflecting our reduced income.  Most other minor items were similar to 2021, but we are now seeing the realistic cost of hiring the CLC as a rehearsal venue, and these are on the rise with negotiations currently happening. 

We have negotiated a 50% reduction in the charges for the hire of our storage unit which now only costs £720 a year, having previously been £1,440 a year for some time.  We have our continued good relationship with Jeff Robbins to thank for that. 

On that point, several members have made a concerted effort to remove much of the archive material from the store to various museum locations where it’ll be more accessible, or dispose of it.  A large quantity is still available to choristers and another, final display will be arranged soon.  We still have a large stock of blazers and concert uniforms in the store that have to be kept somewhere. Anyone who can think of a cheaper option, please see Rob James in the first instance. 

## Questions? 

If there aren’t any more questions on Income, I’ll move on to the Balance Sheet. 

## Balance Sheet 

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Treasurer’s Report to Trustees at the MOC AGM – 15 March 2023 

The BS reflects the overall financial picture including investments, assets, stock and liabilities. 

The Choir’s NS&I investment still stands at £70,071, along with a MOCSA investment amount of £5,000. There’s been no change in the total amount invested from 2021 as all interest has been transferred to an operational funds account.  Interest rates started to recover in 2022, increasing from what was 0.01% where it was in 2021, to over 2.5% at the end of 2022.   As at January 2023, NS&I interest rates have increased to nearly 3% with monthly payments on the full investment now achieving £160. 

The overall picture as you can see is a deficit of £8,749 - that’s the number in brackets above the final total the bottom.  In view of this deficit, and bearing in mind we have an expensive Annual Concert on the horizon, the Man Comm decided when reviewing these figures at the start of March to put a hold on reviewing the following cost/income items until a post-Annual Concert financial review. That will take the form of and EGM at the end of June.  Those items are: 

- 1 – Paying or increasing officers honoraria 

- 2 – Increasing music staff fees and expenses, or the motor mileage expense rate. 

3. – Announcing an increase in subscriptions 

That’s all I have to say on finances for the moment.  Any questions at this time? 

## Officers’ Honoraria 

Some background on this item. The Man Comm had intended to implement a review of officers’ honoraria in 2018, but instead at the 2019 AGM made an arbitrary 10% increase, pending that review.  The increase was not applied in 2020, 2021 or 2022.   The review was intended to make honoraria more proportional to the effort and duties involved for each role. We still have this topic on the wider agenda and will pursue it when resources permit. 

## Music Staff Payments 

My report at last year’s AGM explained the change from the music staff honoraria method of payment to a “per session” basis that had been considered and costed by the Man Comm and subsequently agreed and implemented.  As I have just stated, any increases to these payments will be considered at the end of June. 

## Chorister Subscriptions 

Also for consideration at the EGM planned at the end of June.   I am certain that an increase will be proposed. The amount will depend on the Choir’s financial position at that time. 

## Choir Reserves / Budgets setting 

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Treasurer’s Report to Trustees at the MOC AGM – 15 March 2023 

In previous years, we have attempted to “ring-fence” portions of Choir reserves for specific expenditure. It hasn’t been easy to control these areas as, for example purchases of new uniforms has involved long lead times and payment straddled different financial years. 

For 2023 I have calculated that we need on average, an income of £2,500 per month, or £30,000 a year to run the Choir.  That figure excludes special items such as uniform purchases or tours.  Approximately £8,000 of income comes in from subs, which is fairly predictable, £1,000 from investment interest (variable but currently good) but you will see that the balance needs to come from engagement fees and other donations. 

For 2023 therefore, I am planning to support Choir operational funds from reserves, as needed, by the following amounts: 

1 –Operational funds – up to £10,000 

- 2 –Annual concert – up to £5,000. 

I will be discussing budget-setting for those officers apart from myself who actually spend the Choir’s funds separately, between now and the end of June. 

That concludes my summary of the Choir’s accounts for the calendar year 2022. 

Just a final reminder from me about easy ways to provide an income for the Choir that costs you nothing. 

The Easyfundraising.org.uk  website that’s been sent around by email. Should you purchase anything significant online from Argos, John Lewis, or other participating retailers, at the checkout stage you can select the MOC as your chosen charity and at least 0.5% of the purchase price will be donated to the Choir.  The website will also point you at how Amazon purchases can provide charitable donations. This all mounts up.  Alan Lewis is the expert on this! 

Are there any final questions please? 

I’d like to thank you all for your patience and questions. The next step will be, as I said earlier, for these accounts to go to our accountants for final audit and onward transmission to the Charity Commission. 

Colin Rees - MOC Treasurer 

15 March 2023 

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## **MORRISTON  ORPHEUS CHOIR** 

## **ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022** 

## **INCOME** 

|**Engagements**<br>Engagement Fees<br>Annual Concert Income<br>Concert Tickets (Other)<br>**CDs & Merchandise**<br>Sales<br>Less cost of sales<br>**Tesco Gif Cards**<br>Sales<br>Less Cost of Sales<br>**Other Income**<br>Donatons<br>Subscriptons<br>Royaltes<br>Interest on Investment Capital<br>Rafes & Fundraising<br>Income Tax Repayments-Gif Aid<br>**Total Income for the Year**<br>**Total Expenditure for the Year**<br>**Amount transferred to/from**<br>**Unrestricted Funds**<br>**Excess (Defcit) of Income**<br>**over Expenditure**|**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>21,128<br>0<br>0<br>21,128<br>710<br>(613)<br>97<br>0<br>0<br>0<br>2,301<br>8,360<br>2,592<br>555<br>1,448<br>2,190<br>17,446<br>38,671<br>(47,420)<br>(8,749)<br>**(8,749)**|**2021**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>750<br>0<br>0<br>750<br>430<br>(53)<br>377<br>0<br>0<br>0<br>2,240<br>8,547<br>115<br>13<br>150<br>2,738<br>13,803<br>14,930<br>(17,514)<br>(2,584)<br>**(2,584)**|**2020**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>2,507<br>0<br>0<br>2,507<br>433<br>(312)<br>121<br>16,980<br>(16,346)<br>634<br>1,152<br>7,813<br>289<br>815<br>147<br>2,344<br>12,560<br>15,822<br>(30,321)<br>(14,499)<br>**(14,499)**|**2020**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>2,507<br>0<br>0<br>2,507<br>433<br>(312)<br>121<br>16,980<br>(16,346)<br>634<br>1,152<br>7,813<br>289<br>815<br>147<br>2,344<br>12,560<br>15,822<br>(30,321)<br>(14,499)<br>**(14,499)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||
|||||15,822<br>(30,321)|
|||||(14,499)|
|||||**(14,499)**|
||||||





## **MORRISTON  ORPHEUS CHOIR** 

## **ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022** 

## **EXPENDITURE** 

|**Choir expenses**<br>Music staf Honoraria & Expenses<br>Artsts fees and Expenses<br>Ofcers Honoraria & Expenses<br>Choir Clothing<br>Remote Recordings<br>Transport & Gratuites<br>Ivor E Sims Memorial Prize<br>Gifs, Plaques & Salvers<br>Repairs & Renewals<br>Sheet Music<br>Hire of Halls<br>Tour Expenditure (Net) & Social Events<br>**Administratve Expenses**<br>Statonery & Printng<br>Marketng & Publicity<br>Registraton Fees & Subscriptons<br>Storage<br>Hire of Venues / Equipment<br>Insurance<br>Website Maintenance<br>Bank Charges TGV<br>Miscellaneous Expenses<br>**Other Expenses**<br>Legal and other Professional Expenses<br>**Depreciaton of Fixed Assets**|**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>19,383<br>250<br>2,201<br>3,223<br>0<br>7,185<br>0<br>1,604<br>296<br>58<br>3,630<br>6,733<br>44,563<br>84<br>184<br>86<br>1,380<br>0<br>137<br>864<br>0<br>90<br>2,825<br>32<br>0<br>47,420|**2021**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>7,268<br>423<br>1,757<br>164<br>1,011<br>0<br>2,000<br>426<br>224<br>190<br>440<br>0<br>13,903<br>111<br>131<br>46<br>1,440<br>0<br>723<br>864<br>0<br>270<br>3,585<br>26<br>0<br>17,514|**2020**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>8,418<br>0<br>2,852<br>13,994<br>0<br>1,110<br>0<br>274<br>236<br>220<br>0<br>0<br>27,104<br>75<br>236<br>46<br>1,440<br>0<br>522<br>898<br>0<br>0<br>3,217<br>0<br>0<br>30,321|**2020**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>8,418<br>0<br>2,852<br>13,994<br>0<br>1,110<br>0<br>274<br>236<br>220<br>0<br>0<br>27,104<br>75<br>236<br>46<br>1,440<br>0<br>522<br>898<br>0<br>0<br>3,217<br>0<br>0<br>30,321|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||
|||||30,321|





## **MORRISTON  ORPHEUS CHOIR** 

## **BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022** 

|**Fixed Assets**<br>Tangible Assets<br>Investments<br>**Current Assets**<br>Stock<br>Debtors and Prepayments<br>Tour Donatons at Bank<br>Cash at Bank and in Hand<br>**Current Liabilites**<br>Amounts falling due within 1 year<br>**Net Current Assets**<br>**Total Net Assets**<br>**Represented by:-**<br>Unrestricted Funds at 1 January 2022<br>Add Excess Income (Defcit) this year|**2022**<br>**£**<br>2<br>75,071<br>75,073<br>1,918<br>60<br>1,112<br>7,720<br>10,810<br>(6,955)<br>3,855<br>**78,928**<br>87,677<br>(8,749)<br>**78,928**|**2021**<br>**£**<br>2<br>75,071<br>75,073<br>2,194<br>0<br>2,318<br>16,325<br>20,837<br>(8,233)<br>12,604<br>**87,677**<br>90,261<br>(2,584)<br>**87,677**|**2020**<br>**£**<br>2<br>75,071<br>75,073<br>2,247<br>396<br>1,568<br>20,093<br>24,304<br>(9,116)<br>15,188<br>**90,261**<br>104,760<br>(14,499)<br>**90,261**|**2020**<br>**£**<br>2<br>75,071<br>75,073<br>2,247<br>396<br>1,568<br>20,093<br>24,304<br>(9,116)<br>15,188<br>**90,261**<br>104,760<br>(14,499)<br>**90,261**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||
|||||**90,261**|
|||||104,760<br>(14,499)|
|||||**90,261**|





## **Morriston Orpheus Choir – Annual Account 2022 (EOFY 31 December)** 

## **Independent Examiner's statement** 

Your attention is drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared financial statements in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005, which is referred to in the extant regulations but has now been withdrawn. 

I understand that this has been done in order for financial statements to provide a true and fair view in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015. 

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 

1. Accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by Section 130 of the 2011 Act, or 

2.  the financial statements do not accord with those records: or 

3.  the financial statements do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than 

any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part an independent examination. 

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached. 

**Huw Thomas BSc MAAT,** Huw Thomas Business Support Services,  29 Tal Coed, Coity, Bridgend CF35 6QA Date:  10 October 2023 

