2024-04-05-accounts

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The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust

Annual Report and Accounts

Year ended 5 April 2024

Charity Registration Number: 254532 (England and Wales)

Reports
Reference and administrative information	1
Trustees’ report	2
Independent examiner’s report	5
Accounts
Statement of financial activities	6
Balance sheet	7
Principal accounting policies	8
Notes to the accounts	12

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust

Reference and administrative information

Trustees	Mr C J B Watson
	Dr R M P Reynolds
	(resigned 27thNovember 2023)
	Mrs L G Watson
	Mr N A R Fox
	Dr P P M Reynolds
Registered address	69 Highlever Road
	London
	W10 6PR
Charity registration number	254532
Independent Examiner	UHY Ross Brooke
	Chartered Accountants
	Suite I Windrush Court
	Abingdon Business Park
	Abingdon
	Oxfordshire
	OX14 1SY
Bankers	The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
	78 Notting Hill Gate
	London
	W11 3HS
Solicitors	Payne Hicks Beach
	10 New Square
	Lincoln’s Inn
	London
	WC2A 3QG

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 1

The Trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 5[th] April 2024.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The object of the Charity is to provide funds to or for the benefit of or otherwise in support of such purposes and objects as shall be exclusively charitable with powers to apply the same or any part or parts thereof in such shares and proportions for the said objects and purposes as the Trustees shall in their sole uncontrolled discretion think fit.

In accordance with the original wishes of the late Hari Prasad Shastri the trustees assist in education generally but with preference to support spiritual education according to the Universal Principles that he taught.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The Trustees are meeting their objective of achieving a balanced return between the need to generate income and long term capital growth. The gross income during the year was sufficient to cover the charitable donations of the Trustees.

The Trust is privileged to be guardian of a significant amount of unique archival material comprising personal items belonging to and papers by Dr H P Shastri, Miss M Waterhouse and Dr A M Halliday. This is used as a resource to further the charitable objectives of the Trust.

Suitable space is needed for storage and research into this archival material. This research is carried out voluntarily by the Trustees and other interested individuals. About a quarter of the expenditure of the year under review was directed towards renting a suitable space for these activities.

This space is also used to fulfil the charitable purposes of the Trust to support spiritual education for genuinely interested parties, using the archive material as a resource where appropriate.

The Trustees also use the rented accommodation for their formal Trustee Meetings and meetings with individuals or representatives of bodies applying for financial support from the Trust. The Trustees maintain contact between meetings when necessary to discuss charity matters by e-mail and conference calls.

The lease has been extended on the space currently being rented by the Trustees for another year. The space is continuing to work well for the Trust at the moment. However, as reported previously it is expected that the long-term requirements for Trust accommodation may change (see Future Plans). Experience with the rented accommodation has proved beneficial to the Trustees enabling them to understand better their future accommodation requirements.

During the financial year the H P S Charitable Trust made the following donations:

1) A donation of £36,300 was made to the Karuna Trust to support the Aryaloka Project which provide secondary education to underprivileged women on the Indian Bangladesh border which gives them independence, help to support their families and allows them to avoid underage marriage and the abuses which arise from this practice. Part of the programme develops mentoring skills so that the project gradually becomes self sustaining. Outcomes have been very positive.
2) A donation of £5,000 was made to Pipal Tree for supporting the protection and education of trafficked children in Nepal. Pipal Tree is raising funds for the "Lily's Leaves" social enterprise in Kathmandu to support it for the first three years of its existence and until it can derive its own income. This will underpin training and other social welfare activities without reliance on grants.
3) A further grant of £30,000 was made to the Fusion Ensemble and Spark Choir as part of the Ark Music Programme – Absolute Return for Kids project to give disadvantaged pupils access to music in their schools which is beyond the reach of limited school budgets, the core curriculum and overstretched teachers. The grant is spread over three years and is restricted to the programme. The pupils have benefited from learning to play an instrument or be part of a choir and have improved their ability to learn, participate with others, their sense of wellbeing and self-discipline. The total grant was for £90,000 to be spread over three years (as noted above) £30,000 was paid and the £60,000 has been included under grant commitments.

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 2

4) The Trust covered the cost of accommodation of £3,179 for an annual study group attended by 8 including 4 Trustees. Each year the group takes 4 to 6 days away to study in depth a spiritual classic from the tradition taught by Dr Shastri or an original work or translation by him or one of his pupils.
5) In addition a second book of Dr Halliday’s lectures entitled “Achieving Inner Independence” was published. A limited number of hard copies have been printed. Printed-to-order hard copies and electronic copies have been made available through Amazon. It is available to the public on a notfor-profit basis for the spiritual benefit of readers.

All these projects are in line with Dr Shastri’s wishes to support spiritual education and education generally for the welfare of all.

STRUCTURE,GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Charity is constituted by a Deed of Arrangement dated 24[th] November 1967 relating to the residuary estate of Hari Prasad Shastri who died on 29[th] January 1956.

Trustees

Mr C J B Watson, Dr R M P Reynolds (retired 27[th] November 2023), Mrs L G Watson, Mr N A R Fox, Dr P P M Reynolds served throughout the year. No trustee had any beneficial interest in any contract with the Charity during the year.

Recruitment and Appointment of New Trustees

The Trust manages the estate of Dr Shastri to further its charitable aims. Trustees are chosen by the Trustees on the basis that they are well known to the Trustees and have either demonstrated over several years that they are committed pupils of Dr Shastri and wish to further his cause or, in exceptional circumstances when they are not pupils, they have a particular area of expertise required by the Trust to enable it to carry out its purposes

Organisation

The Charity does not have employees and is managed by the Trustees. The Trustees during the financial year 2023/2024 were Mr C J B Watson, Dr R M P Reynolds (resigned 27[th] November 2023), Mrs L G Watson, Mr N A R Fox, Dr P P M Reynolds.

THE CHARITY’S ASSETS

The Charity’s assets are summarised in the attached financial statements.

RESERVES POLICY AND FUTURE PLANS

The Charity had sufficient funds at 5[th] April 2024 to enable it to maintain its level of charitable distributions. The H P S Charitable Trust is again considering possible recipients for grants and other Trust activities for the year 2024/25. The income to support The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust is entirely from the return on investments. The Trustees have been mindful of the negative effect of current high levels of inflation on the investments they hold and have taken the decision to continue to reduce slightly the value of grants awarded this year to preserve the value of the amount invested in real terms.

The Trust holds three meetings a week as well as an annual study retreat for those interested in the spiritual philosophy based on archive material in its care according to the principles taught by Dr Shastri.

The Trustees continue to stay in contact with recipients of previous funding (typically but not confined to charitable organisations registered in England and Wales) to receive reports on progress and establish their future requirements. Enquiries seeking grants are received from time-to-time and are carefully considered in line with the objects of the Charity.

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 3

FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR

As at 5 April 2024, the quoted investments were valued at £4,602,381, an increase £285,097 from the value as at 5 April 2023. This reflects both additions to investments in the year as well as investment gains. The bank balances of £68,650 represent a decrease of £50,122 from the balances at 5 April 2023.

Net investment gains for the year were £223,106 compared to net investment losses of £192,520 in the year ended 5 April 2023. The net income for the year amounted to £172,269 (2023 – net expenditure of £179,602) with a loss for the year before investment gains of £50,837 (2023 – surplus for the year before investment losses of £12,918).

During the year the Charity moved the majority of its saving account assets from Royal Bank of Scotland to CAF Bank. This was set up by the Charity Aid Foundation to cater for the particular needs of Charities and in particular allows the Trust to meet its requirement to have two Trustees authorize online payments which is not available with most high street banks, when cheques are no longer so widely accepted. Royal Bank of Scotland account has been retained due to a technical difficulty with receiving international bank transfers from Amazon to pay royalties for books published by the Trust.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 17(5) of the 2011 Charities Act to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the charity commission.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER AND ACCOUNTANTS

The Trustees has approved UHY Ross Brooke Chartered Accountants to conduct the preparation (and audit if required by Charity Commission) of the Trust’s accounts and independent examination.

TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

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

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

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper 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 Charities Act 2011 , the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. 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.

Dr P. P. M Reynolds

Date of approval by the Trustees

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 4

Independent examiner’s report 5 April 2024

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 5 April 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

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

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
The accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts 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 of 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 accounts to be reached.

Caroline Webster FCA UHY Ross Brooke Chartered Accountants Suite I Windrush Court Abingdon Business Park Abingdon Oxfordshire OX14 1SY

Date……………. 27.09.24

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 5

Statement of financial activities Year to 5 April 2024

Notes	Unrestricted funds	Unrestricted funds
	2024 £	2023 £
Income from: Donations and legacies Investments 1 Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds . Investment managers’ fees Charitable activities . Spiritual education 2 . Other grant making 2 Total expenditure Net (expenditure)/income before gains/(losses) on investments 4 Net gains/(losses) on investments 7 Net income/(expenditure) and net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Fund balances brought forward at 6 April Fund balances carried forward at 5 April	615 145,414	570 138,715
	146,029	139,285
	8,302 57,264 131,300	8,888 52,479 65,000
	196,866	126,367
	(50,837) 223,106	12,918 (192,520)
	172,269 5,172,282	(179,602) 5,351,884
	5,344,551	5,172,282

All of the charity’s activities derived from continuing operations during the above two financial periods and were unrestricted in their nature.

All gains and losses recognised in the year are included in the above statement of financial activities.

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 6

Balance Sheet Year to 5 April 2024

2024 £	2024 £	2023 £	2023 £
— 5,327,381	5,327,381 81,970 47,170	— 5,042,284	5,042,284 135,398 129,998
13,320 68,650		16,626 118,772
(34,800)		(5,400)

	5,374,551 (30,000) 5,344,551		5,172,282 - 5,172,282

	5,344,551		5,172,282

Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Dr P. P. M Reynolds

Trustee

Approved on:

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 7

Principal accounting policies Year to 5 April 2024

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the accounts are laid out below.

Basis of preparation

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these accounts. The accounts are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest pound.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (issued in October 2019) (Charities SORP FRS 102 ) , the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Preparation of the accounts requires the trustees to make significant judgements and estimates.

The trustees deem that in the year ended 5 April 2024 the significant judgement or estimate key to the information presented in the accounts was the valuation of the investment property held by the trust.

Assessment of going concern

The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these accounts. The trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of one year from the date of approval of these accounts.

The trustees of the charity have concluded that there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees are of the opinion that the charity will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due. The most significant areas of judgement that affect items in the accounts are detailed above. With regard to the next accounting period, the year ending 5 April 2025, the most significant areas that affect the carrying value of the assets held by the charity are the level of investment return and the performance of the investment markets (see Note 7 to the accounts and the risk management section of the trustees’ report for more information).

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 8

Income recognition

Income is recognised in the period in which the charity has entitlement to the income, the amount of income can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

Income comprises donations and legacies and investment income.

Donations are recognised when the charity has confirmation of both the amount and settlement date. In the event of donations pledged but not received, the amount is accrued for where the receipt is considered probable. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance before the charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that those conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.

Legacies are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the legacy, the executors have established that there are sufficient surplus assets in the estate to pay the legacy, and any conditions attached to the legacy are within the control of the charity.

Dividends are recognised once the dividend has been declared and notification has been received of the dividend due.

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

Expenditure recognition and the basis of apportioning costs

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure comprises the following:

a) Expenditure on raising funds consists of the fees paid to investment managers in connection with the management of the charity’s investments.
b) Expenditure on charitable activities includes expenditure on the charity’s primary charitable purposes as described in the trustees’ report including grants payable as part of the trust’s charitable activities as well as any support costs or governance costs. Grants payable are included in the statement of financial activities when approved and when the intended recipient has either received the funds or been informed of the decision to make the donation and has satisfied all related conditions. Grants approved but not paid at the end of the financial year are accrued for.

All expenditure is stated inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 9

Tangible fixed assets

All assets costing more than £500 and with an expected useful life exceeding one year are capitalised.

Tangible fixed assets are written off over their estimated useful lives on the following basis:

Office furniture

25% straight line

Office equipment 33% straight line

Fixed asset investments

Listed investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price.

The charity does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

Realised gains (or losses) on investment assets are calculated as the difference between disposal proceeds and their opening carrying value or their purchase value is acquired subsequent to the first day of the financial year. Unrealised gains and losses are calculated as the difference between the fair value at the year end and their carrying value at that date. Realised and unrealised investment gains (or losses) are combined in the statement of financial activities and are credited (or debited) in the year in which they arise.

Investment properties

Investment properties are measured initially at cost and subsequently at fair value at the reporting date. Realised and unrealised gains (or losses) are credited (or debited) to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they arise.

The investment property at 130 Barlby Road, London is valued at the fair value at the reporting date.

Cash flow

The financial statements do not include a cash flow statement because the charity is exempt from the requirement to prepare such a statement under the Charities SORP (FRS102).

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They are discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition.

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 10

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably.

Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material.

Financial instruments

The charity only holds basic financial instruments as defined in FRS 102. The financial assets and financial liabilities of the charity and their measurement basis are as follows:

Financial assets – Prepayments and deposits are not financial instruments.

Cash at bank – classified as a basic financial instrument and is measured at face value.

Financial liabilities – accruals and other creditors are financial instruments, and are measured at amortised cost.

Fund accounting

The unrestricted fund represents funds available for the general charitable purposes of the charity at the discretion of the trustees.

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 11

Notes to the accounts Year to 5 April 2024

1 Income from investments

	2024 £ 2023 £
Income from listed investments Rent from investment property Interest receivable	138,948 133,083 5,195 5,160 1,271 472
	145,414 138,715

2 Expenditure on charitable activities

	2024 £ 2023 £
Spiritual education . Other costs . Support costs (note 3) Other grant making . Grants payable The Karuna Trust Pipal Tree Absolute Return For Kids	6,041 522 51,223 51,957
	57,264 52,479 36,300 5,000 90,000 30,000 5,000 30,000
	188,564 117,479

3 Support costs

	2024 £ 2023 £
Independent examiner’s fees Premises costs	3,000 5,400 48,223 46,557
	51,223 51,957

4 Net income before gains on investments

This is stated after charging:

	2024 £	2023 £
Independent examiner’s fees Amountspayable under operatingleases	3,000 37,700	5,400 38,133

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 12

5 Remuneration of trustees and key management personnel

The trustees consider that they comprise the key management of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day to day basis.

The trustees receive no remuneration in the year. During the year two trustees were reimbursed for expenses incurred on behalf of the charity totalling £3,218 (2023: No trustees were reimbursed).

6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets
	Office furniture £	Office equipment £	Total £
Cost At 6 April 2023 and 5 April 2024 Depreciation At 6 April 2023 and 5 April 2024 Net book values At 6 April 2023 and 5 April 2024	1,091	929	2,020
	1,091	929	2,020
	—	—	—

7 Investments

At the year end, investments comprised:

	2024 £	2023 £
Listed investments Investment property	4,602,381 725,000	4,317,284 725,000
	5,327,381	5,042,284

Listed investments

	2024 £ 2023 £
Market value of listed investments at 6 April Additions at cost Disposal proceeds Net investment gains/(losses) Market value of listed investments at 5 April Cash with investment managers for reinvestment	4,252,781 4,516,773 157,281 54,304 (41,965)(125,776) 223,106 (192,520)
	4,591,203 4,252,781 11,178 64,503
	4,602,381 4,317,284

All listed investments held are dealt in on a recognised stock exchange.

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 13

7 Investments (continued)

Listed investments held at 5 April comprised the following:

	2024 £ 2023 £
UK Listed investments Overseas listed investments Cash held for reinvestment	4,591,203 4,252,781 — — 11,178 64,503
	4,602,381 4,317,284

At 5 April 2024 the following individual holdings had a market value in excess of 5% of the entire portfolio as at that date.

	£ %
Charifund SJP Global Unit Trust SJP Global Quality Unit Trust SJP Global Growth Unit Trust SJP Global EquityIncome	1,880,501 41.0% 266,186 5.79% 253,730 5.5% 365,433 7.9% 228,302 5.4%
*Investment property*	2024 £ 2023 £
At 6 April 2023 Gain on revaluation At 5 April 2024	725,000 725,000 — — 725,000 725,000

The investment property was purchased on 21 July 2016 and was initially valued at cost. The Trustees sought a valuation of the property in December 2022, in the year ended 5[th] April 2023.

8 Debtors

	2024 £ 2023 £
Rent deposits Prepayments	3,570 3,570 9,750 13,056
	13,320 16,626

The Hari Prasad Shastri Charitable Trust 14

9 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

10		2024 £ 2023 £
	Accruals and grant commitments	34,800 5,400
		34,800 5,400
	Creditors: amounts falling due after one year	2024 £ 2023 £
	Grant commitments	30,000 -
		30,000 -

11 Money owing to the charity

The charity was bequeathed a legacy from the Estate of the late Mrs Lily Jacob, however The Reserve Bank of India has so far refused permission for the original legacy of 111,000 Rupees, together with accrued interest, to be remitted to the UK. The funds, inclusive of interest received, held at Standard Chartered Bank, Calcutta are estimated by the trustees to amount to 1,345,805 Rupees (approximating £ 12,743 (2023: £14,133)) at 5 April 2024, have not been included on the balance sheet.

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