THE BACH CHOIR
Annual report and
financial statements
Year ended 31 July 2023
THE B.4CHCHOIR

## **Contents** 

|**Item**|**Page**|
|---|---|
|General information|3|
|Trustees’ Report|4|
|Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities|8|
|Honorary Independent Examiner’s Statement|9|
|Statement of financial activities|10|
|Balance sheet|12|
|Notes to the financial statements|13|











**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

2 



## **General information** 

**Patron** HM The King **President** John Rutter, CBE **Vice-Presidents** Dame Janet Baker, CH, DBE Sam Gordon Clark, CBE Dame Felicity Lott, DBE Huw Edwards James Bowman, CBE (until 27/3/23) 

## **Board of Trustees** 

**Chair** Katharine Richman **Vice Chair** Stephen Hargreaves **Music Director** David Hill, MBE **Honorary Treasurer** Peter Floyd (stepped down 08/02/23) Ross Johnston (08/02/23 to 07/07/23) Thomas O’Reilly (from 07/07/23) **External Trustees** Richard Blackford Ellen West (until 05/06/23) 

**Elected Members** 

## **Co-opted Members** 

Julien Allen Alexander Churchill Jim Clifford, OBE Jenny Clarke Lily German ‘Desola Haastrup Stephen Hargreaves Jill Pringle Leona Roberts Naomi Wordsworth 

Harriet Creamer 

## **Organisational information** 

**Administrator** 

**Registered Address** 

Maria Sayers administrator@thebachchoir.org.uk 

The Bach Choir, PO Box 61756, London SW1H 0UZ 

**Honorary Independent** Dixon Wilson **Examiners** 22 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1LS 

**Bankers** C Hoare & Co, 37 Fleet Street, London, EC4P 4DO 

**Charitable status** 

The Bach Choir is an unincorporated charity, governed by its rules, registered in England & Wales as charity number 258287 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

3 



## **Trustees’ report** 

## **Objectives and activities** 

As one of the world’s leading choruses, The Bach Choir’s aim is to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds with the magnificence, beauty and emotional power of choral music, through the excellence of its performances, recordings and through community engagement and inclusion. 

## **Reference and Administrative information** 

Reference and administrative information is set out on the previous page and forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements and have been prepared in accordance with FRS 102. 

## **Structure, Governance, and Management** 

The Bach Choir is governed by rules agreed by its Singing and Associate Members, the latter group comprising certain former Singing Members of the Choir.  Overall direction is in the hands of the Board of Trustees.  The Chair, Musical Director and Treasurer are appointed annually by the elected members of the Board of Trustees, who are, in turn, elected by the Singing Members and those Associate Members who have recently been Singing Members of the Choir. 

The Choir’s musical direction is the responsibility of the Musical Director, while its administration is the responsibility of the Working Group.  Both report to the Board of Trustees, which meets about five times a year.  Board members are made aware of their responsibilities, as trustees of the Choir, upon election. 

The Bach Choir is an independent organisation and, whilst it values its connections with other arts organisations and grant-making organisations, there are no related charities. 

## **Review of Season** 

The Bach Choir undertook a full programme of concerts and other engagements during the season. Support was secured for the Choir’s student bursary scheme in the sum of £8,000 (2022 £3,288).The Choir secured a significant donation of £24,000 for the Community Engagement Programme, to be used over 3 years (and therefore £8,000 is recognised this year, with a further £16,000 recognised as deferred income for future years). In total donations in the sum of £19,500 (2022 £6,565) were recognised this year for the Choir’s Community Engagement Programme. 

## **Live performance** 

The Choir promoted six concerts during the 2022-23 season, three in the Royal Festival Hall, one in the Cadogan Hall, one in Holy Trinity Sloane Square and one in Grand Junction, as well as a Fundraising Gala Dinner in Merchant Taylors’ Hall, which raised the sum of £48,652.  The Choir also undertook a number of engagements. 

The Season began with engagements for sopranos and altos to sing Holst’s The Planets at the RAH, and for the whole choir to sing at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance.  The first major concert was a celebration of the 150[th] anniversary of Vaughan Williams’ birth in a concert co-promoted with the Philharmonia Orchestra, featuring _A Sea Symphony_ . Soon afterwards sixty singing members entertained guests at a Fundraising Gala with repertoire ranging from folk songs to the theme music from _Game of Thrones_ .  The Choir took part in four Christmas concerts, three conducted by our President, John Rutter, and the annual Cadogan Hall performance, promoted by the Choir. 

Two further concerts, one co-promoted with the Philharmonia Orchestra, were given in the Royal Festival Hall:  the annual _St Matthew Passion_ , and a concert featuring the first London performance of Gabriel Jackson’s _The World Imagined_ .  The latter unfortunately proved difficult to sell.  A concert of music by French composers in Holy Trinity, Sloane Square was sold out and very well received, and engagements in this period included London Fashion Week, a performance of Beethoven’s _Symphony No 9_ with Vasily Petrenko, and a thanksgiving service for C Hoare & Co., the Choir’s bankers. 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

4 



## **Trustees’ report (continued)** 

## **Recording and broadcasting** 

The power of recording and broadcasting as a promotional tool cannot be underestimated. Not only does it help keep The Bach Choir brand in public view but – in the case of broadcasting particularly – it helps further our charitable objective of reaching new audiences who might not otherwise experience the richness of choral music. 

Plans to make the premiere recording of Gabriel Jackson’s _The World Imagined_ were unfortunately cancelled when it became clear that sufficient funding would not be forthcoming.  However, June 2023 saw the release of a disc of music by Joe Hisaishi, which The Bach Choir recorded in June 2022. 

The Choir’s performance of Elgar’s _The Dream of Gerontius_ in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, in June 2023, under the baton of Daniel Hyde, was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 the following month.  The Choir takes part annually in the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, and this event, in the presence of HM The King, was broadcast live on BBC TV in November 2022. 

## **Community engagement** 

The Bach Choir is committed to spreading the joy of choral music to diverse audiences and particularly to those who might not otherwise have exposure to it. 

A performance in a new venue, Grand Junction, concluded the Choir’s Vocalise! programme for the year, during which workshops were delivered to children from three schools. 

The Choir presented three online choral workshops, continuing the programme begun during the pandemic, and donations totalling £1,098 (2022 £1,902) were received from participants around the world. 

One ‘in person’ Come and Sing Day was promoted by the Choir in St Gabriel’s Church Pimlico. Attendance was good, with the day raising £1,308 for the Choir. 

## **Staffing** 

Three staff were employed by The Bach Choir during the 2022-23 season. Mary-Beth Owen, our full-time Administrator, left in September as she had relocated to Bristol, and Maria Sayers replaced her shortly afterwards.  Joseph Hookway continued to work 40 hours per month on our Community Engagement programme, and Joe Garvey continued to work three days per week as Digital Marketing Manager. 

## **The financial picture** 

The board approved an increase to subscription rates for the 2022/23 season, albeit lower than inflation. Subscription income from Singing Members, Associate Members, Friends, and long-term absent members rose to £87,777 (2022 – £79,703). We are grateful to our friends and associates for their continued support. 

It remains our belief that no-one should be prevented from singing with the Choir on financial grounds alone, and we are continuously seeking to expand our student membership bursary scheme. 

Finally, we place on record our special gratitude to Dixon Wilson for conducting an independent examination of these accounts without fee and for making their immense experience and knowledge available to us. 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

5 



## **Trustees’ report (continued)** 

## **Reserves** 

The Choir continues to maintain a healthy level of reserves, with investments of £388,660 and net current assets of £277,111. Nonetheless we continue to review the higher risks involved in promoting our own concerts in what remains an uncertain future and our increasing commitment to marketing and publicity that aims to attract a wider and more diverse audience. The board is particularly cognisant of inflationary pressures increasing the costs of the Choir’s core activities in the coming years. 

Funds on 31 July 2023 were £675,241 (2022: £626,808) of which £591,175 (2022: £562,692) represents expendable funds and £45,100 (2022: £25,961) is restricted. The balance of £38,966 (2022: £38,155) is endowed. Expendable funds consist of unrestricted reserves of £80,639 (2022: £51,101) and designated funds of £510,536 (2022: £511,591). With expendable funds, the Donations fund is designated to be used to support loss-making own-promoted concerts and recordings, the Touring fund to be used to support future tours, and the Friends’ fund to support other choir initiatives. 

Historically, the Choir’s budgeted costs have generally exceeded anticipated revenues, and it relies on charitable donations and sponsorship to bridge this gap. Reserves are required to cover the Choir’s liabilities in the event that such donations and sponsorship are insufficient to cover this gap, and to enable it to plan its future activities, normally up to two years ahead. Reserves are also required by way of contingency to cover the financial impact of unexpected events outside the Choir’s control that might seriously impact the Choir’s revenues, for example the short notice cancellation of concerts as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trustees consider the ideal level of reserves, as of 31 July 2023, to be a minimum of £500,000. 

In addition to unrestricted reserves at the year-end of £80,639, the Trustees are also able to use designated funds of £510,536 to meet future general expenditure and on this basis the financial position at the year-end is considered to be adequate. 

## **Future plans** 

The Choir has planned a full programme of concerts and other events in the 2023-24 season.  These include five concerts promoted by the Choir, of which two are co-promoted with the Philharmonia Orchestra.  The Choir will also promote a Come and Sing Day in St Gabriel’s Pimlico as well as continuing to offer termly online choral workshops. 

Promoted concerts are complemented by eight engagements to perform for others including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Raymond Gubbay Ltd. 

Looking further ahead, planning has been ongoing for some time on the seasons leading up to our 150[th] anniversary in 2026.  There are various challenges, not least the difficulty in securing dates at the Southbank Centre, but it is hoped that these can be overcome, and that this important milestone in the Choir’s history can be celebrated in style. 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

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## **Trustees’ report (continued)** 

## **Public benefit** 

The trustees have reviewed the public benefit nature of the organisation and consider that it fulfils the requirements of the Charities Act 20II.  In particular, the Choir: 

- educates and inspires its audiences at concerts and through recordings; 

- promotes access for all by performing in a range of geographical locations, ensuring where possible that tickets are available at a range of prices with discounts for students and the unwaged. Free tickets for under-16s are offered at the Choir's own promoted concerts; 

- is active in developing the art of choral music, both by commissioning new works and undertaking the first public performance or recording of new works; 

- seeks to maintain the public performance of large-scale choral works by promoting its own concerts; 

- seeks improvement in standards of public performance of choral works through the impact of its Musical Director; and 

- seeks to bring music to new audiences and singers, through its active work on Diversity and Inclusion, its Community Engagement activities in schools and dementia care homes, its Come and Sing days, both in person and online, its open rehearsals, and by touring in the UK and overseas when possible. 

## **Katharine Richman** 

Chair 

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of The Bach Choir 


## **10[th] January 2024** 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

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## **Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities** 

## **Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements** 

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards.  The law applicable to charities in England and 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 of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP); 

- make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

- state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and 

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business. 

The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (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. 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

8 



## **Honorary Independent Examiners report** 

## **Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of The Bach Choir** _**(‘the Charity’)**_ 

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31 July 2023. 

## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As the charity 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’). You are satisfied that an audit is not required for this year under charity law and that an independent examination is needed. 

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. 

An independent examination does not involve gathering all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently does not cover all the matters that an auditor considers in giving their opinion on the accounts.  The planning and conduct of an audit goes beyond the limited assurance that an independent examination can provide. Consequently, I express no opinion as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and my report is limited to those specific matters set out in the independent examiner’s statement. 

## **Independent examiner’s statement** 

I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. 

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material 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 Act; or 

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 

3. 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. 

4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). 

I have no concerns and have come across no 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. 


S J Wakefield ACA Dixon Wilson 22 Chancery Lane London WC2A 1LS 

11 January 2024 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

9 



## **Statement of Financial Activities** 

## **Year ended 31[st] July 2023** 

|||||||||**Community**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||**Engagement**|**Student**|**Recording**|**Poynter**||||
||||**General Fund**|**Friends Fund**|**Donations Fund**|**Touring Fund**||**Vocalise! Fund**|**Bursary fund**|**Fund**|**Stock Legacy**|**Total**||**_Total_**|
|||Notes|(unrestricted)|(designated)|(designated)|(designated)||(restricted)|(restricted)|(restricted)|(endowment)|31 July 2023|_31 July 2022_||
||||**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**||**_£_**|
|**Income and endowments**|||||||||||||||
|**from**|||||||||||||||
|Donations and legacies|||||||||||||||
||Subscriptions|4|87,777|-|-||-|-|-|-|-|87,777||_79,703_|
||Friends' donations||-|2,215|-||-|-|-|-|-|2,215||_2,413_|
||Grants||-|-|-||-|-|8,000|-|-|8,000||_3,288_|
||Donations and legacies|8|-|-|29,794||-|19,500|-|150|-|49,444||_99,132_|
||Donations in kind||2,750|-|-||-|-|-|-|-|2,750||_10,000_|
|Investments||6|13,122|-|-||-|-|-|-|-|13,122||_11,390_|
|Charitable activities|||||||||||||||
||Concert income||184,290|-|-||-|86|-|-|-|184,376||_161,479_|
||Choral fees recordings||||||||||||||
||and broadcasts||47,668|-|-||-|-|-|-|-|47,668||_62,312_|
|Other|income||||||||||||||
||Friends' subscriptions||-|5,525|-||-|-|-|-|-|5,525||_5,203_|
||Miscellaneous income|5|9,641|-|-||-|-|-|-|-|9,641||_2,517_|
||Fundraising gala||48,652|-|-||-|-|-|-|-|48,652||_-_|
|**Total**|**income and**||||||||||||||
|**endowments**|||**393,900**|**7,740**|**29,794**||**-**|**19,586**|**8,000**|**150**|**-**|**459,171**||**_437,437_**|











**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

10 



## **Statement of Financial Activities (continued)** 

## **Year ended 31[st] July 2023** 

|||||||**Community**|**Student**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**Donations**||**Engagement**|**Bursary**||**Recording**|**Poynter Stock**||||
|||**General Fund**|**Friends Fund**|**Fund**|**Touring Fund**|**Vocalise! Fund**|**fund**||**fund**|**Legacy**|**Total**|**Total**||
||Notes|(unrestricted)|(designated)|(designated)|(designated)|(restricted)|(restricted)||(restricted)|(endowment)|31 July 2023|_31 July 2022_||
|||£|£|£|£|£|£||£|£|£|_£_||
|**Total Income and endowments**||**393,900**|**7,740**|**29,794**|**-**|**19,586**|**8,000**||**150**|**-**|**459,171**|**_437,437_**||
|**Expenditure on:**||||||||||||||
|Raising funds||||||||||||||
|Advertising and publicity|7|(27,964)|-|-|-|-||-|-|-|(27,964)|_(38,699)_||
|Friends’ costs||-|(1,834)|-|-|-||-|-|-|(1,834)|_(5,225)_||
|Charitable activities||||||||||||||
|Concerts||(165,564)|-|(38,141)|-|(6,865)||-|-|-|(210,570)|_(160,148)_||
|Choral fees, recordings, and||||||||||||||
|broadcasts||1,025|-|(8,615)|-|-||-|-|-|(7,590)|_(50,568)_||
|Community Engagement|7|-|-|-|-|(13,731)||-|-|-|(13,731)|_(23,180)_||
|Other musical costs|7|(61,568)|-|-|-|-|(11,749|)|-|-|(73,317)|_(57,974)_||
|Pro-bono Independent||||||||||||||
|Examination fees (2022: Pro-||||||||||||||
|bono audit fees)||(2,750)|-|-|-|-||-|-|-|(2,750)|_(10,000)_||
|Other expenditure|7|||||||||||||
|Other direct costs||(62,201)|-|-|-|-||-|-|-|(62,201)|_(57,797)_||
|**Total expenditure**||**(319,022)**|**(1,834)**|**(46,756)**|**-**|**(20,596)**|**(11,749)**||**-**|**-**|**(399,958)**|**_(403,591)_**||
|**Net gains/(losses) on investments**||||||||||||||
|**and heritage assets**||||||||||||||
|Unrealised|9|(3,468)|-|-|-|-||-|-|811|(2,658)|_(15,544)_||
|Loss on revaluation of heritage|11|||||||||||||
|assets||(8,122)|-|-|-|-||-|-|-|(8,122)|_(2,561)_||
|**Net movement on investments &**||||||||||||||
|**heritage assets**||**(11,590)**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**811**|**(10,780)**|**_(18,105)_**||
|||||||||||||||
|**Net income/(expenditure)**||**63,288**|**5,906**|**(16,962)**|**-**|**(1,010)**|**(3,749)**||**150**|**811**|**48,433**|**_15,741_**||
|Transfer to fund deficit on student||||||||||||||
|bursary fund||(3,749)|-|-|-|-|3,749||-|-|-|_-_||
|Transfer of £10,000 Gala funds to||||||||||||||
|donations fund for future||||||||||||||
|commissions||(10,000)|-|10,000|-|-||-|-|-|-|_-_||
|Transfer of £10,000 Gala funds to||||||||||||||
|community engagement fund||(10,000)|-|-|-|10,000||-|-|-|-|_-_||
|Transfer of £10,000 Gala funds to||||||||||||||
|recordings fund||(10,000)|-|-|-|-||-|10,000|-|-|_-_||
|**Balances brought forward at 1**||||||||||||||
|**Aug 2022**||**51,101**|**131,023**|**370,457**|**10,112**|**2,500**||**-**|**23,460**|**38,155**|**626,808**|**_611,067_**||
|**Balances carried forward at 1 Aug**||||||||||||||
|**2023**||**80,639**|**136,929**|**363,495**|**10,112**|**11,490**||**-**|**33,610**|**38,966**|**675,241**|**_626,808_**||



The above movements fully reflect the total recognised gains and losses incurred within each fund. 

All of the activities of The Bach Choir are continuing. 

There is no material difference between the net movement in the General Fund for the year, as stated above, and its historical cost equivalent. 

The notes on pages 13 to 21 form part of these financial statements. 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

11 



## **Balance sheet** 

||Note||**2023**||**_2022_**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||£|£|£|£||
|**Fixed assets**||||||||
|Tangible assets||10|2,047||_3,249_|||
|Heritage assets||11|7,423||_14,830_|||
|Investments||12|388,660||_391,318_|||
|Total fixed assets||||398,130||_409,397_||
|**Current assets**||||||||
|Stocks||13|177||_504_|||
|Debtors||14|57,123||_55,319_|||
|Cash at bank and in hand|||305,156||_169,360_|||
|Total current assets|||362,456||_225,183_|||
|**Creditors**||||||||
|Amounts falling due||||||||
|Within one year||15|(85,345)||_(7,772)_|||
|Net current assets||||277,111||_217,411_||
|**Net assets**||||**675,241**||**_626,808_**||
|**Accumulated funds**||||||||
|**Unrestricted funds**||||||||
|General fund|||80,639||_51,101_|||
|Total unrestricted funds||||80,639||_51,101_||
|**Designated funds**||||||||
|Donations fund||8|363,495||_370,456_|||
|Friends fund|||136,929||_131,023_|||
|Touring fund|||10,112||_10,112_|||
|Total designated funds||||510,536||_511,591_||
|**Total unrestricted +**||||||||
|**designated funds**||||**591,175**||**_562,692_**||
|**Restricted funds**||||||||
|Community Engagement|||11,490|||_2,501_||
|Student bursary fund|||-|||_-_||
|Recording fund|||33,610|||_23,460_||
|Total restricted funds||||45,100||_25,961_||
|**Endowment funds**||||||||
|Poynter stock legacy||||38,966||_38,155_||
|**Total**||||**675,241**||**_626,808_**||



The notes on pages 13 to 21 form part of these financial statements. 

The financial statements were approved on behalf of the Board of Trustees by 


**Katharine Richman** Chair 10[th] January 2024 










**Thomas O’Reilly** Treasurer 10[th] January 2024 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

12 



## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **1. Accounting policies** 

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of investments, and are in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: 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), effective from 1 January 2019 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011. 

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

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Bach Choir is an unincorporated charity, governed by its rules, registered in England and Wales as charity number 258287. 

The financial statements are presented in sterling and rounded to the nearest £. 

## **Tangible fixed assets** 

Fixed assets are stated at their purchase price, together with any incidental expenses of acquisition. Provision for depreciation is made so as to write off the cost of tangible fixed assets on a straight line basis over the expected useful economic life of the assets concerned.  The principal annual rates used for this purpose are: 

Musical instruments -  20% Office and computer equipment -  25% 

## **Heritage assets** 

Heritage assets are valued each year and are included in the accounts at the trustees’ assessment of their market value, based on income yields. 

## **Investments** 

Investments are stated at market value in the balance sheet with realised and unrealised gains and losses being accounted for in the statement of financial activities. Market value is determined as the quoted price in an active market. 

## **Debtors** 

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. 

## **Cash at bank and in hand** 

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. 

## **Creditors and provisions** 

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









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

13 



## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **1. Accounting policies (cont.)** 

## **Deferred income** 

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. Payments received relating to the following accounting year such as concert tickets are also deferred. 

## **Financial instruments** 

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments.  Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. 

## **Stocks** 

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. 

## **Income and expenditure** 

Income is credited and expenditure is charged to the revenue account on an accruals basis, with the exception of donation and legacy income.  Donation and grant income is recognised when the charity becomes entitled and there are no conditions attached to it.  Legacy income is accounted for on a receivable basis, where the amount can be reliably ascertained.  No attempt is made to put a monetary value on volunteer activities. 

## **Donations in kind** 

Donations in kind represent the cost of donated services received during the year valued at the price which the charity would pay in the open market. 

## **Allocation of expenses** 

Costs of generating funds comprise the costs associated with attracting voluntary income. Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries.  It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them. 

## **Funds** 

Unrestricted funds are held to cover the charity against the continued financing of activities.  Some of the unrestricted funds are “designated funds”, set aside by the trustees to be used for particular purposes. Restricted funds represent sums given to the charity subject to restrictions as to how the funds can be used. Endowment funds represent sums given to the charity subject to the restriction that they are held as capital. 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

14 



## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **2. Statement of Financial Activities for year ended 31 July 2022** 

|||||||||**Community**||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||**Engagement**||**Student**|**Recording**|**Poynter**||||
||||**General Fund**|**Friends Fund**|**Donations Fund**|**Touring Fund**||**Vocalise! Fund**||**Bursary fund**|**Fund**|**Stock Legacy**|**Total**||**_Total_**|
|||Notes|(unrestricted)|(designated)|(designated)|(designated)||(restricted)||(restricted)|(restricted)|(endowment)|31 July 2022|_31 July 2021_||
||||£|£|£||£||£|£|£|£|£||_£_|
|**Income and endowments**||||||||||||||||
|**from**||||||||||||||||
|Donations and legacies||||||||||||||||
||Subscriptions|4|79,703|-|-||-||-|-|-|-|79,703||_65,477_|
||Friends' donations||-|2,413|-||-||-|-|-|-|2,413||_3,080_|
||Grants||-|-|-||-||288|3,000|-|-|3,288||_13,246_|
||Donations and legacies|8|-|-|87,567||-||6,565|-|5,000|-|99,132||_48,175_|
||Donations in kind||10,000|-|-||-||-|-|-|-|10,000||_10,000_|
|Investments||6|11,390|-|-||-||-|-|-|-|11,390||_8,492_|
|Charitable activities||||||||||||||||
||Concert income||161,346|-|-||-||133|-|-|-|161,479||_-_|
||Choral fees recordings|||||||||||||||
||and broadcasts||57,312|-|-||-||-|-|5,000|-|62,312||_20,376_|
|Other|income|||||||||||||||
||Friends' subscriptions||-|5,203|-||-||-|-|-|-|5,203||_5,340_|
||Miscellaneous income|5|2,517|-|-||-||-|-|-|-|2,517||_60_|
|**Total**|**income and**|||||||||||||||
|**endowments**|||**322,268**|**7,616**|**87,567**||**-**||**6,986**|**3,000**|**10,000**|**-**|**437,437**||**_174,246_**|











**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

15 



## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **2. Statement of Financial Activities for year ended 31 July 2022 (cont.)** 

|||||||**Community**|**Student**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**Donations**||**Engagement**|**Bursary**|**Recording**|**Poynter Stock**||||
|||**General Fund**|**Friends Fund**|**Fund**|**Touring Fund**|**Vocalise! Fund**|**fund**|**fund**|**Legacy**|**Total**|**_Total_**||
||Notes|(unrestricted)|(designated)|(designated)|(designated)|(restricted)|(restricted)|(restricted)|(endowment)|31 July 2022|_31 July 2021_||
|||£|£|£|£|£|£|£|£|£|_£_||
|**Total Income and endowments**||**322,268**|**7,616**|**87,567**|**-**|**6,986**|**3,000**|**10,000**|**-**|**437,437**|**_174,246_**||
|**Expenditure on:**|||||||||||||
|Raising funds|||||||||||||
|Advertising and publicity|7|(38,699)|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|(38,699)|_(32,869)_||
|Friends costs||-|(5,225)|-|-|-|-|-|-|(5,225)|_(1,334)_||
|Charitable activities|||||||||||||
|Concerts||(141,798)|-|(7,865)|-|(10,485)|-|-|-|(160,148)|_-_||
|Choral fees, recordings, and|||||||||||||
|broadcasts||7,076|-|(57,644)|-|-|-|-|-|(50,568)|_(32,597)_||
|Community Engagement|7|-|-|-|-|(23,180)|-|-|-|(23,180)|_(14,205)_||
|Commissions||-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|_(7,500)_||
|Other musical costs|7|(47,046)|-|-|-|-|(10,928)|-|-|(57,974)|_(40,066)_||
|Charity administration|7|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-||||
|Pro-bono audit fees||(10,000)|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|(10,000)|_(10,000)_||
|Other expenditure|7||||||||||||
|Other direct costs||(57,797)|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|(57,797)|_(23,698)_||
|**Total expenditure**||**(288,264)**|**(5,225)**|**(65,509)**|**-**|**(33,665)**|**(10,928)**|**-**|**-**|**(403,591)**|**_(162,269)_**||
|**Net gains/(losses) on investments**|||||||||||||
|**and heritage assets**|||||||||||||
|Realised||-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|_24,653_||
|Unrealised|9|(16,091)|-|-|-|-|-|-|547|(15,544)|_32,891_||
|Loss on revaluation of heritage|||||||||||||
|assets|11|(2,561)|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|(2,561)|_(6,928)_||
|**Net movement on investments &**|||||||||||||
|**heritage assets**||**(18,652)**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**547**|**(18,105)**|**_50,616_**||
||||||||||||||
|**Net income/(expenditure)**||**15,352**|**2,391**|**22,058**|**-**|**(26,679)**|**(7,928)**|**10,000**|**547**|**15,741**|**_62,593_**||
|Transfer to fund deficit on student|||||||||||||
|bursary fund||(7,928)|-|-|-|-|7,928|-|-|-|_-_||
|Transfer to fund deficit on|||||||||||||
|community engagement fund||(17,491)|-|-|-|17,491|-|-|-|-|_-_||
|**Balances brought forward at 1**|||||||||||||
|**Aug 2021**||**61,168**|**128,632**|**348,398**|**10,112**|**11,689**|**-**|**13,460**|**37,608**|**611,067**|**_548,474_**||
||||||||||||||
|**Balances carried forward at 1 Aug**|||||||||||||
|**2022**||**51,101**|**131,023**|**370,456**|**10,112**|**2,501**|**-**|**23,460**|**38,155**|**626,808**|**_611,067_**||











**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

16 



## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **3. Analysis of net assets between funds** 

|**Fund balances at 31 July 2023 are**||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**represented by**|Unrestricted|Designated|Restricted|Endowment|**Total 2023**|**_Total 2022_**||
||£|£|£|£|£|_£_||
|Stocks|177|-|-|-|**177**|_504_||
|Debtors|57,123|-|-|-|**57,123**|_55,320_||
|Cash at bank and in hand|-|280,056|25,100|-|**305,156**|_169,360_||
|Creditors|(85,345)||||**(85,345)**|_(7,772)_||
|Sub-total|(28,045)|280,056|25,100|-|**277,111**|_217,412_||
|Tangible assets|2,047|-|-|-|**2,047**|_3,248_||
|Heritage assets|7,423|-|-|-|**7,423**|_14,830_||
|Investments|129,214|220,480|-|38,966|**388,660**|_391,318_||
|**Total**|110,639|500,536|25,100|38,966|**675,241**|_626,807_||



## **4. Subscriptions** 

||**2023**|**_2022_**|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|**_£_**|
|Singing members|64,630|_61,155_|
|Tax rebates thereon|18,645|_14,528_|
|Associate members|4,503|_4,020_|
|**Total**|**87,777**|**_79,703_**|



## **5. Miscellaneous income** 

||**2023**|**_2022_**|**_2022_**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**£**|**_£_**||
|**Regular**||||
|Merchandising|(208)|_172_||
|Library|(160)|_2,345_||
|Regular fund raising|725|_-_||
|Sundry income (sale of piano)|9,283|_-_||
|Total regular|9,641|_2,517_||
|**Irregular**||||
|Fundraising Gala|48,652|-||



NB Miscellaneous income items shown net of direct expenses incurred in generating the income 

## **6. Investment income** 

|**2023**<br>**_2022_**|**2023**<br>**_2022_**|**2023**<br>**_2022_**|**2023**<br>**_2022_**|**2023**<br>**_2022_**|**2023**<br>**_2022_**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Bank interest||||£<br>1,716|_£_<br><br>_126_|
|Other investment income||||11,406|_11,264_|
|**Total**||||**13,122**|**_11,390_**|











**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

17 



## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **7. General expenditure** 

|**2023**<br>**_2022_**|**2023**<br>**_2022_**|**2023**<br>**_2022_**|
|---|---|---|
|Musicalcosts otherthandirect costs ofconcerts,recordings, and tours|**£**<br>73,317|**_£_**<br><br>_57,974_|
|Advertising, publicity, and website|25,297|_28,482_|
|Fundraising expenditure<br>-<br>_7,772_<br>1876 Society hospitality<br>2,667<br>_2,445_<br>Community engagement expenditure<br>13,731<br>_23,180_<br>Other direct costs including administrator salary<br>62,201<br>_57,797_|||
|Totalgeneralexpenditure<br>177,214<br>_177,650_|||



(a) The following fees for musical services were paid to Board members: 

||**2023**|**_2022_**|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|**_£_**|
|Music director|55,922|_43,800_|
|Other board members|-|_-_|
|Entities with connected relatives*|450|<br>_800_|
|Total|56,372|_43,050_|
||||
|**Of these fees:**|||
|Amount included in Musical costs above|53,922|<br>_37,620_|
|Amount included in Community engagement costs|-|_4,180_|
|Amount included in choral fees, recordings and broadcasts|1,500|_1,250_|
|Amount included in events promoted by TBC|500|_-_|
|Amount included in advertising and publicity|450|_-_|
|Total|56,372|_43,050_|



*£ 450 was paid to Chris Hill, a connected family member of the Music Director, for services provided in relation to production of the Choir's podcast. 

(b) The average number of persons employed by the Choir in the year was 3 (2022 – 3).  No employee was paid at the rate of £60,000 or more per year in this year or the prior year. 

(c) Other direct costs include out of pocket expenses reimbursed to trustees in respect of travel costs £39 (2022 - £15). £0 (2022 - £78) travel costs reimbursed to the Musical Director are included in reaching the total shown in note 5 (choral fees, recordings and broadcasts). 

(d) Included in Community Engagement and other direct costs are wages and salaries amounting to £52,302 (2022 - £45,177), employers’ national insurance contributions amounting to £3,849 (2022 - £3,277) and contributions to defined contribution pension funds for employees of £718 (2021 - £837), less £3,849 (2022 - £3,277) claimed from Employer’s National Insurance Allowance and less £0 (2022 - £288) claimed from the Government’s Job Retention Scheme (2022 -in respect of 1 member of staff furloughed from April 2021 – August 2021). 

(e) 1876 Society: Expenses accumulated since 2018: £5,177 (net of non-legacy donations of £3,410). Total value of legacies received since 2018: £3,000. 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

18 



## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **8. Donations** 

Included in donation income is £8,989 (2022- £7,019) of donations by trustees of the Choir. 

## **9. Gains on investments** 

|**Unrestricted and designated funds**<br>**Restricted Fund: Poynter**<br>**Total**|**Unrestricted and designated funds**<br>**Restricted Fund: Poynter**<br>**Total**|**Unrestricted and designated funds**<br>**Restricted Fund: Poynter**<br>**Total**|**Unrestricted and designated funds**<br>**Restricted Fund: Poynter**<br>**Total**|**Unrestricted and designated funds**<br>**Restricted Fund: Poynter**<br>**Total**|**Unrestricted and designated funds**<br>**Restricted Fund: Poynter**<br>**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||£|£||£|
|Realised||-|-||-|
|Unrealised||(3,468)|811||(2,658)|
|Gains on revaluation of<br>investments||(3,468)|811||(2,658)|



## **10. Tangible Fixed Assets** 

|Musical<br>Office and computer<br>**Total**|Musical<br>Office and computer<br>**Total**|Musical<br>Office and computer<br>**Total**|Musical<br>Office and computer<br>**Total**|Musical<br>Office and computer<br>**Total**|Musical<br>Office and computer<br>**Total**|Musical<br>Office and computer<br>**Total**|Musical<br>Office and computer<br>**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|instruments<br>equipment||||||||
||||£||£||£|
|||||||||
|**Cost**||||||||
|At 1 August|2022||11,847||7,013||18,860|
|Additions|||-||255||255|
|||||||||
|at 31 July|2023||11,847||7,268||19,115|
|||||||||
|||||||||
|**Depreciation**||||||||
|At 1 August|2022||11,847||3,765||15,612|
|Charge for the year|||-||1,456||1,456|
|||||||||
|at 31 July|2023||11,847||5,221||17,068|
|||||||||
|**Net book value**||||||||
|at 31 July|2023||-||2,047||**2,047**|
|||||||||
|at 31 July|2022||-||1,650||1,650|











**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

19 



## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **11. Heritage assets** 

|||£|
|---|---|---|
|**Market value at 1 August**|**2022**|**14,830**|
|Additions||4,734|
|Disposals||(4,019)|
|Revaluation||(8,122)|
|**Market value at 1 August**|**2023**|**7,423**|



During the year the Trustees performed an assessment of the market value of sheet music held by the charity.  This has been included in the accounts at the deemed market value as at the balance sheet date, based on the income the charity receives during the latest 5-year period for hiring out these assets. 

During the course of its activities, the Choir acquires new music which is added to its collection.  Records are kept by the Choir librarians and the music is stored in locked metal cabinets, with access permitted only by the librarians.  From time to time, music is hired out to other choirs, with an undertaking that it is to be returned clean. The hirer is expected to cover the replacement cost of any unreturned music. 

The table below shows historic information concerning acquisitions and disposals of sheet music. 

||**2022**|**2021**|**2020**|**2019**|**2018**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Purchases and additions|4,971|_504_|_3,325_|_7,153_|_3,603_|
|Disposals at cost|4,633|_430_|_3,528_|_5,074_|_3,063_|
|Proceeds from disposal to members|(4,633)|_(430)_|_(3,528)_|_(5,074)_|_(3,063)_|
|Revaluation to market value|(2,561)|_(6,928)_|_(1,537)_|_(2,568)_|_(908)_|



Following the resignation of the choir’s volunteer librarian, the choir has not generated income in 2022/23 from hiring out sheet music. The asset valuation is based on the average income of the preceding latest five year period, resulting in a revaluation of (£8,122) recognised in the financial year. 

## **12. Investments** 

||Main fund|Poynter stock legacy fund|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|
|**Analysis of listed investments**|£|£|**£**|
|Market value at 1 August 2022|353,163|38,155|391,318|
|Disposals at carrying value|-|-|-|
|Additions at cost|-|-|-|
|Net gain on revaluation|(3,468)|811|(2,658)|
|Market value at 31 July 2023|349,694|38,966|388,660|



The market values are those at the close of business on 31 July 2023. 

## **13. Stocks** 

||**2023**|**_2022_**|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|**_£_**|
|CDs and souvenirs|177|_504_|











**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

20 



## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **14. Debtors** 

||**2023**|**_2022_**|**_2022_**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**£**|**_£_**||
|Prepayments|4,255|_8,540_||
|VAT recoverable|-|_1,781_||
|Other debtors|52,868|_44,999_||
|Total|57,123|_55,320_||
|**15. Creditors: Amounts falling**|**due within one year**|||
||**2023**|**_2022_**||
||**£**|**_£_**||
|Trade creditors|56,703|_1,704_||
|Accruals|1,826|_6,000_||
|VAT payable|3,280|_-_||
|Deferred income|23,536|_68_||
|Total|85,345|_7,772_||



## **16. Analysis of charitable funds** 

||Balance brought||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**2023**|forward|Income|Expenditure|Transfers||Gains and losses|Carried forward||
||£|£|£||£|£|£||
|Unrestricted fund|51,101|<br>393,900|<br>(330,771)||(33,749)|<br>(11,590)|102,640||
|Designated funds|511,591|<br>37,534|<br>(48,590)||10,000|<br>-|500,535||
|Restricted funds|25,961|<br>27,736|<br>(20,596)||23,749|<br>-|33,101||
|Endowment fund|38,155|<br>-|-||-|811|<br>38,966||
|Total|626,808|<br>459,170|<br>(399,957)||-|(10,779)|675,242||
||Balance brought||||||||
|**2022**|forward|Income|Expenditure|Transfers||Gains and losses|Carried forward||
||£|£|£||£|£|£||
|Unrestricted fund|61,168|322,268|(288,264)||(25,419)|(18,652)|51,101||
|Designated funds|487,142|95,183|(70,734)||-|-|511,591||
|Restricted funds|25,149|19,986|<br>(44,593)||25,419|<br>-|25,961||
|Endowment fund|37,608|<br>-|-||-|547|38,155||
|Total|611,067|437,437|(403,591)||-|(18,105)|626,808||



The Poynter Stock legacy fund (endowment) represents stocks donated to the choir.  The Trustees have the power to spend the unrestricted income generated by this fund. 

Restricted funds include the Community Engagement fund, the Student bursary fund and the Recording fund.  The Community Engagement fund is only available to be spent on the Choir’s Community Engagement programme (including Vocalise!).  The Student bursary fund is used to offer student singers a discounted membership fee. 

Designated funds include amounts provided by The Bach Choir Friends for supporting particular projects, amounts donated to help cover the losses incurred on the Choir’s own-promoted activities and amounts to be used to cover touring costs. 

At the year end, nil transfers (2022 - £ 25,419) were made from unrestricted funds to cover the deficit on restricted funds and to cover indirect costs apportioned to the Community Engagement fund. 









**Annual report and financial statements Year ended 31 July 2023** 

21