2023-07-31-accounts

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KINGSTON CHORAL SOCIETY

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

1 August 2022-31 July 2023

Annual Report and Financial Statements

30 September 2023 Charity Number 261522

Reference and administrative information	3
Trustees’ report	4
Charity Objectives	4
Fundraising	4
Activities during the year	4
Risk Management	6
Financial Controls	6
Statement of public benefit	7
Financial Review	7
Independent Examiner’s report on the financial statements	8
Financial statements
Statement of financial activities	9
Balance sheet	10
Principal accounting policy	11
Reserves Policy	11
Statement as to Disclosure of Information to the Independent Examiner	11
Future	11

Administrative Information

Trustees during the period

Kate Cockle Anna Cronin Jane Harnden Debbie Lye OBE

Executive Officers

Debbie Lye OBE (Chair) Kate Cockle (Deputy Chair Jane Harnden (Treasurer) Jeanette Hull (Secretary)

Registered address

39 The Green Morden SM4 4HU

Charity registration number 261522

Independent Examiner Claire Stephenson, 3 Popes Road, Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire WD5 0EY Bankers CAF Bank Ltd., 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ

Kingston Choral Society is affiliated to Making Music and Arts Richmond

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives of the Charity

Kingston Choral Society is a Registered Charity in England and Wales, charity number 261522. Its charitable object is "the study and practice of choral music in order to educate the public in its arts and sciences, by the presentation of concerts and other activities".

Objectives during the period were:

To increase membership, which had fallen from over 130 to 95 over the period of the pandemic
To generate sufficient income to enable us to continue to provide high quality choral music for audiences within the borough and beyond
To carry out additional activities to fulfil the Society’s public benefit responsibility.

Fundraising

As a voluntary organisation managed by its members, Kingston Choral Society’s main source of income is member subscriptions. The Society claims Gift Aid relief on these where eligible. Further income is generated via grant applications, sundry activities, including the sale and hire of music and concert dress accessories, and fundraising activities, described below. During the period, membership numbers increased from 98 to 110. At the AGM on 12 October 2022 members voted to increase the annual membership subscription from £150 to £160 per annum, with effect from Autumn 2022, to reflect the increased costs of hiring rehearsal and performance venues and paying our two professional musicians, as well as reduced income due to a drop in membership numbers following the Covid pandemic.

Internally, the Society raises funds through activities including raffles, bring and buy and produce sales, ticketed Come & Sing events, quizzes and a Friends Scheme. During the period these activities raised £3,177. The Society also received donations worth £375. During the year ending 31 July 2023 these activities were supplemented by external funds generated by successful grant applications to the Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust amounting to £2,575.

Activities during the year 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2023

The annual concert programme is proposed by Andrew Griffiths, the Musical Director, and agreed by Trustees in the early spring of each year. The Concert season runs from September to June. Members rehearsed and performed four concerts during the period. The November and March concerts in particular attracted larger than expected audiences and the Society was able to attract soloists and musicians of the highest calibre to perform for the local community:

19 November 2022

Venetian Vespers for the Ascension

Soprano : Helen Ashby, Kate Ashby Alto : Emma Ashby, Cara Curran Tenor : Jonathan Hanley, Benedict Hymas Bass : James Arthur, Jimmy Holliday

Conducted by Andrew Griffiths With the Monteverdi String Orchestra and English Cornet & Sackbut Ensemble Eligio Quinteiro, Lute Gavin Roberts, Organ

All Saints Kingston

17 December 2022 Make We Merry David Bednall: Make We Merry!

Conducted by Andrew Griffiths With Gavin Roberts, Organ

St Andrew’s Church, Surbiton

25 March 2023 Haydn : Insanae et vanae curae Gatti (after Haydn) : Creation Mass Mozart : Mass in C Minor Soprano : Ffion Edwards Alto : Gillian Ramm Tenor : Phillip Costovski Bass : Jack Holton Conducted by Andrew Griffiths With the Thames Sinfonia

All Saints Kingston

24 June 2023

This Shining Night Samuel Barber : Sure on this Shining Night Morten Lauridsen : Sure on this Shining Night Bob Chilcott : Canticles of Light Schubert : Four Partsongs Schubert Piano pieces Conducted by Andrew Griffiths With Gavin Roberts, Piano

St Andrew’s Church, Surbiton

In addition to the scheduled concerts, the Kingston Choral Society outreach programme engaged audiences from the wider community in fulfilment of our Public Benefit responsibility. Activities included carol-singing to raise funds for charity at the Bentall Shopping Centre in December 2022, and afternoon concerts at care homes and day care settings in the borough.

Governance

The Trustees form the management team, and they advise the Committee of 13 (the Trustees plus 9 additional volunteer members), which is the governing body of the Society.

Trustee appointments are approved by members at the AGM. Trustees serve for up to five years with their appointments re-approved annually at each AGM during their term of service. A few months before a Trustee post falls vacant, the position is advertised in the Choir Newsletter. Potential applicants receive a job description, and a summary of Trustee roles and responsibilities based on Charity Commission Guidance. If there is more than one application for a role, an appointment panel composed of Trustees and other Committee members select the successful candidate. Appointments are endorsed by the AGM.

The Committee endorses and reviews all policies, manages risks, agrees the concert programme, signs off budgets and makes significant decisions, e.g. on subscription rates. The Committee meets three times a year, and additionally agrees specific decisions via email. A quorum for both meetings and written decisions is 8. Around a dozen other non-committee helpers contribute by taking on essential tasks, including social media, internal communication, music librarianship, liaison with Making Music, ticket sales, member support, drafting programme notes, assembling marketing materials, management of the Friends scheme and arranging outreach activities. All committee members and helpers carry out administrative roles with tasks and responsibilities set out in job descriptions.

Committee members serve for a renewable one-year term. At the AGM all members have the opportunity to approve both new appointments and reappointments to the Committee.

Risk Management

Trustees maintain and invite the Committee to review a risk register and to be ready to respond to potential risks and issues as they arise. The register encompasses four risk areas: Governance, Finance, People and Reputation.

Financial Controls

Financial controls, which are reviewed regularly by the Trustees, include:

Preparation of budgets showing a two-year outlook, which are approved by the Trustees and Committee.
Reviews of performance against budget and other financial matters at each committee meeting.

Preparation of a forecast, generally at the half-year stage, for review by the Trustees and committee, and if necessary agreeing actions to address areas of concern.
All Trustees are advised of payments to be made from the Society’s bank account, which also require authorisation by two trustees.
Expenses are only reimbursed where they have been incurred in the course of carrying out agreed choir activities.
Capital expenditure and other one-off types of expense must first be agreed by Trustees and committee.

Public Benefit

In planning activities, the trustees give careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and confirm that they have complied with their duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011.

Kingston Choral Society specialises in providing access to high quality choral music to the local community and audiences from further afield. The Society engages with the community in several ways, including through:

Four annual concerts, usually at venues within the borough, which are preceded by free open rehearsals;
Active publicity and marketing campaigns, both online and via leaflets and flyers, which encourage local people to join the choir and to attend our concerts;
Outreach activities in shopping centres, care settings and other locations;

During the year the charity additionally benefited the public by generating charitable funds from a Christmas Carol public concert held in the Bentall Centre which raised over £300 for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.

Financial Review

The 2022-23 accounts were approved at the AGM in October 2023. The format was revised in June 2024 to record gross, rather than net, concert income under Income and concert costs separately under Expenses. This explains why our income appears to have increased significantly compared with previous years.

Subscription revenues were below budget because we started the year with fewer members than in July 2022. The lower subscription revenue was more than compensated for by excellent results from fund-raising and concerts.

Large concerts with orchestra and soloists are part of our charitable aim and expected to be loss-making, offset slightly by smaller events with only piano accompaniment. This year we managed to do better than budgeted overall. Strong publicity efforts helped to boost our audiences. Sales of drinks and programmes per head of audience are increasing, helped by the introduction of card readers that allow us to sell multiple items in one go. We also saw a big increase in advertising income.

The change in environment since the pandemic has prompted us to do more detailed analysis of our own finances as well as benchmarking against other choirs. This helped to inform our subscription fee increase, and a ticket-pricing review is underway. We have also focused on trimming costs, striving to get good value without affecting the quality of our activities.

Independent Examlner's Report to the Trustees of Klngston Choral Soclety I report tothe charitytnjstees on rnyexaminalion ol the accounlsof the charilyfor the yearended 31 july 2023. ResP(S1b1l1t1es and bas15 of report As the charty's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance Imth the quirements of the Chaf((ies Act 20111.the ACVI. I report in respect of my examination ol the charity's accounts carried out undef section 145 of the Att and in carrying out myexamination I have fdlowed all the applicable Directions given bythe Charity Commission under Section 14515llbl of the Att. Independent examkntt's ststement I have completed my examination. I conlirrn that no rnaterièl mallers have come lo my attention in connettion with the examination Biwng rne cause lo believe that in any material re5pett'. accounting record5 were not kept in respect of the charity as required by Section 130 of the A¢L' or the accounts do not accord with those records., or the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form andconlenl of accounts sel out in the Char(ties IAccounls and Reportsl Regulations 2CM)8 other than any requirement that the accountS8ive a'true and fair which is not a rnalter considered as partof an independent exarnination. I have no concems and have come across no other matter5 in connertion with the exarnination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. aalre Stephenson FC4 3 Popes Road Abbots LaneY Hertfordshire W05 OEY Dale 21. September 2023

Statement of Financial Activities

Kingston Choral Society	Kingston Choral Society
Accounts for Choir Year 2022-23
* Revised Format 21/6/24
		TOTAL 2022-23	TOTAL 2021-22

Income
Subscriptions		£16,700	£14,800
Gift Aid Income		£3,187	£2,958
Donations		£375	£991
Legacies		£0	£0
Grant - HumphreyRichardson Taylor Charitable Trust		£2,575	£1,300
Fundraising	Puddings & Christmas Cards	£264	£78
	Raffles & Sales	£1,310	£842
	Events(Quiz & Open Evening)	£1,268	£1,001
	Amazon/EasyFundraising	£378	£236
	KCS 100 Club	£164	£143
	Friends	£171	£0
Teas/Coffees(net of costs)		£390	£183
Sale & Hire of music		£3,130	£2,784
Notebashers(net of costs)		£253	£145
Sale & Hire of folders		£52	£94
Sale of Ties & Roses		£62	£27
Bank Interest		£227	£14
Gross Concert Income
	Autumn Concert	£4,721	£3,287
	Christmas Concert	£2,204	£0
	SpringConcert	£3,882	£3,649
	Summer Concert	£2,300	£2,147
Other Revenue		£0	-£49
Total Incoming Resources		£43,612	£34,629

Cost of Sales / Expenses

General	Musicians fees	£11,990	£11,020
	Room Hire	£4,144	£3,966
	Purchase & Hire of Music	£2,749	£2,103
	General Printing /Publicity	£321	£258
	Postage,Printing& Stationery	£9	£11
	Bank Fees	£158	£153
	Gifts	£56	£128
	PRS1	£19	£0
	Insurance	£269	£257
	Honorarium	£110	£110
	Memberships	£320	£345
	Purchase of Ties & Roses	£0	£0
	Other	£0	£0
Concert Costs
	Autumn Concert	£9,460	£7,535
	Christmas Concert	£1,465	£876
	SpringConcert	£9,728	£9,238
	Summer Concert	£1,653	£1,560
	Outreach events	£108	£0

Fundraising	Puddings & Christmas Cards	£128	£0
	Events(Quiz & Open Evening)	£386	£83

Total Resources Expended		£43,071	£37,643

General Surplus for theyear		£541	-£3,014

Balance Brought forward at 1/8/22		£18,940	£21,954

		£19,481	£18,940

1 PRS accruals are included in individual concert accounts.
* Revised to recordgross, rather than net, concert income under 'income' and concert costs under expenses.

* Revised to record gross, rather than net, concert income under 'income' and concert costs under expenses.

Balance Sheet

Kingston Choral Society
As at 31.07.23

Assets	as at 31.07.23	as at 31.07.22

Bank
Current Account	£700	£700
Deposit Account	£20,120	£16,016
KCS100 Club	£0	£0
Total Bank	£20,820	£16,716

Current Assets
Accounts Receivable
Accrued Income		£3,118
100 Club Loan
PettyCash	£225	£237
Debtors andprepayments	£995	£802
Total Current Assets	£1,220	£4,157

Fixed Assets
Office Equipment	£347	£347
Total Fixed Assets	£347	£347

Total Assets	£22,387	£21,220
Liabilities

Current Liabilities Deferred Income	£2,568	£1,490
Accruals	£338	£789
Total Current Liabilities	£2,906	£2,279

Total Liabilities	£2,906	£2,279

Net Assets	£19,481	£18,940

Equity
Restricted Funds(HRTCT)	£1,200	£1,200
Unrestricted Funds	£18,281	£17,740
Total Equity	£19,481	£18,940

Approved by the trustees of Kingston Choral Society

Signed:

Jane Harnden, Treasurer 24/6/24

Debbie Lye OBE, Chair 25/6/24

Principal Accounting Policy

The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis.

Reserves Policy

The trustees have established a policy whereby the unrestricted free reserves held by the Society should be sufficient to cover between 9 and 12 months of operating costs. This ensures that commitments made, for example, in the form of contractual commitments to venues and freelance musicians, can be met with confidence. At 31 July 2023, free reserves amounted to £18,281 (2022: £17,740). Restricted reserves consist of a grant from the Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust to cover our concerts in the 2023 calendar year. The grant is therefore split between our 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years.

Statement as to Disclosure of Information to the Independent Examiner

The trustees who were in office on the date of approval of the financial statements have confirmed, as far as they are aware, that there is no relevant information of which the Independent Examiner is unaware. Trustees have taken the steps that they ought to have taken as trustees in order to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that it has been communicated to the Examiner.

This report and financial statements were approved by the committee at a meeting held on 24 August 2023 and was subsequently endorsed by all Kingston Choral Society Members at the AGM held on 12 October 2023.

Future Plans

Kingston Choral Society has agreed an eclectic and varied programme for the 2023-24 season, including both works by living composers and well-loved familiar pieces. The programme is set out in a Concert Calendar leaflet.

Over the next period the Society aims are:

To further build the membership, with an emphasis on the lower voice parts
To review and enhance the functionality and appearance of the website: http://www.kingstonchoralsociety.org.uk
To generate more income in response to continuing cost increases
To supplement fundraising activity and subscriptions with grant income from the Sir George Dyson Trust and by applying to the Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust
To review Governance arrangements and ensure that they are fit for purpose

Signed on their behalf:

Debbie Lye OBE, Chair

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