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2024-03-31-accounts

Annual report and financial statements

31 March 2024

Company limited by guarantee Registration number 01300565 (England and Wales)

Charity registration number 0273984

Contents

Reports
Reference and administrative information 1
2
report 14
Financial statements
Statement of financial activities 19
Balance sheet 20
Statement of cash flows 21
Principal accounting policies 22
Notes to the financial statements 26

Collections Trust

Reference and administrative details about the charity, its board and its advisers

Charity name Collections Trust
Charity number 0273984
Company number 01300565
Registered office Rutland House
23-25 Friar Lane
Leicester LE1 5QQ
Trustees and directors Ms L Pye (Chair)
Mr R Avann
Mr R Bending
Dr A Bhaugeerutty
Ms K Childs
Ms N Golding
Ms S Johnson
Ms A Karia
Mr N Klee
Ms R Sloss
Ms C St Clair Inglis
Mr P Stevenson
Ms L Turner
Company Secretary and Chief Executive Mr K Gosling
Bankers CAF Bank Ltd
25 Kings Hill Avenue
West Malling
ME19 4JQ
Auditor Buzzacott LLP
130 Wood Street
London
EC2V 6DL

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31 March 2024

The trustees, who are also directors and members under company law, present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees confirm that the financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102)

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Collections Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee (01300565), originally incorporated (as the Museum Documentation Association) on 28 February 1977. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission (0273984).

Updated articles of association were adopted by a special resolution of the members at an extraordinary general meeting on 25 July 2023.

Governance

Collections Trust is governed by its board of trustees, who as noted above are also directors and members of the company.

Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits except for the offer of a free copy of Spectrum and discounted conference tickets in order to further their understanding of our work. Any expenses reclaimed are set out in note 6 to the financial statements.

The trustees who served throughout the year ended 31 March 2024 and up to the date these financial statements were approved, except where indicated, were:

Trustees Appointed / Resigned
Ms L Pye (appointed 11 December 2023)
Ms C Hampshire (resigned 31 December 2023)
Mr R Avann
Mr R Bending (appointed 24 July 2024)
Dr A Bhaugeerutty
Ms K Childs
Ms N Golding
Ms S Johnson
Ms A Karia
Mr N Klee (appointed 10 October 2024)
Ms S Longmuir (resigned 13 May 2024)
Dr C Michaels (resigned 11 December 2023)
Ms T Simpson (resigned 11 December 2023)
Ms R Sloss
Ms C St Clair Inglis (appointed 11 December 2023)
Mr P Stevenson
Ms L Turner

The board meets quarterly, with interim meetings as required to deal with specific matters such as the sign-off of major grant applications.

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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT (continued)

Governance (continued)

In addition, an audit committee comprising a sub-group of trustees with an external chair, management. A further sub-group (the commitments committee) reviews the budget, contractual terms and risks of any proposed project with a value over £10,000, as and when required.

Key management personnel

The key management personnel of the charity are the unremunerated trustees and the Chief Executive, the latter a paid employee. Remuneration of the Chief Executive is set by the board and, if deemed appropriate, increased annually by a percentage in line with all other employees.

The Chief Executive is responsible for the overall management of the organisation, leading company secretary. He works closely with the Deputy Director, who leads the grant-funded Organisations, and the Finance Manager, who takes the lead in day-to-day financial management. All three prepare reports for the board and audit committee, including regular updates to the risk register, and attend their meetings.

OBJECTIVES

Charitable purpose

Our charitable object, set out in our memorandum and articles of association, is to:

Promote the education of the public by the development of museums and similar organisations by all appropriate methods.

Our

Mission and aims

The mission of Collections Trust is to:

Help museums work with the information that connects collections and audiences.

This mission is fleshed out in our five strategic aims:

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OBJECTIVES (continued)

Mission and aims (continued)

PUBLIC BENEFIT

The trustees reaffirm , . This benefit is indirect: we ourselves do not work directly with the general public, but we help museums that do.

deliver two kinds of public benefit. Collections information is essential for the accountability and smooth administration of museums behind the scenes, but it is also the raw material for all audience-facing use of museum objects. Every exhibition, every online resource, every learning session museums deliver depends on existing information being available to those working on that activity, and new information arising from it being recorded for future use.

ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

In April 2023, we entered a new funding agreement with Arts Council England (ACE), becoming an Investment Principle Support Organisation (IPSO) within the ACE National Portfolio 2023-27. In this role, our focus is two of the investment principles set out i ten-year strategy, :

Dynamism: Museum Data Service

Dynamic collections need dynamic collections information. For decades, UK museums have been held back by systemic difficulties in sharing such information. This has hindered collaboration between museums themselves and with others, often reinforcing the gatekeeper mentality discussed below. It has also made it impossible for policymakers, funders or anyone else to grasp the scope and significance of museum holdings across the country clearly enough to inform a strategic approach to collecting, disposal or d igitisation.

For decades, too, Collections Trust has been trying to address this problem, in a funding environment that has often seemed incapable of investing in the necessary infrastructure. It was therefore a huge milestone when, at the Museums Association conference in November 2023, we and co-founders Art UK and the University of Leicester unveiled plans for a long-anticipated national Museum Data Service (MDS) .

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ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS (continued)

MDS is a transformative new service that aims to connect and share all the object records across all UK museums, providing the raw material for anyone to work with this wealth of knowledge. The diagram below summarises what the service does.

Much of 2023-24 was spent developing the core systems and governance arrangements for MDS, with generous start-up funding (via Art UK) from Bloomberg Philanthropies, a donor that understands very well the value added when data is brought together at scale.

Digital Accelerator Programme has enabled the development of a project that applies the a collaboration that is breaking down industry silos to make this Jemma Read, Global Head of Corporate Philanthropy at Bloomberg

As well as working with developer Knowledge Integration to test and refine the back -end repository, Collections Trust led on launching the MDS website, museumdata.uk , working with early adopter museums to develop onboarding processes, and raising awareness through conference presentations and online briefings.

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ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS (continued)

With significant pro bono help from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and input from charity specialists Womble Bond Dickinson, in June 2024, MDS was registered as a company (number 15790086) by founding members Art UK, Collections Trust and the University of Leicester. The company will be registered with the Charity Commission as soon as possible.

The start-up activity throughout the year and beyond bore fruit with the official launch of MDS in September 2024, when an initial three million object records from 21 institutions went live, along with summary guides to many hundreds of further collections.

digital capabilities, expanding opportunities for research and collaboration, and preservin g

Sir Chris Bryant MP, Museums Minister

MDS official launch, 12 September 2024 (photo: James Winspear)

Another significant achievement of the year was that MDS became part of an emerging portfolio of digital infrastructure supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), recognising the huge research potential of bringing together collection data at scale. In June 2024, the AHRC grant picked up the core running costs of MDS after the end of the Bloomberg-funded start-up, initially to the end of March 2025, but within the context ng-term ambitions for digital arts and humanities research infrastructure.

-leading piece of digital

heritage infrastructure that will make our heritage sector better and more inclusive, as part of our commitment to supporting sustainable digital humanities right across our sectors. This major milestone in the full integration of modern technology and our rich cultural heritage will create a place where anyone can access the immense resources held by our

Professor Christopher Smith, Chair of AHRC

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ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS (continued)

Dynamism: supporting Museum Accreditation

Dynamic collections, of course, start with the staff and volunteers in museums across the country. Those in museums that are officially Accredited by ACE (and its counterparts in the other home nations) look to our collections management standard, Spectrum , for guidance. Key parts of Spectrum are embedded in the Accreditation requirements.

The full standard is freely available for museums to use via our much-valued website , collectionstrust.org.uk , along with a wealth of other collection management resources which, between them, were downloaded 24,000 times during the year.

Museum Development stakeholder

In 2023-24, we continued the successful development of bitesize video content , publishing five new videos on our YouTube channel, which saw a 15% increase in subscribers. Our LinkedIn page and collections management group continue to develop too, with the Collections Trust page followers increasing from 3,350 to 5,377 over the year.

To help us stay in touch with our audience, our new user group met for the first time in September 2023, giving valuable insights into our website and comms. There was particular praise for the monthly e-newsletter, which goes to over 5000 subscribers, and is seen as the best way to find out about our events and new resources.

Our outreach team supports museums to put Spectrum into practice through the ACEfunded outreach programme we run in partnership with the (also ACE-funded) Museum Development (MD) network in England. In a much-valued collaborative approach we pioneered with MD, we offer free days of training and other support according to the proportion of Accredited museums in each region. Overall, we ran 68 such regional sessions over the year, reaching 863 participants. Most of these events were delivered online, a postCovid trend set to continue for the foreseeable future.

by Collections Trust to be a vital support element to the museums in their regions. The programmes and outreach developed and delivered by Collections Trust are essential for the

Collections Trust external impact evaluation, 2023-24

The team delivered a further 25 online events nationally, reaching over 600 participants. Of these, ten dealt with accountability for collections , a swift response to the reports of thefts from the British Museum, and apparently missing items elsewhere, that attracted media scrutiny in autumn 2023. These well-received events attracted a new audience of senior managers and trustees, a welcome development that hopefully signals an increased awareness of the importance of sound documentation for museum governance.

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ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS (continued)

useums can feel a bit on their own sometimes. And that's how the Collections Trust [is] a really useful organisation to work with, because it just helps emphasise the need for n the

Museums Galleries Scotland stakeholder

commissioned Spectrum training sessions to help the museums they support meet the required standards. Ten sessions were delivered during 2023-24, to over 100 participants.

Furthermore, we were grateful to the Welsh Government for supporting a Welsh translation of Spectrum . The project, managed by the Deputy Director, was carried out by a translator and proofreader with museum backgrounds and included user consultation on the initial glossary of key terms. In March 2024, this version became the eighth translation published on our website, joining Arabic, Dutch, French, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish and Swedish.

Our Spectrum Partners not only provide much-appreciated income through their licensing of Spectrum for commercial use, but the collection management systems they develop and supply help museums in the UK and many other countries put the standard into practice. To help connect our Spectrum Partners with museums thinking of buying a new system, or upgrading an existing one, in June 2023 we experimented with an online event called choosing collections software . This was extremely well received on all sides, and will become a regularly repeated event.

Inclusivity and relevance

Fifteen of the national outreach events noted above focused on embedding a more inclusive and open approach to cataloguing, as part of our ongoing rethinking cataloguing initiative, which began in 2022 with the revision of the relevant Spectrum guidance.

A new strand of work for 2023-24 was the piloting of collaborative use of collections projects with museums in local authority areas that ACE is particularly keen to support. demonstrate the potential of MDS to enable a more inclusive approach to working with collections.

The difficulties of sharing source data with, for example, community co -curators, and of dealing with any text that is not entered directly into collection databases, have long been barriers to collaborative working with collections. To address this problem, we have developed a based on Spectrum and demonstrated how a simple spreadsheet tool can be used to create new text, such as exhibition captions, and save it as MDS-ready re-usable content.

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

During the year, Collections Trust had income, excluding bank interest, of £449,300 (2023: - £371,607). Of this, £255,827 (2023: £235,198) was restricted funding with £234,232 (2023: £234,232) received from the Arts Council England.

Unrestricted income from charitable activities of £193,473 (2023: £136,409) was made up from: retail sales of publications and forms £30,903 (2023: £34,097); Spectrum partnership membership fees £64,043 (2023: £62,628); consultancy projects £86,193 (2023: £27,584); conference ticket sales £5,949 (2023: £5,800) and training income £6,385 (2023: £6,300).

Collections Trust spent £214,084 (2023: £234,232) directly on Arts Council England projects, including staff time. £164,381 (2023: £130,674) was spent on other charitable activities (Other grant funding, retail, Spectrum partnerships, and consultancy).

The year finished with an overall surplus of £73,685 (2023: £7,395). This surplus includes a credit in respect of the pension scheme of £26,000, which is offset against the loss on actuarial valuation included on other recognised gains/(losses). Total funds carried forward were £198,690 (2023: £151,005) of which £158,543 (2023: £131,005) was unrestricted, £20,000 designated (2023: £20,000) and £20,147 (2023: £nil) restricted, giving free reserves (unrestricted funds excluding fixed assets, pension liability, and designated funds) of £155,606 (2023: £128,089).

The balance sheet shows total funds to be in surplus by £198,690 (2023: £151,005), once the defined benefit pension as calculated by the actuary has been taken into account. The final actuarial valuation calculated at cessation of the scheme on 31 May 2024 confirmed that there is no exit credit or cessation debt payable by Collections Trust. The pension scheme asset has been valued at £nil. (2023: £nil).

Reserves policy and position

The aims, and the risk register, establish that alongside the need for a general reserves fund, there are also both risks and opportunities that require the designation of funds. The reserves policy therefore sets out the following targets and designations:

  1. General fund

Three to six months operational expenditure in free reserves to accommodate variations in income levels, mitigate against any cashflow shortfalls, and meet any unbudgeted expenditure such as parental or sick pay. This figure equates to between £90,000 and £180,000. At 31 March 2024 the organisation held £155,606 (2023: £128,089) in free reserves (unrestricted, undesignated reserves excluding fixed assets and pensions). This equates to approximately four months operating costs, falling within the target range of the policy.

FINANCIAL REVIEW (continued)

2. Strategic fund

A designated fund of £17,000 to allow for the opportunity and flexibility to invest in strategic initiatives related to the museum data service, and other potential opportunities.

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  1. Defined benefit pension fund

  2. A designated fund of £3,000 to cover potential legal and administrative costs of entering into any deferred debt arrangement (DDA) with the pension fund if required. The last active member of the scheme retired on 31 May 2024. As noted above, the final actuarial valuation calculated on cessation of the scheme, confirmed there is no liability, therefore no DDA is needed. Consideration will be given in the coming financial year to the release of this designated fund.

The organisation aims to provide for these reserves through unrestricted surplus funds carried forward at the end of each financial year. This money is invested in bank savings accounts on the most advantageous overall terms, in respect of interest and charges and access, and is regularly reviewed.

Fundraising

The charity does not raise or actively seek to raise funds from the public. The trustees therefore do not consider that they are obliged to make any further disclosures in relation to this area.

Going concern

The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing the financial statements. The trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of at least one year from the date of approval of the annual report and financial statements, and in light of the implications of the current economic downturn, with consideration given to budget forecasts, cashflow, confirmed and pipeline projects.

Further narrative is provided within the assessment of going concern contained within the principal accounting policies at page 22. Based on the information considered, the trustees 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.

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PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The trustees have considered the strategic risks facing Collections Trust and the measures needed to mitigate them. They consider the key risks and mitigation strategies to be:

Risk Loss of key member of staff
Employee turnover is inevitable, and in a small organisation a lot of
institutional knowledge rests with a few key individuals. In particular, the
current Chief Executive plans to step down after nearly ten years in 2025.
Tolerance Medium
the sudden departure of one key member of staff and planned
retirement of another
took up time but were not unduly disruptive.
Mitigation The management team works closely together. Handover procedures and
documented processes proved effective. Reserves provide the financial
resources to hire interim staff when needed.
Risk Cyber security
CT is reliant on IT and the internet for all its operations. A cyber-attack
could compromise its ability to deliver its services and generate income. A
data breach could risk litigation and damage to our reputation.
Tolerance Medium to low
whilst a cyber-attack is unlikely to threaten the existence
of Collections Trust, it could take considerable time and resources to
resolve an attack and may lead to costly legal fees and fines.
Mitigation A password management system has been introduced to ensure all
passwords are complex, with multi-factor authentication also required for
key systems. The level of external IT support has been increased, with
support for Cyber Essentials accreditation including mandatory online
training on topics such as phishing and password protection.
Risk Loss of strategic direction and focus during MDS start up
As the Museum Data Service becomes a reality, with Collections Trust as
one of three founding organisations, there is potential for confusion
amongst stakeholders regarding our brand and purpose, and questions
around capacity to cope with such change.
Tolerance Low
the organisation has been working towards this for many years and
needs to maximise the current opportunity to deliver on its strategic aims.
Mitigation Our Investment Principles action plan sets out how the trust will manage
the transition, including continued board development and succession
planning for board and key staff. It is anticipated that the next Chief
Executive will spend less time on MDS than the current one.

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STATEMENT OF REPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES

The trustees (who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company in accordance with applicable law and accounting standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

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Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The trustees are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

by:

L Pye Chair Date:

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Collections Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom accounting standards, including Financial (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report and financial trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report and financial statements. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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Other information (continued)

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of responsibilities of trustees, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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Responsibilities of trustees (continued)

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

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31 March 2024

(continued) misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our

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Use of our report

with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Gumayel Miah (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

Date: 21 November 2024

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Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) 31 March 2024

Notes Un-
restricted
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 2024
Total
funds
£		 2023
Total
funds
£
Income from:
Charitable activities
2
Investments
3
Total income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities:
. Projects and programmes
. Other charitable activities
Total expenditure
4
Net income for the year
Other recognised (losses)/ gains
Actuarial (losses) gains in respect
to defined benefit pension scheme
19
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 193,473
2,850		 255,827 449,300
2,850		 371,607
694
196,323 255,827 452,150 372,301
142,785 235,680 235,680
142,785		 235,198
129,708
142,785 235,680 378,465 364,906
53,538
(26,000)		 20,147 73,685
(26,000)		 7,395
279,000
27,538
151,005		 20,147 47,685
151,005		 286,395
(135,390)
178,543 20,147 198,690 151,005

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities.

There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.

The attached notes form part of these financial statements.

A full comparative statement of financial activities is included at Note 1.

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Balance sheet 31 March 2024

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
8
Current assets
Stock
9
Debtors
10
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities:
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year
11
Net current assets
Total assets less current
liabilities
Pension liability
19
Total net asset (liabilities)
The funds of the charity:
Restricted funds
13
Unrestricted funds:
. Designated funds
. Pension reserve
13
. General funds
13
Total unrestricted funds
13
Total funds		 2024
£		 2024
£		 2023
£		 2023
£
1,569
5,274
228,209		 2,937
195,753		 177
8,517
173,575		 2,916
148,089
235,052
(39,299)		 182,269
(34,180)
20,147
20,000
158,543		 20,000
131,005
198,690 151,005
198,690 151,005
198,690 151,005
198,690 151,005

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

L Pye Chair Date:

Company registration number: 01300565 (England and Wales)

The attached notes form part of the financial statements.

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Statement of cash flows 31 March 2024

Note 2024
£		 2024
£		 2023
£		 2023
£
Cash flows from operating
activities:
Net cash provided by operating
activities
14
Cash flows from investing
activities:
Interest received
Purchase of fixed assets
Cash provided by/(used in)
investing activities
Change in cash and cash
equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the
end of theyear
15		 2,850
(1,193)		 52,977
1,657		 694
(2,584)		 13,518
(1,890)
54,634
173,575		 11,628
161,947
228,209 173,575

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Principal accounting policies 31 March 2024

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items initially recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

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

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 at least one year from the date of approval of these accounts and 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.

Collections Trust (CT) are part of the 2023 to 2026 National Portfolio which means we have confirmation that our ACE grant funding will continue at £234,232 per year through to March 2026. ACE have indicated we are likely to secure an extension to our existing funding agreement to March 2027. Through the confirmed support of Bloomberg Philanthropies for the Museum Data Service (MDS) start-up phase, CT will receive (via Art UK) a further £14,300 for April May 2024. It is anticipated that the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) will sustain MDS beyond the start-up, with infrastructure funding confirmed at least to March 2025. CT will receive (via the University of Leicester, UoL) at least £60,641 of this AHRC grant for its continuing work on the core service over that period. Beyond April 2025, it is anticipated that further AHRC support, again via UoL, would continue to cover the cost of CT staff time spent working on MDS, on a full-cost-recovery basis.

In the current financial year, 2024-25, income from Spectrum Partnerships, retail, training and the conference all look healthy and we are forecast to hit the upper end of our reserves irst time in the past decade.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Key judgements and estimates made in the preparation of these accounts include the estimate of the defined benefit pension liability existing at 31 March 2024 which is detailed in note 19. The estimated liability is determined with the support of qualified actuaries. For 2023/24, the actuary has estimated that the scheme is, at 31 March 2024, in a net asset position.

Collections Trust 22

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2024

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement (continued)

The asset has not been recognised on the balance sheet on the basis of the trustees' judgement that at the point of approving the financial statements, there is uncertainty as to whether the asset may be realised in terms of future contributions or refunds from the scheme.

Post year end, the finalised position confirmed an exit which will not lead to any additional liability (or asset) for the charity.

Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred. Income received in advance for the provision of specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Revenue from the sale of goods is recognised when the significant risks and rewards of ownership have been transferred to the customer, it is probable that the income will be received, and the revenue and associated costs can be reliably measured.

Revenue from the provision of services is recognised when it is probable that Collections Trust will receive the economic benefit and the revenue and associated costs can be reliably measured. For continuing services, revenue is recognised when the stage of completion can be reliably measured.

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.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose.

Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for

Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. Expenditure is comprised of direct and support costs. Direct costs are allocated to a specific activity. The classification between activities is as follows:

Collections Trust 23

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2024

Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT (continued)

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred and is calculated using the ratio that business income bears to total income.

Allocation of support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back-office costs, finance, payroll and governance costs which support the charitable activities. These costs have been allocated between the various charitable activities. They are allocated based on staff time.

Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the assets are expected to have a useful life of more than four years. The capitalisation threshold is £1,000. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

Computer equipment 25% per annum based on cost

Stock

Stock is included at the lower of cost or net realisable value.

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 maturity of three months or less.

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.

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 amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Collections Trust 24

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2024

Pensions

The charity contributes to a defined benefit scheme operated by Cambridgeshire County Council, which provides benefit based on average pensionable salary. The assets of the scheme are held and managed separately from those of the charity.

Pension scheme assets are measured using market values. Pension scheme liabilities are measured using the projected unit actuarial method and are discounted at the current rate of return on a high-quality corporate bond of equivalent term and currency to the liability. Any expected to arise from employee service in the period is allocated to the respective expense category within the statement of financial activities. Actuarial gains and losses are recognised in the statement of financial activities as part of other recognised gains and losses for the period.

The last remaining member of the scheme retired on 31 May 2024 and the charity exited the scheme as of this date. The charity has received the final actuarial report which confirms there is a £nil asset/liability closing position. The charity also offers an auto-enrolment pension scheme into which all new employees are enrolled. Contributions in respect to the personal pension schemes and defined contribution schemes are recognised in the statement of financial activities in the year in which they are payable to the relevant scheme.

Collections Trust 25

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

1 Detailed comparatives for the statement of financial activities

Notes
Unrestricted
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 2023
Total
funds
£
Income from:
Charitable activities
2
Investments
3
Total income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities:
. Projects and programmes
. Other charitable activities
Total expenditure
4
Net income (expenditure) for the year
Other recognised losses
Actuarialgain in respect to defined benefit
pension scheme
19
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 136,409
694		 235,198 371,607
694
137,103 235,198 372,301
129,708 235,198 235,198
129,708
129,708 235,198 364,906
7,395
279,000		 7,395
279,000
286,395
(135,390)		 286,395
(135,390)
151,005 151,005

2 Income from charitable activities

----- Start of picture text -----
Un- 2024 Un- 2023
restricted Restricted Total restricted Restricted Total
funds funds funds funds funds funds
£ £ £ £ £ £
Projects and programmes
Arts Council England 234,232 234,232 234,232 234,232
Welsh Government 21,595 21,595
Other charitable activities
Retail and publishing 30,903 30,903 34,097 34,097
Spectrum partnership
licencing scheme 64,043 64,043 62,628 62,628
Consultancy 86,193 86,193 27,584 27,584
Training 6,385 6,385 6,300 6,300
Conference 5,949 5,949 5,800 5,800
Other income 966 966
Total income from
charitable activities 193,473 255,827 449,300 136,409 235,198 371,607
----- End of picture text -----

Collections Trust 26

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

3 Income from investments

Unrestricted
funds
£


Restricted
funds
£		 2024
Total
funds
£



Unrestricted
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 2023
Total
funds
£
Bank interest 2,850 2,850
694		 694

4 Analysis of expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
Restricted Unrestricted
Other
grant Consult- Con- CT 2024
ACE funding Retail Spectrum ancy Training ference Award Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Expenditure
Direct costs 36,769 14,520 12,666 345 (5) 85 1,000 65,380
Direct staff costs 114,258 6,164 9,257 1,101 74,306 2,452 207,538
151,027 20,684 21,923 1,446 74,301 2,537 1,000 272,918
Overheads
Administration overheads 25,572 370 1,774 158 14,489 442 42,805
Staff overheads 37,485 542 2,599 230 21,238 648 62,742
63,057 912 4,373 388 35,727 1,090 105,547
Total expenditure 2024 214,084 21,596 26,296 1,834 110,028 3,627 1,000 378,465
Restricted Unrestricted
Other
grant Consult- Con- CT 2023
ACE funding Retail Spectrum ancy Training ference Award Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Expenditure
Direct costs 19,336 966 16,679 383 1,222 1,042 39,628
Direct staff costs 162,432 10,814 1,900 16,574 2,769 194,489
181,768 966 27,493 2,283 16,574 2,769 1,222 1,042 234,117
Overheads
Administration overheads 52,464 6,672 706 6,623 1,286 67,751
Staff overheads 27,514 2,911 27.308 5,305 63,038
52,464 34,186 3,617 33,931 6,591 130,789
Total expenditure 2023 234,232 966 61,679 5,900 50,505 9,360 1,222 1,042 364,906
Overheads are allocated based on staff time per activity.
5 Net income for the year
This is stated after charging:
2024 2023
£ £
Depreciation 1,172 467
. Audit fees 12,067 11,330
----- End of picture text -----

5 Net income for the year

Collections Trust 27

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

6 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
Salaries and wages 254,401 232,730
Social security costs 19,513 19,383
Pension costs 14,514 13,414
Temporary staff costs 6,050 9,734
294,478 275,261
FRS 102 defined benefit pension adjustment (12,000) (8,000)
282,478 267,261
----- End of picture text -----

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension contributions) during the year between:

£70,000
£79,999
£80,000
£89,999		 2024
£		 2023
£
1 1

The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £80,755 (2023: £78,903).

The charity expenses reimbursed during the year were £400 (2023: £405). The charity trustees were not paid and did not receive any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2023: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2023: £nil).

Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was as follows:

ACE
Retail
Spectrum
Consultancy
Training
Support		 2024
No.		 2023
No.
2.4
0.2
0.0
1.4
0.0
1.2		 3.4
0.3
0.1
0.2
0.1
1.2
5.2 5.3

7 Taxation

Collections Trust is a registered charity and therefore not liable to income tax or corporation tax on income derived from its charitable activities, as it falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities.

Collections Trust 28

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

8 Tangible fixed assets

Computer
equipment
£		 2024
Total
£
Cost
At 1 April 2023
Additions
At 31 March 2024
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2024
Net book values
At 1 April 2023
At 31 March 2024		 3,591
1,193		 3,591
1,193
4,784
675
1,172		 4,784
675
1,172
1,847 1,847
2,916 2,916
2,937 2,937

All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.

----- Start of picture text -----
9 Stock
2024 2023
£ £
Forms and catalogue cards 1,569 177
1,569 177
10 Debtors
2024 2023
£ £
Amounts falling due in less than one year:
Trade debtors 660 1,523
Prepayments 4,614 6,994
5,274 8,517
----- End of picture text -----

11 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2024
£		 2023
£
9,572
18,982
5,626
34,180
Trade creditors
Pension contributions
Accruals
VAT payable		 3,852
1,063
28,417
5,967
39,299

Collections Trust 29

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

12 Analysis of net assets between funds

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
Total Total
Unrestricted Restricted funds Unrestricted Restricted funds
£ £ £ £ £ £
Tangible fixed assets 2,937 2,937 2,916 2,916
Net current assets 178,543 20,147 195,753 148,089 148,089
Net assets at the end of
the year 181,480 20,147 198,690 151,005 151,005
13 Movement in funds
At 1 Gains / At 31
April (losses) and March
2023 Income Expenditure transfers 2024
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds
Arts Council England 234,232 (214,085) 20,147
Welsh Government 21,595 (21,595)
Total restricted funds 255,827 (235,680) 20,147
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
. Strategic development 10,000 7,000 17,000
. Defined benefit pension
scheme management 10,000 (7,000) 3,000
20,000 20,000
General funds 131,005 196,323 (142,785) (26,000) 158,543
Total unrestricted funds 151,005 196,323 (142,785) (26,000) 178,543
Total funds 151,005 452,150 (378,465) (26,000) 198,690
At 1 Gains / At 31
April (losses) and March
2022 Income Expenditure transfers 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds
Arts Council England
. Core funding 234,232 (234,232)
. Other income 966 (966)
Total restricted funds 235,198 (235,198)
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
. Strategic development 10,000 10,000
. Defined benefit pension
scheme management 10,000 10,000
20,000 20,000
FRS102 pension liability (279,000) 279,000
General funds 123,610 137,103 (129,708) 131,005
Total unrestricted funds (135,390) 137,103 (129,708) 279,000 151,005
Total funds (135,390) 372,301 (364,906) 279,000 151,005
----- End of picture text -----

Collections Trust 30

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

13 Movement in funds (continued)

Restricted funds represent grants for specific purposes, being the ACE grant for delivery of the ACE activity plan 2023-26 (2023: 2018-23) and a grant from the Welsh Government to translate Spectrum into Welsh.

Designated funds comprise £10,000 to allow for strategic development opportunities related to the museum data service or other opportunities that may arise, and £10,000 for the management of the defined benefit pension scheme liability. This second fund is intended as provision for the legal and administrative costs of entering into a deferred debt agreement with the pension fund at the point when the last remaining member of the scheme leaves , and where the fund is in a significant net liability position at that time. Following cessation of the pension scheme on 31 May 2024 in a £nil asset/liability position consideration will be given to release of this designated fund.

Transfers between funds in 2024 relate to a £3,396 surplus on the Welsh Government project which is transferred from the restricted fund into general reserves. This arose from savings in staff time and overheads.

14 Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
Net income for the reporting period
(as per the statement of financial activities) 73,685 7,395
Depreciation 1,172 467
Interest (2,850) (694)
(Increase)/Decrease in stock (1,392) 1,159
Increase in debtors 3,243 7,372
Increase/(Decrease) in creditors 5,119 (2,181)
Defined benefit pension scheme service and finance cost adjustments (26,000)
Net cash provided by operating activities 52,977 13,518
----- End of picture text -----

15 Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
At 1
April
2023
£		 Cash flows
£		 At 31
March
2024
£
Cash at bank and in hand 173,575
173,575
At 1
April
2022
£		 54,634
54,634
Cash flows
£		 228,209
228,209
At 31
March
2023
£
Cash at bank and in hand 161,947
161,947		 11,628
11,628		 173,575
173,575

No separate reconciliation of net debt has been prepared as there is no difference between the net cash/(debt) of the charity and the above cash and cash equivalents .

Collections Trust 31

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

16 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. Each member is liable to contribute a sum not exceeding £1 in the event of the charity being wound up.

17 Related party transactions

Other than the disclosure provided within note 6 relating to transactions with trustees and the remuneration payable to key management personnel, there were no other related party transactions during the year ended 31 March 2024 (2023- no other transactions).

18 Defined benefit pension commitments

The charity participates in the Cambridgeshire County Council Pension Scheme, a career average revalued earnings (CARE), multi ~~e~~ mployer pension scheme. Participation in the admitted body to the fund.

In 2007 the charity was enrolled in a mall bodies pool within the pension scheme, and whilst in this pool it was not possible to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for the scheme as a defined benefit scheme. Therefore defined contribution accounting was applied during this period. In 2019, the Fund decided to disband the Small Bodies Pool, and as such Collections Trust was able to identify its individual funding position.

The triennial valuation as of 31 March 2019 showed a high-risk deficit of £633,000, but this had dropped to a low-risk deficit of only £20,000 in the subsequent triennial valuation. The latter showed a total liability of £1,373,000 against assets of £1,353,000 as of 31 March 2022.

FRS 102

Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS 102) requires the surplus or deficit on the scheme as at 31 March 2024, calculated in accordance with the requirements of FRS 102, to be included on the balance sheet. For the purpose of FRS 102, the assets of the scheme have been taken at market value and the liabilities have been calculated by a qualified independent actuary.

2024, the actuaries have rolled forward the actuarial value of the assets and liabilities of the scheme at 31 March 2022.

The major assumptions used by the actuary in preparing the FRS 102 figures were:

2024
%
per annum		 2023
%
per annum
Rate of increase in salaries
2.70
Rate of increase in pension payments
2.70
Discount rate
4.85
Rate of inflation - CPI
2.70		 2.80
2.75
4.75
2.75

Collections Trust 32

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

19 Pension commitments (continued)

The mortality assumptions used were as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
years years
----- End of picture text -----

Longevity at age 65 for current pensioners
. Men 21.1 21.7
. Women 23.8 24.3
Longevity at age 65 for future pensioners
. Men 21.5 22.2
. Women 25.0 25.5

The net movement in the FRS 102 liability during the year was:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
Net surplus/(deficit) in scheme at 1 April 298 (279)
Prior year adjustment to cap pension asset (298)
Service cost (13) (17)
Net interest 14 (8)
Employer contributions 25 25
Re-measurement of the defined liability per actuary 101 577
Net asset / (deficit) in the scheme as per actuarial valuation 127 298
Adjustment recognised within actuarial losses to cap pension asset (127) (298)
Net deficit in scheme at 31 March as recognised on the balance
sheet
----- End of picture text -----*

*As the net surplus is deemed to be irrecoverable, recognition of the surplus on the balance sheet has been restricted to £nil.

Total expenditure recognised in the statement of financial activities (SOFA) was:

2024
£000s		 2023
£000s
Service cost
Total expenditure recognised in SOFA
Employer contributions
FRS 102 charge (credit)		 13 17
13
(25)
(12)		 17
(25)
(8)

The net gain recognised in the re-measurements in other recognised gains and losses was:

2024
£000s		 2023
£000s
Actuarial gains on scheme liabilities
Actuarial gains on scheme assets
Adjustment to cap pension asset
Remeasurement of the defined benefit liability		 14
87
(127)
(26)		 575
2
(298)
279

As pension assets are not deemed recoverable an adjustment to cap the asset value at nil has been made.

Collections Trust 33

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

19 Pension commitments (continued)

Asset and benefit obligation reconciliation:

2024
£000s		 2023
£000s
Defined benefit obligation at 1 April
Current service cost
Interest cost
Contributions by scheme participants
Benefits paid
Actuarial gains
Defined benefit obligation at 31 March		 (1,033)
(13)
(49)
(3)
17
14		 (1,561)
(17)
(43)
(3)
16
575
(1,067) (1,033)

Reconciliation of opening and scheme assets:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£000s £000s
Fair value of scheme assets at 1 April 1,331 1,282
Actuarial gains 87 2
Interest income on assets 63 35
Contributions by employer 25 25
Contributions by scheme participants 3 3
Benefits paid (17) (16)
Fair value of scheme assets at 31 March 1,492 1,331
----- End of picture text -----

% Value at
31 March
2024		 % Value at
31 March
2023
918
63
124
110
116
Equities
63.3
Government bonds
9.0
Other bonds
13.5
Property
9.8
Other managed funds
4.4
Total market value of assets		 945
134
201
146
66		 69.0
4.7
9.3
8.3
8.7
1,492 1,331

Contributions

The total contributions payable by the employer in the year were £25,000. At 31 March 2024, there no outstanding contributions due to the scheme.

Contributions to be paid by the charity to the scheme for the year ending 31 March 2025 is £nil.

Actuarial Loss

The actuarial loss in the year reflects the net effect of an actuarial gain as well as the adjustment to cap the overall asset value to £nil.

Collections Trust 34

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2024

Closure of the pension scheme post-year end

On 31 May 2024, the last remaining member of the pension scheme retired and the scheme was closed on the same date.

A final actuarial report which was obtained in July 2024, confirming that as of 31[st] May 2024, the date of cessation, no exit credit or cessation debt is payable by Collections Trust.

Collections Trust 35