_________________________________________________________________________________________
## ANNUAL REPORT 2022
Company Registration no: 1436951 Charity Registration no. 278550
## CONTENTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________
|**Section**||**Page no.**|
|---|---|---|
|2|Co-chair’s introduction|2|
|3|Reference and administrative details|3|
|4|SCONUL membership|4|
|6|Report of the trustees|6|
|7|Leadership and advocacy|7|
|10|Promoting good practice and collaboration|12|
|12|SCONUL’s partner organisations|13|
|13|Member services|14|
|15|Structure, governance and management|20|
|17|Financial review|22|
|18|Responsibilities of the trustees|24|
|19|Independent auditors’ report|26|
|22|Statement of financial activities|31|
|24|Balance sheet|33|
|26|Statement of cash flows|35|
|28|Notes to the financial statements|37|
1
## CO-CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Facing the future together
SCONUL has never been more important for our profession, bringing all parts of the sector together to share knowledge, experience and practice during a period of extraordinary change.
It represents the best of our community: our willingness to collaborate, to share openly, to consider and value the collective interest and to give unstintingly of our time, energy and ideas.
The process of developing SCONUL’s strategy for the next three years has brought this into sharp focus. The speed and extent of the changes facing all of us are exhilarating and sometimes intimidating. Libraries need to step forward to play our part in addressing climate change; race, gender and other forms inequality; and to bend AI technologies to deliver good rather than harm for our societies, cultures and people.
These issues were at the forefront of discussions with members about our strategy and are at the centre of our plans to support them over the next three years. Our strategy and other working groups, Board and office team are working together to define and prioritise projects and programmes of work which
we will be sharing with members in the autumn.
In doing so we will be building on the strong foundations put down in recent years. Our Content Group has been active in supporting members to evaluate proposals from Springer Nature but more importantly to consider the shape of content provision in the longer term.
The _Libraries after Lockdown_ project produced a rich, engaging programme of events which gave us the opportunity to step back and consider how we might adapt and capitalise on change and culminated in the Futureready Libraries Conference in January this year.
Bringing about meaningful, measurable change in equality, diversity and inclusion for the library
community remains a high priority under our new strategy. A first step is to be able to benchmark progress and we will be announcing the results of the first year of collecting data on the ethnicity of their member staff
workforce shortly. In 2022 we rolled out the _Leading Change on Race_ with Advance HE and in 2022 and 2023 we support the “Thriving in your career” event for staff from the global majority.
In the autumn we will sharing detailed plans for our programme for 2023-26. This will include the opportunity for teams at member institutions to become involved in delivering this exciting work which will be help shape our futures and we both look forward to working with you.
**Andrew Barker and Libby Homer, Co-Chairs**
2
## REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Status
The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee.
**Company number** : 01436951
**Charity number** : 278550
## Registered Office
94 Euston Street, London NW1 2HA
## Trustees
Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:
- **Co-Chair:** Andrew Barker (from 10 October 2022)
- **Co-Chair:** Libby Homer (from 10 October 2022)
- **Former Chair:** Susan Ashworth (resigned 13 July 2022)
**Former Vice-Chair:** Andrew Barker (until 10 October 2022)
- **Honorary Treasurer:** James Anthony-Edwards
- Robin Armstrong Viner
- Rachel Beckett (appointed 13 July 2022)
- Phil Brabban (appointed 13 July 2022)
- Marilyn Clarke
- Gary Elliot-Cirigottis
- Regina Everitt
- Alison Harding (resigned 5 December 2022)
- Liz Jolly
- Kate Kelly
- Anna O'Neill
- Andrew Preater
- Robert Ruthven (appointed 5 December 2022)
- Emma Walton
- Katie Woolfenden (appointed 13 July 2022)
## Bankers and Investment Managers
The Co-operative Bank plc PO Box 250, Delf House Southway Skelmersdale WN8 6WT
CCLA Investment Managers Limited COIF Charity Funds Senator House 85 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4ET
## Auditors
Godfrey Wilson Limited Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol, BS1 4QD
## Solicitors
Walker Morris LLP Kings Court 12 King Street Leeds LS1 2HL
## HR advisor
Worknest
20 Grosvenor Place London SW1X 7HN
## Staff
- **Executive Director and Company Secretary** Ann Rossiter
- **Member Engagement Manager** Liyana Pama (to 20 May 2022)
- **SCONUL Co-ordinator** SitMui Ng
- **Finance Assistant** Kim Hardingham
- **Team Administrator** Jenelle Negraeff
- **Senior Secretary** Kraindel Singer (7 June – 7 December 2022)
3
## SCONUL MEMBERSHIP
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## University of Aberdeen
Aberystywth University University of Abertay Dundee The Arts University, Bournemouth
Arts University Plymouth (New member joined 1 November 2022)
University of the Arts London Anglia Ruskin University Aston University Bangor University University of Bath Bath Spa University University of Bedfordshire Birkbeck, University of London University of Birmingham Birmingham City University University College Birmingham Bishop Grosseteste University The British Library Bournemouth University The University of Bolton University of Bradford University of Bristol Brunel University University of Brighton University of Buckingham Buckinghamshire New University University of Cambridge Canterbury Christ Church University
Cardiff University
Cardiff Metropolitan University University of Central Lancashire University of Chester University of Chichester City University The Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (ceased July 2022) University College Cork Courtauld Institute of Art Coventry University Cranfield University University for the Creative Arts University of Cumbria University College Dublin Dublin City University University of Derby De Montfort University Technological University Dublin University of Dundee Durham University University of East Anglia University of East London Edge Hill University University of Edinburgh Edinburgh Napier University University of Essex University of Exeter Falmouth University Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow University The Glasgow School of Art
The University of Gloucestershire Goldsmiths, University of London University of Greenwich Guildhall School of Music & Drama Harper Adams University College
University of Hertfordshire University of Highlands and Islands University of Huddersfield University of Hull Heriot-Watt University Imperial College London Institute of Cancer Research The Institute of Mechanical Engineers King's College London Keele University University of Kent Kingston University LAMDA (New member joined January 2022) Lancaster University University of Leeds Leeds Arts University Leeds Beckett University Leeds Conservatoire Leeds Trinity University University of Leicester Leo Baeck College
University of Limerick University of Lincoln University of Liverpool Liverpool Hope University Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
University of London London Business School The London Library London School of Economics and Political Science London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine London Metropolitan University London South Bank University Loughborough University The University of Manchester Manchester Metropolitan University Maynooth University Middlesex University Newcastle University Newman University National Library of Ireland National Library of Scotland National Library of Wales University of Galway The University of Northampton Northern School of Contemporary Dance
4
## SCONUL MEMBERSHIP contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Northumbria University
Norwich University of the Arts University of Nottingham Nottingham Trent University The Open University Oxford Brookes University Oxford University University of Plymouth Plymouth Marjon University University of Portsmouth Queen Margaret University Queen Mary, University of London Queen's University of Belfast Rambert School (New member joined July 2022) Ravensbourne University London University of Reading Regent's University London Robert Gordon University Roehampton University Rose Bruford College Royal Agricultural University
Royal Central School of Speech & Drama Royal College of Art Royal College of Music Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh
The Royal College of Surgeons of England Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Royal Horticultural Society Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Institute of British Architects Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Veterinary College Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama University of St Andrews St George's University of London
St Mary's University St Mary's University College Belfast
Salford University The University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam University School of Oriental and African Studies Society of Antiquaries of London (New member joined January 2022)
University of South Wales University of Southampton Solent University SRUC
Staffordshire University University of Stirling University of Strathclyde University of Suffolk University of Sunderland University of Surrey University of Sussex Swansea University Tate
University of Teesside Trinity College Dublin Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance UCL University of Ulster University of Wales Trinity Saint David
University of Warwick Wellcome Collection University of the West of England, Bristol University of West London University of the West of Scotland
University of Westminster University of Winchester University of Wolverhampton University of Worcester Wrexham Glyndŵr University Writtle University College University of York York St John University
5
## REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022. Reference and administrative information set out on page 3 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective January 2019).
As a charity, SCONUL has a set of core aims (our “charitable objects”). The Executive Board has referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing SCONUL’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities. Identifiable public benefits arose during 2022 from the work described below, highlights of which were:
6
## LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Libraries postpandemic
## Envisioning the future
The start of 2022 saw libraries emerge from the pandemic having flexed their services to adapt to building closures, social distancing and the extensive adoption of hybrid working models, all of which required fortitude, resilience and creativity.
In 2022 institutions grappled with delivering blended learning and teaching and libraries were able to provide support based on their longstanding experience of delivering a blended service model.
SCONUL supported our members to adapt to these changes through a programme of events and briefings, _Libraries after Lockdown_ . These provided members with an opportunity to consider together how we move out of the crisis, taking the best of the innovative practices developed during the pandemic and capitalising on the opportunities arising from this period of intense change.
Post-pandemic, the higher education and cultural sectors face very significant challenges in the face of climate change, economic head winds and the cost-ofliving crisis and its impact on students. In the UK, the longterm impacts of Brexit are also making themselves felt.
strategy meetings, surveys and consultation meetings.
This has informed the development of organisation’s strategy and priorities for the next three years. These have been published in 2023 and are available here https://www.sconul.ac.uk/pag e/sconul-strategy-2023-26
During the second half of 2022, SCONUL worked closely with our members to consider how these
. challenges may impact on the way that libraries support their users through in-depth
7
## LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Leadership development
Supporting the development of leadership skills and knowledge across our membership is an important part of our remit and has been a major focus of SCONUL’s work over recent years.
We work with current leaders identifying and meeting their needs but also support the development of the next generation of library leaders, providing opportunities to engage with critical debates about the shape and nature of library services as well as services focused specifically on professional development.
In 2022 we worked with Advance HE to roll out a training option for those heading libraries and their senior leadership teams on Leading Change on Race
which is discussed further below.
We also explored with members support for those undertaking HEA fellowship applications at all levels and are putting in place a support programme for those undertaking such applications which includes a peer support register and a bank of resources.
Our mentoring scheme is now in its fifth year and continues to provide opportunities for new and emerging leaders to develop their skills. Details of the scheme are at page 16.
We also provided access to Action Learning Sets in partnership with colleagues from other professional services, including estates, finance, HR and IT, providing
a powerful development experience; and our own deputies and directors informal groups which provide an opportunity for sharing best practice and problemsolving with peers. Further information is available on page 16.
In 2022 we also concluded our pilot running three Community of Interest Groups on a user led model, with coconvenors drawn from the SCONUL membership. Further details are included on page 17 below.
During 2022 we held extensive discussions with members about SCONUL’s strategy and support for leadership development was identified by members as an important priority. In 2023,
the Organisational Development group is considering a programme of support in developing the next generation of library leaders.
We will be relaunching the SCONUL mentoring scheme and exploring the scope for extending this with other national and regional library consortia.
Our peer support register and associated resources will be published shortly and, following our community of interest group pilot, we are developing and launching a new set of these in 2023.
8
## LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY contd.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
## Journals, e-books and the cost of content
Despite the development of open access policies, the cost of content remains a very live challenge for members and their institutions. The pandemic threw a spotlight on this particularly in relation to teaching and learning materials and this has enabled SCONUL and its members to engage academics and university leaders in a broader conversation about the creation of a fair market for content.
During 2022 we worked closely with Jisc and other partners to make the case for the short-and long-term changes needed for the development of a fair and sustainable content market.
A particular focus was the provision of e-textbooks and other teaching and learning materials. This included working with fellow stakeholders in the Library Purchasing Coordination Group which provide a vehicle for effective collaboration as we did to challenge Wiley’s withdrawal of access to ebook titles.
Scope for further collaboration was the subject of our Content Forum held in March 2022 which looked at shortterm collaboration over journal negotiations and longer term the scope for the development of collaborative collections.
We continue to work closely with Jisc on journal negotiations including facilitating consideration of objectives and the long-term shape of the journal market. SCONUL is a member of the UUK content negotiation strategy group which coordinates the sector’s negotiations with publishers, providing a representative voice for our member institutions. In 2022, our focus was negotiations with Springer Nature which have now been brought to a successful conclusion.
SCONUL remains a member of the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC), through which we share intelligence which helps to
inform our work and to keep UK members briefed on developments internationally.
In 2023 our Content
Strategy Group brought the community together to share knowledge and experience on the development of rights retention strategies.
. Over the course of the year it will continue this work, liaising closely with Jisc Collections on individual negotiations, and exploring the future for members post transitional agreements.
9
## LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY contd.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
## Organisational
## development
## Equality, diversity and inclusion
Our strategy discussions with members during 2022 suggested that the challenges of organisational development remain front and centre, with the drive for fairness seen as critical, as are recruiting the skills necessary to deliver the breadth of support that institutions are seeking. In addition, recruitment and retention post pandemic are a significant challenge for libraries as it is for their home institutions.
These were explored through the Libraries after Lockdown programme which looked at the recruitment lifecycle and the development of an agile and flexible workforce and which facilitated conversations with library
leaders in the US, Europe and Australia to share views and experiences.
Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are central considerations here and the changes discussed above bring an opportunity to move away from established practices in ways that foster EDI.
In 2023 the Organisational Development Strategy Group will be developing programmes of work in recruitment and organisational structures and in progression and development and will be sharing proposals with members in the autumn.
SCONUL is committed to be an active partner in driving the change we all recognise is needed to foster equality, diversity and inclusion and to supporting our members to do the same.
In 2022 we published research into whether it would be possible to include data on ethnicity within the SCONUL benchmarking data. This concluded it was feasible and we introduced this change in September.
This year we have also rolled out the Leading Change of Race training workshops which we developed with Advance HE and which are subsidised to ensure that
price is not a barrier to access, with SCONUL picking up the core administration costs. The first cohort ran in autumn this year with 25 participants.
We have just concluded the first pilot year of collecting our own EDI statistics and in 2023 we will be publishing this data and an associated report.
We will also be undertaking an evaluation of the Leading Change on Race training and working with Advance HE on support for members in this space.
Last year we supported the “Thriving in your career” event including offering bursaries and will do the same in 2023.
10
## LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY contd.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
## Policy landscape
The pace of change in the HE, national and research library landscape postpandemic remains ferocious, accelerated by developments in AI and by global and national economic challenges
Commitment to improvements in equality, diversity and inclusion and in sustainability are also important drivers for change, requiring all institutions to actively consider our assumptions and practices with a view to driving positive change.
In 2022 SCONUL provided
briefings for members on policy developments as they happened, and represented their views and concerns direct to government and through UUK. This included engaging with UKRI on the
development of their open access policies and its implementation.
We sat on the Universities UK group examining the impact of the Ukrainian conflict on libraries there and helping our members to develop an active, positive response to the crisis through supporting peer libraries in Ukraine through the Ukraine University Twinning programme.
Our Libraries after Lockdown programme included invited speakers from stakeholders who were able to share their insights and expertise on the unfolding policy and economic landscape. These events also provided an opportunity for staff at member institutions to consider and debate the changes that they were seeing and anticipating for
example on AI. Further information is available on page 18.
In 2023 we will be working closely with members on the policy environment as government and regulators adapt to the transformative impact of AI on the HE and national library sectors.
We have worked with Jisc to commission a guide for libraries on AI due to be published in the autumn, and the Technology and Markets group will be investigating the scope for AI to deliver positive transformation within library services.
## Benchmarking and trend analysis
Our annual statistics are an important benchmarking tool to understand and demonstrate libraries’ value and impact.
In 2022 we produced an analysis of the impacts of the pandemic on library practice. We also commissioned work exploring whether it was possible to include EDI data within our annual statistics as discussed above.
In 2023 we will be reviewing
the statistics we gather to ensure they meet the changed environment and our strategic purposes and exploring new ways to share the data. We will also be introducing a new survey capturing data on the uses and value of library technology.
11
## PROMOTING GOOD PRACTICE AND COLLABORATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Space planning and design
## Collaborative and shared services
In 2022 we continued to share good practice on space planning through seminars under the Libraries after Lockdown programme and through contributions to the Designing Libraries website, which provides detailed information on planning new buildings or refurbishment.
This included looking at the impact of demands on library space from changing technologies including AI and from changed user behaviour post-pandemic.
In 2023, we have taken the decision to reintroduce the SCONUL Library Design Awards in 2025 with a revised focus and criteria and will be sharing proposals with members later this year.
Library space and its uses will also be the subject of consideration by the Technology and Markets and Horizons Strategy groups and we will be sharing proposals in the autumn.
SCONUL continues to work closely with Jisc and other partners to explore the scope for collaborative and shared services through our Technology and Markets Strategy Group and other working groups.
We provide governance and advice on the development of existing areas of work as well as making recommendations for future initiatives.
In 2022, SCONUL developed plans for a Technology Survey, which will allow members to share
information on their use of current and emerging technologies and which will support provider evaluation. This is now at pilot phrase and we plan to launch the survey in 2023.
Our Content Forum in 2022 considered the scope for collaborative collection development, and we will be taking this work forward in 2023, exploring the scope for cost savings and a better user experience.
12
## SCONUL’s partner organisations
|_________________________________________________________________________________________|_________________________________________________________________________________________|_________________________________________________________________________________________|_________________________________________________________________________________________|_________________________________________________________________________________________|_________________________________________________________________________________________|_________________________________________________________________________________________|_________________________________________________________________________________________|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Our|partner organisations||British Universities||Higher Education||The National Council of|
|during 2022 included:|||Finance Directors Group||Statistics Agency (HESA)||Voluntary Organisations|
||||(BUFDG)||International Federation||(NCVO)|
||ABDU (the French||Chartered Institute of||of Library Associations||Research Libraries UK|
||Association of Academic||Library and Information||(ILFA)||(RLUK)|
||Libraries and||Professionals (CILIP)||Information School, The||SCHOMS|
||Documentation)||Copyright Negotiating||University of Sheffield||Scottish Confederation of|
||Academic Libraries North||and Advisory Committee||Jisc||University and Research|
||AdvanceHE||(CNAC)||Jisc Collections||Libraries (SCURL)|
||Amosshe, the Student||Consortium of National||Knowledge Quarter||Southern Universities|
||Services Organisation||and University Libraries||The Libraries and||Purchasing Consortium|
||APUC (Advanced||(CONUL), Ireland||Archives Copyright||(SUPC)|
||Procurement for||Copyright for Knowledge||Alliance (LACA)||Universities and Colleges|
||Universities and||COUNTER||Libraries Connected||Information Systems|
||Colleges)||Customer Services||London Universities||Association (UCISA)|
||Archives and Records||Group UK||Purchasing Consortium||UK Research and|
||Association||Designing Libraries||(LUPC)||Innovation (UKRI)|
||Association for Research||Digital Preservation||The M25 Consortium of||UK-SCL Steering Group|
||Managers and||Coalition (DPC)||Academic Libraries||Universities UK (UUK)|
||Administrators (ARMA)||Ebooks SOS Campaign||The Mercian Collaboration||Wales HE Libraries|
||Arts Council England||EThOS, the e-theses on-||National Acquisitions||Forum (WHELF)|
||The British Library||line service||Group (NAG)||The Wellcome Trust|
13
## MEMBER SERVICES
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## The SCONUL statistics
## The SCONUL Access Scheme
## _________________________________________
## ________________________________
Producing statistics on library activities is a core SCONUL service, allowing members to benchmark their service against that of their peers, and providing a detailed picture of library activity across the UK and Ireland. The statistics are a unique resource and have an important role in ensuring efficiency in the sector. The reporting tool, available to members via our website, allows members to run tailored reports and produce graphs comparing their own institution’s performance to individual or groups of peer institutions.
In 2022, 157 institutions contributed to the statistics (compared to 159 in 2021) with 120 submitting the strategic planning subset of data released early in time for the budget planning round.
The Access Scheme is an important enabler for students and researchers at UK universities to pursue their studies and research objectives. In essence it allows users of one institution to use the libraries of another.
168 libraries were part of the scheme in 2022, up from 139 in November 2021 when the scheme reopened. It had been suspended in response to the pandemic on 16 March 2020. The fact that the scheme rapidly reached pre-pandemic reflects the strong demand from users to be able to make use of the benefits the scheme offers, and underlines the importance of the Access Scheme to our members.
The SCONUL statistics also have a strategic function for the sector in that they present a picture of collective activity and spend. As in previous years, in 2022 the statistics were used for advocacy purposes with stakeholders and by Jisc to inform its negotiations. For the last two years we included additional questions to capture some of the impacts of the pandemic. In 2023 we are starting a fundamental review of the statistics to ensure fitness for purpose for benchmarking and to assess their role in supporting our collective strategic objectives.
In 2023 we will be undertaking a light touch review of the scheme and are pursuing plans for a new student-facing dedicated Access Scheme website.
The 2021-22 data also included information on the diversity of the library workforce for the first time and we will be reporting on the findings in 2023.
14
## MEMBER SERVICES contd.
## _________________________________________________________________________________________
## Unsub
## Information sharing
##
## _____________________________________
Last year was the second year of the national agreement that SCONUL has in place with Jisc and with the organisation Our Research for access to the latter’s Unsub service. This is a data analysis and dashboard tool that enables libraries and consortia to independently assess the value of the journal subscriptions they hold with publishers.
It has provided an opportunity for SCONUL UK members to use Unsub at a reduced cost, allowing universities to assess and share various scenarios for selecting journal titles. Modelling different scenarios gives university libraries greater insight into the value of their subscription packages while sharing this data with Jisc has enabled greater insight into questions of demand and value to support of national negotiation activities.
This has been particularly important during 2022 as the sector negotiated a new deal with the major academic publisher SpringerNature.
One of SCONUL’s most valuable functions is to bring together members from across the sector to share information. This includes emerging practice within institutions, creative responses to shared challenges and developing service models, policy developments in librarianship and HE and a wide range of other fields. We do this in a variety of ways, including through our monthly newsletter and regular briefings. We use our mailing lists and the SCONUL website to distribute information about sector developments to members. SCONUL also provides members with “news flash” updates which provide rapid summaries of important policy developments to members which are highly valued.
During 2022 SCONUL produced regular briefings for members on key issues for academic libraries, including on key negotiations with publishers, UKRI open access policy; the Ukraine Twinning Programme and on developments in the National Student Survey.
15
## MEMBER SERVICES contd.
## Deputies and directors groups
## SCONUL Mentoring
## __________________________________________
## __________________________________________
In 2022 SCONUL continued to offer deputies and new directors’ groups to members. These groups provide an opportunity for participants to come together to share experiences and learn from each other in an informal way. SCONUL organises the membership of the group and facilitates the first meeting. Beyond this, the groups are self-organising.
We support groups for deputies and new directors, but also have groups for interim directors; for those managing a portfolio of services, and for those running converged services. We now support 21 groups in total and regularly survey members for those with an interest in taking part.
The SCONUL Mentoring scheme is designed to support academic library leaders in their professional and personal growth by facilitating mentoring relationships with more experienced colleagues. It is aimed at emerging or newly-appointed leaders (senior library staff in deputy director or second tier equivalent positions at member institutions) or those recently appointed to their first director level post although it is also open to more experienced leaders, as leadership learning and development are lifelong processes.
Demand for mentors was lower in 2022 than in previous years as staff members were stretched by the demands of adapting to the post-Covid environment. Two new mentor relationships were set up in 2022 to add to the previous 31 partnerships. Members retain a strong commitment to the scheme with 38 mentors registered under the Scheme. SCONUL will be undertaking a promotion campaign for the Scheme at the start of the next academic year.
16
## MEMBER SERVICES contd.
##
## Community of Interest groups
## Small and specialist institutions forum
##
## __________________________________________
In 2022 SCONUL concluded a pilot project to establish and run three community of interest groups in the following areas:
- delivering blended learning: looking at libraries’ role in supporting their institutions as they make this transition
SCONUL continued to run its forum for small and specialist institutions in 2022 which brings together this group of members to share experiences, information and best practice. It is open to all those leading SCONUL member institutions who define themselves as specialist or small and their senior teams plus invited guests.
- embracing disruption: exploring new technologies and innovative uses of existing technologies
- organisational development: examining roles, skills and the nature of our work post-Covid.
The work of the forum is driven by its members who will choose the topics for discussion and activities arising. The Forum meets three times a year and in 2022 discussed a range of issues including the negotiations with Elsevier over provision of content; the impact of the pandemic on workforce and recruitment, and priorities for the SCONUL strategy.
Following this pilot, SCONUL has committed to support a new set of community of interest groups in areas to be determined by the membership. As with the pilot groups, these will provide an opportunity for future and emerging leaders to come together and share their expertise; to explore creative and collaborative approaches to practical issues with the aim of fostering fresh thinking and disruptive innovation, and to share that learning with community. SCONUL is currently seeking staff at member institutions interested in running these groups.
17
## MEMBER SERVICES contd.
## Libraries after Lockdown programme
## Other support services
## __________________________________________
## __________________________________________
In 2022 SCONUL concluded its Libraries after Lockdown project which brought members together to think creatively about their future post-pandemic. The project covered service design, organisational development, and library technology and markets in a series of activities bringing members together to discuss and shape our collective future, creating opportunities to share innovation and best practice; to debate the trends and issues that will shape the future of the sector; and to hear from expert contributors from within and beyond the sector. It incorporated 20 webinars and concluded with a face-to-face conference in January 2023.
SCONUL supports its members in a number of other ways. For example, we provide briefings and updates on relevant developments, general and subject specific mailing lists, a register of specialist consultants working in the library field, advice and guidance on salary benchmarking and support in identifying interim senior library staff. We are always happy to consider requests and proposals from our members for areas for further support.
Some events had a clear strategic focus and others addressed more operational issues. Engagement was very high with a total of 1047 staff at 173 institutions taking part in the programme, reaching library leaders and their senior leadership teams at almost all SCONUL member institutions. Those taking part rated the programme highly, with them giving an average score of 8.5/10 for the content and 9/10 for the quality of the panellists, with 9/10 saying they would recommend the project to peers.
.
18
## MEMBER SERVICES contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Supporting member consortia
__________________________________________
For the last decade SCONUL has been providing support for other library consortia whose members are also members of SCONUL. This support is provided at cost, and allows our partners to concentrate on projects, research and services for their members while SCONUL takes on some of their administrative burden.
During 2022, we provided support to Academic Libraries North, the Mercian Collaboration, and the Customer Services Group UK. These are formally sub-groups of SCONUL, albeit with the autonomy to pursue their own objectives under SCONUL’s charitable objects. We remain open to providing support to other similar organisations.
These organisations all support the overarching aims of SCONUL:
**Academic Libraries North** : through collaborative activities and mutual support, it seeks to provide opportunities for its members in the exchange of knowledge and experience. It helps facilitate initiatives that respond to emerging opportunities and support its
members through future challenges in higher education and the library environment.
The aims of **Customer Services Group UK** (CSGUK) are to discuss and share knowledge of new developments in customer service generally, and within libraries more specifically; to share knowledge and techniques used around measures already implemented in HE libraries; and to discuss and develop methods for improving customer service, especially where there is potential for active collaborative working.
**The Mercian Collaboration** is a is a regional professional network of 23 academic library members based in the English Midlands. The Collaboration provides a space for its members to work together to explore training and development, and to seek efficiencies on behalf of our institutions and the wider community. Members draw on their own and each other’s good practice and ideas, as well as their awareness of relevant ideas and developments from outside the Collaboration.
19
## STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
##
## Governance
## SCONUL’s members
## One member one vote
## Our trustees
SCONUL is a company limited by guarantee which has been given a licence to omit the word ‘limited’ by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
SCONUL is governed by its Articles of Association which are available on the SCONUL website:
https://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites /default/files/documents/Articl esofAssociation.pdf
These governing documents were incorporated on 13 July 1979 and last amended by Special Resolution on 3 July 2015.
SCONUL’s members are the universities and national libraries of the United Kingdom and Ireland, together with most other UK institutions of higher education and institutions with collections of national significance. Members are listed on page 4 and 5 of this report.
Senior leaders of SCONUL member libraries have an important role to play in SCONUL, influencing our priorities and objectives. Their contributions to the Board, to SCONUL’s Strategy Groups and in representing the community on a wide range of working groups are critical to SCONUL’s success. They are also critical in helping to develop SCONUL’s strategy to meet its core charitable objectives (see page 6).
Each institution is allowed a single vote at the SCONUL Annual General Meeting and in elections for the Board. This is an important element of the governance of the organisation.
Our Executive Board members (see page 3) constitute the Company’s Board and are the Charity’s trustees, each of whom, in formal terms, is a Director of the Company. Twelve of the sixteen of the Board are elected and four were co-opted from partner organisations.
New trustees are given briefings on the charity’s work and their obligations under Charity and Company law. Training in good practice and the responsibilities of trustees is provided regularly.
20
## STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Executive Board
The Executive Board meets four times a year (currently three of these meetings are virtual) and oversees all issues relating to the charity’s finances and its work for members and the public, including taking decisions on behalf of members. Where major changes to the way that SCONUL works are proposed, these are
presented to members to vote on at the AGM.
The SCONUL Board also:
- guides and supervises the office staff who are led by the Executive Director
- oversees the work of the SCONUL Strategy Groups and other
working groups. This includes agreeing their terms of reference and considering significant proposals for activities and spending
- approves the annual budget at each AGM, and proposes the subscriptions to be levied for the following year
- regularly reviews the organisation’s risk register and takes measures to ameliorate those risks.
During 2022 the Board has undertaken extensive discussions with the community about the organisation’s strategy for 2023-26 which was published in March 2023 and is available here.
21
## FINANCIAL REVIEW
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Introduction
The results for the year to 31 December 2022 are set out in the Statement of Financial Activities. The Charity’s fund balances and the net assets that constitute them are set out in the Balance Sheet.
Overall total income was as anticipated. Subscription income for SCONUL (as opposed to our regional consortia) rose by 1% following the decision to raise subscriptions by half the then inflation rate (of 2%) because of the impact of the pandemic on institutions. The remainder of subscription income relates to our management of reserved funds for our regional consortia.
A satisfactory balance between day-to-day and longer-term holdings of funds has been adopted, as follows:
- short-term funds kept in a deposit account at the bank, which automatically tops up the current account when its balance falls below £10,000
- other funds, the working reserve, kept in the Charities Official Investment Fund.
Balances are high at the start of the year when subscriptions are received and are reduced towards the end of the year to provide funds for expenses incurred.
## Pay and remuneration policy
Staff pay scales are set by the Executive Board on the basis of advice from SCONUL’s HR consultant and with reference to pay rates for equivalent
posts in the charitable and public sectors.
## Risk management
The Executive Board considers the major risks faced by SCONUL on a regular basis and they are of the opinion that systems are in place to manage them. A “live” risk register is maintained by the SCONUL office and is reviewed at each meeting by the Executive Board.
This covers both financial and non-financial risks; identifies both the likelihood and severity of any risk and identifies activities required to mitigate the risks identified.
During 2022 the Board was able to conclude that there were no further risks arising from the historic pensions
case referred to in previous accounts as this matter is now concluded.
## Reserves policy
The designated funds support the activities of SCONUL’s sub-groups: Academic Libraries North; the Mercian Collaboration; and the Customer Services Group UK as discussed above.
2022 saw SCONUL’s reserves decrease slightly to £266,740 from £272,215 at the end of 2021. We hold an additional £81,097 in designated funds (£70,972 at the end of 2021).
SCONUL’s reserves policy is as follows (reviewed in May 2023):
22
## FINANCIAL REVIEW contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## _to hold reserves sufficient to_
_cover_
- _(a) statutory redundancy costs, plus_
- _(b) three months’ core running costs or the cost of other legal liabilities whichever is higher, plus_
- _(c) funds to cover a 10% loss of subscription income, plus_
- _(d) our largest spending commitment._
For 2023 this would total £210k for SCONUL’s core income and expenditure.
We have income and expenditure included in our accounts for regional consortia which are formally part of SCONUL and we ask them to apply the same reserves policy to their own spending. This would give an additional reserves requirement of £30.5k.
## SCONUL is currently in
discussion with the USS and SAUL pension schemes to ensure that its legal status as an employer under both schemes is recognised. This may require SCONUL to include a one-off cost on its accounts next year to recognise potential employer liabilities under the USS Scheme. The Board is confident that this would be manageable within reserves but may require reserves to be built up over time, including within the funds designated for the Mercian Collaboration and Academic Libraries North.
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic turbulence have had a profound impact on higher education globally including in the UK. The trustees continue to consider the impact of this issue on the charity’s current and future
financial position. The trustees consider that the charity has
sufficient unrestricted reserves as detailed above and cash flow to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date on which these financial statements are approved. For this reason, the accounts have been prepared on the going concern basis.
Interest income on reserves remained low at an average of 1.22% in 2022.
## Relationships with other bodies
SCONUL provides support to three library consortia whose members are also members of SCONUL and which are formally constituted as sub-groups. The groups have autonomy within our shared core charitable objectives (see page 6). Two consortia have three members of staff between them, employed by SCONUL, devoted to their work. The cost of other staff time on consortia work
is covered by transfers from the consortia’s reserved funds.
SCONUL has no formal relationship with other charities with the important exception that its member institutions are nearly all charities themselves.
SCONUL is a member of a number of key sector bodies, including LIBER as part of its role ensuring that the voice of its members is heard at the European and international level.
23
## RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (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 charity and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:
:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material 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 operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The trustees 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.
In so far as the trustees are aware:
- there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware; and
- the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any
relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.
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.
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.
24
## RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Auditors
Godfrey Wilson Limited were re-appointed as auditors to the charitable company during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.
Approved by the trustees on 26 June 2023 and signed on their behalf by
Andrew Barker SCONUL Co-Chair
Libby Homer SCONUL Co-Chair
25
## INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Opinion
## Basis for opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The Society of College, National and University Libraries (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 December 2022 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
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 in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s 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.
In our opinion, the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as at 31 December 2022 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going 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 on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a 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.
26
## INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Other information
The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. 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.
## Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the trustees’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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.
- the trustees’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us;
27
## INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns;
- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not obtained all the information and explanations necessary for the purposes of our audit.
## Responsibilities of the trustees
As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out in the trustees’ report, the trustees 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 they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
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 auditor’s 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 procedures we carried out and the extent to which they are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below:
- (1) We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, and assessed the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Throughout the audit, we remained alert to possible indications of non-compliance.
28
## INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
- (2) We reviewed the charity’s policies and procedures in relation to:
- Identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations, and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
- Detecting and responding to the risk of fraud, and whether they were aware of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and
- Designing and implementing internal controls to mitigate the risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud.
- (3) We inspected the minutes of trustee meetings.
- (4) We enquired about any non-routine communication with regulators and reviewed any reports made to them.
- (5) We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and assessed their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- (6) We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected transactions or balances that may indicate a risk of material fraud or error.
- (7) We assessed the risk of fraud through management override of controls and carried out procedures to address this risk. Our procedures included:
- Testing the appropriateness of journal entries;
- Assessing judgements and accounting estimates for potential bias;
- Reviewing related party transactions; and
- Testing transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or noncompliance with regulation. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
29
## INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’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 charity’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Date: 28 June 2023
## Alison Godfrey
## **Alison Godfrey FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)**
For and on behalf of:
## **GODFREY WILSON LIMITED**
Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD
30
## STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
_________________________________________________________________________________________
|
Note
**Income from:**
Donations
2
Other trading activities
Investments
Charitable activities:
Library statistics
Event programme
**Total income**|**2022**
**Total**
**£**
**470,399**
**11,050**
**4,391**
**1,662**
**15,967**
**503,469**|2021
Total
£
454,511
28,250
57
989
-|
|---|---|---|
|||483,807|
31
## STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
|
Note
**Expenditure on:**
Charitable activities:
Membership services
Events programme
Partnership working, advocacy and lobbying
Communications with members
Regional collaborations
**Total expenditure**
3
**Net income / (expenditure) and net movement in funds**
4
**Reconciliation of funds**
Total funds brought forward
**Total funds carried forward**|**2022**
**Total**
**£**
**118,022**
**91,727**
**96,559**
**117,016**
**75,495**
**498,819**
**4,650**
**343,187**
**347,837**|2021
Total
£
99,109
104,997
93,541
106,192
62,536|
|---|---|---|
|||466,375|
|||17,432
325,755|
|||343,187|
All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. All income and expenditure is unrestricted. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 13 to the accounts.
32
COMPANY NO. 01436951
## BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022
_________________________________________________________________________________________
|Note
**Fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets
7
**Current assets**
Debtors
8
Current asset investment
9
Cash at bank and in hand
**Creditors: amounts due within 1 year**
10
**Net current assets**
**Net assets**
12|**£**
**17,676**
**347,507**
**51,089**
**416,272**
**(68,435)**|**2022**
**£**
-
**347,837**
**347,837**|2021
£
339
13,828
343,116
80,080|
|---|---|---|---|
||||437,024
(94,176)|
||||342,848|
||||343,187|
33
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022 contd. COMPANY NO. 01436951 _________________________________________________________________________________________
|Note
**£**
**Funds**
13
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds
General funds
**Total funds**|**2022**
**£**
**81,097**
**266,740**
**347,837**|2021
£
70,972
272,215|
|---|---|---|
|||343,187|
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.
Approved by the trustees on 26 June 2023 and signed on their behalf by
E Homer – Co-Chair
A Barker – Co-Chair
34
## STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
_________________________________________________________________________________________
|**Cash flows from operating activities:**
Net movement in funds
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Increase in debtors
Increase / (decrease) in creditors
**Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities**
**Cash flows from investing activities:**
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
**Net cash provided by investing activities**|**2022**
**£**
**4,650**
**339**
**(4,391)**
**(3,848)**
**(25,741)**
**(28,991)**
**4,391**
**4,391**|2021
£
17,432
340
(57)
(9,510)
16,459|
|---|---|---|
|||24,664|
|||57|
|||57|
35
## STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 contd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
|**Increase / (decrease) 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 the year**
Analysed as:
Cash at bank and in hand
Current asset investments|**2022**
**£**
**(24,600)**
**423,196**
**398,596**
**51,089**
**347,507**
**398,596**|2021
£
24,721
398,475|
|---|---|---|
|||423,196|
|||80,080
343,116|
|||423,196|
## **Analysis of changes in net debt**
The charity has not provided an analysis of changes in net debt as it does not have any long-term financing arrangements.
36
## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
_________________________________________________________________________________________
## 1. Accounting policies
## a) Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
The Society of College, National and University Libraries meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.
## b) Going concern basis of accounting
The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern. The charity has sufficient general reserves and cash to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date on which these financial statements are approved.
## c) Income
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the items of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income from donations is received by way of membership subscriptions and is included in full in the statement of financial activities when receivable.
Credit is taken for subscriptions in the year for which they are payable. Where a member wishes to terminate their subscription then notice must be given before the summer conference in the year prior to the termination of membership.
37
Any income arising from conferences and meetings, sponsorship and sales of publications, working papers or newsletters is recognised once invoiced, unless it relates to a future event in which case it is deferred.
## d) Interest receivable
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.
## e) Funds accounting
Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the 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. These relate to ring-fenced funds for the regional consortia as described in note 13 to the accounts.
## f) 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.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
## g) Allocation of governance and support costs
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between charitable activities on the following basis, which is an estimate of the resource usage of each activity:
||**2022**|**2021**|
|---|---|---|
|Membership services|27.5%|23.0%|
|Events programme|20.8%|25.0%|
|Partnership working, advocacy and lobbying|22.5%|25.0%|
|Communications with members|29.2%|27.0%|
38
## h) Tangible fixed assets
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:
Leasehold improvements 5 years straight line Furniture, fixtures and fittings 3 years straight line Computer equipment 3 years straight line
Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000.
## i) 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.
## j) Current asset investments
Current asset investments consist of cash held on deposit in interest bearing accounts. Such investments are measured at their fair value.
## k) 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.
## l) Creditors
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.
## m) Pension costs
The charitable company contributes to two multi-employer defined benefit pension schemes (the Universities Superannuation Scheme and the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London). The assets of the schemes are held separately from those of the charitable company in independently administered funds. As the
39
charitable company cannot reliably estimate its share of the scheme deficit, the schemes are accounted for as defined contribution schemes. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable under the schemes by the charitable company to the funds. The contributions made for the accounting period are treated as an expense and were £49,718 in 2022 (2021: £45,887).
## n) Contingent liabilities
A contingent liability is recognised when either a transfer of economic benefit to settle the obligation is possible but not probable; or the amount of the obligation cannot be estimated reliably.
## o) Operating lease commitments
Rentals payable under operating leases, where substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership remain with the lessor, are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight line basis over the minimum lease term.
## p) Regional consortia
These financial statements include the results of the regional SCONUL sub-groups, accounted for as branches of the charity. Funds held on behalf of regional consortia are held as designated funds.
## q) Accounting estimates and key judgements
In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods. There are no key sources of estimation or uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements.
40
## 2. Income from donations
Membership subscriptions
|**2022**|2021|
|---|---|
|**£**|£|
|**470,399**|454,511|
41
## 3. Expenditure
|Direct costs
IT and website hosting
Staff costs (note 5)
Recruitment and training
Premises costs
Insurance
Fees and subscriptions
Office costs
Legal and professional
Executive board costs
Audit and accountancy
Bank charges
Depreciation
**Sub-total**
Allocation of governance
and support costs
**Total expenditure**|Membership
services
£
23,152
4,836
42,092
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
70,080
47,942
**118,022**|Event
programme
£
3,916
607
50,884
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
55,407
36,320
**91,727**|Partnership
working,
advocacy
and lobbying
£
10,177
607
46,550
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
57,334
39,225
**96,559**|Communications
and best
practice sharing
with members
£
2,452
607
63,109
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
66,168
50,848
**117,016**|Regional
collaborations
£
9,167
9,541
56,787
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
75,495
-
**75,495**|Governance
and support
costs
£
-
10,598
70,203
4,143
33,940
2,046
3,172
15,426
8,446
17,776
8,220
26
339
174,335
(174,335)
**-**|**Total 2022**
**£**
**48,864**
**26,796**
**329,625**
**4,143**
**33,940**
**2,046**
**3,172**
**15,426**
**8,446**
**17,776**
**8,220**
**26**
**339**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||**498,819**
**-**|
||||||||**498,819**|
Total governance costs were £25,996 (2021: £13,732).
42
## Expenditure (prior year comparative)
|Direct costs
IT and website hosting
Staff costs (note 5)
Recruitment and training
Premises costs
Insurance
Fees and subscriptions
Office costs
Legal and professional
Executive board costs
Audit and accountancy
Bank charges
Depreciation
**Sub-total**
Allocation of governance
and support costs
**Total expenditure**|Membership
services
£
15,325
3,600
38,370
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
57,295
41,814
99,109|Event
programme
£
6,057
377
53,113
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
59,547
45,450
104,997|Partnership
working,
advocacy and
lobbying
£
2,461
377
45,253
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
48,091
45,450
93,541|Communications
and best
practice sharing
with members
£
422
377
56,308
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
57,107
49,085
106,192|Regional
collaborations
£
2,975
4,144
55,417
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
62,536
-
62,536|Governance
and support
costs
£
-
11,367
72,425
9,198
39,461
1,891
3,981
16,594
13,119
5,632
7,740
51
340
181,799
(181,799)
-|**Total 2021**
£
27,240
20,242
320,886
9,198
39,461
1,891
3,981
16,594
13,119
5,632
7,740
51
340|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||466,375
-|
||||||||466,375|
43
## 4. Net movement in funds
This is stated after charging:
|Depreciation
Trustees' remuneration
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
Auditors' remuneration:
Statutory audit and accounts preparation (including VAT)
Trustees' reimbursed expenses were for travel for seven trustees.
.|**2022**
**£**
2021
£
**339**
340
**Nil**
Nil
**848**
Nil
**8,220**
7,740|
|---|---|
44
## 5. Staff costs and numbers
Staff costs were as follows:
||**2022**|2021|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|£|
|Salaries and wages|**252,574**|250,573|
|Social security costs|**27,333**|24,426|
|Pension costs|**49,718**|45,887|
||**329,625**|320,886|
|The key management personnel of the charity comprise|the trustees and the Executive Director. The tota||
|employee benefits of the key management personnel of|the charity were £121,830 (2021: £117,699).||
|One employee earned between £90,000 and £100,000 in the year, excluding employer's pension contribu|||
|and NICs. In the period ended 31 December 2021 one employee earned between £80,000 and £90,000.|||
|The average head count during the reporting period was 7.8 (2021: 7.8). The average number of full time|||
|equivalent employees during the year was as follows:|||
||**2022**|2021|
||**No.**|No.|
|Average number of employees (full-time equivalent)|**4.5**|5.7|
The key management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees and the Executive Director. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £121,830 (2021: £117,699).
One employee earned between £90,000 and £100,000 in the year, excluding employer's pension contributions and NICs. In the period ended 31 December 2021 one employee earned between £80,000 and £90,000.
The average head count during the reporting period was 7.8 (2021: 7.8). The average number of full time equivalent employees during the year was as follows:
45
## 6. Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.
## 7. Tangible fixed assets
|**Cost**
At 1 January 2022 & at
31 December 2022
**Depreciation**
At 1 January 2022
Charge for the year
At 31 December 2022
**Net book value**
**At 31 December 2022**
At 31 December 2021|Leasehold
improvements
£
102,302
102,302
-
102,302
**-**
-|Furniture,
fixtures and
fittings
£
40,345
40,345
-
40,345
**-**
-|Computer
equipment
£
23,184
22,845
339
23,184
**-**
339|**Total**
**£**
**165,831**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**165,492**
**339**|
|||||**165,831**|
|||||**-**|
|||||339|
46
## 8. Debtors
|Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
Other debtors
Current asset investments
The Charities Official Investment Fund|**2022**
**£**
**3,624**
**13,390**
**-**
**662**
**17,676**
**2022**
**£**
**347,507**|2021
£
37
9,251
4,000
540|
|---|---|---|
|||13,828|
|||2021
£
343,116|
## 9. Current asset investments
47
## 10. Creditors: amounts due within 1 year
|Trade creditors
Accruals
Deferred income
Funds held on behalf of Copyright for Knowledge
Deferred income
At 1 January 2022
Deferred during the year
Released during the year
At 31 December 2022|**2022**
**£**
**29,415**
**28,297**
**9,435**
**1,288**
**68,435**
**2022**
**£**
**-**
**9,435**
**-**
**9,435**|2021
£
68,368
24,520
-
1,288|
|---|---|---|
|||94,176|
|||2021
£
-
-
-|
|||-|
## 11. Deferred income
Deferred income relates to conference income received in advance.
48
## 12. Analysis of net assets between funds
|Current assets
Current liabilities
**Net assets at 31 December 2022**
**Prior year comparative**
Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
**Net assets at 31 December 2021**|Designated
funds
£
87,132
(6,035)
**81,097**
Designated
funds
£
-
70,972
-
**70,972**|General
funds
£
329,140
(62,400)
**266,740**
General
funds
£
339
366,052
(94,176)
**272,215**|**Total**
**funds**
**£**
**416,272**
**(68,435)**|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**347,837**|
||||**Total**
**funds**
**£**
**339**
**437,024**
**(94,176)**|
||||**343,187**|
49
## 13. Movements in funds
|**Unrestricted funds**
_Designated funds:_
Academic Libraries North
Mercian Collaboration
CSGUK Collaboration
Total designated funds
General funds
**Total funds**|At 1
January
2022
£
34,638
25,896
10,438
70,972
272,215
343,187|Income
£
61,573
19,976
11,388
92,937
410,532
503,469|Expenditure
£
(60,716)
(14,299)
(7,797)
(82,812)
(416,007)
(498,819)|**At 31**
**December**
**2022**
**£**
**35,495**
**31,573**
**14,029**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**81,097**|
|||||**266,740**|
|||||**347,837**|
## **Purposes of designated funds**
The designated funds have been set up for the purpose of ringfencing funds held by each of the regional consortia.
50
## Prior year comparative
|**Unrestricted funds**
_Designated funds:_
Academic Libraries North
Mercian Collaboration
CSGUK Collaboration
Total designated funds
General funds
**Total funds**|At 1
January
2021
£
47,350
22,229
12,234
81,813
243,942
325,755|Income
£
47,984
18,203
-
66,187
417,620
483,807|Expenditure
£
(60,696)
(14,536)
(1,796)
(77,028)
(389,347)
(466,375)|**At 31**
**December**
**2021**
**£**
**34,638**
**25,896**
**10,438**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**70,972**|
|||||**272,215**|
|||||**343,187**|
51
## 14. Commitments under operating leases
At 31 December 2022, the charity had the following annual commitments under non-cancellable operating leases:
|Payments due:
Within one year
Within two to five years|**2022**
**Land and**
**buildings**
**£**
**Other**
**£**
**7,500**
**2,038**
**-**
**958**
**7,500**
**2,996**|2021
Land and
buildings
£
Other
£
10,000
5,278
-
958
10,000
6,236|2021
Land and
buildings
£
Other
£
10,000
5,278
-
958
10,000
6,236|
|---|---|---|---|
||||6,236|
## 15. Related party transactions
There were no related party transactions in the current or prior year.
52
## 16. Funds received as an agent
During the year, the charity acted as custodian trustee for partner organisation, Copyright for Knowledge. An analysis of the funds received and paid by the charity is given below. Funds held at year end are detailed in the creditors note (note 10).
||Funds held|||**Funds held**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||at 1|||**at 31**|
||January|Funds|Funds|**December**|
||2022|received|paid|**2022**|
||£|£|£|**£**|
|Copyright for Knowledge|1,288|-|-|
**1,288**|
## 17. Contingent liability
The charitable company is in the process of obtaining confirmation of its status as an employer under the two multi-employer defined benefit pension schemes to which it contributes (USS and SAUL). At present there is no reliable estimate of the amount owing by SCONUL to the scheme's deficit, although initial indications are that this is in the region of £80-100k.
53