SLAS Trustees’ Annual Report
31 December 2024
December 2024.
Legal and administra�ve informa�on
Charity number: 278817
Principal address:
Dr Marieke Riethof (President 2023-2025) / Prof Sarah Bowskill (Vice-President 2023-2025). Queen's University Belfast, School of Arts, English, University Road BELFAST, BT7 1NN. +44 28 9097 1141. Email: mriethof@liverpool.ac.uk.
Organisa�on
The Society is run by the board of trustees, following the provisions made in our Cons�tu�on (h�ps://www.slas.org.uk/cons�tu�on), made up of the following persons for the year 2024:
President, Dr Marieke Riethof, University of Liverpool Vice-President, Prof Sarah Bowskill, Queen’s University Belfast Co-Treasurer, Dr Karol Valderrama-Burgos, University of St Andrews Co-Treasurer, Dr Catriona McAllister, University of Reading Co-Secretary, Dr Rebecca Ogden, University of Sheffield Co-Secretary, Dr Geoffrey Maguire, University of Cambridge.
Ordinary Commi�ee Members
Dr Yaneidys Arencibia Coloma, University of Manchester (2024-26) Dr Cara Levey, University College Cork (elected in 2023) Dr Paul Merchant, University of Bristol (2023-25) Dr Penny Miles, University of Bath (2024-26)
Prof Thea Pitman, Past-President, University of Leeds Dr Juan Pablo Ferrero, Coordina�ng Editor, Bulle�n of La�n American Studies, University of Bath Mr Juan Luis Bradbury, President of Postgraduates in La�n American Studies, University of Cambridge
Independent examiner:
Aysgarth Chartered Accountants, Suite 3b Kings House 1 King Street Leeds LS1 2HH Banker: Natwest Westminster Bank Plc, Chatham Customer Service Centre, Western Avenue, Waterside Court, Chatham Mari�me, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4RT
The objec�ves of the Society, as stated in our Cons�tu�on (h�ps://www.slas.org.uk/cons�tu�on) are to advance and promote the study of La�n America within the United Kingdom, and in par�cular to: a. sponsor an annual conference for La�n Americanists.
b. sponsor or co-sponsor such other conferences or mee�ngs as the Society shall from �me to �me deem appropriate.
c. publish a periodical bulle�n, the Bulle�n of La�n American Research (BLAR), the ownership of the copyright to the content and �tle of which will be retained by the Society.
d. maintain a website for the Society and publish other publica�ons as the Society shall from �me to �me deem appropriate; and
e. co-operate with public, academic and ins�tu�onal bodies which have similar interests or objec�ves.
Review of ac�vi�es
Ac�vi�es in calendar year 2024 included the following:
a. Our highly successful annual conference was hosted by the Centre for La�n American Research and Documenta�on (CEDLA) at the University of Amsterdam on 1-3 July, with a conference dinner and recep�on held at Restaurant Tolhuistuin.
b. We supported the ac�vi�es of PILAS, Postgraduates in La�n American Studies, including the running of their annual conference held at the University of Amsterdam on 4 July.
c. We also sponsored a variety of events and awarded grants and prizes on all our normal schemes (h�ps://www.slas.org.uk/funding) and introduced a new funding opportunity: the UK Scholar’s Research Support Grant.
d. We awarded £44,477 in grants and prizes. Details of each of the funding schemes and recipients can be found in the Secretary’s Report (h�ps://www.slas.org.uk/annual-reports) for 2025, which captures ac�vity for 2024.
e. We have con�nued to maintain our website, as well as develop our social media presence with investment in regular pos�ng on behalf of SLAS and our journal.
f. We have con�nued to co-operate with all other public, academic and ins�tu�onal bodies which have similar interests or objec�ves.
g. We furthermore undertook the following addi�onal ac�vi�es during the year:
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updated our governance policies.
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par�cipated in na�onal discussions about issues such as open-access publishing, and the future of La�n American Studies teaching and research.
Plans for the future
Overall our focus is on maintaining the core ac�vi�es of the Society as listed above (A to E) in a fast changing environment where our most important income stream (the publica�on of our scholarly journal, the Bulle�n of La�n American Studies ) is likely to reduce by between 20 and 25% over the next couple of years. At the same �me we remain open to all viable means to promote the study of La�n America in the UK.
Reserves policy
Our policy is to keep in reserve assets to at least the value of £100,000 represen�ng the normal maximum annual turnover.
Risk Review
The academic publishing market is changing fast with the shi� to Open Access publishing and this impacts SLAS directly as the vast majority of our income comes from our journal. We have nonetheless managed to nego�ate a new contract with the publisher Wiley that promises to maintain our core income at a good level over the next five years, thus enabling us to con�nue our normal range of ac�vi�es in support of the Society’s objec�ves. We are nonetheless a�en�ve to the need to ensure that the journal is managed in a financially prudent way going forward. We are also able to alter the number of grants that we offer each year to ensure that expenditure matches income as closely as possible. We also have healthy reserves as we go into this period of change.
Statement of trustees’ responsibili�es
accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accoun�ng Standards. The law applicable to chari�es in England and Wales requires the trustee(s) to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and applica�on of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
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select suitable accoun�ng policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles of the Chari�es SORP
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make judgements and es�mates that are reasonable and prudent
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state whether applicable accoun�ng standards have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and;
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that the charity will con�nue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping accoun�ng records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial posi�on of the charity and enable them to ascertain to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Chari�es Act 1993, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regula�ons 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the preven�on and detec�on of fraud and other irregulari�es. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial informa�on included on the charity’s website.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Prac�ce – Accoun�ng and Repor�ng by Chari�es, and in accordance with the Chari�es Act 2011. This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 11 April 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
Dr Marieke Riethof SLAS President, 2023-25
Treasurer’s report year ended 31[st] December 2024 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENT ACCOUNT
| YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES | |||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Incoming resources | |||
| Bulle�n of La�n American Research+Conference | 83,576 | 87,934 | |
| Dona�ons | 294 | 362 | |
| Interest received | 8,628 | 0 | |
| Total incomingresources | 92,498 | 88,296 | |
| Resources expended | |||
| Charitable ac�vi�es | 52,905 | 45,556 | |
| Support & governance costs | 40,174 | 55,503 | |
| Total resources expended | 93,079 | 101,059 | |
| Net incoming resources | -581 | -12,763 | |
| Total funds brought forward | 344,936 | 357,699 | |
| Total funds carried forward | 344,355 | 344,936 | |
| STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES | |||
| YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 | |||
| BALANCE SHEET | |||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Assets | |||
| Current assets | |||
| Cash current account | 180,509 | 184,936 | |
| Cash savings account | 163,846 | 160,000 | |
| Net assets | 344,355 | 344,936 | |
| Represented by | |||
| Unrestricted funds | 344,355 | 344,936 |
Income
The main source of income for SLAS (90.4% in 2024) came from the contract with Wiley. This income represents a share of the profits from BLAR (the Society’s journal) for publica�on year 2023, coupled with the membership payments collected on behalf of SLAS in that year.
Dona�ons of £294 come from standing orders from previous memberships that have not been cancelled.
We received the interest from our Skipton account for both 2023 and 2024 within this calendar year. Our Na�onwide savings account was credited with the interest from December 2022 to July 2024. Total interest income was therefore £8,628.
Our conference in Amsterdam gave an income of £5,948, but as this was not received in our account un�l 2025 it is not registered in this report.
Expenditure
The main items of expenditure for 2024 correspond to Prizes and Grants, for £44,477. This was £4,789 more than in 2023, primarily due to the fact we paid both our 2023-24 and 2024-25 Post-doc awards this calendar year.
We paid 6 grants to enable La�n American scholars to a�end our annual conference (£9,102) and bursaries for the same purpose to 18 PhD students and Post-Docs based at UK ins�tu�ons (£6,963). We paid 6 Post-doc awards in 2024 (£12,000), which (as noted above) corresponds to the successful applica�ons in both academic year 2023-24 and 2024-25.
We paid 11 Postgraduate and Postdoctoral research support grants (£10,818), the Cátedra SLAS (£600), 6 Seminars/Conferences grants (£3,494), and one UK scholar research grant (£1,500). Total spend on grants was £7,723 less than budgeted. Most of this was due to grants not awarded. We awarded 2 of a possible 3 UK Scholar research grants, and only one of those was paid out this year (the other will register in the 2025 accounts). We had 3 unawarded PG/PD research support grants. Other underspend was due to a small number of grants not being taken up, or recipients underspending on the amount awarded.
With regards to expenses by BLAR, the main expenditure arose from the payment to the BLAR associate editor, made through the University of Liverpool (£12,061).
A payment of editors’ honoraria was made for each of the BLAR editors, totalling £8,750. Six editors received the standard honorarium (£1,000 each). Three new editors started in mid-January and received a pro-rata amount (£917 each). The editor-in-chief received an addi�onal £1,000 in recogni�on of addi�onal work involved in the transi�on to ScholarOne. Two prizes totalling £1,200 (i.e. the Blakemore prize jointly awarded to 2 recipients and the Master’s prize) were awarded by the BLAR editors. BLAR associate editor expenses correspond to £77 for prin�ng costs.
Expenses by SLAS commi�ee members, BLAR editors and PILAS Chair to a�end the AGM within the annual conference in Amsterdam totalled £14,883.
Other expenses include those to PILAS (£4,007) that mainly correspond to the organiza�on of their annual conference that took place in Amsterdam; accoun�ng services for £1,200; a fee of £300 for the UCML membership; £23 for SLAS elec�ons; and £2,880 for website and social media expenses. We also paid an advance of £3,221 for catering expenses for our 2025 conference in Bristol.
Conclusion
this is due to the �ming of outgoing payments for 2 years’ worth of our Postdoc awards (£6000 per year) and the fact our 2024 conference income (of £5,948) was received in 2025. SLAS also holds reserves of £344,355 to support our objec�ves in the future.
Approved by Trustees on 11/04/2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Catriona McAllister and Karol Valderrama Burgos (SLAS Co-Treasurers)
THE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER
This report has been approved on the 8[th] July 2025 by the independent examiner Simon Young FCA (Aysgarth Chartered Accountants) to confirm that it complies with both the accoun�ng records and the accoun�ng requirements of the Chari�es Commission.
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of
Society for La�n American Studies
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Society for La�n American Studies
I report to the charity trustees on my examina�on of the accounts of Society for La�n American Studies (the Society) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Responsibili�es and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Society you are responsible for the prepara�on of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Chari�es Act 2011 ('the Act').
I report in respect of my examina�on of the Society's accounts carried out under Sec�on 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examina�on I have followed all applicable Direc�ons given by the Charity Commission under Sec�on 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
connec�on with the examina�on giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accoun�ng records were not kept in respect of the Society as required by Sec�on 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Chari�es (Accounts and Reports) Regula�ons 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a ma�er considered as part of an independent examina�on.
I have no concerns and have come across no other ma�ers in connec�on with the examina�on to which a�en�on should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Simon Young FCA
Aysgarth Chartered Accountants Suite 3b Kings House 1 King Street Leeds LS1 2HH
Date: 8 July 2025