2024-03-31-accounts

47th ANNUAL REPORT

(for the year ended 31 March 2024)

of

OPUS – AN ORGANISATION FOR PROMOTING UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIETY

a company limited by guarantee Regd. Office: 10 Golders Rise, London, NW4 2HR Regd. in England No. 1514106 Regd. Charity No. 282415

FORTY-SEVEN ANNUAL REPORT

Presented at the Annual General Meeting of OPUS – An Organisation for Promoting Understanding of Society ('OPUS') held at by Zoom on 23[rd] December 2024.

INTRODUCTION

OPUS was set up in 1975 by Sir Charles Goodeve FRS. Its aims derive from his founding belief that action needed to be taken to reverse the self-destructive processes operating in society.

OPUS aims to educate the public in all matters concerning the economic and sociological structure and working of society. It invites people to consider their own roles as citizens including the conscious and unconscious motivations behind what they do and don't do.

OPUS pursues its aims by the following means:

• (a) public events –conferences, lectures, seminars and workshops

• (b) education and training

• (c) consultancy

• (d) publication (e) research

OPUS Consulting operates as a company independent of OPUS the charity, but with a profit lock to OPUS. It has its own website: (www.opus-consulting.co.uk)

DIRECTORS REPORT

DIRECTOR’S REPORT APRIL 2023 TO MARCH 2024

OPUS continued to be active operationally and engaged in Society through the development and delivery of numerous activities.

Events

1. There were two Eric Miller Memorial Lectures during this period. The first was given by Ray Bakaitis on "Group Relations Conferences and Organizations as a Fractal of Society”. on 1[st] April 2023. The second Eric Miller Memorial Lecture was held on 17[th] March 2024 and was given by Dr Vega Zagier Roberts, entitled: ‘Our kind of consultancy is subversive’: Curiosity, Agency and the Power of Changing the Stories we Tell. 140 attended this thought-provoking lecture which was followed by a good discussion afterwards.

2. Book launches: on 15[th] April we held a book launch for Vamik Volkan, Regine Scholz and Gerry Fromm: ‘We don’t speak of fear: Large Group Identity, Societal conflict and Collective Trauma’. 200 registered to attend. A further launch was held to celebrate

publication of The Elephant in the Room on 20[th] April. A total of more than 300 attended this book launch.

1. Scientific Meetings: on 5[th] June May Ken Eisold gave a lecture on Money Myths. 112 people attended this fascinating meeting. On 27[th] November[h] Jon Stokes talked about charismatic and inspirational types of leadership. 56 attended.

2. On 7[th] October Vivienne Lewin led a fascinating Workshop on Twins. 32 attended.

3. On December 9[th] OPUS held an enjoyable party at the Freud Museum which included time to reflect on the state of society, and a book launch of Claudia Nagel’s new book, Leading with Depth, the impact of emotions and relationships on leadership. 40 registered to attend.

Listening Post

The Listening Posts continued during the financial year 2023-24. Five UK meetings were convened, four of which were held online. Participation remained open to an international audience. Over 50 different people attended UK Listening Posts. Attendance averaged at around 15-20 people per session.

The annual International Listening Post "Dawn of the Year" meetings were convened in 15 countries with a total of 19 reports submitted. The global report was published in the second edition of the OPUS journal.

Training

Once more, training activities in the past year focussed on further expansion of our Group Relations Conference activities.

In April 2023, OPUS sponsored the first Krakow International Group Relations Conference. Chris Tanner was co-director of the conference, and the Chairwoman of OPUS, Olya Khaleelee, was on the staff team. The title: The Art of Repair: Leadership, Culture, Change. This was a 4-day conference in a splendid conference venue, the Villa Decius Institute of Culture.

After several years of online only activities, in November 2023 we hosted our first in-person International Group Relations Conference for many years. The conference, “Transitions and Transformations: Diversity, Risk and Sustainability” attracted 17 members from around the world, with 4 staff. We adopted an innovative hybrid model, with the first 2 days online, followed by 2 days in person. The motive for this was partly philosophical – to capture the contemporary experience of mixed modes of working, and also to represent in design the theme of transition- and partly economic- a conference design which, through minimizing venue costs would have a lower ticket price. Feedback after the conference was encouraging. Amongst other things we asked members to identify single words to capture their experience, and responses which included “Intriguing, challenging,

affirmative, thought & feeling provoking, enlightening, enriching, and warm”.

We were once more awarded the contract for the Birkbeck Group Relations Conference in Spring 2024. And once more this involved planning for a very large conference with over 100 members and a staff team of 18. The title: Fragmentation, Integration and Differentiation; Picking up the Pieces. With the recent awarding of the contract for the 2025 conference this now constitutes an established working relationship.

The Training Director, Chris Tanner, continues to represent OPUS at the Global Group Relations Forum, which occurs around 6 times a year. This is a meeting point for organisations that host group relations conferences from around the world.

The coming year sees further expansion of OPUS Group Relations activities with 4 GRCs currently in development. As well as re-iterations of the conferences mentioned above- Krakow, Birkbeck, and OPUS London International, we are piloting a joint conference with the Tavistock Centre, based on a shared interest in therapeutic community practice, to run in August 2025.

JOURNAL ORGANISATIONAL & SOCIAL DYNAMICS (OSD)

Organisational & Social Dynamics entered its twentieth year. It continues to be produced by Phoenix Publishing House. The Editorial Management Committee for the journal is chaired by Jim Krantz and meets three to four times each year. The journal Organisational and Social Dynamics has its own website (www.osd.org.uk).

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

(for the year ended 31 March 2024)

of

OPUS – AN ORGANISATION FOR PROMOTING UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIETY

a company limited by guarantee Regd. Office: 10 Golders Rise, London NW4 2HR Regd. in England No. 1514106 Regd. Charity No. 282415

CONTENTS

Legal and Administrative Information	2
Directors' Report	3 & 4
Independent Auditor's Report to Members	5
Balance Sheet	6
Statement of Financial Activities	7
Notes to the Accounts	8

1

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Constitution

OPUS is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity governed by its memorandum and articles of association. The liability of the members is limited, but is not to exceed £10 per member. In accordance with Section 62 of the Companies Act 2006, the company is exempt from the requirements of that act to include “limited” as part of its name.

Directors and Trustees

In accordance with the company's articles of association, the company has a board of directors who are the trustees of the charitable company for the purposes of charity law. Directors may be appointed by ordinary resolution of the members (Article 34) or by the board (Article 37). The minimum number of directors is five. There is no maximum number.

The trustees and directors of OPUS during the year to 31[st] March 2024 were:

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Olya KHALEELEE

(Chairwoman from 15/11/2018) Augustine SAGOE (appointed from 1/06/2014)

Christopher TANNER

(appointed 18/01/2019)

Carlos REMOTTI-BRETON (Hon. Treasurer) (appointed 18/01/2019) Robert STUART (appointed 05/03/2019)

HON SECRETARY

Carlos REMOTTI-BRETON

(from 18/01/2019)

AUDITOR

E A WEEKES

7 Lambourne Close, Banstead, Surrey SM7 1DL

BANKERS

CO-OPERATIVE Bank

1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4ES

REGISTERED OFFICE

10 Golders Rise, London NW4 2HR

2

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE at 31/03/24

Board Finance Sub-Group

Olya KHALEELEE Carlos REMOTTI-BRETON

Director

Carlos REMOTTI-BRETON

Training Director

Chris TANNER

Consultancy Directors

Carlos REMOTTI-BRETON Chris TANNER

Listening Post Director

Rob STUART

Journal Management Committee

Halina BRUNNING Prof. Paul HOGGETT James KRANTZ (Chair) Olya KHALEELEE Carlos REMOTTI-BRETON

Journal Editors

Claudia NAGEL Aaron NURICK Matias SANFUENTES

Journal Book Review Editor

Kalina STAMENOVA

OPUS FELLOWS

Prof. Paul HOGGETT Dr Lionel STAPLEY

2

DIRECTORS' REPORT

The directors present their report and audited accounts of the company for the year ended 31st March 2024.

The accounts comply with the current statutory requirements, the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Statement of Recommended Practice for Charities.

Object of the charity

The object of the charity is to educate the public in all matters concerning the economic and sociological structure and working of society. The principal activities during the year are set out in the Annual Report.

Review of activities

The activities during the year and future developments are set out in the Annual Report.

Directors

The directors of the company during the year and since the year-end were as follows:

Olya KHALEELEE

(Chairwoman from 15/11/2018) Augustine SAGOE Appointed 18/01/2019

Carlos REMOTTI-BRETON (Hon. Treasurer) (appointed 18/01/2019)

Robert STUART (appointed 05/03/2019) Christopher TANNER (appointed 18/01/2019)

Organisation

The directors meet approximately every two months and on other occasions as required in order to administer the charity. The day-to-day operations of the charity are managed collectively by the directors some with a specific portfolio.

Reserves policy

The charitable company has developed a reserves policy. At 31st March 2024 the charitable company holds free reserves of £67891 (£65228)

Free reserves are held to ensure the continuity of the activities of the charity given the relative uncertainty of future income and to ensure the long term viability of the charitable company. The directors consider that the level of reserves is inadequate and are currently considering ways of bringing reserves to a more realistic level.

Risk view

The directors have reviewed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and systems have been established to mitigate those risks.

3

DIRECTORS' REPORT (continued)

Directors’ responsibilities

Company law requires the directors to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the affairs of the company and of the surplus or deficiency of the company for that period. In preparing those accounts, the directors are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent

• prepare the accounts on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in operation

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

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under ss 381-4 of the Companies Act 2006, and The Smaller Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors Report) Regulations 2008.

Signed by order of the directors.

Olya Khaleelee. Carlos Remotti-Breton Chairwoman Hon Treasurer and Company Secretary

Approved by the Directors on 23[rd] December 2024

4

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS

I have audited the accounts of OPUS for the year ended 31[st] March 2024, which comprises the Balance Sheet, Statement of Financial Activities, and related notes. These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and the accounting policies set out therein. This report is made solely to the company's members as a body in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. My audit work has been undertaken so that I may state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors report and for no other purpose to the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members as a body, for my audit work, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and auditors

The trustees' (who are also the directors of OPUS for the purpose of company law) responsibilities for preparing the Directors' Report and the accounts in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards are set out in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities.

My responsibility is to audit the accounts in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and United Kingdom Auditing Standards. I report to you my opinion as to whether the accounts give a true and fair view and are properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. I also report to you if, in my opinion, the Report is not consistent with the accounts, if the charity has not kept proper accounting records, if I have not received all the information and explanations I require for my audit, or if information specified by law regarding trustees remuneration and transactions with the charity are not disclosed. I read other information contained in the Trustees Annual Report and consider whether it is consistent with the audited accounts, I consider the implications for my report if I become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the accounts. My responsibilities do not extend to any other information.

Basis of audit opinion

I conducted my audit in accordance with United Kingdom Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the accounts. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made by the trustees in the preparation of the accounts, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the charity's circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed. I planned and performed my audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we consider necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the accounts are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming my opinion, I also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the accounts.

Opinion

In my opinion, the accounts give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as at 31[st] March 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources including its income and expenditure for the year then ended and have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

E A Weekes

5

BALANCE SHEET, 31[st] MARCH 2024

Current Assets Other Debtors Cash at Bank Creditors:Amounts falling due within one year Creditors and Accruals Net current assets and net assets Fund Unrestricted income fund	2024 2023 £ £ 18824 67032 72490 85856 72490 17965 7262 67891 65228 67891 65228

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under ss 381-4 of the Companies Act 2006 and The Smaller Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors Report) Regulations 2008

SIGNED ON BEHALF OF THE DIRECTORS

Carlos Remotti-Breton Hon Treasurer and Company Secretary

Approved by the directors on 23[rd] December 2024

6

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (including income and expenditure account) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2024

Incoming resources Notes (1) Activities to further the charity's objects Annual Conference Fees EMJ Lecture and Other Educational Events OPUS GRC, Group Supervision & Other GRC Subscriptions Journal Resources expended Charitable expenditure Annual Conference Fees OPUS GRC, Group Supervision & Other GRC Zoom+ Mailchimp+ Hosting Management & Administration (2) Total resources expended Net (outgoings) incoming resources for the year Fund balance brought forward 1st April 2023 Fund balance carried forward 31st March 2024

2024 2023 £ £ 0 4042 7223 4943 38047 12955 5182 8399 1402 1398 51854 31737 0 985 31097 8765 3399 2254 14696 14350 49192 26354 2662 5383 61279 55896 63941 61279

All movements are in unrestricted funds. The charitable company has no recognised gains or losses other than the result for the year as set out above. All of the activities of the charitable company are classed as continuing.

7

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS 31[st] MARCH 2024

Accounting Policies

1. (a) Basis of accounting

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention, in accordance with Statement of Recommended Practice 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities' issued by the Charity Commissioners in October 2006 and Financial Reporting Standards for Smaller Entities (effective January 1[st] 2015)

(b) Incoming resources

Fees for consultancy services are recognised in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable.

(c) Resources expended

Resources expended are recognised in the period which they are incurred and includes attributable VAT.

(d) Basis of allocation of expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities

All costs are directly attributable to specific activities.

(e) Funds

The funds held by the charity are unrestricted.

2. Management & administration

Staff Management Expenses Online Payments Costs Audit & Accountancy Journal Administration Other Total

8