ANNUAL REPORT AND STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
For the year ended 31 July 2023
THE READING BACH CHOIR
Registered Charity: 286414
ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
The Reading Bach Choir is registered with the Charities Commission (No. 486414)
Contact Address:
14 Shooters Hill Pangbourne RG8 7DU
Trustees:
Mrs A Ware Chair Ms C Hitch Treasurer (appointed 9 February 2021) Mrs S Cruddace Secretary (appointed November 2021)
Other Committee Members:
Mr B McGee Librarian Mrs R Howard Concert Manager Ms R Kershaw Fundraising Mrs K Munns Publicity and Friends Contact Mr C Nelson IT Mrs D Rowbottom Social secretary (retiring 10 October 2023)
The constitution requires 1/3 of the Committee/Trustees to retire by rotation each year and seek reappointment at the Annual General Meeting. Mrs D Rowbottom retired a Fundraising member this year and retained her role as Social Secretary. She retires from this role at the October 10 2023 AGM.
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OBJECTIVES AND MODE OF OPERATION
The objectives of the charity are the study and performance of choral works in order to promote and develop public appreciation of such works by means of public performance and other appropriate activities. There are three levels of membership: singing; non-singing; and honorary. Singing membership is open to anyone who can demonstrate an appropriate singing and musical ability. There are no such requirements for non-singing membership. Honorary members are appointed by the Trustees in recognition for outstanding contribution and service to the choir.
To meet the objectives, members study a range of choral music at weekly rehearsals under the direction of a professional music director and a professional accompanist. An important part of each rehearsal is the development of vocal technique and musical interpretation. The works studied are performed at concerts held during the year where the choir performs with professional musicians and achieves a very high standard of performance. A wide range of music from different periods and in different styles, which includes familiar, lesser known and unknown works, is incorporated into the programme.
Due to the costs of funding large scale concerts, the programmes are planned so generally one concert a year is performed with a professional orchestra and soloists, with the remaining concerts being performed acapella or with smaller or solo forces.
The choir continues to receive no grant from any public bodies.
Virtually all the choir's income is dedicated to supporting the objectives, with only £465 (2022 £398) of expenditure related to insurance and administrative costs and the choir’s website. The is an increase on the previous year when we held fewer concerts so less PRS was payable.
General Reserves and Trust Fund
The Committee considers that it is necessary to hold reserves to provide a level of financial certainty between the time when the season's programme is planned and financial commitments made, and the actual performance that generates income. By considering the planned expenditure against the anticipated income and assessing the associated risks of such, the Committee considers that minimum operating reserves of £10,000 are required.
Review of Activities
Well, this has certainly been another exciting and very satisfying year of singing! Congratulations to Daniel for completing his first full year with the choir... and in great style!
I have known Oliver Holt at Douai for over 20 years and NEVER heard him praise a choir so much as he did after The Arc in the Sky. It has been great to witness Daniel get to know the choir, start to challenge us and stretch us. It is a great feeling to know that. after a few torrid years, we are back!
As always, huge thanks to Nick Shaw (Assistant Music Director) - greatly appreciated!
Thank you all so much for the efforts you have made, not just with the singing, but ensuring we have good sized audiences - at our concerts and workshops. We have an exciting programme ahead of us....and it's never too early to get the dates in the diary of friends and family.
There is more help you can offer please. As you know our coffers are still looking sad - more spiders than money. Steve Morgan has been hard at work trying to track down sources of funding, but they are difficult to come by. So here is how you can help:
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encourage your singing friends to join;
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if you are in another choir or an orchestra, see who might be interested in a "tryout". Building the choir numbers (whilst keeping the quality) is a great way to improve our finances - as well as giving Daniel more scope in his programming;
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if you are working for a business, local or national, might they be willing to sponsor a half page in our programmes;
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take an active role in fund raising (anything from Carol singing up to an auction of promises).
If you ever see a formal letterhead for the RBC, you may have noticed that we have a Vice President for life – Jan Joust van Elberg. JJ was a previous conductor and used to commute from Amsterdam to Reading every week. He has proposed that he step down from that role and has kindly offered to do some sort of " one off" with the choir. We are going to work with Daniel to decide what shape that event should take and give details later in the year.
Would the choir benefit from appointing a new President? The committee with be giving this consideration over the coming weeks and would be interested in your input.
Huge thanks also to the committee for their support and commitment. We are always looking for choir members (in particular, those who joined more recently) to join the committee. Please step forward - we would love to have you.
Financial Review
Overall
For the year, we made a loss of £107 (2022: £3,620).
Subscriptions
Subscription fees for members for the year were increased to £230 from £210 reflecting the increasing cost of rehearsals. Subscriptions from members for the year were £10,090 (2022: £9,140) which includes Friends subs of £255 (2022: £270), with a further £2,294 received from Gift Aid (2022: £2,033).
Broadly speaking, the choir’s intention has always been for subscriptions (including Gift Aid) and refreshments during rehearsals to cover the cost of rehearsals. This has not been the case this year as the cost of rehearsals was £16,471 (2022: £13,165) and subscriptions (including Gift Aid and refreshments) amounted to £13,019 (2022: £11,173), a difference of £3,452 (2022: £1,992).
Concerts
The ‘Income & Expenditure’ for each of the four concerts (2022: three) we put on this year is shown on page 9. The concerts alone made a surplus of £142 (2022: loss of £1,274) but once ‘general fundraising’ is set against this, it resulted in a surplus of £4,776 (2022: £672).
Fundraising
Online fundraising generated £227 (2021 £145) through Amazon Smile and Easy Fundraising. Other activities and donations, including a Mozart workshop and clarinet concert (thank you Janet Hilton), raised a further £4,407 (2021 £1,801).
Electronic payments
The use of electronic payments is increasing and we are able to take card payments using our Zettle card reader and can sell tickets via our website with customers paying by card. Both of these incur charges which amounted to £184 this year (2022 £87).
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Committee
Daphne has been our Social Secretary this year but wishes to step down from this role at the AGM. I want to thank her for everything she has done – lots of dedicated work checking out pubs and of course organising another great summer party for us. We need a new Social Secretary so please think whether this could be you.
I am very pleased to say that other committee members are willing to carry on in their roles if they are so re-elected.
A Ware, Chair October 2023
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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the Reading Bach Choir
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Reading Bach Choir, Charity number 286414, for the year ended 31[st] July 2023, which are set out on pages 7 to 11.
Respective responsibilities of the trustees and examiner
The trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to:
Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act; follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act); and state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fair view" and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination: I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act other than the requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Mark Tomsett Retired ACMA 7 Avalon Road Earley Reading
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RG6 7NS
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2023
| Notes Concert Income Ticket sales 2 Programme sales 2 Refreshments 2 Total Non-concert Income Subscriptions 4 Gift Aid 4 Fund Raising 3 Grants and donations 3 Refreshments 4 Interest 4 Workshop 4 Other 4 Total TOTAL INCOME Concert expenditure Professionals (MD & accompanist) 2 Venue 2 Tickets & programmes 2 Publicity 2 Refreshments 2 Other 2 Total |
2023 £ 6,249 591 369 7,209 9,835 2,294 3,638 575 635 305 2,135 742 20,159 |
2022 £ 3,820 444 64 4,328 9,140 2,033 1,268 678 330 52 140 770 |
|---|---|---|
| 14,411 | ||
| 27,368 5,300 960 569 238 7,067 |
18,739 3,065 955 441 606 43 492 |
|
| 5,602 | ||
| Non-concert expenditure Professionals (MD & Assistant MD) 4 Venue 4 Subscriptions & insurance 4 Refreshments 4 Workshop 4 Fundraising 4 Website 4 Payment Processing Charges 4 Donation Out 4 Auditions 4 Other 4 MD Recruitment 4 Music 4/7 Total |
14,080 2,302 362 550 931 528 103 184 1,100 13 255 20,408 |
11,238 1,927 295 120 1,022 103 87 50 382 1,178 356 |
| 16,757 | ||
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR |
27,475 (107) |
22,359 |
| (3,620) |
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MOVEMENT OF RESERVES AND FUNDS
Movement of Reserves and Funds
| Balance as at 31 July 22 Deficit for the Year Balance as at 31 July 23 Summary of Net Assets by Fund Summary of Net Assets by Fund |
General Trust Fund Total £ £ £ 7,749 10,000 17,749 (107) (107) 7,642 10,000 17,642 General Trust Fund Total £ £ £ 7,642 10,000 17,642 |
|---|---|
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JULY 2023
| Notes Fixed Assets Sheet Music 8 Current Assets Debtors - due from Revenue 9 Other debtors and prepayments 9 Stock 9 Cash at Bank Cash in Trust Fund Account Cash in Hand Total current assets Current Liabilities Interest-free loan Deferred Income Creditors 10 Total current Liabilities Net current Assets Net Assets Represented by Trust fund General Reserves Total |
Year Ended 31/07/2023 £ 489 2,273 0 0 5,366 10,654 60 18,353 600 0 600 1,200 17,153 17,642 Year Ended 31/07/2023 £ 10,000 7,642 17,642 |
Year Ended Movement 31/07/2022 in Year £ £ 165 324 1,993 280 410 (410) 32 (32) 6,501 (1,135) 10,348 306 60 0 19,344 (991) 600 0 0 0 1,160 (560) 1,760 (560) 17,584 (431) 17,749 (107) Year Ended Movement 31/07/2022 in Year £ £ 10,000 0 7,749 (107) 17,749 (107) |
|---|---|---|
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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
1. Basis of Preparation
The accounts are prepared under the historical cost convention, on the accrual basis and in accordance with applicable accounting standards and the Statement of Recommended Practice on Account by Charities.
Depreciation is charged on Music owned by the choir in accordance with its estimated useful life based on the number of times it is hired out in the year. It is estimated that music has hiring value for up to 5 hires by which time successive marking and rubbing out will impact sufficient numbers of copies to significantly reduce its economic value.
Depreciation is also charged on the glasses purchased for refreshments in concerts, fundraising and social events. A life of 15 years has been assigned to the glasses and breakages will be written off in the year they occur.
2. Income and Expenditure on Concerts
There were 4 concerts (2022: 3) during the Financial Year covered by these accounts.
| Income Tickets etc Expenditure Professionals Orchestra/solists/additional voices Venue Printing and Publicity Refreshments Other Total Gross Surplus/(Deficit) Specific Fundraising General Fundraising Net Surplus/(Deficit) |
Concert 1 Concert 2 Concert 3 Concert 4 Grand Total 2022 1,559 1,893 1,869 1,889 7,209 4,328 500 500 500 500 2,000 1,715 1,150 1,200 350 600 3,300 1,842 280 150 280 250 960 955 161 137 134 137 569 1,047 78 74 86 0 238 43 0 0 2,169 2,061 1,350 1,487 7,067 8,554 (611) (169) 519 402 142 (4,226) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,422 1,352 885 975 4,634 1,946 1,422 1,352 885 975 4,634 1,652 811 1,183 1,404 1,377 4,776 1,652 2023 |
|---|---|
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3. Income and Expenditure on Fundraising
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income | Expense | Net | Income | Expense | Net | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Sales | 365 | 365 | 143 | 143 | |||
| Donations and grants | 575 | 575 | 678 | 678 | |||
| Online Fundraising | 227 | 227 | 145 | 145 | |||
| Raffle/Tombola | 1,125 | 1,125 | 672 | 672 | |||
| Weddings | 0 | 300 | 300 | ||||
| Mozart Workshop | 2,135 | (931) | 1,204 | ||||
| Clarinet Concert | 1,520 | (528) | 992 | ||||
| Carol Singing | 106 | 106 | |||||
| Other | 40 | 40 | 8 | 8 | |||
| Total Fundraising | 6,093 | (1,459) | 4,634 | 1,946 | 0 | 1,946 |
4. Income and Expenditure on Rehearsals and Other Items
| 2023 | 2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehearsals | Other | Total | Total | |
| Income | £ | £ | £ | £ |
| Subscriptions1 | 10,090 | 10,090 | 9,140 | |
| Giftaid | 2,294 | 2,294 | 2,033 | |
| Interest | 305 | 305 | 52 | |
| Refreshments | 635 | 635 | 330 | |
| Summer Party | 736 | 736 | 680 | |
| Workshop | 140 | |||
| Other | 6 | 6 | 90 | |
| Total | 13,019 | 1,047 | 14,066 | 12,465 |
| Expenditure | ||||
| Donations Out | 50 | |||
| Insurance and PRS | 362 | 362 | 295 | |
| Coaching | ||||
| Professionals | 14,080 | 14,080 | 11,237 | |
| Refreshments/Summer Party | 124 | 426 | 550 | 396 |
| Venue | 2,268 | 2,268 | 1,927 | |
| Workshop | 35 | 35 | 1,022 | |
| MD Recruitment | 1,178 | |||
| Re-auditions for choir | 1,100 | 1,100 | ||
| Music | 37 | |||
| Payment Processing Charges | 184 | 184 | 37 | |
| Other | 13 | 13 | 106 | |
| Website | 103 | 103 | 103 | |
| Total | 16,471 | 2,223 | 18,694 | 16,388 |
| Gross Surplus/(Deficit) | (3,452) | (1,176) | (4,628) | (3,923) |
| 1 Includes Members and Friends Subscriptons |
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5. Summary of Net Assets by Fund
Trust Fund
The Trust Fund was established in 1985 with the purpose of providing the Choir with a secure financial base. The income generated from the Fund would be available to be used to further the objectives of the Choir in relation to assisting with concert or any other specific project that would further the choir’s objectives. The Fund was initially created from donations and interest-free loans. Since it was created the interest received on the account has been accumulated into the fund to give the current balance. The remaining balance of interest free loans made to the Fund is included in the balance sheet as a liability.
The trustees consider that the fund is an expendable endowment and so the income generated is applied towards achieving the choir’s objectives.
6. Trustees’ Remuneration and Expenses
No remuneration out of the funds of the charity was paid or is payable to any trustee or to any persons known to be connected with any of them.
A total of £3,137 (2022: £936) was reimbursed to 4 (2022: 4) trustees or committee members. These payments were for administrative, refreshments and music expenses incurred on behalf of the choir. The increase in 2023 was largely due to £2,747 of music expenditure (2022: £791), in 2022 more music was purchased on account with payment direct from the choir account.
7. Music
The only expenditure on music during the year (other than for concerts/rehearsals) was the depreciation of the music held as fixed assets (see Note 8 below).
8. Fixed Assets
40 copies of Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, ordered for a concert but unused due to a late programme change, were added to the choir’s music library during the year. There are plans to use these for a future concert when they will be sold or hired to choir members.
Depreciation of £253 (2021: £293) was charged for the year on music.
The committee decided to purchase glasses for refreshments at concerts and fundraising or social events. 72 glasses were purchased at a cost of £48 and depreciation of 3.20 was charged for the year. Breakages will be written off in the year they occur, there were 2 in 2023.
9. Current Assets
HMRC Debtor for gift aid is £2,273 (2022: £1,993). There are no outstanding other debtors (2022: £nil). The stock of wine left from 2022 concerts was used during the year.
10. Creditors
The main elements of Creditors are accrued venue costs which are now either settled or under investigation.
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