Company number: 1692341 Charity number: 286818
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 MARCH 2021
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
| Page(s) | |
|---|---|
| Chairman’s report | 1-6 |
| Trustees’ report | 7-13 |
| Independent auditors’ report | 14-16 |
| Consolidated Statement of financial activities | |
| (including income and expenditure account) | 17 |
| Consolidated balance sheet | 18 |
| Charity balance sheet | 19 |
| Consolidated Statement of cash flows | 20 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 21-32 |
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
In my last Chairman’s report, I shared our collective view on the Orchestra past, present and future – using both the rear-view mirror and the windscreen. That windscreen is still difficult to see through clearly – making the journey tougher for everyone on it. However, after the last year of investing in new people, new ways of connecting with people in meaningful and participative ways, and new partnerships, this year has turned out to be a year of much development and progress – and hard work!
I will first try to explain what a year with an “unclear windscreen” has made us focus on in Section A.
Then I will try to summarise and explain the mostly positive results for the year in both financial and non-financial terms, in Section B. But for those interested in who we are and what makes us different, and to understand more clearly where we are heading and how, may I please point you towards the two topics headed “Participation Drives All We Do” and “The Importance of Partnerships” in Section C – a section devoted to three aspects of our strategic plan, The Way Ahead, which was approved by our Board this year. And finally, some observations in Section D on next year, and my and my Board’s well-earned thanks to all those who allowed us to continue our journey towards the mission and vision set out in the Trustee’s Report which follows.
A. This Year’s Areas of Focus
--- The restrictions imposed on us as a result of Covid closing concert halls and other venues, denying access to hospitals, schools, care homes and other places where we undertake participation work, and restricting physical contact with all our stakeholders---have forced us to focus on key priorities:
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Reinventing how we work, and reacting creatively to the constraints of Covid. Like others we had a crash course in developing digital technology to allow our work to continue.
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Keeping our family of member players active, and involved with each other, recognising the intense hardship imposed on our musicians during lockdown. Thanks to the generosity of one donor, matched by our equally generous Board of Trustees, we were able to pay the musicians’ fees for cancelled concerts for the first two months of lockdown. Digital technology permitted social Zoom catch ups; regular Comfortable Classical performances led and curated by musicians from their homes; and transitioned us back to live concerts as soon as we were allowed to do so.
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Working with our Participation partners to develop new ways of continuing to improve participants’ lives when direct physical access was impossible. We were so proud to be recognised by our peers in November with the Royal Philharmonic Society Impact Award for our work with young people in psychiatric hospital settings.
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Our marketing and communications focussed on social media and adapting technology to start the positioning and branding exercise referred to last year. We are now working with our consultants to narrow the still frustrating gap between perception and reality.
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Along with the rest of the orchestral sector (and the Arts more generally), survival in financial terms was a major preoccupation. Survival was very successfully achieved, despite the severe reduction in events. Enormous heartfelt thanks must be given to the Arts Council of England (ACE), DCMS and our loyal and generous supporters – as well as the hardworking Development team.
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Putting extra time and creativity into the relationships with our partners was a key priority. I will refer to the huge importance of these partners for Events and Participation work in Section C below. But some examples for the year would be: -
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Working with Opera Holland Park (OHP) to produce small-scale concerts involving our players and singers in a Covid-safe environment.
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The first “Restore and Revive” live Bach concert in September, working again with Southwark Cathedral to make musicians and audiences feel safe while enjoying the reintroduction to live music.
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Putting together with our long-established partner St Paul’s Cathedral a Celebration of Christmas Concert for a live audience with 44 players and the Cathedral Choir.
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On the Participation side, working with existing and new partners to develop together ways of delivering programmes for Sound Young Minds and Room to Room Music online – the latter featured on BBC Breakfast TV and BBC London. We worked on training with partners, old and new, who are interested in our work and with whom we are sharing our experiences – such as Southbank Sinfonia and Britten Pears Arts Young Artists Programmes. It is of great pride to us that CLS is one of three orchestras generating 37% of the UK orchestras’ total investment in the health and social care sector.
B. Our Results for the Year
So where did the focus described above leave us in terms of our finances and other outcomes more generally? I will try to provide clarification on the main points set out in the attached accounts: -
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Gross income declined by 41.6% from the prior year to £713,359. This reflected the arrival of lockdown with no live Own Performances or Participation during the lockdown periods, and an inability (still a conundrum for the sector) to charge realistically for digital content. And therefore we saw little revenue from the total audiences of 146,000 for (mainly) digital, and in-person activity, including 69,500 for our Comfortable Classical highly accessible series.
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Total expenditure was down by a higher percentage of 52.5% to £678,918, as a result of the reduced level of activity. Direct costs (excluding staff costs) fell by 81.2% as income from our concerts and staged events plus outreach projects decreased by 86.1%.
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Orchestral Tax Relief is £27,130, compared to £77,794 in 2019/20, again reflecting the fall in the amount of creative activity.
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Grants and donations were, of course, the crucial factor in our achieving positive results in terms of profits, cash flows and reserves. The Development team worked flat out, and achieved, amazingly, an increase of 15.2% on 2019/20 at £617,918. Our immense thanks once again to ACE for our success in applying for emergency funding in both rounds of the Cultural Recovery Fund awarded this year with DCMS. As a London-based organisation, this says a great deal about how highly our work is valued. Despite the lack of live activity, donations from individuals and patrons decreased by only 19.9% - a sign of their loyalty and continuing belief in all we do so uniquely. And we were delighted by the way in which they renewed their memberships early to help our cash flow in those difficult early months of lockdown.
In summary, we achieved an overall surplus of £61,571 for 2020/21, compared with the deficit of £128,583 in our 2019/20 year of redirection and investment. In turn, this brings our reserves at the end of the financial year up to £89,996, broken down as to £30,477 in unrestricted funds, and £59,519 in restricted funds.
C. The Way Ahead and Our Future
The Chairman’s Reports of the last three years have set out, with heavy use of Venn diagrams, our highly differentiated strategy. During this last year, this was embodied in our “The Way Ahead” fiveyear plan, which has set out the path for our unique style of creating shared personal experiences for all audiences with our musicians in a financially sustainable way. This strategy and plan has been agreed and adopted by the Board of Trustees earlier in 2021, and is being implemented currently. There are three important aspects of this plan on which I would like to comment this year: -
- Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy (EDI) – Our track record over a long period shows that we have implemented a number of elements of a responsible policy – not as a box-ticking exercise but born out of our core values regarding how people deserve to be valued and treated. As with others, however, there is considerable scope for improvement – for example in our auditioning and recruitment areas, to take just two examples. The Board has approved a five-year comprehensive EDI plan as part of The Way Ahead with its own KPIs, staffing and monitoring. EDI
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champions are being elected as I write for both the Board and the Executive Team to ensure that the programme maintains its momentum as a top priority for CLS.
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Participation Drives All We Do – This core belief defines our differentiated model but needs greater explanation and communication for it to be fully understood by others. Fiona Lambert, our wonderful Director of Participation, and I sat down to draw out some of the key elements of our Participation work which change the way in which we think about the rest of our work, and those with whom we interact within our events: -
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Two-way interactive Participation. Our work in hospitals and care homes over many years has taught us the need for different approaches and locations for different situations and outcomes in terms of shared active experiences. Hence the wide variety of formats and venues that we perform in, utilising all our past experiences to dismantle any barriers to active audience engagement.
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Shared ownership. We have developed ways to make music “WITH” and not “TO” others. For example, having audiences walk round the venue at the beginning of a concert to exchange views with some of the musicians about that night’s programme, or musical life in general. This generates a very special sense of engagement and connection which shines through in the subsequent performances. We tailor this element of the programme to each individual event and location to bring musicians and audiences together.
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Musician connection. The deep rational and emotional experiences of working directly with fellow human beings suffering in different ways, creates in itself a special bonding between the musicians themselves, based on the enormous value they know they are bringing to society, as well as to themselves. This in turn enhances a noticeable ‘closeness’ and warmth in their high quality playing and allows the possibility for our musicians to be creative and active ‘epicentres’ in leading events with highly diversified audiences. An important feature is the artistic engagement and leadership of our principal players in these projects.
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Online performance and digital techniques. While all artistic organisations have had to adapt overnight as a result of the pandemic to new ways of reaching their audiences, we had the additional dimension in our Participation work of not being allowed to enter hospitals and homes – the basis for our one-to-one, and small group work. Necessity forced us to develop alternative methods of direct interaction of which we have made good use in our live performances since lockdown ended, and which will continue to be a part of what we do where they enhance the experience for all taking part.
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Adapting to new creative locations. By doing as much ‘off stage’ work as our players do, we can work in a huge variety of different settings to meet the needs of our listeners and what we are playing – from Cathedrals to concert halls, rock venues, small meeting rooms. In other words, performances belong anywhere that musicians and audiences find themselves together. This is the secret of sharing musical experiences and creating from them transformative effects for all concerned.
In summary, to quote Fiona, “It is my job to make sure that as an orchestra what we do is open and accessible to anyone and everyone, that we connect with people in meaningful ways – and the best way to do it is to give them a sense of ownership and make them truly part of it whether audiences, participants or musicians.”
- The Importance of Partnerships – Long before Covid struck, it was becoming increasingly clear that, in all aspects of life, creative ambition and growth could no longer be sustained without partnerships. Specifically in the world of culture, this has much to do with maximising creativity and accessibility, and not just about the obvious financial reasons for working together with others. Silo mentality—always going it alone--is no longer the sustainable route to greater creativity. As outlined in Section A above, CLS has always been an inclusive orchestra reaching out to others to make more exciting things happen together. And I have already referred to the brilliant creative work which our partnerships with Opera Holland Park, St Paul’s and Southwark Cathedral permitted us to do this year. We have set out in The Way Ahead our intention to strengthen the use of partnerships, not primarily for sharing costs (although this is an additional critical factor) but on the basis that we
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have consistently found over 50 years that “ one plus one equals more than two”! Some of the aspects of partnership which we as a Board have discussed are: -
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Co-creations and Co-productions.
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We have been increasingly creating events which mix different art forms together – for example birdsong and nature; poetry and drama; dance etc. Carrying these off effectively requires partners with the requisite specialist skills to complement our own to bring out the highest quality of performance from both sides.
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Working with other organisations allows a wider access to multiple local communities with different ‘points of entry’ – and, accordingly, multiple usage of content and creativity.
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Given today’s enhanced use of a combination of live and digital, working with digital-using partners, we can widen our use of those tools to enhance our offerings and access to different audiences.
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Venues
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It is often very difficult (even more so now post-pandemic) to access venues for performance which already have longstanding relationships with others. By working with partners, we can often find access to these more easily in order to widen our audience reach.
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The Way Ahead strategy makes use of different sizes of ensemble work in order to be able to carry out more work within a defined overall budget, and to widen the repertoire that we can offer. This again requires partnerships with different venues to be added to our traditional ones.
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Given the increasing importance of direct two-way communications, we need additional flexibility from our partnerships to allow our music to be experienced in the varying and different ways in which we offer those experiences.
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Touring and Festivals
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In line with our own redefined strategy, as well as the ACE 10-year strategy, we need to get out from a city base more into local communities. We have plenty of models from the past such as our Cathedral tours, repeat residencies and all the work which we have done with Orchestras Live, for example. But we need to be continuously finding new opportunities to open up a wider audience in line with our vision and mission.
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We feel we can bring a number of our new and original partnership angles to existing festivals which would enhance the brand of both parties involved. We bring an orchestra of highly energetic, enthusiastic, creative, and supremely talented musicians to partners who have other elements of a festival structure already in place.
o Participation Coverage and Content
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There is a huge demand for our Participation work – frankly, more than we can take on at the moment. And the quality of this work was reflected in CLS receiving the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Impact Award in November last year, reflecting the pioneering and quality aspects of this work. This is now leading us into working with the NHS as partners, but as in the case of all our Participation work, it does mean that each project must be created on a tailor-made basis in a spirit of partnership with each organisation we are working with. This is not a cookie cutter style operation, but the ultimate form of partnership work.
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The quality of our work is enhanced by the continuous research-led initiatives with universities such as Kings College London to evaluate and refine our Participation work. The bringing together of the academic and music worlds to work together as partners has been extremely productive as we still continue to try, for example, to find appropriate KPIs for measuring and reporting our successes.
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Our main obstacle to faster growth of our differentiated work in this area has to be the training required to produce animateurs at the right level, and musicians with the experience and skills required to carry out this work effectively in different environments. And here again having partners with similar goals would help us to reach a greater variety of needs in a greater number of projects.
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Financial Cost Sharing
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The world of the Arts is sadly not immune from the rising costs involved in any ambitious growth programme to share transformative and creative work with a growing number of people in line with our mission. And therefore, we have to become much more creative with partnerships – as do all performing arts organisations large and small – to produce new strategic, operating and financial models which allow sharing of both overheads and variable costs of hired engagements and own production and Participation work with our partners.
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In our innovative development/fundraising strategy within The Way Ahead, we are trying to move away from traditional models of philanthropy and donations to new ones where we can attract, for example, partners who wish to be a part of specific projects, and their total cost of financing. Donors are increasingly finding themselves driven to investing in projects which can demonstrate social impact. A different partnership approach is required to meet the needs of a changing world.
D. Looking Ahead With Enormous Gratitude
In summary, 2019/20 was a year of reviewing, rethinking and redirection affected by both investment, and the first ‘surprises’ of Covid. 2020/21 saw the full impact of the pandemic as carefully made plans had to be abandoned. But we emerged strengthened in terms of what we have learnt, by our return to a ‘black-figure’ P&L and adding to reserves; a sharing of a Board-approved “The Way Ahead” with our various stakeholders – and, most importantly, the continuing loyalty and warmth from our musicians for what they feel strongly to be their orchestral home.
So, what about the year ahead with its continuing implementation of our plan, and celebrations of our 50th birthday? While the windscreen view is still far from clear, there are a variety of factors which leave us feeling reasonably confident regarding the way forward in these unusually difficult times.
Firstly, we are constantly reviewing our strategic, operational, and financial models in a way which is not typical in the performing arts world. And our operating model therefore has much more flexibility to cope with bumps in the road: -
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We always budget our activity in line with a conservative estimate of income, and plan for the possibility to make changes in our programmes if the truly unexpected happens.
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The Way Ahead has been sensibly based on assumptions of low profitability and additions to reserves in the first three years (of which this is the first year) to allow for investment in the website, IT, communications and marketing, new activities and the development function; all this depends on what our revenue side will permit.
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We have greatly improved flexibility by varying sizes of ensembles and venues in our planning of our own programme events.
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We continue to search for the right partners to share our work and fund the cost of it.
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We have been greatly encouraged by the enormous loyalty of our donor base at this very difficult time. It is impossible to express the level of gratitude we feel to all those involved. Firstly, ACE and the DCMS through both project support and crisis support; and our loyal trusts and foundations, friends with whom we work as close partners. Individual giving has been so generous this year from Board members and other friends of the organisation who believe in what we are trying to achieve. And, finally, our brilliant development team, Emily and Noma, who have been providing the stewardship rightly expected by our donors, and have been so creative and inventive. I pass on the thanks of the entire CLS family to all of you, and we will continue to try to prove
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ourselves worthy of that support in the very well-defined programme that makes us differentiated leaders in what we do.
Secondly, we continue to assess the new and changing needs of all our stakeholders, maintaining our relevance to society in the community we access. We hope, therefore, that those stakeholders will wish to continue supporting that relevance, ambition, and growth.
Picking out just some of those stakeholders, this is a year for heartfelt thanks to my exceptional friends and colleagues on the CLS Board, and its Committees which they lead so effectively; to our CEO Matthew Swann, Elaine Baines, our COO and pillar of continuity, and the Executive Team who have had to put up with a year of exhausting changes and have shown such incredible dedication to the CLS family and all that it does; the musicians who have had to develop new techniques including presenting their own concerts from home, as well as different ways of working in all our events, and, not forgetting our wonderful supporters who have followed us live and online throughout this period of change.
And so, I would like to finish by saying how much I and the Board look forward to working with our CLS family to get through these weird times, and achieve continuing growth, relevance and sustainability over the years ahead.
John Singer Chairman
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
The trustees (who are also directors of the company for the purposes of company law) present their report and the audited group and parent company financial statements of City of London Sinfonia Limited for the year ended 31 March 2021.
The trustees confirm that the report and the group and parent company financial statements of the charity comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the governing document, and the provisions of "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities 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)).
Reference and administrative information
Company number 01692341 (England and Wales) Registered charity number 286818 Chairman John Singer Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary Matthew Swann Registered office and principal office address 1[st] Floor Radisson Court 219 Long Lane London SE1 4PB Independent auditors Lindeyer Francis Ferguson Limited North House 198 High Street Tonbridge Kent TN9 1BE Principal bankers Lloyds Bank plc 35 Whitechapel High Street London E1 7PH
Structure, governance and management
City of London Sinfonia Limited was incorporated on 19 January 1983 and is a charitable company limited by guarantee. It has no share capital and is governed by a memorandum and articles of association. In the event of a winding up, the member’s liability is limited to £5. Past members who had resigned in the twelve months preceding the winding up are also required to contribute up to £5 each for debts incurred whilst they were members. The members have no entitlement to surplus assets on a winding up; any such assets will be given or transferred to some other charitable institution or institutions with similar charitable objects.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for selecting and recruiting suitable trustees to office at the Annual General Meeting. There is no maximum number of trustees that may be elected to the board. Trustees may serve for a period of nine years, subject to re-election every three years. After nine years of service, trustees may remain on the board subject to an annual re-election provided more than 75% of the trustees support their re-election. There is no age limit imposed on trustees.
New trustees are inducted through an intensive briefing by the Chief Executive and are given a job description, the most recent audited accounts and the current year budget.
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Policy decisions are made by the full board of trustees, with subcommittees for Finance and Operations, and Development and Communication, with both bodies reporting to the full board on a quarterly basis. The day-to-day decisions are made by the Chief Executive and the full-time administration staff of seven others.
The Chief Executive’ remuneration is set by the board of trustees, and does not include any bonus or performance related remuneration. The Chief Executive then sets the pay for the remainder of the administration, with annual increases for all staff agreed by the board of trustees. Only one member of the administration staff receives any performance related remuneration (Philanthropy and Enterprise Manager), and this is agreed with the Chief Executive.
Key Management personnel include:
Matthew Swann (Chief Executive) Elaine Baines (Chief Operating Officer)
Trustees
The trustees serving during the year were:
John Singer (Chairman) Richard Spiegelberg (Deputy Chairman) Paul Cutts Sally Davis Teruko Iwanaga OBE Joanna Livesey Patricia Millett Alan Morgan Mark Redman (appointed 15 December 2020) Colin Senior (retired 6 October 2020) Julian Schild William Spurgin Countess Sarah Thun-Hohenstein
Objectives and activities
The mission and vision of the orchestra, as adopted by the trustees, is as follows:
Our vision is of a world where musicians are an integral part of every community, meeting people across all of aspects of society and fully reflecting the communities where they are active.
City of London Sinfonia’s musicians are at the forefront of our vision, engaging with people from all backgrounds in shared moments of connection wherever we meet them. Our collaborative approach and practice in healthcare, wellbeing and social care settings underpins all our activity.
Our mission is manifested in two major areas of activity which are: (i) concert and staged performances; and (ii) participatory activity in education, community and health and social care settings.
In planning our activities for the year, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and fee charging and our new mission, vision and values. The charity relies on sponsorship, grants and the income from fees and charges to cover its operating costs. In setting the level of fees, ticket prices, and concessions, the directors give careful consideration to the accessibility of all events for those on low incomes.
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
The aim of the orchestra is to transform the lives of individuals across all areas of society through outstanding music making. Specifically, in a usual year we give over 75 performances every year and spend over 150 days every year in education and wellbeing settings including:
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in environments where social background often creates a barrier to musical and artistic creativity and ambition;
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in hospitals for young people with severe, life-limiting, psychiatric and challenging conditions and illnesses;
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with older people, many with dementia diagnoses in end-of-life residential social care;
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performances which by taking place in non-traditional venues, engaging with audiences in immersive and interactive ways, or involving collaborations with artists from different disciplines attract those who would not normally attend classical music events;
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performances and activities for communities who because of location or opportunity would not otherwise experience outstanding professional music-making.
We place equal value and bring the same approach to everything we do: the highest quality, and a distinctive, ‘seriously informal’ style of performance that removes the barriers between musicians and audiences so that people can experience the transformative power of music.
To ensure that we are achieving these aims, we will continue to ask questions of ourselves, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of best practice, both in attracting audiences and in schools, hospitals and care homes. We will partner with leading research institutions to ask us challenging questions, and provide the hard evidence of the benefits of our activity. Specific current evaluation methods include:
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the use of data from our box office system to ensure that we are reaching as wide an audience as possible, including approaching new audience members directly for feedback on our effectiveness at bringing new audiences to classical music;
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partnership with leading academic and clinical research institutions and best practice observational evaluation methodology;
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partner feedback, particularly as regards our work in schools and hospitals, to ensure that our projects best meet the needs of those young people whose lives we seek to transform.
In the financial year 2020-21 our activities were much reduced due to the effects of the pandemic as outlined in the Chairman’s report above, but through reinventing our approach and reacting creatively still included:
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Online participation activity, from informal Comfortable Classical performances for all those isolated at home including young families at home during the first lockdown, to engaging with all our participation partners using online platforms throughout the year, including our Sound Young Minds (young people in psychiatric hospital care) and Room to Room projects (older people living with advanced dementias in residential social care);
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Delivering own promoted events through our ‘Restore and Revive’ series at Southwark Cathedral which combined our ‘seriously informal’ approach with Covid safe measures, from social distancing, to presenting performances both in-person and online;
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Engaging with performance partners including Opera Holland Park where we delivered small scale, outdoor concerts, and St Paul’s Cathedral, where we enabled them to deliver a largescale Christmas performance that was live streamed to audiences around the world;
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Continuing our advocacy role through the publication of ‘Orchestras in Healthcare’ with the Association of British Orchestras and Orchestras Live, which showed that we are one of three orchestras delivering 37% of the UK orchestral sector’s total inward investment in the health and social care sector;
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Winning the Royal Philharmonic Society’s ‘Impact’ Award in November 2020 for our Sound Young Minds project.
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
During the course of the year, we reached a total audience of 146,000, engaging with people through predominantly online platforms, including 69,500 for our Comfortable Classical series.
The charity’s entire resource is directed towards delivering these activities, with £567k (2019-20 £1.322 million) spent on realising charitable activities, compared to £112k (2019-20 £106k) spent on raising funds.
Fundraising
CLS raises charitable income from charitable trusts and individuals. In doing so it makes approaches to charitable trusts who publicly state that they seek to support music and the arts, or charitable trusts where the trustees are known to CLS trustees and have invited CLS to apply for funding.
CLS makes approaches to individuals for charitable income that have attended CLS performances or events, or who are known personally to trustees of CLS.
CLS took part in two ‘Big Give’ Christmas Challenges during the year, in June and December 2020 (the June ‘summer’ challenge being a direct response to the pandemic) organised by The Big Give Trust, where individuals and trusts are invited to donate to a large range of charities to match funding already pledged by each charity’s supporters. Due to the large resource this initiative requires and a coincided change in fundraising staff we are not planning to take part in Big Give challenges in 2021-22 to avoid donor fatigue.
Outside this, CLS does not employ third party fundraisers, and we do not make unilateral unsolicited approaches to individuals.
CLS is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and adheres to that regulator’s code of practice.
CLS has not received any complaints about its fundraising activity.
Financial review
The Chairman’s report outlines our fundraising performance for the year and overall financial position, but in summary:
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Total income year on year decreased by £508,554 to £713,359, reflecting the arrival of Covid19 lockdowns with a dramatic reduction to in-person activity as outlined in the Chairman’s report;
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Orchestral Tax Relief was introduced on 1 April 2016, which CLS, via its subsidiary company, CLS Productions Limited, will be submitting a claim for £27,130.
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Our reserves carried forward increased to £89,996 (up from £28,425 in 2019-20);
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Total fundraising (business and non-business) was £617,918 (2019/20 £536,195), including total Arts Council England funding of £131,332 (2019/20 £61,000);
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Participation projects continue to be very well supported by funders and partners;
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Overheads decreased on the previous year, well within the limits of delivering a disciplined overall budget.
While our usual principal funding sources remain hired engagements, grants from trusts and foundations, individual donors, Arts Council England, and box office income, in the 2020-21 financial year, with the reduction in activity, we were unusually reliant on contributed income (grants, donors and Arts Council England), as well as an ‘in good faith’ advance payment on future seasons from Opera Holland Park. The financial environment that the orchestra operates in continues to remain challenging: charitable trust and foundation investment dividends remain low; statutory funding from central government and lottery income is decreasing / standstill; individual and corporate philanthropy is affected by continuing economic and political uncertainty.
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This environment, however, is one that affects every professional performing arts organisation in the UK, and City of London Sinfonia has taken every possible step to ensure that our brand and vision are differentiated and as attractive to funders as possible.
Going Concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the board of trustees has a reasonable expectation that the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in existence for the foreseeable future. For the reasons detailed in Note 1 in the Statement of Accounting Policies, the trustees have adopted the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
Pricing policy
CLS own-promotion concerts are priced to be affordable for all with concession prices available for young and older people. Our “5IVER” scheme offers £5 tickets for 16-25 year olds at all own-promoted concerts. These concerts require significant sponsorship and/or support from designated funds to subsidise the costs.
CLS undertakes fundraising from a wide variety of sources including the corporate world, trusts and foundations, individual philanthropists and statutory bodies, in addition to earned income generated by performance and education activity, and ticket income from our own promotions, in order to deliver our programme of activity.
Reserves
The trustees have determined that the appropriate minimum level of unrestricted reserves should be equivalent to three months’ operational expenditure of approximately £124,000 in unrestricted funds, which is a level of reserves that the trustees deem would enable the charity to find new funding for its charitable activities, should the very unlikely scenario occur that all current funding resources were to cease, or, if necessary, to enable the charity to cease operating in a timely and prudent manner.
The group’s reserves at 31 March 2021 were £89,996 of which £59,519 is restricted funds and £1,875 is designated leaving unrestricted reserves of £28,602. This represents an increase of £61,571 in the total reserves on the previous year (2020 £28,425). The current multi-year strategic plan includes a plan of how to achieve an unrestricted reserves figure in excess of £124,000 which the Trustees deem the appropriate minimum level.
Plans for future periods
Our plans for 2021-22 include:
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Celebrating our 50[th] anniversary year through a series of celebratory own-promoted performances at Southwark Cathedral, and events for our friends, supporters and the while CLS ‘family’, staring in autumn 2021 and continuing into summer 2022.
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As part of the above, a major new concert length commission from composer Cheryl FrancesHoad, ‘Scenes from the Wild’, based on the memoir by the young autistic author Dara McAnulty, and exploring themes around the environment and neurodiversity, alongside shorter commissions from composers Donghoon Shin, Dobrinka Tabakova and Huw Watkins.
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A continued return to in-person participation activity wherever possible (including Comfortable Classical), whilst taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by the online platforms we developed in 2020-21 to reach individuals too vulnerable to engage with in-person activity that we had previously been unable to involve in our projects.
-
Expanding our participation programme to new partners including in young people’s mental health and psychiatric provision in Cambridge and the East of England, and adapting our approach to very young children in East London to focus on families with pre-school children through our Sound Play project.
11
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
- Implementing our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy as referred to in the Chairman’s statement above, beginning with the appointment of ‘EDI Champions’ in our executive and trustee teams.
Risks
CLS keeps a regularly updated Risk Register which identifies risk in four key areas: Governance; Finance; Operations; and Artistic. Each area of risk is analysed for impact and probability to ascertain the level of unmitigated risk. An individual or group within the organisation is assigned responsibility for the identified risk, regular mitigating action to be taken, and when that action should be taken, including any current activity. Based on this mitigating process, the level of mitigated risk is ascertained. These areas of risk include:
-
Finance: like all arts organisations, CLS relies on charitable giving, box office income and commercial income which have an inherent degree of uncertainty. The Chairman’s Report and this Report’s sections on going concern and finance outline the mitigating actions taken to reduce this risk, as well as the regular and close monitoring of externally prepared monthly management accounts by the Trustees.
-
Child and Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding: CLS’s participation activity necessitates engagement with children and vulnerable adults, and while the Trustees deem any breach of policy in this area as unlikely, all CLS staff and musicians undergo enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks, and the Director of Participation keeps and regularly reviews our Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Policy, with all staff and musicians who come into contact with those individuals made aware of expected levels of behaviour.
-
Health and Safety in Performance Areas: the performance of music involves very high decibel levels which, if musicians were left unprotected, could incur serious hearing loss or damage. CLS staff adhere to best practice in providing protection for these noise levels, and these protections are available at every CLS performance, including state of the art ‘acoustic shields’ that reduce noise levels for individual musicians.
-
In the 2020-21 year and ongoing, CLS’s approach to managing risk also includes specific risk assessments for each project and performance to mitigate the risks associated with the COVID19 pandemic and the need for additional protection against infection for all our musicians, staff and audiences.
The Risk Register is regularly reviewed by the senior management team, the Finance and Operations Committee and the Board, and was last reviewed in July 2021.
Trustees’ responsibilities
The trustees, who are also the directors of the company 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 (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
-
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
-
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
-
make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
-
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.
12
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Statement of disclosure to auditors
So far as the trustees are aware, there is no relevant audit information which has not been disclosed to the charity’s auditors. They have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as trustees in order to make themselves aware of any matters which would be relevant for audit purposes, and to ensure that such information has been communicated to the charity’s auditors.
The auditors, Lindeyer Francis Ferguson Limited, are deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to the small companies’ regime in Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
Approved by the board of trustees on 14[th] December 2021 and signed on its behalf by:
John Singer Chairman
13
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Opinion
We have audited the group and parent company financial statements of City of London Sinfonia Limited (“the charitable company”) for the year ended 31 March 2021, which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheets, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and the 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).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
-
give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and the parent charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended;
-
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;
-
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company 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.
Material uncertainty relating to going concern
We draw attention to Note 1 to the financial statements, in relation to going concern. As stated in Note 1, these events or conditions, along with other matters as set forth in Note 1, indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern .
Our opinion is not modified in respect of these matters.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information.
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.
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.
14
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Opinions 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, which includes the directors’ report for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
-
the directors’ report included within 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 charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
-
the parent charitable company has not kept adequate and proper accounting records or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
-
the parent charitable company’s financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
-
certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
-
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
-
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on pages 15, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’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 charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor’s 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.
15
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
-
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applying to the charitable company, in particular the Companies Act 2006, the Charities SORP FRS 102, Employment law and GDPR;
-
We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company's financial statements to material misstatement due to fraud, including consideration of how fraud might occur and evaluating management’s assessment of the risk of fraud and whether they are aware of any actual or suspected incidences of fraud;
-
We considered whether management have incentives and opportunities to manipulate financial results (including overriding controls) and determined that the key risks related to completeness of income, decrease in creditor balances and allocation of support costs and staff costs across activities;
-
We obtained the Board of trustees' assessment of fraud risk and enquired as to any known or suspected instances of fraud in the year; and
-
We designed and performed audit procedures to respond to the risks identified, including review of relevant correspondence and minutes, discussions with management and corroboration of their statements, a review of systems and controls, a review of accounting estimates and journal entries and performing substantive testing in respect of completeness of income and creditors.
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.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company’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 charitable company’s members and trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company, the charitable company’s members as a body and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Amy Healey FCA CTA DChA Senior Statutory Auditor
For and on behalf of: Lindeyer Francis Ferguson Limited Statutory Auditors Chartered Accountants
Date: 21 December 2021
North House 198 High Street Tonbridge Kent TN9 1BE
16
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
| 2021 Notes £ Income from: Donations and grants 1 402,871 Charitable activities 2 95,441 Total income 498,312 Expenditure on: Raising funds 3 111,956 Charitable activities 4 402,226 Total expenditure 514,182 Net income / (expenditure) before tax 7 ( 15,870) Corporation tax credit 9 27,130 Net income / (expenditure) 11,260 Transfers between funds 9,892 Net movement in funds 14 21,152 Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward 9,325 Total funds carried forward 14 30,477 Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds 2021 £ 215,047 - 215,047 - 164,736 164,736 50,311 - 50,311 ( 9,892) 40,419 19,100 59,519 |
Total funds 2021 £ 617,918 95,441 713,359 111,956 566,962 678,918 34,441 27,130 61,571 - 61,571 28,425 89,996 |
Total funds 2020 £ 536,195 685,718 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,221,913 106,559 1,321,731 |
|||
| 1,428,290 ( 206,377) 77,794 |
|||
| ( 128,583) - |
|||
| ( 128,583) 157,008 |
|||
| 28,425 |
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the period.
All income and expenditure derives from continuing activities.
17
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2021
| Notes Fixed assets: Tangible assets 10 Current assets: Debtors 12 Cash at bank and in hand Liabilities: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 13 Net current assets Total net assets The funds of the charity: Restricted income funds Unrestricted funds Total funds 14 |
£ 155,648 7,764 163,412 ( 89,686) |
2021 £ 16,270 73,726 89,996 59,519 30,477 89,996 |
£ 307,759 1,474 309,233 ( 301,341) |
2020 £ 20,533 7,892 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28,425 | ||||
| 19,100 9,325 |
||||
| 28,425 |
Approved by the board of trustees on 14 December 2021 and signed on its behalf by:
J Singer Chairman
Company number: 01692341
18
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2021
| Notes Fixed assets: Tangible assets 10 Investments 11 Current assets: Debtors 12 Cash at bank and in hand Liabilities: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 13 Net current assets Total net assets The funds of the charity: Restricted income funds Unrestricted funds Total funds 14 |
£ 155,648 7,764 163,412 ( 89,687) |
2021 £ 16,270 1 16,271 73,725 89,996 59,519 30,477 89,996 |
£ 307,759 1,474 309,233 ( 301,342) |
2020 £ 20,533 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20,534 7,891 |
||||
| 28,425 | ||||
| 19,100 9,325 |
||||
| 28,425 |
Approved by the board of trustees on 14 December 2021 and signed on its behalf by:
J Singer Chairman
Company number: 01692341
19
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
| Notes Cash flows from operating activities: Net cash used in operating activities A Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of tangible assets Net cash used by investing activities Change in cash and cash equivalents for the year Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year A. Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities Net income for the year As per statement of financial activities Adjustments for: Depreciation charges Decrease / (increase) in tax recoverable Decrease in debtors (Decrease) / increase in creditors Net cash used in operating activities |
2021 £ 8,908 ( 2,618) ( 2,618) 6,290 1,474 7,764 61,571 6,881 135,491 16,620 ( 211,655) 8,908 |
2020 £ 5,765 ( 7,968) |
|---|---|---|
| ( 7,968) ( 2,203) 3,677 |
||
| 1,474 | ||
| ( 128,583) 6,565 ( 77,794) 22,595 182,982 |
||
| 5,765 |
20
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:
Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their 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.
City of London Sinfonia Limited 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 note(s).
The financial statements are presented in pounds sterling and rounded to the nearest pound.
Consolidation
The financial statements consolidate the results of the charity and its wholly owned subsidiary CLS Productions Limited on a line-by-line basis. A separate Statement of Financial Activities and Income and Expenditure Account for the charity has not been presented because the charity has taken advantage of the exemption afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.
Going Concern
Although there has been significant improvement in the position of the charitable company since 2020 the trustees acknowledge that there is still a material uncertainty due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding COVID19 and the level of reserves held.
During 2020/21, the charity was successful in securing COVID-19 related funding, and as a result of the pandemic core operating costs were reduced and a more flexible working model developed to allow artistic activity to continue. This resulted in a small surplus for the year and an improved reserves position.
At the balance sheet date however, the free reserves remained below policy level with cash at bank of £7,764, and while this leaves the charity vulnerable to unexpected costs or other future outcomes such as a failure to deliver forward budgets the Trustees consider that continuing savings on operating costs, the ability to adapt activity to income and an unused overdraft facility of £50,000 to underpin cashflow give a reasonable expectation that the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in existence for the foreseeable future, for the following reasons:
During 2021 the orchestra showed resilience and creativity during the year, not only creating a flexible working model that should withstand future covid restrictions but achieving a modest surplus for the year.
That modest operating surplus added to and strengthened the reserves position and the estimated result for 2021-22 should strengthen that position further.
21
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES continued
A budget has been prepared for financial year 2022-23. This represents the second year of the 5 year strategic plan: The Way Ahead and shows modest growth in activities. It is a flexible budget which can adapt planned activity to meet the requirements of any future covid restrictions (and associated reduction in income) or allow for growth if fundraising targets are met or exceeded. As our Chairman’s Report states, we always budget our activity in line with a conservative estimate of income, and plan for the possibility to makes changes in our programmes where the unexpected occurs
The fundraising targets within the budget have been set by the fundraising team who have confidence that they are realistic based on their pipeline of fundraising requests and the probability of them succeeding.
The Trustees have confidence in the management’s ability to deliver the agreed budgets: costs across all activities are rigorously controlled and, recent funding successes give confidence that the Development team can deliver their fundraising targets.
For these reasons, the trustees are confident that the company will remain in operation for the foreseeable future, and therefore they have adopted the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
Income
Income from donations and grants is recognised when the charity is entitled to the funds, the receipt is probable and the amount can be measured reliably. For donations, this is usually on receipt. For grants, this is usually when a formal offer is made in writing, unless the grant contains terms and conditions outside of the charity's control which must be met before the charity is entitled to the funds. Where grants are received in response to a proposal including a budgeted timescale, such that the timescale for the expenditure is implicit in the grant agreement, the income is recognised in accordance with that timescale.
Income from charitable activities is recognised over the period to which the income relates. Fees and box office revenues are recognised when the associated event takes place. Income received in advance is accounted for as deferred income.
Income is stated net of VAT and trade discounts.
Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised when a present legal or constructive obligation exists at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount can be estimated reliably.
Expenditure has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.
Staff costs are allocated on the basis of staff time.
Support costs, which are those costs relating to functions which assist the work of the charity but do not directly relate to its activities, have been allocated to the activities undertaken by the charity on the basis of direct expenditure on those activities.
22
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES continued
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its income and gains to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. Orchestral Tax Relief available for qualifying projects is recognised in the year in which the projects take place.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for the particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Tangible fixed assets and depreciation
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated realisable value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:
| Fixtures, fittings and equipment | Straight line basis over four years |
|---|---|
| Musical instruments | Straight line basis over ten years |
Investments
Investments in subsidiary undertakings are stated at cost less provision for impairment.
Financial instruments
The charity only has financial instruments of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost.
Leasing
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged against income on a straight line basis over the lease term. The only operating lease relates to the charity's premises.
1 INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND GRANTS
| Grants, corporate membership and other donations Donations from individuals including Gift Aid Patrons |
2021 £ 462,753 121,604 33,561 617,918 |
2020 £ 342,528 165,626 28,041 |
|---|---|---|
| 536,195 |
In the prior period, £329,778 of the income from grants and donations was restricted.
23
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
2 INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
| Fees and box office revenue EXPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS Staff costs Note 8 Donor cultivation |
Concerts & staged events 2021 £ 93,974 |
Outreach projects 2021 £ 1,467 |
Total 2021 £ 95,441 95,441 2021 £ 106,768 5,188 111,956 |
Total 2020 £ 685,718 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93,974 | 1,467 | 685,718 | ||
| 2020 £ 92,704 13,855 |
||||
| 106,559 |
3 EXPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS
- 4 EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
| Direct costs Note 5 Support costs Note 6 |
Concerts & staged events 2021 £ 226,806 107,877 |
Outreach projects 2021 £ 157,410 74,869 |
Total 2021 £ 384,216 182,746 566,962 |
Total 2020 £ 1,112,052 209,679 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 334,683 | 232,279 | 1,321,731 |
In the prior period, £376,478 of the expenditure on charitable activities was from restricted funds.
24
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
5 DIRECT COSTS
| Fees to: Players Soloists Conductors Tutors and composers Staff costs Note 8 Concert and rehearsal hall hire Instrument hire Music hire and purchase Accommodation, travel and subsistence Advertising and marketing Production costs Programmes Other direct costs 6 SUPPORT COSTS Staff costs Note 8 Conductor's expenses Premises costs Other office costs Computer costs Insurance Travel and motor expenses Legal and professional costs Marketing, consultancy and photography Depreciation Auditors' remuneration Other fees paid to auditors: accountancy fees 7 NET EXPENDITURE Net expenditure is stated after charging: Auditors' remuneration for audit services Auditors' remuneration for accountancy services Depreciation Rent paid under operating leases |
2021 £ 111,051 500 - 21,468 221,735 9,881 - 2,190 - 11,232 ( 487) 5,700 946 384,216 2021 £ 54,759 4,200 39,853 27,217 9,087 9,688 1,980 230 4,351 6,881 4,500 20,000 182,746 4,500 20,000 6,881 36,055 |
2020 £ 620,809 23,392 12,100 45,679 249,860 46,063 2,576 12,999 2,065 18,620 32,733 6,760 38,396 |
|---|---|---|
| 1,112,052 | ||
| 2020 £ 54,649 4,200 39,458 37,143 9,261 10,477 10,122 7,139 5,790 6,565 4,500 20,375 |
||
| 209,679 | ||
| 4,500 20,375 6,565 33,022 |
25
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
8 STAFF COSTS
| STAFF COSTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Salaries Employer's National Insurance Employer's pension costs |
2021 £ 342,237 33,108 7,917 383,262 |
2020 £ 355,004 34,600 7,609 |
| 397,213 |
The average number of employees, excluding directors, during the year was as follows:
| Concerts and staged events Outreach projects Fundraising Administration and marketing |
2021 No. 3 3 2 1 9 |
2020 No. 3 4 2 1 |
|---|---|---|
| 10 |
During the year, the emoluments received by one member of staff fell in the band £70,001 - £80,000 (2020: one member of staff in the band £70,001 - £80,000).
| 9 | TAXATION | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | ||
| Orchestra Tax relief - payable to subsidiary company | 27,130 | 77,794 |
26
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
10 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
| Group and Charity Cost At 1 April 2020 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2021 Depreciation At 1 April 2020 Charge for the year Disposals At 31 March 2021 Net book value At 31 March 2021 At 31 March 2020 |
£ 10,550 - - Musical instruments |
£ 43,148 2,618 - 45,766 28,428 6,154 - 34,582 11,184 14,720 Fixtures, fittings & equipment |
Total £ 53,698 2,618 - |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,550 | 56,316 | ||
| 4,737 727 - |
33,165 6,881 - |
||
| 5,464 | 40,046 | ||
| 5,086 | 16,270 | ||
| 5,813 | 20,533 |
11 INVESTMENTS AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANY
The Charity owns 100% of the ordinary share capital of £1 of CLS Productions Limited a company incorporated in England and Wales (No 09084330) with the same registered office as the charity. The company's only activity is that of a production company. The company's results for the year and net assets at the end of the year were:
| Turnover Expenditure Tax recoverable Profit for the year Capital and reserves at end of the year |
2021 £ 126,429 ( 153,559) 27,130 - 1 |
2020 £ 396,718 ( 474,512) 77,794 |
|---|---|---|
| - | ||
| 1 |
27
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
12 DEBTORS
| 2021 2020 £ £ Trade debtors 9,379 12,758 Amounts owed by group undertakings - - Tax recoverable 27,130 162,621 Other debtors 19,413 32,136 Prepayments and accrued income 99,726 100,244 155,648 307,759 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2021 2020 £ £ Bank overdrafts - 42,211 Trade creditors 24,966 78,617 Tax and social security 24,902 32,778 Accruals and other creditors 19,335 112,408 Deferred income 20,483 35,327 89,686 301,341 Deferred income comprises: Income deferred from the previous year Released to the statement of financial activities Arising during the current year: Grants and donations required to be spent in future periods Group Group |
2021 2020 £ £ Trade debtors 9,379 12,758 Amounts owed by group undertakings - - Tax recoverable 27,130 162,621 Other debtors 19,413 32,136 Prepayments and accrued income 99,726 100,244 155,648 307,759 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2021 2020 £ £ Bank overdrafts - 42,211 Trade creditors 24,966 78,617 Tax and social security 24,902 32,778 Accruals and other creditors 19,335 112,408 Deferred income 20,483 35,327 89,686 301,341 Deferred income comprises: Income deferred from the previous year Released to the statement of financial activities Arising during the current year: Grants and donations required to be spent in future periods Group Group |
2021 2020 £ £ Trade debtors 9,379 12,758 Amounts owed by group undertakings - - Tax recoverable 27,130 162,621 Other debtors 19,413 32,136 Prepayments and accrued income 99,726 100,244 155,648 307,759 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2021 2020 £ £ Bank overdrafts - 42,211 Trade creditors 24,966 78,617 Tax and social security 24,902 32,778 Accruals and other creditors 19,335 112,408 Deferred income 20,483 35,327 89,686 301,341 Deferred income comprises: Income deferred from the previous year Released to the statement of financial activities Arising during the current year: Grants and donations required to be spent in future periods Group Group |
2021 2020 £ £ 9,379 12,758 27,130 162,621 - - 19,413 32,136 99,726 100,244 155,648 307,759 2021 2020 £ £ - 42,211 24,966 78,617 24,902 32,778 19,336 112,409 20,483 35,327 89,687 301,342 35,327 1,096 ( 35,327) ( 1,096) 20,483 35,327 20,483 35,327 Charity Charity |
2021 2020 £ £ 9,379 12,758 27,130 162,621 - - 19,413 32,136 99,726 100,244 155,648 307,759 2021 2020 £ £ - 42,211 24,966 78,617 24,902 32,778 19,336 112,409 20,483 35,327 89,687 301,342 35,327 1,096 ( 35,327) ( 1,096) 20,483 35,327 20,483 35,327 Charity Charity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89,686 | 301,341 | 301,342 | ||
| 1,096 ( 1,096) 35,327 |
||||
| 35,327 |
13 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
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CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
| 14 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - 2021 Unrestricted funds General fund Designated fund: KidsSpace Charity funds Trading subsidiary Group funds Restricted funds Participation projects Core support Diary of a Young Naturalist I'm a Rock n Roll Star RPS Audience Fund Staff posts Group and charity funds Total group funds Total charity funds |
At 1 April 2020 £ 7,450 1,875 9,325 - 9,325 19,100 - - - - - 19,100 28,425 28,425 |
Income £ 371,883 - |
£ ( 360,623) - Expenditure |
Transfers/ taxation £ 9,892 - 9,892 27,130 37,022 - ( 9,892) - - - ( 9,892) 27,130 - |
£ 28,602 1,875 At 31 March 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 371,883 126,429 |
( 360,623) ( 153,559) |
30,477 - |
|||
| 498,312 | ( 514,182) | 30,477 | |||
| 84,558 37,868 8,000 21,332 50,000 13,289 |
( 82,342) ( 22,773) - ( 21,332) ( 25,000) ( 13,289) |
21,316 5,203 8,000 - 25,000 - |
|||
| 215,047 | ( 164,736) | 59,519 | |||
| 713,359 | ( 678,918) | 89,996 | |||
| 586,930 | ( 525,359) | 89,996 |
Designated funds: KidsSpace
The trustees have designated funds to a project entitled KidsSpace that is going to be a dedicated section of the CLS website, linked to the orchestras activities for young children aged 3-7 years, providing interactive gamebased musical activities to be used by children in education or home environments, as an added value element to our existing projects in this area.
Restricted funds:
The restricted funds arise from grants and donations to fund particular projects or items of expenditure, and unused income is carried forward to cover future expenditure on those areas. Details of restricted funds active during the year are as follows:
Participation projects
This fund comprises grants and donations received to support the charity's year-round programme dedicated to making music in schools, hospitals and communities and also grants and donations received to support the charity's work in hospitals and care homes to allow music to aid in the healing process and providing an outlet for those who need it most.
Core support
This fund comprises grants and donations received to support the charity's core costs and activities.
29
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
15 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS continued
Diary of a Young Naturalist
This fund comprises grants from the Leche Trust and PRS toward the commissioned dramatic song cycle Diary of a Young Naturalist as part of the CLS 2021 50th Anniversary season.
I'm a Rock n Roll Star
This fund comprises donations from ACE specifically for the CLS 'I'm a Rock n Roll Star' series originally scheduled for May 2020. Due to the cancellation of this series of concerts during Covid lockdowns, permission was granted by ACE to use the funding for the Restore and Revive concerts in 2020.
RPS Audience Fund
This fund comprises a grant received from the Royal Philharmonic Society to support the CLS' audience development programme.
Arts Council England
This fund comprises donations from ACE specifically for CLS' London programme.
Staff posts
This fund relates to grant funding to cover staff costs.
MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - 2020
| Unrestricted funds General fund Designated fund: KidsSpace Charity funds Trading subsidiary Group funds Restricted funds Meet the Music Wellbeing through Music ACE - London Programme Absolute Bird Cathedrals tour Staff posts Group and charity funds Total group funds Total charity funds |
At 1 April 2019 £ 4,506 1,875 6,381 84,827 91,208 6,000 28,800 - 23,000 8,000 - 65,800 157,008 72,181 |
Income £ 495,417 - |
£ ( 577,300) - Expenditure |
Transfers £ 84,827 - 84,827 ( 7,033) 77,794 - - - - - - - 77,794 84,827 |
£ 7,450 1,875 At 31 March 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 495,417 396,718 |
( 577,300) ( 474,512) |
9,325 - |
|||
| 892,135 | ( 1,051,812) | 9,325 | |||
| 47,000 155,778 15,000 25,000 61,000 26,000 |
( 45,400) ( 173,078) ( 15,000) ( 48,000) ( 69,000) ( 26,000) |
7,600 11,500 - - - - |
|||
| 329,778 | ( 376,478) | 19,100 | |||
| 1,221,913 | ( 1,428,290) | 28,425 | |||
| 825,195 | ( 953,778) | 28,425 |
30
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
15 ANALYSIS OF GROUP NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS - 2021
| £ Fund balances at 31 March 2021 are represented by: Tangible fixed assets 16,270 Net current assets 14,207 30,477 ANALYSIS OF GROUP NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS - 2020 £ Fund balances at 31 March 2020 are represented by: Tangible fixed assets 20,533 Net current assets ( 11,208) 9,325 Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds |
£ 16,270 14,207 Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds £ - 59,519 59,519 Restricted funds £ - 19,100 19,100 |
£ 16,270 73,726 Total funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30,477 | 89,996 | ||
| £ 20,533 7,892 Total funds |
|||
| 9,325 | 28,425 |
16 FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS
At 31 March 2021 the charity was committed to future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:
| operating leases as follows: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Land and buildings Due within one year In two to five years |
2021 £ 25,000 35,479 60,479 |
2020 £ 25,000 60,479 |
| 85,479 |
17 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The following are considered to be the charity's key management personnel:
The Board of Trustees
Chief Executive
Chief Operating Officer
The total amount of employee benefits received by key management personnel during the year, including Employer's National Insurance and pension, was £140,855 (2020: £140,885).
There were no trustees' remuneration, other benefits nor reimbursed expenses paid during the current or prior period.
In aggregate, trustee donations were £122,000 (2020: £151,317) including gift aid.
31
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED
18 STATUS
City of London Sinfonia Limited is a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. In the event of the company being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £5 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is 1st Floor Radisson Court, 219 Long Lane, London, England, SE1 4PB.
32