GUILDFORD AREA u3a ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22
Governance: The Trustees hereby submit their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the period ended 31st August 2022.
The financial statements relate to Guildford Area u3a (Gu3a), registered charity no: 296975; registered office: The Black Cottage, Newlands Corner, Guildford GU4 8SE. The accounts are as per accounting process, applicable law and by the requirements of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) FRS102.
Gu3a has been governed and administered during the current year by the Trustees: Julie Beattie (Chairman), Jackie Ring (Vice Chairman), Sandi Layton (Secretary & Publicity), Alex Kundert (Treasurer), Ann Elms (Visits & Outings), Margaret Clements (Prospectus), Moira MacQuaide (Director of Studies), Roger Philo (Webmaster), Jane Robertson (Venues), Caroline Sawers (External Relations) and Sue Watson (Membership) and Justin Jackson(Beacon).
Changes to the Trustees (the Management Committee) became effective from the AGM in January 2022 and Trustees were voted in by the membership for one year term at the AGM.
All trustees are required to undertake an induction, to understand their role and their legal obligations.
Other members who have assisted the committee significantly are: Jennifer Margrave (Monthly Meetings), Margaret Morgan (Newsletter Editor), Jackie Deyong (Prospectus), Sonia Ashworth (Consultant/former Secretary) and Liz Rye (Venues Costs Controller).
The trustees met on 6 occasions during the financial year (01Sep- 31Aug) and two AGMs will have been held during 2022 calendar year; one in January for 2020/21 and one in November for 2021/22.
A decision was made to move the AGM back to November, as the bulk of the work for a January AGM must happen in the run up to and during the Christmas period, which the Management Committee felt was not feasible in the longer term.
Activities: Gu3a is founded on the guiding principles of the University of the Third Age movement. The Trustees ensure that they use Charity Commission guidance relating to public benefit when reviewing Gu3a aims and objectives and in the general planning.
Activities which also include a busy schedule of visits and outings, aim to provide learning opportunities and social interaction, delivered through the ethos of self-help. Gu3a draws upon the expertise and knowledge of volunteer members to generate its interest and recreational groups.
The organisation is self-funded with membership subscriptions, and costs are kept as low as possible. 109 groups were created under eight faculties: Arts & Crafts, Humanities, Literature & Drama, Languages, Music, Games & Indoor Pursuits, Sport & Outdoor Leisure, and Science & Computing. Study Days, Monthly Meetings, an Annual Lecture and Coffee Mornings were planned along with a busy programme of visits and outings. The thanks of the Executive Committee are extended to all the Group Leaders who work so tirelessly for Gu3a.
As we adjusted from the confines of the pandemic, groups gradually began to open up and meet in venues. Some chose hybrid solutions, with a few continuing to meet on Zoom where it was felt the group could still not meet in person. Risk assessments were completed by all Group Leaders moving to face to face meetings, to ensure the safety of members.
The 2020/21 AGM took place on Zoom in January 2022 and voting was enabled prior to the meeting as well as on the day via the CHAT facility on Zoom. It was a lengthy and complex process to consolidate the voting, both to ensure all votes were included and that double voting did not occur.
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60 members turned up for the Annual Lecture in April, at the Millmead Centre to hear Professor Jennifer Rogers, Vice President for Statistical Research at PHASTAR, deliver her lecture entitled “Can’t see the Wood for the Trees? Making Sense of Data in a Global Pandemic”.
Three New Members’ meetings were held in October, March and May, which enabled members joining Gu3a mid-year to attend these sessions as well.
In recognition of the huge amount of hard work undertaken by the Group Leaders, especially during lockdown, two Thank You lunches were held in late April; one an indoor lunch at the Lakeside at Surrey University and the other an outdoor lunch at the Jovial Sailor in Ripley.
Group Enrolment Day took place on 23[rd] August at the County School in Guildford. New members were invited to join Gu3a at the event, with existing members renewing their membership either on-line or via the drop box at the venue. Everyone had the opportunity to chat to group leaders and sign up to groups on the day.
It is proposed that the subscription be kept at £30 for 2023-24, though increases may be required beyond that to manage the impact of fast rising inflation, increased venue and TAT capitation costs.
Gu3a has bought and will continue to buy Zoom licences for those GLs who have requested one. With most groups back to face to face meetings, the number of licences fell as the year progressed. Interim Newsletters stopped and Newsletters returned to their normal publishing schedule.
Over the last year more information has gone up on the Guildford Area u3a website and passcodes, giving members online access Group Leaders’ email addresses and phone numbers, were sent out. The membership phone number is now a generic number which is redirected to the Membership Secretary’s personal phone.
Risk Management A strategy is in place whereby Risk Analyses are conducted as and when appropriate, with mitigation identified and actioned as necessary. This has resulted in the introduction of a raft of Policies and Procedures which are reviewed yearly and amended as required.
Membership and Finances As in previous years, the Trustees are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Charity Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period.
In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to: i) select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently; ii) observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP; iii) make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; iv) state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and v)prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue to operate.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The Trustees confirm that, in the case of each of the persons who are Trustees at the date of this report, the following applies: i) so far as each Trustee is aware there is no relevant audit information (information needed by the Gu3a Independent Examiner in connection with preparing his report) of which he is unaware; and ii) each trustee has taken all the steps necessary to make herself/himself aware of
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any relevant audit information and to establish that the Gu3a Independent Examiner is aware of the information . An independent investigation as required by Charity Commission guidelines takes place annually.
The number of members at the end of July was 1424 (versus 1285 at the end July 2020/21), including 9 associate members.
The surplus for this year was £7,815, down significantly from last year, as a result of venues being used again for meetings. A small number of Zoom licences and an online bridge licence were purchased to enable those groups to continue whilst they were unable to meet face to face and these costs were part of the £1440 Activities spend. A full programme of visits and outings was re-introduced as soon as it was possible to do so, once the COVID restrictions allowed.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Julie Beattie, Chairman, Dated 31[st] October 2022
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Guildford Area U3A
Income and Expenditure Account
For the Year to 31 August 2022
| Income Membership subscriptions Outings and concerts Gift aid rebate Interest received Miscellaneous inc donations Total income Expenditure Hire of venues Outings and concerts Annual lecture Enrolment day Study events Printing and stationery Postage and telephone Honoraria-in-kind Equipment and maintenance National membership subscription Beacon fee Online activities Miscellaneous Total expenditure Surplus/(Deficit) for the year |
2022 £ 41,735 52,129 2,940 12 1,736 98,552 27,454 48,744 728 225 280 1,094 1,078 1,320 145 5,572 2,128 1,440 529 90,737 7,815 |
2021 £ 37,720 2,989 7,472 2 1,584 49,767 1,515 3,333 - - 490 715 1,066 - 870 4,407 1,573 - 3,356 17,325 32,442 |
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Guildford Area U3A
Balance Sheet
As at 31 August 2022
| Assets and Liabilities Current assets Santander deposit accounts Santander current accounts Paypal account Debtors and prepayments Current liabilities Membership subs received in advance Other income received in advance Sundry creditors Net assets Reserves Accumulated fund as at 1 September Surplus/(Deficit) for the year Accumulated fund as at 31 August |
2022 £ 26,427 77,837 2,484 3,591 110,339 (23,850) (4,725) (799) (29,374) 80,965 73,150 7,815 80,965 |
2021 £ 26,415 81,254 519 4,130 112,318 (28,050) (9,554) (1,564) (39,168) 73,150 40,708 32,442 73,150 |
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Chairman …........................................ Julie Beattie Date Signed …............................................
Treasurer …..................................... Alexander Kundert
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ Charity Name GUILDFORD U3A TRUST members of On accounts for the year AUGUST 31, 2022 Charity no 296975 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1 & 2 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended DD / MM / YYYY .
Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement 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 Charities 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 applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any 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.
Date: NOVEMBER 1, Signed: 2022 Name: DOMINIC BEATTIE Relevant professional FCMA qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 36 KINGSWAY, GERRARDS CROSS, BUCKS. SL9 8NU
Oct 2018
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IER
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
Oct 2018
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IER