.T. foAKES MEMORJAL HALL CHARITY TRUST
FIYANCIAI, STATI,.￿[￿N,rS
roR THE YLAR ENDINC:.3IS'I' MARCI12024
Details
Page
Incom8 and ExpendiiuTe Account
Balance Sheet
Notes

E.T. FOAI(LS MI
ORIALHALLCIIARITY TRUS1.
INC_OIlqE AND EXPEiYDITLRE A
OUNT
YrAR F.h'DF.I) Jlsl MARCH 2024
2024
2023
Income
Sealc aiid Oilier Fee5
Rcchar8eabl¢ to Tenaiils
Pawhonc
Rents re Foake8 House and Clubljouse
Interest Rtieived
Graiils CTt T)iiiimow Toivii Council
tir￿n1% oilier
Sale of Land
mi￿ellatte0US
48,284
23.450
8,631
80,271
3,500
18,570
3,616
1,167
142,856
169,463
Exptnditurc
WaLre$ 2nd Nlaiional Insurllnce
Hall M￿￿Etin¢nI
Rates
Maintenance
Mainlenancc Special Pi'ojecls & Pi'ofessional Fees
Cleaning
Light, Heal aiid Waith.
Capital ExpendiiuiE
Licences and PiJno
Pa)ylionc aiid Wi-fi
Insuiance
Audit Fees
Trees, ￿l¥len, Broullds
Misttllarteou5
36,700
61,721
28.325
75,134
205
34,842
29.928
42,837
5,307
11,487
4,148
910
999
3,460
170
4,038
8.964
4,377
502
4,522
532
4n5
163,000
297
197,964
{28.501
Excess of Incon)c over Expendiliii'e foT Ilie Ye&r
20.144
Cumulative Fund Su]nmai'
2024
2023
Fund Balanccs a5 at 1st April
Excess of Ineonic ovcr Exptiiditlire tor th¢ Yeai..
Fund Balgrt¢e #s ￿t 31st M9rch 2024
192,912
-28,501
164411
213,056
-20,144
192,912
Page 2

E.T. FOAKES TrifMORIAL HAI.L
BAl.A￿l.￿.%III,'LT
A% A'f 318.1. Mi ARCH 2
IIARI'rY'ri<
24
2024
2023
Ini'estment5
J Cliarili¢% Otlicial InveslincntFund
183,203
174,710
I'rcixt Assets
Bank Ciirrtnt Account
4 Fjebiors
27.749
7.557
70.984
53,530
124,514
35,306
Currejjt Liabilities
CTcditors
{54,0981
(106,3121
Net Cui'rent Assrt$l Llabllitie5
-18,792
18,202
Nei Woi'th
164,411
192,912
rescnttd b
Fuiid briJu811l forwaid tt I. April
Exces% of Incoiiie oveT Expenditur¢ for Year
192,912
213,056
-20,144
192,912
Thc above slate1i￿nt Teprescnts faii.ly Lie fJJ]ancial pusilioJJ of tlje CbaTity as ai 31$1 March 2024
Appi"oved al the Ti'ust Mctling on s L day of ¥LI.Thry
202L
Signtd..
ET Foakeg Meiiioiial Hall Cliarily Trust
Date..
-i- ioLb
Page 3

T. IIOAKES ￿1￿m0￿uAL HALL CHARITY TRUST
NOTIS'I'O I'Hf. AC'C.OUN'rs
FOR THE YE4 AR ENDED 31.ST II IARCH 2024
2023 fiEUI'C8
Piopei'ty (2015 iiisured values)
F.'F. Foakcs Meinorial Hall. Sioi'ifoi"d Road. Diitiniow, Ewx.
Foakes Ilouse, 47 Storifoi'd Road, Duniiioiv. Essex.
1,950,990
487.746
2,438,736
bl
Total
21
Contents (E.T. FOAKLS Mi emoi'ial Hill)
88,496
Ji
Invesijllellts
183.203
41
Debtor5 Pi'cpayments
Al 3 Isl Mai'¢li 2024 trade debts of £5050.60 ivei'e outsiaiidiiig aiid diie to the r.TFM14CT
Th¢ ages of Ilie debts were..
Nuinbei.
LESS Ihaii 3 montlis old
Mure Ihaii 3 montlis old
Cugioiiis & Excise
Siindry Debiois.. PrepayI￿ntS & Recharges
3,139
2,507
7.557
s)
Creditors gnd Aeei'u#ls
At J 1st Marth 2024 tr&de creditors of £381.60 w¢¢r oiiistaiiding and due 10 Ilie ETFMHCT
aEeii as follows..
Nutnber
382
Moii Ilian 3 moiiths old
Cu5toiiis & kkcise
Suiidiy Debtors.. Pirpayiiicnis & Rechar8¢S
Great Durtiiioiv Towil Couneil
12,726
40,990
Sigiied..
Chaiiinan of
ET Foakcs Mcmorial Hall Cljariiy-frust
Date..
Page 4

# **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of The Edward Thomas Foakes Memorial Hall Charity: year ended 31 March 2024** 

## **Registered Charity No: 301312** 

**Income in Year: £169,462.53 Expenditure in Year: £197.963.47 Reserves as at 31 March 2024:             £164,411.23** 

## **1. Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Independent Examiner** 

The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011. The Trustees require an independent examination. As the Independent Examiner it is my responsibility to: 

- a) examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. 

- b) follow all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145 (5)(b) of the Act and state whether particular matters have come to my attention. 

## **2. Report for the year ended 31 March 2024** 

The Governing Document (a Court Scheme) is dated 6 November 1933. The Area of Benefit is the given as Great Dunmow in the County of Essex. 

The objectives of the Charity are to provide ‘ _a Hall for the purpose of Entertainments, Recreations, Meetings, Lectures, Concerts and other charitable purposes’._ 

The Charity Commission’s website states that _‘Miss Alice Foakes gave the Foakes Hall to the town in 1934. It now provides a range of well-maintained and varied facilities at moderate prices (available on request) for the local community. These include a large main hall, smaller side hall and a meeting room, stage and scenery store, well-equipped kitchen and bar area and a projection room.’_ Further details regarding ‘what the Charity does, who the Charity helps and how the Charity works’ have been registered with the Charity Commission. 

The Charity has a Sage accounting system in place with detailed breakdown of income and expenditure recorded within the system. An Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 March 2024 has been constructed and was presented to the Independent Examiner, who attended the Great Dunmow 

## **TREVOR BROWN CPFA Internal Audit Services Charnwood, California, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4DE** 

**Tel: 01394 384698 or 07587 523764   Email: tcdbrown01@yahoo.co.uk** 

1 



Town Council’s  offices on 7 July 2025, when the Trust’s End of Year Accounts, supporting documentation and a range of transactions in the year of account were examined. 

The following observations are made (recommendations and areas where action is required to be taken are shown in **bold** ): 

- a) The Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024 have yet to be approved by the Trustees. 

- b) This Independent Examination covers the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The End-of-Year Accounts have been constructed and balanced by the Great Dunmow Town Council’s Finance Officer, Anne Mangham, using the Sage Accounting system. The Finance Officer has sufficient financial data to complete Form CC16a, to be submitted to the Charity Commission as soon as practicably possible (the due date was 31 January 2025). 

- c) The Charities Act 2011 requires all registered charities to prepare a Trustees' Annual Report (TAR) and Accounts and to submit them to the Charity Commission if their income was greater than £25,000. The Commission's website entry for the Edward Thomas Foakes Memorial Hall Charity confirms that the most recent submission of Accounts and the TAR was for the year ended 31 March  2023, which were received by the Commission on 30 January 2024 (on time). 

- d) The TAR and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024 are now overdue for submission to the Charity Commission. 

- e) The Trust met three times during the 2023/24 year of account. At the meeting of the Trust on 21 November 2023, the Trustees received the Internal Audit Report 2022/23, noted the Annual Accounts for the year 2022/23 and received a Budget Report for the year 2023/24 dated 14 November 2023. The recommendations of the Finance Officer were considered and Trustees agreed an alteration to the Signatories to Bank Mandates as follows: 

- The Correspondence Contact would be the Town Clerk. 

- 

   - Change Signatories to the Town Clerk and the Chair of the Trust (the Mayor). 

- Councillor C James to remain as Signatory. 

- Change the current account from Barclays Bank to Unity Bank. 

- f) The Reconciliation between the Bank/Investments and the Account Balance as at 31 March 2024 can be displayed as follows: 

Barclays Bank Current Account:    £27,748.85 CCLA Account: £183,203.24 £210,952.09 Add Listed Debtors: £7,557.23 Deduct Listed Creditors: £54,098.09 (including the Town Council £40,990) Accounting Balance: £164,411.23 

## **TREVOR BROWN CPFA Internal Audit Services** 

**Charnwood, California, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4DE Tel: 01394 384698 or 07587 523764   Email: tcdbrown01@yahoo.co.uk** 

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- g) A Reconciliation between the Opening Accounts Balance at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year can be displayed as follows: 

The Accounting balance b/f as at 1 April 2023: £192,912.17 Add: Recorded Income in the Year: £169,462.53 Deduct: Recorded Payments in the Year: £197,963.47 The Accounting Balance c/f as at 31 March 2024: £164,411.23 

- h) The Charity prepares an Annual Budget as a separate page within the Town Council’s Budget which includes planning for maintenance, running costs and improvements. The Town Council’s approved Financial Regulations apply to the Trust. Income and expenditure transactions are tracked during the year by the Finance Officer. 

- i) The Charity’s financial administration is undertaken by the Finance Officer to a high standard through the use of the Sage accounting system. End of Year financial statements (an Income and Expenditure Account and related data) have been prepared by the Finance Officer. The Accounting system displays the date of payment, the method of payment, the payee (or person/organisation making payment to the Charity in the case of sums received) and the category/sub-category concerned. The Accounting system secures the necessary financial control over transactions and provides clear evidence of each payment and receipt. 

- j) The Independent Examiner undertook a sample check of the entries in the Sage Payments Lists. Individual invoices/vouchers are retained within the Town Council’s documentation and were subject to review under the Council’s Internal Audit 2023/24. 

- k) The Reserves balance at the year-end 31 March 2024 amounted to £164,411.23 and reflected the decrease (deficit) of £28,500.94 from the balance of £192,912.17 at the end of the 2022/23 year of account). 

- l) The Finance Officer confirmed that the procedure and controls in place for Payments in the year 2023/24 were in accordance with the approved arrangements in place for the Town Council. The processes in place for the Town Council for the year 203/24 were examined by the Council’s Internal Auditor, Heather Heelis, during 2024 and were found to be satisfactory and accordingly have not been examined as part of this Independent Examination of the Charity. 

- m) The Overall Recorded Income of  £169,463 (rounded) in the 2023/24 year of account consisted of Scale of Fees etc (£53,611), Rents (£23,450), Grants from Town Council (£80,271), Other Grants (£3,500) and Interest Received (£8,631). The Finance Officer advised that a comprehensive Standard Conditions of Hire document was in place and appropriate safeguards had been in place to ensure hirers had adequate insurance and qualifications to undertake safe and proper use. 

- n) Expenditure of £197,964 (rounded) in the 2023/24 year of account included (inter alia) Hall Management (£61,721), Maintenance – Special Projects and Professional Fees (£42,837), Maintenance – General (£29,928), Wages and NI (£36,700), Capital Expenditure (£4,148) and Cleaning (£5,307). 

**TREVOR BROWN CPFA Internal Audit Services Charnwood, California, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4DE Tel: 01394 384698 or 07587 523764   Email: tcdbrown01@yahoo.co.uk** 

3 



- o) The Charity is not registered with HMRC for VAT purposes. The Charity has its own bank account from which payments are made. VAT is separately recorded and is merged within the Sage system with the Town Council’s VAT Reclaim to HMRC. The Charity is accordingly obtaining benefit from the Town Council’s registration. VAT is charged, where appropriate, to service users under the VAT Registration number of the Council and included in the VAT Return merged with the Town Council’s overall VAT Reclaim. 

- p) **It is recommended that the Charity seeks professional advice regarding the current arrangements that the Charity receives VAT repayments through the Town Council’s Registration without having to register the Charity as a separate entity.** 

- q) The Charity maintains an Asset Register which describes each asset held and lists details of the date of acquisition, supplier, location and cost value. The Finance Officer confirmed that the Asset Register is due for review during the year 2025/26. The Accounts as at 31 March 2024 display Property Values (valued as at 2015) of £2,438,736 and Contents of £99,475. 

- r) The Finance Officer confirmed that insurance cover for the year 2023/24 was effected through the Town Council and that the cover included Public Liability, Employer’s Liability and Fidelity Guarantee during the year of account. 

## **3. Basis of Independent Examiner’s report** 

My examination was carried out in accordance with the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. 

**TREVOR BROWN CPFA Internal Audit Services Charnwood, California, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4DE Tel: 01394 384698 or 07587 523764   Email: tcdbrown01@yahoo.co.uk** 

4 



## **4. Independent Examiner’s statement.** 

In connection with my examination: 

- a) I confirm that formal accounts (including an Income and Expenditure Account) have been constructed in respect of the 2023/24 year of account as evidence of appropriate control being maintained over the Charity’s financial position and to evidence that the accounting records are kept in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act 2011 and comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts. 

- b) Additional matters in connection with the examination and to which attention should be drawn are listed at item 2 above in this Report (in bold where action should now be taken). 

- c) I would like to express my appreciation to Mrs Anne Mangham, Finance Officer, Great Dunmow Town Council,  for her assistance during the course of this Examination. 


## **Trevor Brown** 

## **Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy** 

## **21 July 2025** 

**TREVOR BROWN CPFA Internal Audit Services Charnwood, California, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4DE Tel: 01394 384698 or 07587 523764   Email: tcdbrown01@yahoo.co.uk** 

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