Independent Examinerfs Report on the King Edvrdrd Musl¢al Society of Macclesfleld
I report on the financial statements of lQng Edward mus￿al Sm of ma(xlesf￿ld (Registered Charty
No 517554) for the year ended 31 May 2026.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The so￿ety through rts Committ* is re5portsible for the preparation of the accounts. Tr Committee
considers that an audtrt is not required for this year (uThJer section 43(2) of the Charit￿$ Act 1993 (the
1993 Act)) and that an irtyendent examination is needed
It is my respcffisibilty to..
. examine the accounts (under sedion 43(3)(a) ofth8 1993 Act):
. to fdlow the procedures laid in the Genwal Direth'ons given by the Chaiity Commission
{under seth'on 43(7)(b) of the 1993 Act):aThl
• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Bas18 of Independant examlnetrs r•port
My examination was carr￿1 out in accordan￿ with the General Directions given by the Charity
Commission. An examination Ir￿l￿eS a review of the accounb'ng records kept by the Committee and
a comparison of the accounts Fwnted wth those records. It also indu¢Jes consideration of any
unusual items or disdosures in the accounts. and Seeking explanations from the Committee Con￿rning
any such matters The wocedures undertaken do not proV￿e all the evhlence that vlould be required
in an audit, cmquently I do not exwess an audrt opinion on the viffw gNen ty the accounts.
Independont examinorf8 $tatom•nt
In connection wrth my examination, no Matter ha8 com8 to my attention:
(1) which give8 me reasonable cause to telieve in any materlal r8spgCt tre requirements
. to keep accounting re(xYds in accordan￿ wth sedlon 41 of the 1993 Ad" and
. to prepare aCC￿nts which acc<Kd with the accounting reo)rds comply wth the
accounting reqUIrem￿ts of Ihe 1993
have not been met,. or
{21 to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enab￿ FKoper understanding
of the accounts to be T￿hed.
I C.Hrt.e. L ..V,....el.L*Z.V&R
Relevanl professional
qualification or body".
Address..
G ..CAk.vtZ-.etr(.....RD
Ski.o.....3JV.A.........
Date=


## **Treasurer’s Report - 2025-26** 

## **1 Summary** 

- **Our adjusted figures show we have made a deficit of £3,149.  This is obviously a concern. We have adequate reserves but must continue to address our financial situation.** 

- **Despite our financial challenges, the Committee are recommending that our subscription for those in a single section (Band, Choir or Orchestra) should remain at £150 for 2026-27, following a significant rise in September 2025. Our feeling is that we wish to continue to rehearse and perform music to a high standard and this is expensive in terms of our excellent professionals, the number of concerts we perform, our choice of music and our use of soloists.  Consequently, we are asking those who can do so to supplement their subscription by a donation - we are suggesting £25 per person (or more) but of course this will be entirely voluntary. We feel this is fairer than increasing the sub for all.** 

- **We are recommending that the separate sub for the Contemporary Ensemble should increase from £25 to £30.** 

- **The Committee have agreed that our ticket prices should be unchanged for 2026-27. It is believed that any increase could be counterproductive in concert income.** 

## **2 Background** 

The accounts have been approved and adopted by the KEMS Committee, circulated to all members and are being presented at the Society’s 2026 AGM.  Our thanks go to Mike Horner as our Independent Examiner. Mike has approved the accounts and has generously made no charge for examining them. 

The Committee has been advised by the Finance Subgroup containing members from all sections, which was set up in March 2022 and has met several times, most recently in April 2026. 

## **3 Membership** 

There are currently 152 members of KEMS (154 last year): Band 46 (44) Orchestra 40 (43), Choir 66 (67). These figures are approximate and double count members in more than one section. There are10 members in the Contemporary Ensemble (11 last year). 

## **4 Subscriptions (Band, Choir and Orchestra)** 

Our subscription for one section increased from £130 in 24-25 to £150 for the year just ending - an increase of 15.4%.  This has raised more income (up by 14.5%) demonstrating that our numbers are slightly diminished. As always, we need to monitor numbers carefully and always be aware of recruitment opportunities. It is proposed that those in more than one section should continue to pay £225. 

## **5 Contemporary Ensemble** 

In 2025-26 this has had a subscription of £25.  As stated above, it is proposed to increase the subscription to £30 to cover increasing costs.  Any additional expenses should be met by CE members or by reference to the full KEMS Committee. 

## **6 Audiences** 

We have aimed for a minimum audience of 100 in all our nine ticketed events. In fact, we have achieved around 94 on average – the average was 92 last year. Had we achieved an average of 100 it would have gained us another c£1,000. This stresses the importance of promoting ticket sales to friends and family and to 



the public.  We should continue to encourage greater ticket sales particularly for members (plus friends and family) attending other sections’ events.  Our raffle income has been particularly pleasing this year. 

## **7 Charitable Giving by / through KEMS** 

Although a charity ourselves, we support other charities when possible. The annual Christmas carols event at Tatton on 21 December raised £519 for the David Lewis Centre. 

## **8 Fee levels for our five professionals** 

From September 2026, the rates for our five professionals will increase by 3.5% to the nearest pound, as recommended by _Making Music_ in consultation with the Musicians’ Union.  Our three MDs (whose contracts are currently under discussion) are also to be paid for an additional two-hour meeting with their section committees. (Our Leader and Accompanist are not involved in meetings of this type). The pay of all five professionals will of course also depend on the number of rehearsals and concerts, but it is expected that the total we pay will increase by about £1,200pa. It is noted that the amount spent on our professionals will have increased by c27% in the last three years. 

## **9 Concert costs** 

We try to estimate concert costs for each new season, but this is not easy.  Once the programme for the year is proposed, there is a need to determine roughly how much music hire will cost and check its availability. There is no doubt that music hire (and purchase) costs have significantly increased since Covid but the Committee does not want to mandate playing only out-of-copyright music, which is generally cheaper. Soloist and guest player costs also need to be considered as do the number of concerts we perform in the future.  Our MDs need to be cognisant of the total cost of performing each piece when proposing their programmes for the season. 

We are more-or-less committed for 2026-27 but need to consider the future. 

## **10 Orchestra tax relief** 

Following a _Making Music_ Zoom meeting attended by Paul Spedding and Tim Ward, we feel this is definitely worth exploring further as it could raise c£2,000(?) per year. However, the additional work involved is highly significant: setting up then running a separate limited company, recording and presenting the relevant information to HMRC, preparing separate accounts at the year end, opening and operating a separate bank account and preparing an annual contract between the Society and the new company etc. _Making Music_ can assist but there is a clear need for a committed KEMS volunteer to lead on this. Otherwise it won’t happen. 

## **11 Beswick Memorial Fund** 

This now stands at £8,828 as c20% of the total (£2,000) has been allocated towards this season’s general expenses.  We will continue to use this money for general expenses on a tapering basis (18% in 2026-27, then 16% etc) until it fully used up in around 2031-32. 

## **12 Sponsorship** 

It is enormously helpful when individual members generously sponsor events or soloists. We should continue to encourage individual KEMS members to sponsor events (anonymously if they wish). 

It would also be extremely beneficial if local organisations could be encouraged to sponsor us, but a volunteer is needed to lead the search for such organisations and manage the process if successful. 

## **13 Give as You Live** 

Effectively “free” money is available from retailers if members sign up for GAYL. 

## **14 Marketing** 

DL flyers (A4 tri-folded) are being considered for the whole season instead of individual concert flyers. 

## **Paul Spedding, June 2026** 



## **King Edward Music Society of Macclesfield: Accounts 2025/26** 

## **Income** 

## **Expenditure** 

|Note<br>**2025/26**_2024/25_<br>1 Subscriptions<br>21,607_18,863_<br>Concert Income<br>13,179_12,503_<br>HMRC-Gift Aid April 2026<br>5,323_4,977_<br>Donations (Gift Aided)<br>386_1,257_<br>Interest<br>917_806_<br>Refreshment Donations (Reh'ls)          100_208_<br>Refreshment Sales (Concerts)<br>915_910_<br>Raffles (Concerts)<br>1,875_1,208_<br>11,195 _-_<br>Band Clothing***<br>733 _-_<br>2 Equipment hire<br>350_415_<br>3 Miscellaneous<br>240_55_<br>Give as You Live<br>21<br>Key: *** = Through Payment<br>4 _Other income in 2024/25_<br>_26,630_<br>**TOTAL**<br>**56,842**_67,832_<br>Band Tour Summer 26***|Note<br>**2025/26**_2024/25_|Note<br>**2025/26**_2024/25_|Note<br>**2025/26**_2024/25_|Note<br>**2025/26**_2024/25_|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||MD-Tony Houghton|6,767|_6,645_|
|||MD-Julia Harding|7,111|_6,611_|
|||MD-Mark McCombs|7,107|_6,796_|
|||Orchestra Leader-Henry Rankin|3,701|_3,688_|
|||Choir Accomp-James Heathcote|3,487|_3,604_|
|||Soloists|1,030|_948_|
|||Guest Players|1,035|_540_|
|||Refreshments-concerts|231|_389_|
|||Rehearsal/Meeting Venues|5,863|_5,516_|
|||Concert Venues|2,787|_2,959_|
|||Music hire/copy/purchase: Band|1,340|_154_|
|||Music hire/copy/purchase: Choir|1,423|_771_|
|||Music hire/copy/purch: Orchestra|3,055|_1,860_|
|||Making Music|750|_566_|
|||Printing,Publicity,Postage etc|1,686|_1,578_|
|||Equipment|196|_188_|
|||Yapsody commission|72|_73_|
|||Staging Storage|520|_500_|
|||Band Tour Summer 2026***|3,650|_-_|
|||Alcohol Licences|105|_42_|
||5|Miscellaneous|253|_118_|
|||Music Commission-Band|1,000|_-_|
|||First Aid Courses|54|_-_|
|||Hospitality|5|_-_|
|||Band Clothing***|732|_-_|
||6_Other expenditure in 2024/25_<br>_13,179_<br>**TOTAL**<br>**53,960**_56,725_<br>**Unadjusted surplus**<br>**2,881**<br>**Adjustment deficit**<br>**6,030**<br>**ADJUSTED DEFICIT 25-26**<br>**3,149**||||



## **Notes** 

1 Membership:Total c152 (154 last year):Band c46 (44),Orchestra c40 (43),Choir c66 (67). Also Contemporary 10 (11) 2 Equipment Hire: Northern Chamb Orch Staging £100, North Staffs Orch Drums £100, Gawsworth Hub £150 3 Miscellaneous: CD sales £80, sale of lights £60, Dolphin Gig £100 

4 Other Income in 2024/25 included CBeswick £13,202,Band Tour  £12,075Petrushka W/S £1,086,Prog. Adverts £200 5 Miscellaneous: includes piano tune £75, Muzodo £52 

6 Other Expenditure in 2024/25 included Band Tour £12,187, Petrushka W/S £613, Contemporary Music £65 

## **Adjustments** 

|1) Beswick Trust: £2,000 of the total of £10,828 allocated this season for general expenses|+£2,000|
|---|---|
|2) Band Tour 2026: Participants owe £4,940. KEMS owes c £12,490|-£7,550|
|4) £480 owing to Academy for April & May Choir rehearsals|-£480|
|**_Total_**|**_-£6,030_**|





## **King Edward Music Society of Macclesfield: Balance Sheet 2025/26** 

Opening balances at 1 June 2025 

|bl t 1 J 2025|bl t 1 J 2025|bl t 1 J 2025|
|---|---|---|
|g aances a  une<br>£<br>£|||
|NatWest Bank|3,562||
|COIF Investment Account(Standard Reserves)|9,987||
|COIF Investment Account(Capital Reserve)|6,765||
|Charles Beswick Trust Account(Reserve)|10,828||
|Cash(floats)|180||
|Total Current Assets||31,321|
|Accounted Fixed Assets||5,400|
|TOTAL||**36,721**|



## Closing balances at 31 May 2026 

|Purch<br>Date|NatWest Bank|11,526||
|---|---|---|---|
||COIF Investment Account(Standard Reserves)|6,916||
||COIF Investment Account(Capital Reserve)|6,765||
||COIF Inv't A/C Beswick Trust Account(Reserve)|8,828||
||Cash(floats)|180||
||Total Current Assets||34,215|
||Accounted Fixed Assets||5,400|
||TOTAL||**39,615**|
||Accounted FIxed Assets at 31 May 2026<br>Market<br>value (est)|||
|?|Drum Kit||100|
|?|Lightingstands||50|
|08/09|Christmas Spirituals(44 copies)||100|
|08/09|Staging||3,000|
|09/10|Puccini Messa di Gloria Orchparts & full score||50|
|12/13|Carols for Choirs 5(64 copies)||200|
|12/13|Bass Drum||50|
|12/13|Clash cymbals + cradle||100|
|15/16|Roland "Cube Street EX" Portable PA system||200|
|15/16|RATStands - accoustic music stands: six||50|
|Various|Largequantityof band music - some donated||1,000|
|Various|Orchestral music - some donated||500|



|**TOTAL FIXED ASSETS**|**5,400**|
|---|---|
|**Charles Beswick Trust Reserve**||
|Balance at 31 May 2025|10,828|
|Balance at 31 May 2026|8,828|



## **Capital Reserve** 

|Opening Bal: 1Jun25<br>Closing Bal: 31May26|6,765|
|---|---|
||6,765|