## North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee ## Independent auditor's report to the trustees of North Coast Community Transport ## Opinion We have audited the financial statements of North Coast Community Transport (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31[st] March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Statement of Financial Position, Cash Flow Statement and 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 charitable company’s affairs as at 31[st] March 2023, and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended; - have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and - - 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. ## Conclusions relating to going concern In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. Page 5 ## North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee ## Independent auditor's report to the trustees of North Coast Community Transport ……continued ## Other information The other information comprises the information included in the trustees annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. 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. 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 course of 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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. ## 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 (incorporating the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and - the directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements. ## Matters on which we are required to report by exception In the light of our 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. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion: - adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or - the 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’ exemption in preparing the directors’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report. Page 6 ## North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee ## Independent auditor's report to the trustees of ## North Coast Community Transport ……continued ## Responsibilities of trustees As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 3, 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. 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: On the basis of our understanding of the legal and regularity framework applicable to the company and the industry in which it operates, we considered the risk of non-compliance and to what extent it might have a material effect on the financial statements. The principal laws and regulations that we determined as being the most significant are the Companies Act 2006, 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 issued in October 2019 SORP (FRS 102) “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” and the relevant UK tax compliance regulations. - We made enquiries of management to understand how the company is complying with its legal and regulatory obligations. - We read the board minutes to determine whether any fraud or non-compliance had been identified by the company. Page 7 ## North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee ## Independent auditor's report to the trustees of North Coast Community Transport ……continued - We evaluated the susceptibility of the financial statements to material misstatement and discussed with management the areas where we believed the risk of fraud may be higher and what procedures are in place to prevent or detect fraud or non-compliance. - We reviewed manual journal entries for any unusual postings. - We performed tests in areas where significant accounting estimates and judgments are made to assess their reasonableness. Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also: - Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. - Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the charitable company’s internal control. - Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the trustees. - Conclude on the appropriateness of the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the charitable company to cease to continue as a going concern. - Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation. Page 8 ## North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee ## Independent auditor's report to the trustees of ## North Coast Community Transport ……continued We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit. ## Use of our report This report is made solely to the charitable company’s trustees, 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 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 and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. Paul McKillop (Aug 4, 2023 11:50 GMT+1) .......................................................... Paul McKillop FCCA (senior statutory auditor) For and on behalf of EM Accountants, Statutory Auditor 3[rd] August 2023 42A-44A New Row Coleraine BT52 1AF Page 9