Advice Space Company Llmlted by Guaranteo Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporatlng the Dlrector's Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 The trustees. who are a0 the directors for Ihe purposes of company law, present their report and Ihe financial stateménts of the charliy for the year end8d 31 March 2024. Reference and admlnlstratlve detalls Reglstered charlty name Advice Space Charfty reglstratlon number 100787 Company reglstratlon number N1021056 Prln¢lpal office and règlstered Merrlon Buslness Centre offl¢e 58 Howard Street Belfast BT16JP The trustèes C Trotter E Dorrian R Blythe l Davison P M¢Cartan (Appointed 15 August 2023) {Resigned 21 May 2024) Ccmpany Sovetary Patrkk Colton Audltor Finegan Gibson Ltd Chartered accountsnts & slaiutory audltor Causeway Tower 9 James Slreet South Bellasl BT2 8DN Bankers Danske Bank PO Box 183 Donegall Squ8re West Belfasl BT16JS
Advlce Space Company Llmlted by Guarantee Trustees, Annual Report (Incorporatlng the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2024 Structure. govornanc• and managemènt Governln9 Document Advice Space is a company limited by guarantee governed by Its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 2018. Advice Space is a registered charity wilh the Charity Commission lor Northern Ireland, Adv5 Space is a m8mbgrshlp organisation wth each trustee agreeing to contflbute £1 in the event of the charSly wdlng up. Appolntment of Trustees The Chairperson and the trustees recruit and sdect new trustees as needed. New trustees are recrurted on the relevan of thelr professlonal sklls. and thelr polential to be able to make 8 helpfvl contribution to the governance of the charity. As part of the recruitmenl process they are made aware of a trusloes, legal obligatlons under charlty and wmpany law, the Content of the Mèmorandum and Arudes of Association, the commitlè6 and decSsion maklng processes. the business plan gnd r6¢gnl financial pèrformance of the charity. rrustee indu¢Uon and tralnlng All trustees undertake a 2-slage formal induction process - wlth the Chair and the CEO, learning abJut the operational aspects of the serwice. All trustees are members of C03 and have the potential to receive Iralning on all aspecls of governance and the opporlunlty to network wlth colleagues 8cro$s Ihe charitsble and voluntary network. Arrangements for settlng pay and remunerntion of key managementper50nn The charity's trustse$. and the senl(Y management team comprise the key management personnèl of the charty in ¢harge of dlrecling and controlling. running and operating the charty on a day-l04ay basis. Al truslees glve of their lime treely and DO truste6 received r8muner8tion in the year. The pay of Ihe senior staff is reviewed annually and is constdered as part of the organisatn81 salary revlew process. In view of the nature of the charlty, the tnjslees benchmark agalnst pay 16vels in other slmilar size charities run on a voluntary basis. Organisation structure and how charlty makes declsions The Board of trvstees adminisler the charity. A Chief Executive is appointed by the trustees lo manage the day-to-day operatlons of the charily. To facilitate éffective operalions. the Chlef Executive has dolègated authority. within terms of delegation approved by the trustees, for operational mattèrs Includlng flnance. emplOen1 and rfirect charilable activilles. Relatlonshlps wlth relatedpartles None of the trustees recelve Temuneration or other benefit from their work wilh Adv[ Space. Rlsk Manag•ment The Trustees have a risk management strategy whth ¢omprises.' the establL8hment of policies, systems and prOlUreS to identtty, ¢ontrol and millgate risks; an annual revlew of the principal risk5 and ue[la[ntieS Ihal the charity faces., and Ihe implementation of procedure5 designed lo minimise or manage any potential impact on the
Advice Space Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (conlinu8d) Year ended 31 March 2024 charity should those risks materialise. ObjgGtiv•s and actlvitlos The purposes of the charlty are.. to promote any charitable purpose for the benefil Of Ihe community in Northern Ireland by the advancement of education, the prolection and preservation ol health and the relief of poverty, sickness and distress. In shaplng our objectives for the year 8nd planning our activiti'es. the trustees have consldered the Charlly Commlssion's guldance on public benefft. The chadlls aims and objeclwes for Ihe Feriod 2024-29 are centred on Ihè following,. Improvlng Ilves and promoting well-boing by helping more Feople In community lo exerclse thelr rights and obtsln fa5r treatment under the law.. Delivering an independent highquality comprehensive welfare rights service which includes working collaboratNely with trusted partners., Using evhlence lo infoim and infiuence positive change: Being recognised as highly molfvated. rellable and trusted exports; Ensuring effective govemance., Ensurfng the Charity has appropriate accomrnodation thal meets organisational need., Achleving Financi81 Sustainabdity. Our services are negotiated and organis8d in lin8 With our original purpose and partner w5th other organisallons whereby our mlsslon and putposg ar8 close5y aligned. In addition to Advlce Space employees. our services are also supported through volunteer Involvement both 8t trustee and frry)Illne advice tevel. Achievements and performan¢0 The organlsalon h88 achleved the award of Invests'ng in Volunteers. Durlng the reporting PeriJ 2023124 more than 26.180 ntscts tre made wlth the service resulllng in 90,166 queries that Advice Space prov*Jed assistance wilh. Flnancial gains identified by advisers on behalf of dients was hlgher than Ihe previous year amounllng 10 £9,838.730.
Advice Space Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (GonHnued) Year ended 31 March 2024 Flnanclal revlew Thè annual accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 show tolal income of £1.111,296: total expenditurg of £1.152,203 and 3 doficst for the year of £40.9J7. The Board of trustees contlnuè to exercise light control over expenditure and the current Igvel of reserves pla$ Advice Spac6 On 8 solid financial f¢Joling going forward. ReseThes pollcy and golng Concorn Res8rve8 are needed to bridge the ljming gap between spending and receiving of Income and to cover unplanned temporary shortfalls In Income shouhj they arfse and 31so lo provmle contingency for sound financlal plannlng assumpllons. Holdlng adequale reserves safeguards the wovision of Dur $8Nlces In Ihe evenl of unexpected signifl¢ant flnanclal pressures. The Iruslees o)nsider thal Ihe Ideal level ol reserves would be at least 3 months, expendtlure for the year ended 31 March 2024., an amount lo cover staluloTy redundanGy and pay-in-lleu awards in the event of an unforeseen windlng up and provision for unforese8n axpenditure. Advice Spacè rasepies policy sets tNs out and demonslralgs the currenl largel level deslred should be £492,880. Unreslrl¢led reserves al our year end freely avallable lo spend, excludhg fixed assets, restricted reserves and designated reservas amount to £535.108. The Board arè pleased wllh the progress that has been madè to ènsure thè target reserves level is met. Thè trustees belleve thls represènts a sufficienl level of reserve lo ensure Ihat the golng concem assumption Is approprtate and ¢ontinues lo monitor this on a regular basbs and review the policy annually. Advice Space has further committèd lo lo developing an income Gener81ion Strategy alongside the new 2024-29 Strategic Plan. Plans for future perlod$ As part of Ihe Axlvice Space new Strategic Plan 2024-25. the Trustee Board Is committed lo looklng at TNslee grovAh and su9$10n and Ss lakkng further steps to increase the size and gkillset of the current Trustee Board. As part of Advlc6 Space future governance plannlng a Terms of Reference has been agreed for a new Finance SU¢0mmittee to l¢)ok in depth at rinancial planrung. Income generation. invaslment plans, financial managernent Infom*llon. annual a(untS and the internal controls framework in order lo provide inswJht and mak8 recommendations to the full Trustee Board were relevant. Thls wlll provkle more tlme for Trustees lo focus on strategy and growth whilsl also providing a focus on the charity Ilnances. Thls subrycommittee will begin to meet 24 Ilmes per annum from Sept24. Trustg8s' responslbllltles statement The trustee5, who are 8lso directors for the purp)sgs of company law. are responslble for preparlng the trustees, report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and Unilod Kingdom Accounting Standards (Unilod iangdom Generally Accepled Accounling Ptactlce). Company law requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each yeaT which glve Irue and fair view of the slate of affairs of tho charitable company and the incomlng resources and appllcatlon of iesources. including the incomè and expenditure, for that period.
Advlce Space Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees, Annual Report (Incorporatlng the Dlrectorfs Report) (Gonllnued) Year ended 31 March 2024 In preparing these Ilnanci81 stal8ments. the trustees are required to: select suilable accounting polleS and than appty them consE8lenlly', observe the methods and princi)les in Ihe applicable Charities SORP., make Judgments and accounting 8Stlmates that are rea$cable and prudent., prepar8 the financlal slatement5 on the going ¢onc6rn bast8 unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity wlll continue in business. The trustees ar& responsible for keeping adequate accounting record8 thal are sufficient to show and explain the ¢harlty'5 transadions and disclose with reasonable accuraw at any time Ihe financlal posllion of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financlal statement5 comply wlth the Companlès Act 2006. They are also responslble for Safeguarding the 8ssets of the charfty and hencè for taklng reasonable stèps for the prevenllon and detecllon of fraud and other Irregularities. Audltor Each of the person8 who is a trustee ai the date of approval ofthb reF4)rt confirms that: so far as they are awa, there Is no relevanl audit informatlcffj of vthi¢h the chartty$ auditor is unaware., and théy hav8 taken all steps thal they oughl lo have taken as a truste8 to make themsolves aware of any relevant audit infomiallon and to èstablish that thè charltys auditor Is aware of that information, The auditor Is deemed lo h8ve been revappolnled In accordance with secth)n 487 of the Companles Acl 2006. Small company provlslons This report ha$ been prepared In 8wdanLE wllh the provisions applirAble to CCthP8nles enlrtled to the small companies exemo10n. The ITuslees' annu81 reprmt was approved 15 October 2024 and slgned on behalf of the board of Iruslees by.. C Trotter Trustee P M¢Cartan Trustee