Ulster-scots Community Network
Company Limlted by Guarantee
Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Ulster-scots Communlty
Network
Year ended 31 March 2023
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Ulster-scots Community Ne￿ork (the 'charity'i for the
year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities {including income and
expenditure account), statement of financial position and the related notes, 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 FRS 102 Th8
Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republi¢ of Ireland (United Kingdom Generalty
AC￿pted Accounting Practice).
In our opinlon the financial statements..
give a true and fair view of the slale ol Ihe charity'5 affairs as at 31 March 2023 and of it5
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.,
hav8 been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Basls for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with Intemational Standards on Auditing {UK) (ISAS (UKI) and
applicable law. Our r8sponsibilitie5 undèr those standards are further de5Gribed in the auditor's
responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of
the charity in accordance with the 8thical r8quir8ments that are relevant to our audit cf the financial
51alements 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.
Materlal uncartalnty related to golng concern
We draw attention to note 3 in the financial statements, which indicat88 that in foming our unqualified
opinion, we have considered thè adequacy of the disck)sures made in the financial statements
concerning the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. Short term grant funding horizons
mean that th8 organisation must apply for core financial assistance on an annual basis and, at the
datè of our audit report, whilst confirmation has been received for the 2023 calendar year, the charity
Is not in receipt Df a letter of offer extending beyond that period. The financial statements have been
prepared on a going concem basis, the validity of which depends on the continued support of the
charity's grant funders. As stated in note 3, Ihese evenls or Conditions. along with the other matters as
set forth in note 3, indicate that a materi81 uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on
the charity'5 ability lo continue a5 a going concem. Our opinion is not modified In respect of thi$ matter.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with mspect to going concern are
described in the relevant sections of this report.
10

Ulster-scots Community Network
Company Llmited by Guarantee
Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Ulster-scots Community
Network (contlnu
Year ended 31 March 2023
Other informatlon
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial
Statements and our auditor's report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information.
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 Ihereon.
In connecllon with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other
Information and, in doing so. consider wheth&r the other information is materialty inconsistent with the
financial statements or our knowledge obtained In the audit or otherwise appears to be materially
m15Stated. If we Identify such material inconsistencies or appar8nt material misstatements, we are
required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a
material misstatement of the other information. 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.
Oplnlons on other matters prescrlbed by the Companles Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
the information given in the directors, report for the financial year for which thg financial
statements are prepared 18 consistent with the flnancial statements,. and
the directors, report ha5 been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Matters on which we are requlrad to report by 8xception
In the light of the knowledge and understandlng of the charlty and its environment oblalned In the
course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors, r8POrt.
We have nothing to report in re$ped of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Ad
2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate accountlng ￿CordS hav8 not been kept, or retums adequate for our audit have not
been received from branches not visiled by us; or
the financial statements are not In ag￿ement wlth the accounting records and retum8', or
certain dlsclosures of directors, remuneration speclfied by law are not made: or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit,
11

UlsterScots Community Network
Company Limitsd by Guarantse
Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Ulster4cots Community
Network (¢ondnu•d)
Year ended 31 March 2023
Respon5ibilitles of dlrectors
As explained more fully in the directors, responsibilities Statement, the directors {who are also the
directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for tha preparation of the financial
statements and for belng satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as
the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparats'on of financial statements that are free
from material mi5Statement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statement5, the directors are responsible for assessing the charity's abllity to
continu8 as a golng concern, discloslng, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the
going concem basis of accounting unless the directors elther intend lo liquidate the charity or to cease
operations. or have no realistic altemative but to do so.
12

Ulster-scots Community Network
Company Limited by Guarantee
Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Ulster-scots Communlty
Network (eonllnuedj
Year ended 31 March 2023
Audltor's ￿SponsIbl11t18s for the audit of the flnancial statements
Our objeclives 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 auditorfs report that
includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high lével of assurance, but is not a guarantee that
an audit conducted in accordance with ISAS (UK) will always detect a material misstaternent when it
exists. Misslatement5 can arise from fraud or error and ar8 conSide￿d 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 inStan￿S 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 whlch our procedures are capable of detecting
irregularities, including fraud 18 detailed below:
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of
irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, w8s as follows:
the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate
competence, capabilities and skills lo identfy or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and
regulations,.
we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with Iru8tees
and other management.,
we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulation5 identified above through making
enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence., and
identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularty and the team
rernained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibillty of the companvs financial statements lo material mlsstatement,
including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by=
making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was suscéptibility to fraud, their
knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud,. and
considering the internel controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and
regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of Controls, we:
performed analyti¢al procedures to id8ntfy any unusual or unexpected relationships.,
tested joumal entries to identify unusual transactions., and
assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set
out in note 3 were indicative of potential bias.
In response to th8 risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed
procedures which included, but were not limited to:
agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation,.
13

Ulster-scots Community Network
Company Llmlted by Guarantee
Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of U1ster￿Cots Communlty
Network (contlnuod)
Year ended 31 March 2023
r&ading the minutes of meetlngs of those charged with governance,. and
- enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures des¢rib8d above. The more removed that laws
and regulation5 are from financial Iransaclions, the less likely r( is that we would become aware of
non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedur8s required to idèntify non-compliance
with laws and reguSations to enquiry of the d1￿CtOrS and other management and the inspection of
regulatory and legal correspondence, rf any.
Material misstatements that arlse due to fraud can be harder to detect than those thal arise from error
as Ihey may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
As part of an audit In accordance with ISAS (UK), we exercise professional judgment and maintain
professional s¢8Pticism throughoLrt the audit. We al$o'.
Identify and asses5 the risks of material misstalement of the financial slalemenls, whether due lo
fraud or error, désign and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit
evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a bas55 for our oplnion. The risk of not
detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than far one resulting from error,
as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intenlional omissions, misrepresentations, or the overrida
of internal control.
Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit
procedures that are appropriate in the circurnslances, but nol for the purpose of expressing an
opinion on the effectiveness of the internal control.
Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and th8 reasonablen85s of accounting
estimates and related disclosures made by the directors.
Conclude on the appropriateness of the directors, use of tha going concern basis of accounting
and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exlsts related to
events or conditions that may cast significant doubl on the charity's ability to continue as a going
concem. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exisls, we arè required lo draw attention in
our auditor'5 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 rnay cause the charity
to cease to Gontinue as a going concern.
Evaluate th8 overall pr888ntation, structurè 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 pr8sentation.
14

Ulster4cots Community Network
Company Limited by Guarantee
Independent Audltor's Report to the Members of Ulster-scots Community
Network (conllnu•d)
Year ended 31 March 2023
We communicate with those charged with govemance regarding, among other matters, the planned
scope and liming of the audit and significant audit flndings. including any significant deficiencies in
intemal control that we identty during our audit.
Usè of our report
This report is made solely to the charity's members, as a body, in accordancé with Chapter 3 of Part
16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that w8 might state to the
charity's members 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 aG¢epi or assume responsibility to
anyone other than the charity and the charity'¥ members as a bcAly, for our audit work, for th1$ report.
or for the opinions we have formed.
Joh
ee
enio
Statutory Audltor)
Fora
n beha
Aubrey Campbell
ompany
Chartered accountants & statutory auditor
631 Lisburn Road
Belfast
BT9 7GT
28 Novamber 2023
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