GLOBAL FUND FOR COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS - THE (A Company Limited by Guarantee)
GLOBAL FUND FOR COMMUNITY
FOUNDATIONS - THE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Global Fund for Community Foundations - The and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the consolidated and charity statement of financial activities, the consolidated and charity balance sheet, the consolidated cashflow statement and the related notes. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Financial Reporting Standard
In our opinion the financial statements:
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Give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2025, and of their incoming resources and expenditure of resources, including their income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
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have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
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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 directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements if 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 as a going concern for the period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
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GLOBAL FUND FOR COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS - THE (A Company Limited by Guarantee)
GLOBAL FUND FOR COMMUNITY
FOUNDATIONS - THE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Other information
The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the directors' annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent 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.
Opinion 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 Directors' Annual Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the group and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors Annual Report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
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adequate accounting records have not been kept;
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the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
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certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
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we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
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take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
Responsibilities of the directors
As explained more fully in the Directors' Responsibilities Statement set out on pages 3 the directors (who are also the trustees of the charitable company for the purposes of charity 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 directors 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 directors 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 directors either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
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GLOBAL FUND FOR COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS - THE (A Company Limited by Guarantee)
GLOBAL FUND FOR COMMUNITY
FOUNDATIONS - THE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
We have been appointed auditor under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with this Act.
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 specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
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The engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
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We identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with management, and from our cumulative audit and knowledge and experience of the charity and the sector;
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We focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company and assessed the extent of compliance with laws and regulations;
understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
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making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected, and alleged fraud;
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considering the internal 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:
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performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
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tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions; and
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investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
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agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
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enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
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and analysing legal costs to ascertain if there have been instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations.
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.
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.
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GLOBAL FUND FOR COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS - THE (A Company Limited by Guarantee)
GLOBAL FUND FOR COMMUNITY
FOUNDATIONS - THE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
https://www.frc.org.uk/auditors/audit-assurance-ethics/auditors-responsibilities-for-the-audit. This description forms part
Use of our report
Companies Act 2006 . Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’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 accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for o ur audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Caroline Webster FCA
For and on behalf of Ross Brooke Limited, Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
Suite I Windrush Court Abingdon Business Park Abingdon Oxfordshire, OX14 1SY
Date 18/09/2025
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