The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland
Independent auditor’s report to the members of The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland
Report on the audit of the financial statements
Opinion
In our opinion the financial statements of The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland (the ‘charitable company’):
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give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its 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, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’; and
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have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
We have audited the financial statements, which comprise:
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the statement of financial activities (incorporating income and expenditure account)
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the balance sheet
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the statement of cash flows; and
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the related notes 1 to 18.
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).
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 Financial Reporting Council’s (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 as a going concern 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.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the 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.
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The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland
Independent auditor’s report to the members of The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland (continued)
Other information (continued)
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.
Responsibilities of Trustees
As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the Directors of the charitable company for the purpose 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.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud
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.
We considered the nature of the charitable company’s industry and its control environment, and reviewed the charitable company’s documentation of their policies and procedures relating to fraud and compliance with laws and regulations. We also enquired of management and Trustees about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities. We also enquired of management and the directors about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, including those that are specific to the charitable company’s business.
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charitable company operates in, and identified the key laws and regulations that:
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had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. These included UK Charities Act and UK Companies Act; and
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did not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the charitable company’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. These included the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (Charity Commission) regulations.
We discussed among the audit engagement team regarding the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements.
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The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland
Independent auditor’s report to the members of The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland (continued)
Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud (continued)
As a result of performing the above, we identified the greatest potential for fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations in the following area, and our procedures performed to address it are described below:
- we identified a fraud risk related to the application of multi-year grant expenditure in line with charitable objectives, and the correct recognition of liabilities in respect of multi-year grant expenditure. We have addressed this risk by selecting a sample of multi-year grants recognised in the year and reviewing the grant agreements, Board minutes, cash payments and related information in order to understand the purpose of the grant, any conditions present and ascertain the correct level of expenditure and related liability to recognise.
In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform procedures to respond to the risk of management override. In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluated the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to the risks identified included the following:
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reviewing financial statement disclosures by testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial statements;
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performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud;
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enquiring of management concerning actual and potential litigation and claims, and instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
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reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.
Report on other legal and regulatory requirements
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
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the information given in the Trustees’ report, which includes the Directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
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the Directors’ report included within the Trustees’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified any material misstatements in the Directors’ report included within the Trustees’ report.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report in respect of the following matters if, in our opinion:
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adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
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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 Trustees’ 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; or
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the Trustees were not entitled to take advantage of the small companies’ exemption from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
We have nothing to report in respect of these matters.
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The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland
Independent auditor’s report to the members of The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland (continued)
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, 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 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 our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Helen Perkins FCA (Senior statutory auditor) For and on behalf of Deloitte LLP Statutory Auditor Reading, United Kingdom
13 June 2024
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