LOUGHGIEL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LTD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Tlie trustees, wlio are al.%0 directors for the purposes of company law, present th¢ir report and the financial statements of tlie cliArity for tlie year ended 31 March 2024. All charity trustees have read ai)d iinder5tand the ARR02. Charity reporttng and ac¢ounting.' the essentials guidance produced by the Charity Conimission Northern Ireland (Nl). This report has been prepared in accordance with the Chartties SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Ch8rilies'. Ststeinent of Recommended Practic¢ applicable to charities preparing their accolillis in accordai)ce witli the Financial Repoiting Siandard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ire1]d (fRS 102) (eff¢clive l January 2019). the Ftnancial Reporting Standard applicable in tlie UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and the Companies Act 2006. REFERENCE AND ADMtNISTRATIVE DETAILS Regl$tered charlty name LoughgieE Community Association Ltd Charity registration number NIC103422 Company reglytrntloD number N1037243 Registered olTice Loughgiel Millenniurn Centre Lough Road. Loughgiel, Ballymen CountyAntrim. B T44 9JN The truste The trustees who served the charity during the perithl I" April 2023 to 31 March 2024 were as follows.. Sl)ere# Connolly (Appointed 16 August 20?" Nicole Laverty (Appoiiitcd 20 Sepi¢mber 2023) Aiithoiiy Bairlay (Appointed I I September 2024. Resignvd 19 January 2025) Simoi)e Chrislie (Appointed 25 October ?023: Resigned 20 Janu8ry 2025) John McKeown (Appointed 20 July 2023, Resigned 13 November 2024) Joanne MuKeown (Resigncd ?7 Sepieinber 2023) Jeanette Mccary (Resigiied 24 May . Denise Dobbin (Re5i&ined 18 Septembcr 2023) PalriLk McCulloLigh (Resigned 23 September 2023) George Robert Baker (Resigned 18 September 2023) Management: Provided externally (Due to ongoing recruitsnent for an operations manager)
LOUGHGIEL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LTD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Auditor AAB Group Accountsnts Limited 1-3 Arthur Street Belfast Co. Antrim BTI 4GA Soliefitors: Worthington Soli¢itors. 24-38 Gordon St, B¢lfast BTI 2LG Bank Bank of Ireland 2 The Diamond Col¢raine BT52 IDE
LOUGHGIEL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LTD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (¢onlinu YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The contents of this report follow the requirements of th¢ trustees, annual report for charities that prepare accruals accounts which are set out in the Charities sraternent of recommended Practice (Charities SORP) (FRS102). Lo iel CommunA -4ssociatioD's Work Lougligiel Community Associatioii is a conipany limited by guarantee whose objects are recogni5ed as charitsble by HM Revenue and Customs. Vision and Mission: To relieve Polrerty, sickness and the aged and to promote the benefit of tl)¢ inl)abitants of tli¢ Parishes of Loughgiel, Co Antrim and environs wil.hoLlt distinction or age, sex, race, polili¢#l, li8ious or other opinlon. by association th¢ ststutory authorities, voluntary orgaT]isations and inhabitants in a common effort to advan¢¢ education, and to provide facilities in th¢ interests of social welfare for recreation of other leisure time occupation, with the objective of Iniproving the conditions of the said inhabitsnts. To mainiain our established Community Centre and managelcooperate with any local statutory authority in the maintenance and management of such a centr¢ for a¢tivilies proinoted by the Ass¢xiation. ur Actlvilie Advice/advo¢acy/tnforniatioo Community development Community enterprise Education/training Environmcntlsustainable development/conseryation General charitable purposes Rural development Volunteer dev¢lopm¢nt Youth development Gov¢rDance aDd mana ement ructure: [Ugh8]e1 Community A550ciation became a company limited by guarantee in 1999 with Mcmorandum & Arti¢les of ASSlatIon whose objects have been recogllis as charitsble by HM Revenue & Customs. On the date of approval of thi5 report each of th¢ persons who is a trustee were actively working on updating governance docurnents, policies and training. An external provider for governance training has been engaged with and the organisation will ensure training is provided as appropriate. A full governance health review is actively being worked OD Wlth th¢ principles referr¢d to using the Code of G(K)d Governall document.
LOUGHGIEL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LTD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (conunued) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 In addition, work is continuing in the following areas with external expertise: al com liance: Comply with the legal fr8JllewoAI governing cllarities in Northern Lrelanl including the Charities Act {Northern Ireland) 2008, and any other relevant legislation or regulations. The Chairty rcported as legally required to the Chairty Commission for NI under the Cbarities Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 law. This law introduced in 2022 legally requires LCA to report to the Charity Commission for Northem Ireland on an annual basis for accounting periods beginning on or after l April 2022, which Loughgiel Community Association has complied with. Governin Document: Our Governing docurncnt has been reviewed by Bluemoss Consulting ad training is set to commence January 2025 to look at updattng this drtent to a current and relevant state that st serves the current activities of Loughgiel Community Association Ltd. Board of Trustees: The board of trustees established and had reviewed a trustee induction pack. Training was provided for all tNstees this year. A complete iTJduction pack ha5 been put together with support and documentation that provides emotional wcllbeing support to the board of trustees. The board actively and tried to recruit new board members by holding an infonnation session and directly reaching out to members of th¢ COnLmunity, using local bulletin5, other community groups and social media in an attempted to recruit new boatd members. Financial Mana eme The board are actively implementing robust financial management systems and controls to ensure transparen¢y¥ accountability and proper stewaYdsl)ip of the charity's resources. This includes the impl¢m¢ntation bookkeeping software that staff have been trained on. We have engaged with third party professionals to provide a financial overview for the or8anisation. Policies and Prn¢edur The current trustees inheritsd a significant library of policies and procedures created by the fornier tNstees and are actively working through these seeking additional third-paty review where is necessary to update all Cuent policies and procedures. All policies have been Teviewed in the childcare centre and reviewed by third party statutory bodies as required. ortin and accountabili This financial year reporting has been ongoiDg and regular upjates provided to the Charity Commission for Nl on the status of the organisation. A site visit to update the Charity Commission will be facilitated ¢aTly January 2025.
LOUGHGIEL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LTD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (conOnu¢d) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Continuous im royement: The board of LCAwill. going forward, r¢gularly review and evaluat¢ the charity's governance and management practices. Recruiting a succe&sfiJl operations manager is expected in February 2025 and is key to the continuous improvement of the organisation. In the absence of an operations manager tlie Cuent trustees have utilised the skills of the board and other external community group4 working elosely with C&useway Coast and Glens Community Development officer. LCA will continue to meet funders, Stakeholde to maintsin effect relationships which will be vital for the Continuous improvement of the organisation. LCA will continue to CODsuIt externally when the skills¢t is not available internally.
LOUGHGIEL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LTD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (conthu8d) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Public Benefit Tlie objects of tlie charity and its principal activity continue to be the charitable purposes of relieving poverty and promole the benefit of the inhabitftnts of Lou(%hgiel and its eniiirons. All tlie cl)arity'S assets are used for cliaritable purposes in support of tliis object. I"he Board menibers do iiol receive monetary benefii for thcir role in trov¢ming the charitv aiid as, members. they are not eligible for any financial benefit from m¢mbcrship. In the event of any winding up of the charity its remaining assets shall be transferred to another charitable body with similar objecLs. The Role of the Board of MaDa The Board of Directors meets at least ten times during the year usually monthly. ement The role of the Board is: Strategic Direction: Setting and maintslning stratsgy with reference to the Corporate Plan. holding the Management team to aollt; Financial Control: Approving the annual budget. monitoring expenditure with reference to the budget. adopting financial ststements. Support.. Making individual skills and experience available within the Board to the senior Staff. Advocacy.. AGting as ambassadors for the organisations and sUPPOrting the Manager in securing project funding. Aehieveme A stable management team within the childcare c¢ntre and strong employee workforce w8s an immediate priority of the board. The board successfully recruited a fully qualified Childcare c¢ntre L¢ader aiid appointment an appropriate Childcare Deputy Leader. Gym2K became Hyrox aifiliated as a Hyrox affiliated gym th¢ benefits from this ore incr¢ased revenue from increase in members, access to training resources and networking opportunites. It also has created a small comrnunity and support wup of fellow Hyrox competitiors. The link was reestablished with Healthy Living alliance, this incoming year the centre will focus on bringing more projccts and initiatives to the centre. The walking path around the perimeter of the building is well used and continues to be utilised as a safe environment to walk and exercise. Usc of this was encouraged to get community rcsidents to participate in & daily tnile programme. Throughout the year the Education Aiithority continued to provide funding for Loughgiel Youth Club to assist with runniiig costs, salaries, maintei)ance and equipment. The funding ensures that we can continue to provide a vital service to children from 5 - 21 years old to k¢ep &tiv¢ and be involved in services in evenings during the week. ts and Pe rman
LOUGHGIEL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LTD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (eoftrfnu¢d) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Future Plans The future for the Loughgicl Community Association will focus on stabilisingthe organisation at an overall operations level with the appointment of an operations manager. This WAII help foster community engagement and provided much needed operational consistency to all employees. Futyre plans will also focus on rebuilding the organisation following the departure of fomler employees. The past year, we have rused on building organisational knowledge and clarifying the responsibilities of our current staff. Significant grouDdwork has been Calea out in taking the organisation back to the foundations, this allowed us to def¢ the role of our future operdtions manager tnore clearly. Future plans include r¢opening of the cafe. The cafe under+vent an electrical panel replaceinent. following the panel repla¢¢ment several oth¢r issues were identified and rectified. After months of diagnostic work by sev¢ral professional tradesmen the Gas panel was identified as needing replaced in addition to the electrical panel. This work followed gas works where total replacement of gas piping ivas required following a gas certifirate inspection (requcsted by the Board of Directoi's) where it was identified there were several gas leaks. The cafe is now signed off with an appropriate gas certificate and fully functional, opportunities have been explored to reopen the Gafe. The revenue generated will contribute towards runnlng cost of the centre and building a reserve. Reserves Polic and oin conccrn From Y¢ar end March 2022 Loiighgiel Community A.%soci&tion Ltd were in a position to develop a reserves policy to help witli future projects, for the fwsl time in several consecutive years. During the Covidl 9 lockdowns LCA were running at a reduced capacity which allowed the orgunisRtion to build a reserve this was to help setup a redundancy reserve as well es A tUre project reserve. A reserves policy li&s since beeii created and is actively being worked on. Tliis policy is closely monitored by tlie Board of Ti'uslees. Any call upon tlic us¥ of reserves will be at tlie approital of the board of trusi¢eb which will exaiiiine the ratioiial¢ for doing SO and agree on an amount as appropriAte. At 31 March 2024, the cliarily had total funds of £1.824,243 of which £1,664 899 were dcsigi)ated aIid not available for general purposes. The cliarity had free re8¢rves of £159,344 at the yearend. isclosure of inf rniation to auditors The Directors wlio held oifice al the date ot'tipproval of this report confirni that. so far as they are each aware, tliere is no relevant aiidil inlormation of which the Cliw'itable Coinpany's auditors are unaware. and each Director has tak¢n all the steps they ought to Iiave taken as a Director to tnake themselves aivare of any relcvanl aiTdit inforniation and to establish that the Charitsble CompaTty's auditors are aware of that information. Trustees Re oDsibilitios statement: The trustees (who are also the directors of Loughgiel Community Association Ltd for the purposes of company law) ale i'esponsiblL for pi'eparing the Trustees Annual Report and the financial slatenients in ac¢ordance with applicable law and regiilalions.
LOUGHGIEL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LTD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT (conlnu YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Company law required the trustees to prepare fmancial statements for each financial year. Under that law the trusiees hav¢ elected to pKpare the financial statements in aceordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accountiiig Standards and applicable law). Under companv law the trustees must not approve the finaiicial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the situation of the charity and the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. FiDanoial Review Duriiig thc year th¢ cliarity had a net deficit of £112.652 (20?3: £158,412). The total funds of 1¢ cliarity were £1,824,243 (2023.. £1,936,89i). Of tILese fund5, £100,259 were classifi¢d as restricted and not available for general purposes. Each of the persons who is a [nte¢ at the date of approval of this report confjrnis tbat: So far as each trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit infonnation of which the h8rity'S auditor is unaware. and Each trustee has tsken all stsps that they ought to have taken as a trustee to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to e5tsblish that the charity's auditor is aware of that infornialion. Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORJ. . Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent. and Prepare the ffftancial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presumc that the charity will continue in operation. 'I"lie tnTstees are responsAble for keeping equate accounting records that are sutlicient to shoiv and explain the cliarity's transactivns and disclose with rcasonable accurocy &t aiiy time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are s0 responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity &iid hence for taking re8sonabl¢ steps for the prevention and detectioii of fraud and other iffegularities. io
LOUGHGIEL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LTD TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT {¢onllnued) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 AiIDTTOR AAB Group Accountsnts Limlled (fornially FPM Accountants Ltd) are d¢¢med to be re- appointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006. On the date of approval of this report each of the persons who is a trustee can confinn that: The trustecs are awar¢ that relevant audit inforniation sought by the auditors remains outstanding; and Each trustee has tak¢n all reasonable steps that they ought to have taken 88 a truste¢ to mak¢ themselves aware of any relevant audit inforniation and to establish that th¢ charitys auditor is aware of that infomiation. Sied on behalf of the trustee5 Sheree Connolly Director Nicole Lavety Director Date." 23 January 2025 Date: 23 January 2 25 OKI