Down and Connor Diocesan Trust Independent Auditor's Report to the Trustee of Down and Connor Diocesan Trust Opinion We have audited the financial statements of Down and Connor Diocesan Trust (the "charity") for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the cash flow statement and notes to the financial statements, 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 Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion the financial ststements.. give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as at 31 December 2023, and of its total incoming resources and expenditure of resources, for the year then ended., have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. Basis for opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UKJ (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 charity 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 We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAS {UK) require us to report to you were.. the Trustee's use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate,- or the Trustee has not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the charity's ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least IMelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue. Other information The Trustee is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Trustee's annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. 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. 21
Down and Connor Diocesan Trust Independent Auditor's Report to the Trustee of Down and Connor Diocesan Trust (continued) 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 ststements 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. Matters on which we are required to report by exception We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations {Northern Ireland) 2015 require us to report to you if, in our opinion.. the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Trustees, report., or sufficient accounting records have not been kept., or the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records- or we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. Responsibilities of the Trustee As explained more fully in the Trustee's responsibilities statement set out on page 19, the Trustee is responsible for the preparation of financial statements which give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustee determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misststement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustee is responsible for assessing the charity'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 Trustee either intends to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements We have been appointed as auditor under section 65(2) of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and report in accordance with regulations made under section 66 of that 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. 22
Down and Connor Diocesan Trust Independent Auditor's Report to the Trustee of Down and Connor Diocesan Trust (continueo) As part of an audit in accordance with ISAS (UK), we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also: Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the charity's internal control. Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the Trustee. Conclude on the appropriateness of the Trustee's use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor's 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 may cause the charity to cease to continue as a going concern. Evaluate the overall presentation, structure 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 presentation. 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. Our approach was as follows.. We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the entity and determined that the most significant are those that relate to: the charitable status ofthe Charity and its registration with The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and the Charities Act {Northern Ireland) 2013., compliance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) (second edition - October 20221 Accounting and Reporting by Charities- Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102} (effective 1 January 2022), data protection laws (including UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPRJI; and safeguarding of children, young people and adults in need of protection. 23
Down and Connor Diocesan Trust Independent Auditor's Report to the Trustee of Down and Connor Diocesan Trust (continued) We assessed the risks of material misstatement in respect of fraud with the consideration of.. the Charity's own assessment of the risks that irregularities may occur either because of fraud or error that was approved by the directors of the Trustee- the results of our enquiries of management and the Audit Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities., any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the Charity's documentation of their policies and procedures relating to= identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance., detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud., the internal controls established to mitigate risks offraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations., and the matters discussed among the audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud. Based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify non- compliance with such laws and regulations identified above. we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the areas of the controls covering the receipt of donations and offerings that are received in cash and in which management is required to exercise significant judgment, such as disclosure of adjusting items. In common with all audits under ISAS {UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override. we also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the Charity operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included Nl Charity legislation (including the regulator, The Charities Commission for Northern Ireland) and the Charity SORP. in addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the Group's ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. This included data protection and safeguarding. we made enquiries of management and those charged with governance and reviewed minutes of the Board of the Trustee and Parish Finance Committees and enquired about any communications with the charity regulator. 24
Down and Connor Diocesan Trust Independent Auditor's Report to the Trustee of Down and Connor Diocesan Trust (continued) Audit procedures designed to respond to the risks of fraud we considered the riskoffraud through management override and, in response, we incorporated testing of manual journal entries into our audit approach. we considered the risk of fraud through transactions outside the normal course of transactions by noting anything that was unusual in nature or size and enquired about such transaction to gain an understanding of their nature., based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify and to address material misstatements in relation to fraud and other irregularities. we reviewed the operation of the Controls within the Parishes over the collections, donations and offerings and the segregation of duties within those controls and those controls within the Curia, together with substantive testing and analytical review and incorporating an element of unpredictability in the selection of the nature, timing and extent of audit procedures. we evaluated the selection and application of accounting policies by the Charity, particularly those related to subjective measurements and complex transactions, that may be indicative of fraudulent financial reporting. Use of our report This report is made solely to the charity's Trustee, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's Trustee 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 charity and the charity's Trustee as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. Hill Vellacott Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor 22 Great Victoria Street Belfast BT2 7BA 3 October 2024 Hill Vellacott is eligible to act as an auditor in t8m7s of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006. 25