2023-03-31-annual-return

THE ULSTER DEFENCE REGIMENT BENEVOLENT FUND CHARTBRED ACCOUNT ANTS INDEPENDENT AUDITORS, REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023 Oplnion We have audited the financial ststements of The Ulster Defence Regiment Benevolent Fund for the sl year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial rep)rting 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 Kin8dom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion the financial statements: give a true and fair view of the state of the Fund's affairs as at 31 March 2023, and of its incoming resources and expenditure of resources, for the year then ended. have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accountin8 Practice; and have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. sl Basis of our opinlon We conducted our audit in accordance with International Stsndards on Auditing (UK) {ISAs (UK)) and applicable law, Our rcsponsibilities 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 Fund in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including FRC'S Ethical Standard, and the provisions available for Sn￿11 entities, in the circumstances set out in note 21 to the financial ststcm¢nts, and we have fulfilled our 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 statcments, we have concluded that the trustees, use of the going concern basis of accounting in the pr¢paration of the financial statements is appropriate, Based on the work we have perfonned, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions thaL individually or coll¢ctively, may cast significant doubt on the Fund's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelv¢ 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 th¢ relevant sections of this report. Cciitury House 40 Cre5ceni B115iness Pllrk LISBURN BT28 2GN 17 Mande￿Ile &reet PORTADOWN Craigavon BT623PB X9 Alfred Street BELFAST BT2 8EQ DX3910 NK Belfast so Tel: [phone] IJ13 Fax.. [phone] Tel: +44 fo)28 9260 7355 Fax: [phone] J656 Tel.. +44 {0)28 3833 2801 Fax: [phone] Page 8 0￿1111￿al￿n￿VlGMr￿Gt￿llpLl￿il&iRe&￿.. NIo5960o. R¢wd¢ThdtoWndUffla￿dIIWOrkbYtheI￿SII￿le0fCh1rtt[ts4A¢WuThknntsIn IR]•nd A MethErD(y￿.AWOrlth￿Tr1rAllIJy￿•olIDth￿dtnlAcWvnl￿￿ Finns WWWwe8ea•￿￿

THE ULSTER DEFENCE REGIMENT BENEVOLENT FUND INDEPENDENT AUDITORS, REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES (conilnued) YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023 Other infomation The other infonnation comprises the infomiation included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees ar¢ responsible for the other inforniation contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other inf0m￿tIOn and we do not express any forn] of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other infornlation 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. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to deterniine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have perfornied, we conclude that there is a material missLit¢m¢nt of this other information, we arc required to report that fact. We have nothin8 to report in this regard. Matters on which we are required to report by exceptlon We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which Charities (Accounts and R¢ports) Regulations 2008 require u5 to report to you if, in our opinion: the infonnation 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 inforn￿tIon and explanations we require for our audit. Responsibilltles of trustees As explained more fully in the trustees. responsibilities statement set out on pages 6 and 7, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of 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 ststements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are 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 trust¢¢s either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. Page 9

THE ULSTER DEFENCE REGIMENT BENEVOLENT FUND INDEPENDENT AUDITORS, REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES (Coniinued) YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023 Audltor's responslbilitles for the audlt of the fmancial 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 asswance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from materiaI 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 assurancc, 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 laken 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: Extent to which the audlt wa8 ¢oDsldered capable of detecting irregularitles, Including fraud We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial staternents, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perfonn the audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. Identlfying and assesslng potential risk4 related to irregularltles In identifying and assessing potential risks of material misstatement in respect of i￿¢gU]ar1ties, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations. we considered the following.. The nature of the industry and sector, control environment and charity's financial results and position. Results of our enquiries of management about their own identification and assessment of th¢ risks of irregularities" Any matters we identified having obtain¢d and reviewed the charity's documentation of their policies and procedures relating to: Id¢ntifying. 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. and Page 10

THE ULSTER DEFEIYCE REGIMENT BEIYEVOLENT FUND INDEPENDENT AUDITORS, REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES (¢onllnued) YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023 Auditor's responslbllltks for the audit of the financial statements (conlinued) Identlfylng and assessing potential rtsks related to irregularltles (con¢lnued) The internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations. the matters discussèd among thc audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud rnight occur in the financial statements and potential indicators of fraud. As a result of these procedures, we considered the that the particular areas in the financial statements that were susceptible to misstatement were related to management bias in accounting estimates and judgements; recognition, classification and completeness of income. In common with all audits under ISAS (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of manag¢ment override. We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the Charity operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the detennination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included Charity le8islation applicable to Northern Ireland, Charity, governing document, employment law, health and safety and tax legislation. In addition, wc 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 Charity's ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. Audlt response to risks identlfied: Our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following: Reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial statements; Enquiring of management concerning actual and potential litigation and claims; Perfonning analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatements due to fraud. Reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and reviewing correspondence with tax authorities. and Page 11

THE ULSTER DEFENCE REGIMENT BENEVOLEIYT FUND INDEPEIYDENT AUDITORS, REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES (conlinued) YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023 Auditor's responsRbilitie8 for the audlt of the financial statements (conilnued) Audlt response to rlsks identified (continued): in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustm¢nts including those relating to revenue recognition; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of potential bias; and evaluating the rationale of any significant transactions that are large, unusual or outside the nonnal course of the charity's activities. We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement teams members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit. Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misststements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. In addition, as with any audit, there remains a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as they may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the overrid¢ of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be ¢xpected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations. A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council's website ath s:Ilwww.frc.or .uk/auditosres onsibilities. This description fornis part of our auditor's report. Use of our report This report is made solely to the Fund's Board of Trustees, 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 Fund's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors, report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent pem]itt¢d by law, w¢ do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Fund and th¢ Fund's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have fonned. Mr Nige re FCA (Senlor Statutory Audltor) For and on behalf of GMCG BELFAST Chartered Accountant$ Statutory Auditor Dated: ..l.1!< >ia Alfred House 19 Alfred Street Belfast BT2 8EQ Page 12