Report of the Independent Auditors to the Trustees of Portstewart Baptist Church Opinion We have audited the financial statements of Portstewart Baptist ChuTch (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, th¢ 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 (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion the financial statements= give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of its incoming resources and application 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 (UK) (ISAS (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors, 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 w¢ have obtained is sufficient and appropriat¢ to provide a basis for our opinion. Conelusions relating to going concern In auditing the financiaL statements, w¢ have concluded that the trnstees, use of th¢ going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have perfonned, we have not identifIed any material uncertainties relating to events or condltions that, individually or collectively. may cast significant doubt on the charity'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 responsibilit1¢5 of the trustees with respect to going concern ai¢ described in the relevant sections of this report. Other information The tntstees aTe responsible for the other infonnation. The other inforniation comprises the infonnation included ill the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors th¢reon. Our opinion on the fInancial statements does not cover the other inforniation and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any fomi of assurance conclusion thereon. In connection with our audit of the financial statements. our responsibility is to read the other infom)ation and, in doing so, consider whether the other inforniation 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 detern]ine whether this gives ris¢ to a material misstatement in the financial statements thems¢lv¢s. If, based on the work we have perforni¢d, we conclude that ther¢ is a mat¢rial misStat¢ment of this other inforn]ation, we ar¢ r¢quir¢d to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. Pag¢ 5
Report of the Independent Auditors to the Trustees of Portstewart Baptlst Church Matters on which Ive are required to report by exeeption We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where th¢ Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion: the inforniation given in the Report of the Trustees is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements- or sufficient accounting records have not be¢n kept. or the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns. or we have not received all the inforniation and explanations we require for our audit. Responsibilities of trustees As explained more fully in the Statement of TTUStees' Responsibilities, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial ststements which give a trne and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees detern]ine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or erioT. In preparing the financial statem¢nts, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity's ability lo continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concem and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate tbe charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. Pag¢ 6
Report of the Independent Auditors to the Trustees of Portstewart Baptist Church Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements We have been appointed as auditors 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 Teasonable assuranc¢ about whether the fanCIal statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors 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 aggTegat¢, they could reasonably be expected to influ¢nce the cconomic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting Iegular1tie$, including fraud is d¢tailed below-. Having considered the nature of the Charity and the sector in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to breaches of health and safety laws, employment law and environmental regulations. W¢ considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on thc financial statements. We evaluated management's incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and deterniined that the principal risks were related to incompleteness of income. Audit procedures perfornied included: Assessment of compliance with key laws and regulations. - Enquiry of those charged with governance including any known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations, potential litigation. and fraud. Identifying and testing transactions for appropriateness, evaluating the rationale for significant transactions outside what is nomial for the charity and assessing whether the judgments made in making accounting estimates are indicative of potential bias, in order to assess the risk of fraud through management override of controls. Analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud. Challenging assumptions and judgments made by management in significant accounting estimates. Reviewing the disclosures in the financial statements against the specific legal requirements. Substantive testing of Balance Sheet items, together with a high level of individual account analysis. Comparison of income disclosed in Financial Statements to original Bar]k Statements W¢ communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures outlined above. We are less likely to become aware of instances with laws and regulations that are not closely related to events and transactions r¢fl¢cted in th¢ financial statem¢nts. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from eOr, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment. A further description of our responsibilities for th¢ audit of the fInancial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's web51te at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description fornis part of our Report of the Independent AuditQTS. Pag¢ 7
Report of the Independent Auditors to the Trustees of Portstewart Baptist Church Use of our report This report is made solely to the charity's 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 charity's trustees those matt¢rs we are required to state to them in an auditors, report and for no other purpose. To the lIest extent perniitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this repoTL or for the opinions we have fonned. John Mccleary (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Mccleary & Company Ltd Chartered Accountants and Registered Auth'tors Garvey sthdios 14 Longstone Street Lisbum Co. Antrim BT28 ITP Date: 25 September 2024 Page 8