Diocose of Connor Financial &*eMentsfor theyear exd£d 31 December 2023 Page 7 Report of the independellt auditors to the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of Connor Opinion We have audited the financial stat¢m¢nts of the Dioccsc of ConnoT (th¢ 'Charity') for the year ended 31 Decnber 2023 which Compri the Stat¢m¢nt of financial activiti, the Balance sheet, the Stat¢ment of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including a SUn)M of significant accounting policies. The financial Teporting frnmework that be¢n applied in their preparation is applicabl¢ law and United Kingdoni Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 'The Financial Rew)rting Standard Applicablc in the UK and Republic of treland, (Unit&l Kingdom Generdlly Accqjtcd Accounting Practi}. In our opinion th¢ financial stat¢m¢nts: giv¢ a trne and fw view of the state of the Cl)arity's atTairs &8 at 31 De£qnb¢r 2023 and of its incoti]ing resourccs and application of resouwes, for th¢ Y then ende4. have been properly prepared in accorda¢ with Unit&l Kingdotn Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. and havc been prepared in accordancc with the rawirements of the Charities Acts (North¢rn Ircland) 2008 and 2013. Basls of oplnion We conducted our audit in accordanc¢ with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs(UK)) and applicable law. Our res[xsIbIlItiS und¢r thosc standards are further described in th¢ Auditor's Responsibiliti for the audit of the f1ClaI statemcnts sectlon of our report. Wc ar¢ independent of the Charity in accordance with the etbical requirements that ar¢ relevant to our audit of the financial statements in tb¢ UK including th¢ FRC'S Ethical Standarf and we bave fijlfilled our other etbical rwnsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audtt eviden w¢ hav¢ obtaincd is sufficient and appropriatc to providc a basis for our opinion. Conclusions relating to going eoneern In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trnstees. usc of th¢ going concern basis of accounting in the prq)aration of the financial statemcnts is appropriat¢. Based on the work we have perfornied, we have not identified any matcrial unc¢rtainti¢s relating to evenL8 or conditions that, individually or COUtiVely. may casi signiflcant doubt on the Charity's ability to continue as a going conccrn for a period of at least tweIv¢ months fmm when the finanoial stat¢ellts are authorised for issue. Our responsil)ilities and the responsibiliti&8 of the TnLStees with respeLt to going conccrn described in the rdevant sections of this report. We have nothing to rqx)rt in respect of the followin8 matters in lation io which the ISAS (UK) require us to r¢port to ypu wher¢: the Trustees. use of the going concern basis of accounting ftn tbc praratIOn of the financial staten]ents is not appropriate. or th¢ Trustees have not disclosed in the financial statllents any identified material uncertaintiGS that may Gast significant doubt about the C]]arity's ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at le&st tw¢lve months from the date when the financial sLqt¢n]¢nts arc authori8&1 for i&%ue. ASM
Dloe¢s¢ of cKOl Financial s¢atepnentsfor theyear ended 31 December 2023 Page 8 Report of the independent auditors to the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of Connor (cont'd) Other inforniation The other inforntiOn comprises the infomtIOn included in the annual rq)offj other than th¢ financial Ilatements and our auditor's report thCorn The Trnstees ar¢ rwonsible for the other infornmtion. Our opinion on thc financial statemcnts do¢8 not cover the other infomiationan(L except to th¢ extent otherwise cxplicitly stated in our report, we do not express any fomi of assurdnoe conclusion thereon. In conn¢otion with our audit of thc financial statements, our responsibility is to read the oth¢r infonnation and, in doing so, consider whether the other inforn]ation is matcrially inconsistent with the financial statements, or our kwwl¢dge obtained in the audit or othmvise appears to be materially misstat. If we identify such nterIal inconsistcncies or apparent llterial misstatements, we rwuired to ddern]ille whether there is a material misstatement in the financial Stat0cnts or a terIal rnisstatement of the othcr infonnation. If, based on the work w¢ have perfOrni we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other infonnatioffj wc are rquired to rqjort that fact. We have nothing to rwrt in tbis regard. Matters on whlch we are required to report by exceptfion We hav¢ nothing to report in rcsEKct of the following matters iti relation to which th¢ chariti Acts (Northern Ireland) 2008 and 2013 wuir&8 us to report to you 1£ in our opinion: the inforn]ation given in the DI¢san COU11 Annual R¢port is incnnsistent in any Matla1 respwt with th¢ financial statcment8' OT the Clwity has not k¢pt adequatc accounting records: or the flnancial statcments arc tK)t in agreement with the accounting records alld returns. or wc hav¢ not rcceivcd all the llrtormation and explanations w¢ Tequired for our audit. ResponsilTrilities of Thistees As explaineAI rnore fully in the Trustees, rwonsil)ilitiGs statement set out on page 6, the Trust¢¢s are r&sponsible for th¢ prcparntion of thc fmancial slat¢mfflts and for being Satisfi that they givc a trne and fair vi¢w, and for such internal control as the Trustees deterniine is n¢ccssary to cnable the preparation of fllvancial statements that are free from llrial misslat¢mcnt, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the fmancial statements, the Trnstees ar¢ r¢sponsiblc for $SSIng the Charlty's ability to continue as a going Conc disclosing, as applicable, matters rclated to going concern and using the going collccm basis ofaccoullting unless the Trustees either int¢nd to liquidate th¢ ChaTity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. ASM
Dwe&Ye of Connor Financmlstalementsfor theyear ended 31 Decenther 2023 Page 9 Report of the indepelldent auditors to the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of Connor (cont'd) Auditor's responsthilities for the audit of the financial statements Our objectiv¢8 are to obtain reasonable assurance about wh¢ther the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstaten]¢nt, whdher dueto fraud or crror, to issu¢ an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonablc assurance is a bigh lev¢1 ofassurance but is not a guarante¢ that auaudit conducted in accordance with ISAS (UK) will aIways detect a nmterial misstatement when it lSts. Misstatements can aris¢ from fraud or error and are considered niateTial if, individually or in aggregate, they could r¢a80nably be expectcd to i[ue£ the economic decisions of USCTS taken on tbe ba818 of these fmancial statements. InarItie8, including fraud. are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design 'Ji procedures in linc with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detk%t matelial missfatements in respect of irregularities, illcluding fraud. The extent to which ow proced$ are capable of detectitig irregularities. including fraud is d¢tall below. The objcctives of our audit iti respect of frau are to id¢ntify and &S8 the risks of material rnisstatement of the financial stat¢Jnents due to fraud. to obtain sufficient appropriate audit eviacnce rcgarding the assessed risks of nuterial misstatetnent duc to frau Éhrougb designing and implem¢nting appropriate responsth to those $Ssed risks. and to rwnd appropriately to instsnffts of fraud or suspected fraud identified dillg the audit. However, the primary resrK)nsibility for th¢ prevention and detection of fraud rests with both ngeMent and th0 chargal with governanc¢ of the Charity. Our approach was 88 follows: We Obtain an understanditjg of the l¢gal and regulatory requirements applicable to th¢ Cl)arity and considered that the most signifi&qnt are the Charities Acts (Northern Ireland) 2008 and 2013, the Charity SORF, and UK financÉa] reporting standards as issued by the Financial Reporting Council, We obtained anulldffstandl of howthc Charity compli&8 with therulrernellt8 by diusSiOS with matLqg¢ment and those charged with governance. We ass4ssed the risk of rnaterial mEsstatcmt of the financial thtements. including the risk of material misstatement due to fraud wid how it migbt (xcur, by holding discussions with management and thos¢ chargcd with governaDc¢. We inquired of managemcnt and those charged with governance as to any known instances of non- compliance or su8PCCted non-compliancc with laws and regulaiions. Based on this understanding, we dcsigncd specific appropriate audit procedur¢s to identify irLstanccs of non-compliance with laws and r¢gulations. This included making enquiri&8 of management and thos¢ charged with governance and obtaining additional corroborative evidenc¢ &8 required. ASM
Dloc&ye of Counor l.'Inunelnl sIrtemlISIr ihéy¢or ended31 Decen•ber 2&23 Prtge JO Ileport of the independent auditors to the Dioees4in Councij of the Diocese of Connor (cont'd) ri xplanatlDn 8S to whRt cxtont the alldlt WAS C(bn8iderod cApablo uf deiecting IrrLguli'itlc8, 5neluding frauil As part of &J] audi( iii a¢Lrdance with ISAS (UK) w¢ exeroise profwsional jLidgement tmd niaint4iii prof¢%8ion&l scepticisni thmugl'.i)iil 11)e audit. We also: Idonlify and assess tlie risks of tnut6rial misstAtement of thc financial slalEmeiits', whel'hcr due to frnud ()r errol., dosign And peifomi lludit procedures iEsponsivÈ to tliose I'isk.8, aiid obtain audit evidenL¢ that is sufficient and appmpriale to provid¢ a basis for our opinion. '10 risk uf not dets¢ting a material misytalLYnent ro5ulting froin fraud 18 higher thun for one I'esultiiig f. IX>IT] orr<)r, s frdud may involv¢ ¢ollu5ion. forgcry, intenLional omi&sions, misrcpT¢sentalions, or the override of in1''nal contiDI. Obtain an und¢rs£anding of intCTnal control relevanl to the audit in order lo d¢sign audit pn)cLdure% Iliat arc appi'opi"i&te in Ile circumstanc, but not for tho puiy()ses of cxpr¢ssiiig an opiiiion on tlio f¢¢liveness vf die Churity's intornal coiitrol. rvaluate thc apprOpriaL¢nS of acc4)untiiio policies used and the reasonablenoss of anoounling slimates aiid rclaL¢d disclosur&8 inad¢ by Ihc 'frustees, Conclud¢ on Ilie appi'opriatensss of the I'ru51ces' lis# ()f ttie going concern basi% of accounli Lig and, bèLsed on tho lliidit evidence obtaincd, whethcr a matcrial unceitainly oxists rela1 to evenL8 ()r condilioiis tliat may Ca signifiL'aftL doubt on the Churity's 8bil iy to conlinue as a going eoncern. Il. w¢ Gi)n¢ludc ¢hot R material uiicert&inty existy wo are reqliired I'o draw attentiL>n in oiir audit()r's ro)rI to Ihe r¢lalcd discl(k8ures in Ihe fiiiancial statements o-, i". buch disttlosuro.% di'e inado(iuat¢, lo modify our opinion. ()ur conclusions ba59J on the audit VIdenC obtsincd up to tho dalc. of viir &udil01 s rcporL Flowever, future events or condit'ions may cause th¢ Charity ID Lotuqc lo LontinLe ag a going cOnra. rvaluale the Vra11 prcJ.Rernttion, structure and cont¢nt of th¢ finaii¢ial bltLtwiviilE, iiicluding ihc (liscloiure.4, and whether the fiiian¢iul statements rcpr&sLnl the underlying transaclionq &11(I cvLnts in a imanner dial 1]i¢V08 fair prQntation, W¢ c<)rnfnuiiica¢e witli Ihos¢ ch4ryvd with gov¢iManc¢ regarding, llong other multurs, Ihe i)lanned SLope and iiiiiiiig of tho audil ftnd signifiL'unt audit finding4 Including any sigiiificanl deficiencies in iiitci'ntil Lontrol that we IdenLify during diir aiidit. U8c ofour roport This ropoit 1.% made solcly to the Charivs "I'staeS, 85 u body. in accordance wilh Chiipter 3 of l) arl11 of the Cliaritios Acts (Norlhcrn Ireland) 2008 aiid 2013. Oiir dit woi'k li$ been undei'lHkLn so Ihat we iii ight stllie to the ChariLy'S '1 ru.8tces thobc matters wo r¢quir¢d lo state to t'hcm in auditoi s r&p()rl aiid f.or no othoi. pui'posti. To Chv full&8t oxtnt perm ilLul hy law, w¢ do i)ot accepl. or assume IEBpunsibil ity to aiiy paity oth¢i' Ihan th¢. Chariiy and Charity's I'lte¢S a btxly, for our audit work, tor this rcpoo oi. For the opinion we hav¢ foiyned. ASM (D) I,td ChMr¢ered Accnuntants iin(I Ilo%ist¢rod Audltory l)unglliiiion IS Mny 2024