## The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust Annual Report and Accounts Year Ended 31st December 2024 Registered Charity Number SC002731 The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust ## **Contents** Trustees’ Annual Report ........................................................................................... 3 Reference and Administrative Details .................................................................... 3 Structure Governance and Management ................................................................ 4 Objectives and Activities ....................................................................................... 4 Achievements and Performance ............................................................................ 4 Financial Review .................................................................................................. 4 Independent Examiner’s Report ................................................................................ 6 Receipts and Payments Account ............................................................................... 7 Statement of Balances ............................................................................................. 8 Notes to the Accounts .............................................................................................. 9 Page **2** of **11** The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust ## **Trustees’ Annual Report** For the year to 31[st] December 2024 ## **Reference and Administrative Details** Charity Name The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust Charity Number SC002731 Charity’s Principal Address 1 Barnton Gardens Edinburgh EH4 6AF Trustees on date of approval of the Trustees’ Annual Report Convener Treasurer Appointed Feb 2025 No other trustees served during the period Independent Examiner Tangram Accounting 23 Clark Avenue Linlithgow EH49 7AP Page **3** of **11** The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust ## **Structure Governance and Management** ## **Governing Document** The trust is governed by its Trust Deed, dated November 1979, and is managed by the board of trustees. ## **Trustee recruitment and appointment** The appointment of trustees is by unanimous agreement of the existing trustees and removal is by unanimous agreement of the others. On appointment trustees are made familiar with their responsibilities. ## **Objectives and Activities** The principal charitable purposes of the Trust are to support the holding of competitions and the provision of instruction in the playing of Highland bagpipes or other musical instruments, to encourage the education and interest of the public in the art of music generally and in Scottish Highland music especially, to arrange for performances and displays in the playing of Highland bagpipes and other instruments and to promote research into the folk music of the Highlands of Scotland. The main activity of the Trust is to organise and manage the annual Northern Meeting Piping Competitions in Inverness. These competitions have been held in Inverness since 1841 and are regarded as the most important and prestigious solo piping competitions of all, attracting the very best players from around the World. Solo piping competitions are also held for junior players under the age of 18 from throughout Scotland and elsewhere. ## **Achievements and Performance** The charity was very pleased to run the 2024 Northern Meeting Piping Competitions with the usual high standard of performances and organisation. The financial results for the year are set out in the attached accounts. The current charity unrestricted reserves are £1,259 (2023: £2,907) based on the amount of cash held by the charity. ## **Financial Review** The results for the year are set out in the attached accounts. The receipts and payments account show a deficit for the year of £1,648 (2023: surplus of £2,564). The statement of balances at 31 December 2024 shows a balance of cash funds of £1,259 (2023: £2,907). Page **4** of **11** The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust In addition to cash funds held in the bank, the charity holds investments of £277,508 (2023: £268,020) in a variety of investments managed by Waverton Investment Management Limited on a total return basis. ## **Reserves** The current charity unrestricted reserves are £1,259 (2022: £2,907) based on the amount of cash held by the charity in its bank account. These cash reserves allow the charity to operate its day to day business. As funds can be drawn down at any time from its investments, the trustees believe that holding a significant sum of cash reserves is not necessary. The investments held by the charity are producing a total return of around 10% The trustees are satisfied that this return is sufficient to enable to the charity to continue running the piping competition without having to reduce the capital invested. The trustees approved the Trustees’ Report on 9[th] June 2025 and it is signed on their behalf by __________ Trustee and Convener Page **5** of **11** The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust ## **Independent Examiner’s Report** To the trustees of The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust I report on the statement of account of the charity for the period ended 31[st] December 2024, the accounts of which are set out on pages 7 to 11. ## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the statement of account in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of regulation 10(1)(d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. ## **Basis of Independent Examiner’s Statement** My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the statement of account presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. ## **Independent Examiner’s Statement** In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention: 1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: - to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1)(a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and - to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations have not been met, or 2. To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ____________________________ 10[th] June 2025 Name: Address: Tangram Accounting 23 Clark Avenue, Linlithgow, West Lothian, EH49 7A Page **6** of **11** The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust ## **Receipts and Payments Account** For the year ended 31[st] December 2024 |||||**2024**||||**2023**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**||**Restricted**
**Funds**||**Total Funds**||**Total Funds**| |||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**| |**Receipts**||||||||| |Donations||12,500||3,600||16,100||21,075| |Receipts from FundraisingActivities||||||-||-| |Gross TradingReceipts||12,066||-||12,066||12,987| |Inestment Receipts||||||-||-| |**Subtotal**||24,566||3,600||28,166||34,062| |**Receipts from Asset & Investment Sales**||||||||| |Proceeds from sale of investments||17,000||||17,000||15,000| |**Subtotal**||17,000||-||17,000||15,000| |||||||||| |**Total Receipts**||**41,566**||**3,600**||**45,166**||**49,062**| |||||||||| |**Payments**||||||||| |Expenses for FundraisingActivities||||||||-| |Gross TradingPayments||36,915||3,600||40,515||39,789| |Payments RelatingDirectlyto Charitable Activities||5,914||||5,914||6,079| |Governance Costs:||||||-||| |Independent Examination||385||||385||630| |**Subtotal**||**43,214**||**3,600**||**46,814**||**46,498**| |**Payments Relating to Investment Movements**||||||||| |Purchase of Investments||||||||| |**Subtotal**||-||-||-||-| |||||||||| |**Total Payments**||**43,214**||**3,600**||**46,814**||**46,498**| |||||||||| |**Net Receipts/(Payments)**||**(1,648)**||**-**||**(1,648)**||**2,564**| |**Surplus/(Deficit) for theyear**||**(1,648)**||**-**||**(1,648)**||**2,564**| The notes on pages 9 to 11 form an integral part of these accounts Page **7** of **11** The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust ## **Statement of Balances** At 31[st] December 2024 |**Statement of Balances**
At 31stDecember 2024||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||**2024**||||**2023**| |||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**||**Restricted**
**Funds**||**Total Funds**||**Total Funds**| |||**£**||||**£**||**£**| |Cash & Bank Balances at Start of Year||2,907||-||2,907||343| |Surplus/(Deficit)shown on R&P account||(1,648)||-||(1,648)||2,564| |**Cash & Bank Balances at end of Year**||**1,259**||**-**||**1,259**||**2,907**| |||||||||| |**Cash & Bank Accounts**||||||||| |RBS||1,259||-||1,259||2,907| |||1,259||-||1,259||2,907| |||||||||| |**Investments**||||||||| |All investments managed byWaverton Investment Management Ltd||||||||| |Cash||2,448||-||2,448||4,382| |Investments||275,508||-||275,508||263,638| |**Total Investments**||**277,956**||**-**||**277,956**||**268,020**| |||||||||| |Other Assets||||||||| |Medals and trophies||||||||| |||||||||| |Liabilities(estimated)||||||||| |IE Fee||415||||415||385| The notes on pages 9 to 11 form an integral part of these accounts These accounts were approved by the trustees on 9[th] June 2025 and signed on their behalf by Trustee and Treasurer Page **8** of **11** The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust ## **Notes to the Accounts** Year ended 31[st] December 2024 ## **1. Basis of Preparation** These accounts are prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). ## **a. Fund Accounting** **Unrestricted Funds** are those funds which can be used at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity **Restricted Funds** are those funds which can only be used for specific purposes as specified by the donor or when the funds have been raised for a specific purpose. Details of the restricted funds of the charity are given in Note 7 ## **2. Analysis of Receipts** |**2.**
**Analysis of Receipts**||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||**2024**||||**2023**| |||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**||**Restricted**
**Funds**||**Total Funds**||**Total Funds**| |||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**| |**Donations**||||||||| |Donations - Individuals Donations||150||||150||425| |Donations - Charitable Trusts etc||12,350||3,600||15,950||20,650| |**Total Donation**||**12,500**||**3,600**||**16,100**||**21,075**| |||||||||| |**Gross Trading Receipts**||||||||| |Competition EntryFees||4,928||-||4,928||4,745| |Programme Sales||775||-||775||761| |Advertising||1,500||-||1,500||1,500| |Livestream Income||-||-||-||-| |Ticket Sales||4,263||-||4,263||4,321| |Stall Holders||-||-||-||60| |BBC RecordingFee||600||||600||1,600| |**Total Gross Trading Receipts**||**12,066**||**-**||**12,066**||**12,987**| ## **3. Grants and Donations from Charitable Trusts** |||||**2024**|**2024**|| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**||**Restricted**
**Funds**||**Total Funds**| |||**£**||**£**||**£**| |**Donations from Charitable Trusts etc**||||||| |The Royal Celtic SRCS||150||-||150| |Clan Donalds Lands Trust||5,500||-||5,500| |Piobaireachd Society||-||3,250||3,250| |Highland Council Common Good Fund||4,900||-||4,900| |Highland Societyof London||1,500||-||1,500| |Glasgow Highland Club||200||-||200| |CPA||-||350||350| |Northern MeetingCharity||100||-||100| |||**12,350**||**3,600**||**15,950**| Page **9** of **11** The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust ## **4. Analysis of Payments** |**4.**
**Analysis of Payments**||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||**2024**||||**2023**| |||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**||**Restricted**
**Funds**||**Total Funds**||**Total Funds**| |||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**| |**Charitable Activity Payments**||||||||| |Computer,IT & Office Supplies||543||-||543||736| |Honorarium||5,000||-||5,000||5,000| |Town House Reception||250||-||250||250| |Insurance||121||-||121||93| |**Total Direct Charitable Activity Payments**||**5,914**||**-**||**5,914**||**6,079**| |||||||||| |**Gross Trading Payments**||||||||| |AdvertisingPR||-||-||-||-| |Paypal Fees||124||-||124||117| |Eden Court Rental||18,276||-||18,276||19,866| |Stewards Fees||533||-||533||1,480| |Judges Fees||2,378||3,250||5,628||5,250| |Livestream Fees||-||-||-||-| |Meals & Entertainment||2,146||-||2,146||819| |Photography||150||-||150||150| |Prizes||9,013||350||9,363||9,366| |Trophies||1,492||-||1,492||-| |Programme Costs||2,803||-||2,803||2,741| |**Total Gross Trading Payments**||**36,915**||**3,600**||**40,515**||**39,789**| ## **5. Transactions with Trustees and Related Parties** No trustees received any form of remuneration from the charity (2023: nil) One trustee received payment of travel expenses of £6 from the charity (2023: nil) There were no transactions between the charity and any related party (2023: nil) Page **10** of **11** The Northern Meeting Charitable Piping Trust ## **6. Movement of Funds** |**6.**
**Movement of Funds**||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**Opening**
**Balance at**
**31/12/2024**||**Receipts**||**Payments**||**Closing**
**Balance at**
**31/12/2024**| |||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**| |**Unrestricetd Funds**||||||||| |General Fund||2,907||41,537||(43,185)||1,259| |||||||||| |**Restricted Fund**||||||||| |Prizes||-||350||(350)||-| |Senior Competition||-||2,500||(2,500)||-| |Junior Competition||-||750||(750)||-| |**Total Funds**||**2,907**||**45,137**||**(46,785)**||**1,259**| ## **7. Purpose of Funds** |**7.**
**Purpose of Funds**||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**Opening**
**Balance at**
**31/12/2024**||**Receipts**||**Payments**||**Closing**
**Balance at**
**31/12/2024**| |||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**| |**Unrestricetd Funds**||||||||| |General Fund||2,907||41,566||(43,214)||1,259| |||||||||| |**Restricted Fund**||||||||| |Prizes||-||350||(350)||-| |Senior Competition||-||2,500||(2,500)||-| |Junior Competition||-||750||(750)||-| |**Total Funds**||**2,907**||**45,166**||**(46,814)**||**1,259**| ## **Restricted Funds** Prize Fund: This fund comprises donations given specifically to be used toward the cost of prizes for the piping competition. The fund had a closing balance of £0 at the year end. Senior Competition: This fund comprises donations given to be used towards the costs of running the Senior Competition Junior Competition: This fund comprises donations given towards the costs of running the Junior Competition Page **11** of **11** APPENDIX 1 oscr Period start date Period end date Month 12 Year From 01 01 2024 To 31 2024 Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator Reference and administration details Charity name other names charity is known by Registered charity number Charty's principal address The Northem Meeting Charttable Piping Trust SC002731 1 BaMtC￿ Gardens Edinburgh Postcode EH4 6AF Names of the charity truslees on date of approval of T￿￿tees. Annual Report Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted rf not for whole year {or body) entitled to Converbor Treasurer Appointed Feb 2025. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 APPENDIX 1 Reference and administration details Names of all other charity trustees during the period. rf any. {for example. those who resigned part way through the financial period) Dates acted rf not for whole year structure, governance and management Type of governing document The Trust is govemed by its Trust Deed and is managed by the Board of Trustees. The Trustees do not receive any remuneration for their services as Trustees Trustee recrnitment and appointmenl The appointment of Trustees is by unanimous agreement of the existing Trustees and removal is by UnanIm￿J5 agreement of the others. On appointment Tntstees are made familiar with their responsibilthes Objectives and activities Charitable purposes The principal charitable purposes of the Trust are to support the holding of Competi￿n$ and the provision of instnKtion in the playing of Highland bagpipes or other musical instnjments, to encourage the education and interest of the public in the art of music generally and in Scottish Highland music especially. to a￿ange for performances and displays in the playing of Highland bagpipes and other instruments and to promote researth into the fdk music of the Highlands of Sco￿and. Summary of the main activities in relation to these objects The man activty of the Trust is to cryanise and manage the annual Northem Meeting Piping Competrtk)ns in Invemess. These (x)mFetrt￿nS have been held in Invemess since 1841 and are regarded as the most important and preSt￿K)uS solo piping compet"tions of all. attrath.ng the very best players from around the Worfd. Solo pipirrfJ compeb"ts"ons are also held for junior players under the age of 18 from throughout scO￿and and elsewhere. APPENDIX 1 Achievements and performance Surnmary of the rnain achievernents of the charty during the financial period The charity wa5 very ￿eaSed to run the 2024 Northern Meeting Piping CC￿pebtIOnS with the usual high standard of performances and 0rgan15atic￿. The results for the year are set out in the attached ffinarrial statements. The receipts and paYrr￿nts aceount show a defieit for the year of £1,648 12023." surplus of £2,564). The $L￿ement of balances at 31 Deeember 2024 shows a balance of eash funds of £1,25912023. £2,907>. In addition to cash fijnds held in the bank, the charity hokls investments of £275,508 {2023: £263.6381 in a variety of #ivestments managed by Waverton Investsment Management Limited on a total retum basis. ReseNes The current Charity unrestricted reseNes are £1.259 {2022: £2,907) based on the amount of cash held by the charity in its bank account. Financial review Brief statement of the charity's policy The present level of furKling is adequate to support the continuation of on reserves the current activTtEs for the foreseeable fvture and the Twstees consider the financial posrb.on of the Chanty to be adequate. Details of any deficit The receipts and payments account show a deficf( for the year of £1.648 {2023: sUrp￿S of £2.564}. Donated facilities and services (if any) None APPENDIX 1 other optional information Declaration The trustees declare that they have approved Ihe truslees, report above. Signed on behalf of the charity's t￿￿tee9 Signature(s) Full name(s) Position {e.g. Chair) Trustee and Treasurer Date 9.6.25