2025-07-31-accounts - Aberdeen University Students Association

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

Aberdeen University Students’ Association

Trustee Annual Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 July 2025 Charity Number: SC037971

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 1 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Contents

	Page
Reference and Administrative Details	1-2
Report of the Board of Trustees	3-21
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities	22
Independent Auditor’s Report	23-25
Statement of Financial Activities	26
Balance Sheet	27
Statement of Cash Flows	28
Notes to the Financial Statements	29-45

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 2 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Reference and Administrative Details

Principal Address:	Aberdeen University Students’ Association	Aberdeen University Students’ Association
	Student Union Building
	University of Aberdeen
	Elphinstone Road
	Aberdeen
	AB24 3TU
Auditor:	Henderson Loggie LLP
	Level 5
	The Stamp Office
	10 – 14 Waterloo Place
	Edinburgh
	EH1 3EG
Bankers:	Bank of Scotland plc
	The Mound
	Edinburgh
	EH1 1YZ
Charity Number:	SC037971
Chief Executive Officer:	Graeme Kirkpatrick	Resigned on 8 August 2025
	Fiona Heinonen	Appointed on 10 November 2025
Finance Manager:	Michelle Elrick	Resigned on 31 July 2025
	Graham Alexander	Appointed on 13 January 2026
Website:	https://www.ausa.org.uk/

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 3 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Reference and Administrative Details

Aberdeen University Students' Association (“AUSA”) is a registered charity (Scottish Charity No SC037971).

The Trustees of AUSA who served during the reporting period, and those in office at the date of this report, are as follows:

Sabbatical Trustee (Chair) Christina Schmid Sabbatical Trustee Samuel Seymour Sabbatical Trustee Hannah Cowie Sabbatical Trustee Karim Hurtig Sabbatical Trustee Jonathan Dorrat Sabbatical Trustee Tõnis Tilk Sabbatical Trustee Ainhoa Burgos Aguilera Sabbatical Trustee Miles Rothoerl Student Trustee Logan Johnstone Student Trustee Alioune Diop Student Trustee Laura-Joy Gborjoh Student Trustee Alexandra Cretu Student Trustee Jonathan Dorrat External Trustee Nicky Jenkins External Trustee Brenda Hector External Trustee Kasia Burnett External Trustee Kirsten Koss External Trustee Jon Matthews

Appointed on 1 July 2025 Appointed on 1 July 2025

Appointed on 1 July 2025 Resigned on 30 June 2025 Resigned on 30 June 2025 Resigned on 30 June 2025

Appointed on 21 August 2025 Appointed on 21 August 2025 Resigned on 30 June 2025

Appointed on 22 April 2025 Appointed on 2 June 2025

Resigned on 12 November 2024

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 4 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees presents its report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2025. This report is prepared in accordance with the accounting polices set out in note 1 to the Financial Statements. They also comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and Accounting and Reporting by Charities Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing the financial statements in accordance with FRS 102 applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The review of the year forms part of this report.

Objectives and Activities

The purposes of the Aberdeen University's Students' Association as set out in its Constitution are:

the prevention and relief of poverty of students;
the advancement of citizenship and community development;
the advancement of education;
the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture and science;
the advancement of health among students;
the organisation of recreational activities for students who have need of them by reason of financial hardship or other disadvantage;
the promotion of religious and racial harmony;
the promotion of equality and diversity;
the promotion of charitable fundraising activities.

In pursuance of its objects, but not to further any other purpose, the Association may:

provide services and facilities for members;
establish, support, promote and operate a network of student activities for Members;
support any Raising and Giving (RAG) or similar fundraising activities carried out by its Members for charitable causes, including the provision of administrative support, banking facilities and acting as a holding trustee of any fund raised;
alone or with other organisations carry out campaigning activities, seek to influence public opinion and make representations to and seek to influence governmental and other bodies and institutions;
write, make, commission, print, publish or distribute materials or information or assist in these activities;
promote, initiate, develop or carry out education and training and arrange, provide or assist with exhibitions, lectures, meetings, seminars, displays or classes;
promote, encourage, carry out or commission research, surveys, studies or other works and publish useful results;
provide or appoint others to provide advice, guidance, representation and advocacy;
co-operate with other charities and bodies and exchange information and advice with them;
become a member of, affiliate or associate with other charities and bodies;
raise funds and invite and receive contributions provided that the Association shall not carry out any taxable trading activities in raising funds;
set aside funds for special purposes or as reserves against future expenditure;
invest and deal with the Association's money not immediately required for its objects in or upon any investment, securities or property;
delegate the management of investments to an appropriately experienced and qualified financial expert provided stated terms are adhered to;

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 5 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

open and operate banking accounts and other facilities for banking and draw, accept, endorse, negotiate, discount, issue or execute negotiable instruments such as promissory notes or bills of exchange;
trade in the course of carrying out its objects;
establish or acquire subsidiary companies to carry out taxable trade;
subject to Clause 5 of the Constitution, employ and pay employees and professionals or other advisors;
grant pensions and retirement benefits to employees of the Association and to their dependants and to subscribe to funds and schemes for providing pensions and retirement benefits;
pay out of the funds of the Association the cost of any premium in respect of any indemnity insurance to cover the liability of Trustees which by virtue of any rule of law would otherwise attach to them in respect of negligence, default, breach of trust or breach of duty of which they may be guilty in relation to the Association, with the exceptions stated in the Constitution;
do all such lawful things as shall further the Association's objects.

The Association may exercise the following additional powers but only with the prior consent of the University of Aberdeen:

purchase or acquire all or any property, assets, liabilities and engagements of any charity with objects similar to the Association's objects;
purchase, lease, hire or receive property of any kind including land, buildings and equipment and maintain and equip it for use above the value of £15,000;
sell, manage, lease, mortgage, dispose of or deal with all or any of its property;
enter into a significant investment or create a partnership or other similar arrangement with any other entity.

AUSA strategic organisational KPI

1 Purpose
% of students reporting that the union had improved their student experience: 87.6% of UES students agree that participation as a member of a sports team has positively affected their university experience & 83.8% for societies or groups.
2 Represent

National student survey questionnaire score achieved a positivity rating of 73.5% in the 2025 NSS

3 Empower
6,787 Number of students actively engaged with clubs, societies and volunteering
4 Support

Satisfaction rates with advice and advocacy service scored an average of 9.49/10

5 Our people
- Response rate of 91% of colleagues, 61% satisfaction rate that would recommend us as a good place to work
6 Resources
a. £ 51.20 per student head (level of uni investment / # of students)

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 6 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

Achievements During 2024/25

The main achievements and performance of the Students’ Union are presented within the three core areas of its mission: support, empower, and represent. Further details regarding the work undertaken in these areas during the year ending 31 July 2025 are outlined below.

1. Introduction

2024/25 has been another important year for the Students’ Union. We have made progress towards a refreshed strategic direction and aligning our ways of working with this direction.

This paper offers an overview of the data on our engagement, achievements, and impact through student-led activities, representation, campaigns, and student union advice during the academic year 2024/25 to date.

2.0 Executive Summary

Highlights from the year include:

10,000+ Welcome Week engagements.
£66,067 awarded to student activities through grants.
An election turnout of 12.2% (2,109 voters)
A National Student Survey positivity score of 73.5%.
452 advice appointments carried out with 100 students supported at hearing.
6,787 activity memberships, up 323 on the previous year.
811 Class Reps recruited; 356 trained with a 248% increase in in-person training attendance.
Class Rep Conference launched successfully with over 80 attendees.
Activities Conference launched successfully.
New Student Voice Platform SU-ggestions launched: 64 SU-ggestions submitted with 939 votes cast.
1,131 student leaders engaged in Activities committee roles.
£156,323.96 raised by Student Show.

3.0 Achievements During 2024/25

The main achievements and performance of the Students’ Union within the three key areas of its mission so far in the year to 31 July 2025 are as follows:

1. Represent

Forums

SU Liberation Forums were given increased support in the year 24-25. We provided additional support by increasing communication between the SU and Forums, we introduced monthly catch ups to keep up to date with their activities and provide Forums with easy access to support, and improved funding opportunities and access to funds to help wider Liberation work.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 7 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

Class Reps

In 2023/24, the Students’ Union introduced several key changes to enhance the support provided to Class Reps. These improvements laid the foundation for continued development throughout 2024/25.

Highlights from 2023/24 included:

A simplified sign-up process for Class Reps
A new welcome pack with all the essential information to help Reps get started
The reintroduction of in-person training opportunities
Increased networking opportunities through regular coffee catchups between Class Reps and School Conveners

Building on this progress in 2024/25, we made further significant enhancements by transitioning our online training from an external platform to MyAberdeen, a system already familiar to students, making access and engagement easier. We also further developed our in-person training offering, resulting in a 248% increase in attendance.

In total this year, 811 individual students signed up as Class Reps through the Students’ Union. These students held 882 appointments in total. 182 students completed the online training and 174 attended in-person training, reflecting a strong shift back to face-to-face engagement.

Year	Number of Reps Registered	Number of Reps Trained	Percentage Trained
2024/25	811	182 online 174 in person 356 total	44%
2023/24	719	315 online 50 in person 365 total	51%

Class Rep Conference

Following a successful funding application to the Development Trust, we hosted a Class Rep Conference on 26th February at Elphinstone Hall. The event provided an excellent opportunity for Class Reps to develop their skills, connect with fellow representatives, and contribute to shaping the future of Students’ Union democracy as part of our ongoing Democracy Review.

The programme included workshops focused on employability and rep training, a Student Voice roundtable exercise, and a variety of group activities. Attendees also shared feedback with our Induction Experience Interns, which will help inform the ongoing review of the induction process.

The conference welcomed 80 attendees and received largely positive feedback. Each participant received a conference pack containing a tote bag, a quick reference guide, a pen, a reusable coffee cup, and a notebook. We are now analysing feedback and making plans for a similar event next year following this successful pilot.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 8 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

Student Officer Elections

Voting in the 2025 Student Officer Elections took place from 10th to 13th March 2025. A total of 22 candidates stood for election across five positions, which is a decrease of seven candidates compared to our 2024 elections. Voter turnout was 12.2%, which is 2% lower than in 2024. Despite the drop, this represents the third highest level of voter engagement since the introduction of our current officer structure. In total, 2,109 students participated in the elections, casting 8,433 individual votes. The following table shows the turnout trend across the past 5 years.

Student Council

The elections for the 2024/25 Student Council were held in October 2024, with 67 candidates contesting 29 positions, which is an increase of five candidates compared to the previous year. A total of 4,685 votes were cast by 717 voters, resulting in a turnout of 4.4%, down from 6.2% the year before.

Year	Turnout
2024/25	4.4%
2023/24	6.2%
2022/23	8.1%

The newly elected Student Council convened for its first meeting in October 2024 and has since met monthly. Throughout the year, the Council has focused on a variety of student issues. Key activities undertaken have included approving the new Students’ Union strategy, engaging with studentsubmitted SU-ggestions, approved the new ethical framework (building on the work of the previous year’s Student Council), and contributing to the ongoing democracy review culminating in its approval in June 2025.

This year’s approach to a more collaborative discussion-based Student Council has been a productive move and feedback collected has been largely positive.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 9 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

National Student Survey

The Students’ Union achieved a positivity rating of 73.5% in the 2025 National Student Survey, ranking 11th among Scottish institutions. While this reflects a slight decrease from the 2024 score, it remains broadly in line with the Scottish sector average and in line with the benchmark. The 2025 result is still higher than scores recorded in any of the previous five years, continuing the overall upward trend.

NSS results	Response rate	Student Population	Q25/26 %	Scottish Ranking	Sector average
2021	61.2%	2023	56.0%	5th	53.3%
2022	64.0%	2155	49.0%	13th	52.6%
2023	58.6%	2011	68.4%	14th	71.9%
2024	59.5%	1955	76.0%	Joint 5th	72.9%
2025	69.4%	2193	73.5%	11th	73.6%

Annual General Meeting

The Students’ Union Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place on February 11, 2025, successfully meeting quorum at the first time of asking with over 380 attendees. The AGM provided a key opportunity for students to learn about the Students’ Union's work and influence future initiatives. Topics covered included the need for a new sports strategy, our democracy review, and the launch of the SU-ggestions platform.

SU-gguestions

As part of our efforts to be more responsive to student needs and make it easier for students to let us know what they think we should be working on, we launched our SU-ggestions platform in February 2025. Led by Vice President for Education, Miles, this platform empowers students to propose and vote on initiatives aimed at improving university life. The process is designed to be accessible and transparent where students submit ideas via a simple online form, and all students can vote to prioritise them. Ideas reaching 10 votes receive a formal written response from an SU Officer, outlining current or planned actions, while policy-related suggestions with 30 or more votes are escalated for consideration at Student Council. This initiative not only strengthens democratic participation but also ensures that student-led ideas are meaningfully integrated into our decision-making. As part of our Democracy Review, we continue to monitor engagement levels and are exploring further ways to increase visibility and participation across the student body in any new policy making processes. At the end of the first term of operation, we had received 64 suggestions, with 196 students interacting with the system, casting 939 votes.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 10 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

Democracy Review

In 2024/25 we conducted a thorough Democracy Review to understand better how we could improve the ways in which we represent students. To ensure an objective and thorough evaluation, we engaged Coole Insight Ltd to conduct the review and provide an independent assessment of the performance and effectiveness of our representative structures. Our scope for this work included:

Our policy-making procedures.
The role and remit of our Student Council.
Our Liberation and Section Forums and how they fit within our structures.
Our Class Representative system.
Assessing the number and responsibilities of Elected Student Officers.
Our official links to university decision-making processes.
Digital democracy and modernising our approach to decision-making.
Enhancing engagement with hard-to-reach and underrepresented groups.

The final report, including recommendations for change was presented to the Student Council in June for approval. The recommendations included:

The development of a new coherent Class Rep System giving us a clear mandate to reform and improve how class representation is delivered
The implementation of a new Community Organising Model that meets students where they are, rather than forcing them into outdated representation structures
A move from an exclusive Student Council to open Student Assemblies
A Student Executive to drive forward student priorities
A proposal to consider how we ensure that our Officer Structure is purpose-led and provides effective political representation
Eliminating the confusion of multiple naming conventions (groups, forums, clubs, societies, networks) and a move to a new simplified structure where all students can belong either to a ‘Student Community’ (e.g. liberation, belonging, or academic identity) or a ‘Student Group’ (e.g. society, sports club, or project)
Improve training and feedback opportunities to support these structures throughout all levels.

Our goal is to implement meaningful, lasting change through a modern, student-led structure that supports impactful campaigning and representation. The key to success for us is to remove as many barriers as possible and create a system that is straightforward for students to engage with.

It is hoped that through these changes we can build a representative structure that reflects our values of being helpful, inclusive, and student focussed.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 11 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

2. Empower

Student Activities

A lot of effort has gone into streamlining the reaffiliation process for students and make the SU policies and procedures as transparent as possible. Through this, it has been easier to identify those that are not active. This resulted in a decrease in the number of societies reaffiliating with us this year, however those who have are more engaged and active and this has clearly had a positive impact on membership numbers. 22/23 23/24 24/25 Difference from last year Total 260 353 213 -140 Sports Clubs 61 58 59 +1 Societies 199 253 115 -139 Affiliated/adopted - 42 39 -3 ~~=———~~ Up for adoption 29 21 20 -1 Notes: Ice skating moved from being a society to being a sport this year. Memberships

Despite the number of Student Activities dropping, there has been a sizable increase in membership numbers. As you can see in the chart below, we are nearly back to pre-COVID membership for sport and have surpassed pre-COVID memberships for societies. Full time enrolment numbers are about the same.

Activities memberships 1/8 - 15/5 2019- 2020 2020- 2021 2021- 2022 2022- 2023 2023- 2024 2024- 2025 +/- on previous year Sports Union 3,543 1,688 2,791 2,916 2,903 3,157 +254 Societies Union 3,607 1,766 3,154 3,608 3,561 3,630 +69 Total 7,150 3,454 5,945 6,524 6,464 6,787 +323 ~~eee~~
Committee Leadership
The main demonstration of community leadership is through the leadership of our student activities.
Overall, committee positions held decreased less than the number of student activities.

This year saw the first Activities Conference. A full day of training was provided in a conference style	This year saw the first Activities Conference. A full day of training was provided in a conference style
format for Student Activity Committee memberships. This went so well in September we repeated the
event in April.
Committeepositions filled 2023/2024 2024/2025 Difference Sport 507 516 +9 Societies 630 615 -15 Total 1,137 1,131 -6 ~~———~~

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 12 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

Events

September 2024 (Freshers) Welcome Week

We had a fantastic Welcome Week, taking place from 14-22 September 2024. The whole of the SU team pulled together to deliver an amazing week of events.

The SU delivered 26 events, an increase on the 22 that we hosted the year before.

The Welcome fayre saw 8000 students attend over the two days – similar to the year before with a similar number of new students starting. There were 166 student activity stalls 22 external stalls hosted – also inline to the year before. Given the limitation of the venue, there was little way to fit in more safely.

We estimate that over 10,000 students engaged with us through our events throughout the week.

January 2025 Welcome Week

January 2024 saw our first Welcome Week branded events. This was done as a trial as there is a trend across the sector to move away from the term ‘Freshers’ and move towards a more inclusive brand throughout the entire year. There was little negative feedback to this it was decided to take it forward to September 2025.

The SU hosted the fayres over two days for the first time as Student Activities indicated the demand. We had 83 student stalls over the two days and 6 external stalls. We had 3,000 students attend the Welcome Fayre. The SU team hosted 16 events over the January welcome week.

Granite City Challenge

This is the varsity challenge between UoA and our neighbours Robert Gordon University (RGU). The event was co-hosted over 2 weeks - 23 sports that took place with 25 fixtures. Over 200 students took part. UoA winning 16 events to 9 against RGU overall.

Activities Ball

The third Activities Ball was held on 19th March 2025. 410 guests attended the Beach ballroom to celebrate this year’s achievements from the Sports & Societies. 35 different sports clubs (85%) and 6 different societies (15%) of student activities represented. Tickets included an arrival drink, 2 course dinner, photo booth, awards presentation, and a ceilidh. The event saw a stark drop in engagement, seeing only 68% of the number of attendees seen compared to the year before. We requested feedback from students and the trends in the feedback showed that there is a movement to clubs having their own balls/celebrations and the ticket price was high. We also had feedback from societies that the event was very sport focused the previous year as a large number of the attendees were from sports clubs. This meant that societies did not wish to engage at the level they had previously. The SU has been requesting feedback for the upcoming year and there seems to still be an appetite for the event in the combined activities format, however there is some work to do on our part to get costs down and ensure that the societies feel included.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 13 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

Award Winners

Individual Award	Number of Nominations 22/23	Number of Nominations 23/24	Awarded 22/23	Awarded 23/24	No. of different Sports / Societies 23/24	Number of 24/25 winners
½ Blues	22	40	21	30	16 sports	27
Full Blues	40	40	24 Individual s	33	15 sports	24
King’s Award with Merit	20	18	10 Individual s	16	16 Societies	17
King’s Award with Distinction	17	30	10 Individual s	27	11 Societies	21
Colours	35	7	33 Individual s	5	5 Sports	30
Colours with Distinction	25	26	24 Individual s	19	7 Sports	25
~~=~~	159 ~~=~~	161 ~~=~~	~~=~~	~~=~~	~~=~~	~~=~~

Sport and Society Overall Awards

Award	No. of nominations	Shortlisted	Winner
Blues’ Bowl(Fresher of the Year)	58	3	Matthew Thomson
Most Dedicated Society	13	6	Law
CentenaryCup (Event)	4	3	ABDN Snow
Sandy Morrison memorial Trophy (Athlete of the Yr)	5	3	Faye Rogers
Best Event	30	4	Dance – Silver City
AJM Memorial Award	6	3	Karolína Martinčová
Societyof the Year	38	5	Cold Water Dunking
Allender Memorial Trophy (Club of the Yr)	18	5	Law Football Club

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 14 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

3. Support

Students’ Union Advice

During the 2024/25 academic year, our Advice Service has continued to evolve to better meet the needs of students. To clarify team responsibilities, improve casework allocation, and strengthen relationships with stakeholders, we introduced a new staffing structure that includes an Advice Lead role. This position was filled in January 2025, and we were pleased to welcome another new advisor in April.

Additionally, we reviewed our casework software provision and transitioned away from the Case Manager platform previously provided through our website provider MSL to Advice Pro. This move opens a range of benefits through associated organisation Advice UK, who can provide training and support for our advisors.

We supported students thought 452 student appointments and attended 100 hearings to represent students. In total, we opened 217 cases in 2024/25. The chart below indicates the proportional breakdown of the cases we opened.

Chart 1: Breakdown of advice case types

At the beginning of 2024/25, the University introduced a new competency check for appeals and delegated responsibility for decisions about resits and student engagement to Schools. This is reflected in our casework, with total number of cases and hearings lower than previous years. We made and continue to make efforts to ensure students are aware that we provide support for these issues.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 15 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

The competency check introduced a new level of complexity to an already complex process. Consequently, we developed resources to better support students, including creating student-focused flow charts and pre-hearing handouts for all types of cases. We have also updated our Terms of Service to clearly outline what students can expect from our support and how we can help them in navigate the often-complex processes within the University.

To provide a more nuanced understanding of our service, we enhanced the quality of data we gather. For instance, in semester 2 we know that student appointments had a 97% attendance rate. We also know that of 172 casework enquiries in semester 2, we supported 142 as cases (81.61%).

Satisfaction with the service remained high with the average ratings for satisfaction, how likely students are to use the service again, and how likely they are to recommend the service, all measuring above 9 out of 10. Qualitative data provided by students indicates high levels of satisfaction, with most students reporting that they found the service helpful and effective. One student said, “This is the only place at the university where I feel comfortable seeking help at any time. The team is incredibly supportive, especially for international students.”

Financial Support for Sports Clubs and Societies

Over 72 funding applications were received this academic year for a total of £173,428.51 requested. Below is a breakdown of the requested funds.

Chart 2: Breakdown of requested funds

Chart 3: Breakdown of the monies requested and awarded.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 16 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

==> picture [390 x 209] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Funding Requested and Awarded
Media Fund
SEF
Sports Grant
Societies Grant
0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 300000
r Amount awarded r Amount applied for
----- End of picture text -----

Sports & Societies Grants alone received a request for £315,739.29, up £58,072.25 from last year.

Chart 4: Origins of Grant Funding

The total money students requested through all funding channels this year was £356,424.84.

A Total of £66,067.50, was awarded to student Activities this academic year. £44,105.55 of that funding is Union Fees, £19,177.39 is funding provided by the Development Trust for the Student Experience Fund (SEF). The media grant funding of £2,784.56 was awarded from the SU block grant.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 17 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

4.0 Foundation Themes

Our People – We are a high-quality employer that provides Real Living Wage to all colleagues and we are working towards developing a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Policy to retain and develop colleagues. 63% of our colleagues would recommend our organisation as a good place to work.

Our Governance - We continue to ensure that our governance, both through the Board of Trustees and through our democratic structures are appropriate and meet all our legal and statutory obligations.

Our Resources - £ per student (level of Uni investment/# of students)

	Block Grant Amount	Student Numbers (from Student Records)	(from Amount per student
2023/24	£ 1,015,764	20,752	£ 48.95
2024/25	£ 1,015,764	19,841	£ 51.20

Sustainability

Over the last year the team organised a community café every two weeks during term time. These events are held every other Thursday in Union Brew using mainly food that would go to waste. The average attendance at each event was 42 students.

Through this and other initiatives 5 tonnes of food were redistributed.

Secret Garden society are active in the student gardens with 34 volunteers. Students are utilising space that would otherwise be left unused.

We wound down our bike hire service and donated 19 bikes to BECYCLE SCIO, the on-campus community run bike charity.

The Swap Shop continued to operate both on the Old Aberdeen campus as well as at Foresterhill campus.

The Zero-Waste Shop continues to operate on the ground floor of the Students’ Union Building. It completed £1,849.92 in sales with £2.23 as the average sale. Over £1,000 has been made from transactions that are £0.50 or less.

Carbon literacy training took place led by SU staff. 29 Students completed full day carbon literacy training, an increase on the 16 from the previous year.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 18 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

5.0 Conclusion and Outlook

2024/25 has been a year of strategic progress, democratic reform, and strong student engagement for the Students’ Union. Participation in societies and sports has grown significantly, while leadership involvement remains strong. Major democratic developments - including the launch of the SUggestions platform and completion of a comprehensive Democracy Review - have laid the groundwork for a more inclusive, modern representation structure. Student support services have been strengthened through structural changes and system improvements, maintaining very high satisfaction rates. Alongside enhanced sustainability initiatives, and increased training engagement, the Union continues to demonstrate meaningful impact across representation, empowerment, and support for students.

5.1 Future Outlook

For 2025/26 we are aiming to aiming to continue our positive trend for activities membership while strengthening the representational function of the Students’ Union. We want to make progress on the incorporation to address one of our key risks. We are also aiming to improve the financial position of Union Brew.

Risk Management

The Association has endeavoured to minimise risk through appropriate training for Trustees and colleagues, a risk register is regularly reviewed and approved by The Board of Trustees. The Risk Register format now separates actions into two columns: Controls, which record permanent or standing measures, and Mitigating Actions, which capture measures that are currently in progress or have been completed.

In 2024-25 the main areas of concern remained insufficient funding including viability of Union Brew, and being unincorporated. Further risk reduction focus was around closure of the individual sports club and society Bank of Scotland accounts, transferring all funds to an electronic dashboard to support Student Group Finances. This was a complex project and student perceptions, and experiences were managed throughout as we capture better insights into students’ needs and the use of their funds.

		The other main risks outlined are summarised as follows:
		Risk Probability Impact Mitigating Actions Governance: • Inability to recruit suitable Trustees; • Lack of appropriate skills on the Board; • Insufficient/ inappropriate reporting to Trustees; Medium High • Robust Trustee recruitment and training policies in place; • Skill matrix used to identify skills required on the Board; • Finance Reporting systems inplace; ~~aim~~
		17
AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 19 / 48	AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 19 / 48	AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 19 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

Report of the Board of Trusteesport of the Board of Trusteesort of the Board of Trustees
• Failure to ensure good organisational governance; • Deterioration of relationship with the University. • Status as an unincorporated charity.			• Adherence to Education Act; • Open and transparent dialogue maintained with the University. • Incorporation will be a priority for 26-27.
Financial sustainability: • Insufficient funding levels. • Fraud or error causing financial loss. • External parties unable to pay invoices as per contracts in place.	High Medium	High	• Clear business planning and budgeting process; • Regular finance reporting to the Board; • Appropriate monitoring of management accounts; • Annual review of Insurance Policies. • External audit process in place. • Thorough process in place for processing, agreeing, approving and storing contracts
Compliance: • Failure to comply with relevant legislation; • Breach of intellectual property • Serious accident/death during a student activity. • External facing societies/groups reputational damage.	Medium	High	~~•~~ Code of Practice to Ensure Compliance with Part II of the Education Act 1994~~;~~ • Agreement in place with website provider • Induction and training for colleagues and Elected Officers; • Advice from external professionals, including University HR, sought as required; • Health and safety policies regularly reviewed and appropriate risk assessment processes in place.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 20 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

Report of the Board of Trusteesport of the Board of Trusteesort of the Board of Trustees
Operational: • Staffing issues including high turnover, poor morale; • Poor service provided to members; • Inappropriate contractual arrangements with external partners. • Closure of sports club and society bank accounts and launch of the new electronic dashboard, Student Group Finance (SGF).	Medium	High	• Appropriate training and induction; • Staff engagement survey carried out; • Employee assistance Programme (EAP) available; • Contracts Policy and associated procedures in place.
Member engagement: • Levels of student engagement decreasing; • Turnout in Elections decreases; • Student run activities are dissatisfied; • Incorrect advice given to students; • Damage to reputation caused by society, sports club or student group through inappropriate student behaviour at events or outside AUSA premises/activities; • NSS Score decreases; • Equipment theft • Reputational damage caused during transition onto Student Group Finance platform •	Medium/High	High	• Work ongoing to develop and implement new ways to engage and support students; • Consideration being given to review all elections regulations; • Facilities available within the SU building, Hillhead and Butchart • Training provided to societies and sports clubs; • Regular discussions and support sought from the University; • Risk assessment process in place for high-risk activities or activities which pose a risk to reputation; • Process undertaken to develop strategy in line with member views • Review and update asset register • Designated approval process at various levels for committee and staff.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 21 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

Report of the Board of Trusteesport of the Board of Trusteesort of the Board of Trustees
			More autonomy for members to claim expenses. Visible timeline of approvals and submissions.
Commercial Activity • Café Bar is financially unviable; • Failure to comply with relevant legislation and standards; • Lack of success affects reputation.	Medium	High	• Monthly financial reporting in place; • Promotions and offers being implemented and developed further; • Trained staff in place; • Marketing and promotion being implemented.

AUSA Strategic Plan

In addition to its constitution, AUSA’s work is guided by our Purpose, Values and Pillars, as set out in its Strategic Plan for 2025-2040.

Our Purpose is:

“To ‘improve students lives’- Every graduating student at the University of Aberdeen will report that the Students’ Union made their time at university better..”

Our Pillars are:

“To Represent, Empower and Support”

Our values:

The way we do things is as important as what we achieve. As an organisation we will be:

Student Focused:Students always come first in everything we do

Inclusive:-

Every student will have the same opportunities at the Students’ Union no matter what their background, campus or mode of study.

Helpful:-

We will help any student with an issue. We will go the extra mile to help a student wherever and whenever we can.

Finance and Governance

In the year ended 31 July 2025, the Association reported an unrestricted net expenditure of £36,591 (2024: £43,691) and a restricted net income of £3,690 (2024: £29,668 net expenditure). This resulted in an overall net deficit for the year of £32,901 (2024: £73,359).

During the year, a total of £56,641 (2024: £nil) was transferred from unrestricted funds to restricted funds. This reflects the release of amounts where funder-imposed restrictions had been relinquished, followed by transfers required to address overspends on certain restricted projects.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 22 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Report of the Board of Trustees

At 31 July 2025, total funds stood at £410,752, compared with £443,653 at the previous year end. Unrestricted funds amounted to £58,970 (2024: £111,921), while restricted funds totalled £351,782 (2024: £331,732).

Plans for the Association to convert into an Incorporated Association remain under review by the Board of Trustees.

Financial Reserves

The Association aims to ensure that sufficient reserves are in place to guarantee its long-term sustainability and to provide funds for service and facility improvements. The minimum level of reserves required to ensure the Association can meets its commitments over a three-month period should they get into financial difficulty is currently estimated at £211,000. At 31 July 2025 the level of unrestricted reserves held was £351,782.

Provision of Information to Auditor

So far as the Trustees are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Association's auditor is unaware and we have taken all the necessary steps that we ought to have taken as Trustees in order to make ourselves aware of all the relevant audit information and to establish that the Association's auditor is aware of that information.

Approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Christina Schmid - 2026-03-31, 13:24:30 UTC …………………………………..

Christina Schmid

Student President July 2024 – Present

31 March 2026

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 23 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in Scotland requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the Association and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the Association for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP (FRS 102);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed; and
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Association will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Association and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the provisions of the charity's constitution. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Association and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 24 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Independent Auditor’s Report To the Trustees of Aberdeen University Students’ Association

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Aberdeen University Students’ Association (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 July 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the cash flow statement and notes to the financial statements, including 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 statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charity’s affairs as at 31 July 2025, 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 and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

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 auditor 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

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions 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 responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Report of the Trustees, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Report of the Trustees. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information 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 determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 25 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Independent Auditor’s Report To the Trustees of Aberdeen University Students’ Association

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 (Scotland) Regulations 2006 requires 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
proper 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 trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements which give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements 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 trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and report in accordance with regulations made under 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.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

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 extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below:

As part of our planning process:

We enquired of management the systems and controls the charity has in place, the areas of the financial statements that are mostly susceptible to the risk of irregularities and fraud, and whether there was any known, suspected or alleged fraud. Management informed us that there were no instances of known, suspected or alleged fraud;
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks applicable to the charity. We determined that the following were most relevant: Health and Safety, employment law, bar regulation and compliance with charity legislation;
We considered the incentives and opportunities that exist in the charity, including the extent of management bias, which present a potential for irregularities and fraud to be perpetrated, and tailored our risk assessment accordingly; and
Using our knowledge of the charity, together with the discussions held with management at the planning stage, we formed a conclusion on the risk of misstatement due to irregularities including fraud and tailored our procedures according to this risk assessment.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 26 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Independent Auditor’s Report To the Trustees of Aberdeen University Students’ Association

The key procedures we undertook to detect irregularities including fraud during the course of the audit included:

Inquiry of management about any known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud;
Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
Reviewing the charity’s policies and procedures in relation to health and safety, employment law and data protection;
Review legal and professional expenditure incurred in the year;
Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in their significant accounting estimates, in particular the accuracy and completeness of accruals; and
Auditing the risk of management override of controls, including through testing journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is unavoidable risk that some material misstatements in the financial statements may not be detected, even though the audit is properly planned and performed in accordance with the ISAs (UK). For instance, the further removed non-compliance is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the auditor is to become aware of it or to recognise the non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. The primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of irregularities and fraud rests with the trustees.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees 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 trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

[ Keith Macpherson - 2026-03-31, 14:23:27 UTC tender Logie We

…………………………………………

Henderson Loggie LLP

Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor

Henderson Loggie LLP is eligible to act as auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

Level 5 The Stamp Office 10 – 14 Waterloo Place Edinburgh EH1 3EG

31 March 2026

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 27 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association

Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating the income and expenditure account) For the year ended 31 July 2025

	Unrestricted	Unrestricted	Restricted	2025	Unrestricted	Restricted	2024
		funds	funds	Total	Funds	Fund	Total
	Note	£	£	£	£	£	£
Income
Voluntary income	2	1,015,764	-	1,015,764	1,015,764	5,000	1,020,764
Activities for raising funds	3	142,942	-	142,942	180,610	-	180,610
Investment income	4	1,094	-	1,094	1,097	-	1,097
Income from charitable activities	5	75,364	293,225	368,589	121,900	285,960	407,860
		-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------
Total income		1,235,164	293,225	1,528,389	1,319,371	290,960	1,610,331
		-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------
Expenditure
Fundraising trading	6	130,879	-	130,879	186,090	5,000	191,090
Charitable activities	7	1,140,876	289,535	1,430,411	1,176,972	315,628	1,492,600
		-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------
Total expenditure		1,271,755	289,535	1,561,290	1,363,062	320,628	1,683,690
		-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------
Net income/(expenditure)
before transfers		(36,591)	3,690	(32,901)	(43,691)	(29,668)	(73,359)
Transfers		56,641	(56,641)	-	-	-	-
		-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------
Net movement in funds		20,050	(52,951)	(32,901)	(43,691)	(29,668)	(73,359)
Total funds at 31 July 2024		331,732	111,921	443,653	375,423	141,589	517,012
		-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------	-------------
Total funds at 31 July 2025	13, 14	351,782	58,970	410,752	331,732	111,921	443,653
		========	========	========	========	========	========

All of the above activities relate to continuing operations.

The notes on pages 29 to 45 form part of these financial statements.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 28 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Balance Sheet as at 31 July 2025

			2025		2024
	Note		£		£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	10		5,978		7,971
			------------		------------
Current assets
Stock		3,866		2,496
Debtors	11	170,168		42,919
Cash and bank		442,456		473,756
		------------		------------
		616,490		519,171
Creditors
Amounts falling due within
one year	12	(211,716)		(83,489)
		------------		------------
Total current assets			404,774		435,682
			------------		------------
Total assets less current
liabilities			410,752		443,653
			=======		=======
Funds
General funds	14		351,782		331,732
Restricted funds	14		58,970		111,921
			------------		------------
			410,752		443,653
			=======		=======

These financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Christina Schmid - 2026-03-31, 13:24:30 UTC

…………………………………..

Christina Schmid

Student President July 2024 – Present

31 March 2026

The notes on pages 29 to 45 form part of these financial statements.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 29 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 July 2025

			2025		2024
	Note	£	£	£	£
Cash provided by operating	18		(32,394)		(75,836)
activities
Cash flows from investing
activities
Interest received		1,094		1,097
		-------------		-------------
Cash provided by/(used in)			1,094		1,097
investing activities
			-------------		-------------
Increase/(decrease) in cash
and cash equivalents in the year			(31,300)		(74,739)
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the year			473,756		548,495
Total cash and cash equivalents at			-------------		-----------
the end of the year			442,456		473,756
			=======		=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 30 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

1. Principal accounting policies

(i) Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) effective 1 January 2019 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).

Aberdeen University Students' Association meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the association. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

(ii) Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the trustees believe that while the financial environment remains challenging, no material uncertainty exists in respect of the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for at least 12 months from authorising these financial statements. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves and assets for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.

(iii) Income recognition

All income is accounted for on an accruals basis. Income is recognised when the Association is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Voluntary income including donation, grants and gifts that provide core funding are of general nature and are recognised where there is entitlement, certainty of receipt and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability. Such income is only deferred when:

the donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods; or
the donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the charity has unconditional entitlement.

Interest on bank deposits is credited in the year in which they are received.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 31 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

1. Principal accounting policies (continued)

(iv) Expenditure

All expenditure is included on an accruals basis and is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay for expenditure, it is probable that a settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Charitable activities include expenditure associated with the provision of the Association's facilities
Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with the constitutional and statutory requirements.
Support costs include central functions and have been allocated on a basis with the use of resources.

Certain expenditure is directly attributable to specific activities and has been included in those cost categories. Certain other costs, which are attributable to more than one activity, are apportioned across cost categories on an appropriate basis.

(v) Funds

In the Statement of Financial Activities, funds are classified as either restricted funds or unrestricted funds, defined as follows:

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the Trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Transfers are made between unrestricted and restricted funds of the surplus/deficit remaining on completion of a project.

(vi) Irrecoverable VAT

Irrecoverable VAT is included under the cost heading to which it relates.

The Association has been granted charitable status by HMRC and is therefore not liable to taxation.

(vii) Donations in kind

Donated facilities and services are consumed immediately and are recognised as income, with an equivalent amount recognised as an expense under the appropriate heading in the statement of financial activities (SoFA). They are measured on the basis of the value of the gift. The University of Aberdeen provides facilities and utilities to the Association that enables them to carry out their charitable activities.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 32 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

1. Principal accounting policies (continued)

(viii) Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided on all tangible assets at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset on a straight-line basis over its useful life as follows:

Plant & Equipment

25% straight line method

Assets with a value of less than £2,500 are expensed in the Statement of Financial Activities during the year they are incurred.

(ix) Stock

Stock represents goods held for resale in the Union Brew bar café, and stocks of student parking permits held for resale. Stock is valued at the lower of cost, or net realisable value.

(x) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

(xi) Cash at bank

Cash at bank includes cash held in a deposit or similar account.

(xii) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount.

(xiii) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

(xiv) Pensions

A defined benefit scheme is operated by the University of Aberdeen on behalf of the Association for the benefit of some of its employees. The scheme is a multiemployer pension scheme and it is not possible to identify the assets and liabilities of the scheme which are attributable to the Association. In accordance with FRS102 therefore, the scheme is accounted for as a defined contribution scheme. Contributions payable are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period they are payable.

(xv) Funds held on behalf of Sports Clubs and Societies

The Association holds funds on behalf of affiliated Sports Clubs and Societies. These funds are administered by the Association but remain under the control of the respective committees. In accordance with Charities SORP (FRS 102) Module 19, these funds are not recognised as assets or liabilities of the Association. At 31 July 2025, the Association held £646,425 on behalf of Sports Clubs and Societies (2024: £nil). The bank balances reported in these financial statements do not include these amounts, as the funds do not form part of the Association’s assets.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 33 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

(xvi) Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

The key areas involving estimation uncertainty and critical judgement are as follows:

Accuracy of Accruals

The recognition of accruals and deferred income involves estimating costs attributable to the reporting period where invoices are not yet received. These estimates are reviewed regularly and adjusted where necessary, but actual outcomes may differ.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 34 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

2. Voluntary income

		Unrestricted	Restricted		Unrestricted	Restricted
		funds	funds	2025	funds	funds	2024
		£	£	£	£	£	£
Disbursements from University of Aberdeen		1,015,764	-	1,015,764	1,015,764	5,000	1,020,764
		=======	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======
3.	Activities for raising funds
		Unrestricted	Restricted		Unrestricted	Restricted
		funds	funds	2025	funds	funds	2024
		£	£	£	£	£	£
Activities ball		18,814	-	18,814	22,290	-	22,290
Graduation ball		9,685	-	9,685	12,977	-	12,977
Union Brew sales		77,043	-	77,043	102,154	-	102,154
Marketing and commercial services		37,400	-	37,400	43,189	-	43,188
		-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------
		142,942	-	142,942	180,610	-	180,610
		=======	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======
4.	Investment income
		Unrestricted	Restricted		Unrestricted	Restricted
		funds	funds	2025	funds	funds	2024
		£	£	£	£	£	£
Interest on cash deposit		1,094	-	1,094	1,097	-	1,097
		=======	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 35 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

5. Income from charitable activities
	Unrestricted	Restricted		Unrestricted	Restricted
	funds	funds	2025	funds	funds	2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
General	3,668	13,460	17,128	5,782	12,666	18,448
Sustainability projects	2,312	4,400	6,712	550	9,703	10,253
RAG -Fundraising	-	-	-	-	826	826
Sports	48,102	20,000	68,102	44,819	-	44,819
Fresher’s Week and Refreshers	6,474	-	6,474	4,537	-	4,537
Transport and vehicles	5,688	-	5,688	57,295	-	57,295
Societies	9,120	-	9,120	8,917	-	8,917
University of Aberdeen Development Trust Grants
- Student Experience Fund	-	36,300	36,300	-	36,300	36,300
- Other	-	-	-	-	7,400	7,400
Donations in kind	-	219,065	219,065	-	219,065	219,065
	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------
	75,364	293,225	368,589	121,900	285,960	407,860
	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======

Donations in kind were received from the University of Aberdeen for rent and utility costs.

6. Expenditure on fundraising activities

	Unrestricted	Restricted		Unrestricted	Restricted
	funds	funds	2025	funds	funds	2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Activities Ball	16,899	-	16,899	26,282	-	26,282
Graduation Ball	5,715	-	5,715	4,022	-	4,022
Union Brew	106,471	-	106,471	153,325	5,000	158,325
Marketing & commercial	1,794	-	1,794	2,461	-	2,461
	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------
	130,879	-	130,879	186,090	5,000	191,090
	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 36 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association

Notes to the Financial Statements

7. Cost of charitable activities

7. Cost of charitable activities
	Unrestricted	Restricted		Unrestricted	Restricted
	funds	funds	2025	funds	funds	2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Student representation	531,330	62,464	593,794	525,005	9,662	534,667
Sports	173,333	804	174,137	187,542	28,079	215,621
Societies	-	-	-	5,730	-	5,730
Aberdeen Student Fund Grants paid
- Sports clubs	-	-	-	-	13,502	13,502
- Societies	-	-	-	-	13,139	13,139
Election expenses and democratic review	804	-	804	1,306	-	1,306
Fresher’s Week and Refreshers	7,668	-	7,668	13,472	6	13,478
Training	6,085	-	6,085	27,045	-	27,045
Corporate and software subscriptions	72,455	-	72,455	69,475	-	69,475
Insurances	27,902	-	27,902	25,540	-	25,540
Sustainability Project	32,110	5,641	37,751	5,168	31,114	36,282
Support costs
- Professional services	3,112	-	3,112	4,089	-	4,089
- Recruitment fees	1,768	-	1,768	263	-	263
- Staffing	264,057	-	264,057	241,675	-	241,675
Transport/vehicles	6,282	-	6,282	54,224	-	54,224
Campaigns	502	1,061	1,563	1,284	-	1,284
Governance costs (note 9)	9,975	-	9,975	9,500	-	9,500
Rent and utility costs (note 5)	-	219,065	219,065	-	219,065	219,065
Depreciation	1,993	-	1,993	1,934	-	1,934
Media Fund	1,500	-	1,500	3,720	-	3,720
RAG - fundraising costs	-	500	500	-	310	310
RAG - donations to local charities	-	-	-	-	751	751
	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------
	1,140,876	289,535	1,430,411	1,176,972	315,628	1,492,600
	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 37 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

8. Total staffing costs

Total staffing costs, included within the expense categories at Note 7 were as follows:

	Unrestricted	Restricted		Unrestricted	Restricted
	funds	funds	2025	funds	funds	2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Wages and salaries	712,703	1,412	714,115	693,144	27,010	720,154
Employers’ national insurance	68,041	-	68,041	55,281	1,877	57,158
Employers’ pension contributions	72,479	-	72,479	61,678	472	62,150
	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------	-----------
	853,223	1,412	854,635	810,103	29,359	839,462
	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======	=======
Average number of employees in year					2025	2024
					No.	No.
Administrative (including student staff)					23	24
Sabbatical Officers					5	5
Union Brew (including student staff)					9	11
					-----------	-----------
					37	40
					=======	=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 38 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

8. Total staffing costs (continued)

There was one employee earning £60,000 to £70,000 (2024: one), who received total employee benefits (excluding employer's pension costs).

Remuneration paid to 8 (2024: 8) Trustees in their capacity as Sabbatical Officers totalling £116,078 (2024: £109,601).

No remuneration was paid to any individual in their capacity as Trustee, who is not a Sabbatical Officer.

Expenses totalling £2,787 (2024: £2,080) were paid to 5 (2024: 8) Trustees as reimbursement of authorised personal expenditure, incurred for travel and other incidental expenses.

Pensions

A defined benefit scheme is operated by the University of Aberdeen on behalf of the Association for the benefit of some of it’s employees. In addition, some employees are members of the NEST Pension Scheme.

Contributions payable to both these schemes are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period they are payable.

Key Management Personnel

The total remuneration of those considered to be key management personnel in the year (including pension contributions and Employers’ National Insurance) was £263,389 (2024: £245,765).

9.	Governance costs
		2025	2024
		£	£
Audit fee	Audit fee	9,975	9,500
		-----------	-----------
		9,975	9,500
		=======	=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 39 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

10. Tangible assets
	Plant and	Plant and
	Equipment	Equipment
	Unrestricted	Restricted
	funds	funds	Total
	£	£	£
Cost
At 1 August 2024	36,518	86,781	123,299
Additions	-	-	-
Disposals	-	-	-
	-----------	-----------	------------
At 31 July 2025	36,518	86,781	123,299
	-----------	-----------	------------
Depreciation
At 1 August 2024	28,547	86,781	115,328
Charge for year	1,993	-	1,993
On disposals	-	-	-
	-----------	-----------	------------
At 31 July 2025	30,540	86,781	117,321
	-----------	-----------	------------
Net book value
At 31 July 2025	5,978	-	5,978
	=======	=======	=======
At 31 July 2024	7,971	-	7,971
	=======	=======	=======
11. Debtors
		2025	2024
		£	£
Trade debtors		8,166	18,424
Due to University of Aberdeen		16,972	14,604
Other debtors		3,980	5,471
Prepayments and accrued income		141,050	4,420
		-----------	-----------
		170,618	42,919
		=======	=======
12. Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year
		2025	2024
		£	£
Trade creditors		126,026	10,463
Due to University of Aberdeen		-	863
Balances held on behalf of others		1,830	8,509
Other creditors		50,762	25,457
Accruals		33,098	38,197
		-----------	-----------
		211,716	83,489
		=======	=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 40 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the Financial Statements

13.
	Tangible	Net current	Funds at
	Fixed assets	assets	31 July 2025
	£	£	£
Restricted funds	-	58,970	58,970
Unrestricted funds	5,978	345,804	351,782
	-----------	-----------	------------
	5,978	404,774	410,752
	=======	=======	=======
	Tangible	Net current	Funds at
	Fixed assets	assets	31 July 2024
	£	£	£
Restricted funds	-	111,921	111,921
Unrestricted funds	7,971	323,761	331,732
	-----------	-----------	------------
	7,971	435,682	443,653
	=======	=======	=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 41 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the financial statements (continued)

Analysis of funds
	Funds at	Movement in resources	Movement in resources		Funds at
	1 Aug 2024	Incoming	Outgoing	Transfers	31 July 2025
Restricted funds	£	£	£	£	£
University of Aberdeen Grants
Donations in kind	-	219,065	(219,065)	-	-
EU/International Students Hardship fund	58,059	-	-	(58,059)	-
Class rep conference support	333	-	-	-	333
Sustainability activities	753	-	(865)	112	-
Student interns (Induction Project)	-	5,000	(6,171)	1,171	-
Additional Sports Budget	-	20,000	(12,595)	-	7,405
Club & Society Covid Recovery Support	7,851	-	-	-	7,851
Black History Month	242	-	(89)	-	153
Aberdeen Future Grants
AUSA Student Fund	16,870	36,300	(34,619)	-	18,551
Other
University of Aberdeen Development Trust	1,180	-	-	-	1,180
RAG - Charitable fundraising	2,000	-	(500)	-	1,500
National Lottery- Mental Health Award	379	-	-	-	379
Santander Bank	8,074	-	-	-	8,074
UoA Development Trust - Summer Activities Programme	2,111	-	-	-	2,111
UoA Development Trust - Gender Expression Fund	2,000	-	(1,375)	-	625
UoA Development Trust - Inclusion Ambassador	417	-	-	-	417
UoA Development Trust - Inclusion Ambassador's Fund	2,136	-	-	-	2,136
UoA Development Trust - Menstruation Management Product Provision	450	-	-	-	450
UoA Development Trust - First Aid Kits for Student Activities	1,560	-	(817)	-	743
UoA Development Trust - Class Rep Conference	2,500	-	(2,636)	136	-
UoA Development Trust - Butchart Hall Mats	-	5,000	(5,000)	-	-
UoA Development Trust - Intramural Sport	-	3,453	-	-	3,453
Foundation Scotland - Unlock the Future Fund	1,786	3,000	(3,712)	-	1,074
Envirolution Project Funding from Aberdeen City Council	-	1,400	(1,094)	-	306
RockRose Energy - Donation to Zero Waste	24	-	-	-	24
Zero Waste Shop	696	8	-	-	704
Old Aberdeen Community Council - Tool Library Starter	300	-	-	-	300
The Trades Widows - Tool Library Fund	2,200	-	(998)	-	1,202
	-----------	-----------	-----------	--------------	-----------
	111,921	293,225	(289,535)	(56,641)	58,970
	-----------	-----------	-----------	--------------	-----------
General funds
Unrestricted funds	331,732	1,235,164	(1,271,755)	56,641	351,782
	-----------	-----------	-----------	--------------	-----------
Total funds	443,653	1,528,389	(1,561,290)	-	410,752
	=======	=======	=======	========	=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 42 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association

Notes to the financial statements (continued)

14. Analysis of funds (continued)

	Funds at	Movement in resources	Movement in resources		Funds at
	1 Aug 2023	Incoming	Outgoing	Transfers	31 July 2024
Restricted funds	£	£	£	£	£
University of Aberdeen Grants
Aberdeen Sports Village Usage	24,724	-	(24,724)	-	-
Donations in kind	-	219,065	(219,065)	-	-
EU/International Students Hardship fund	58,059	-	-	-	58,059
Class rep conference support	333	-	-	-	333
Sustainability activities	26,077	-	(25,324)	-	753
Club & Society Covid Recovery Support	7,851	-	-	-	7,851
Black History Month	242	-	-	-	242
Café Start Up Costs	-	5,000	(5,000)		-
Aberdeen Future Grants
AUSA Student Fund	7,211	36,300	(26,641)	-	16,870
Other
University of Aberdeen Development Trust	1,180	-	-	-	1,180
RAG - Charitable fundraising	2,921	133	(1,054)	-	2,000
National Lottery- Mental Health Award	400	-	(21)	-	379
Santander Bank	8,074	-	-	-	8,074
UoA Development Trust - Summer Activities Programme	2,405	-	(294)	-	2,111
UoA Development Trust - Gender Expression Fund	2,000	-	-	-	2,000
UoA Development Trust - E-bike Scheme	109	-	(109)	-	-
UoA Development Trust - Inclusion Ambassador	-	5,000	(4,583)	-	417
UoA Development Trust - Inclusion Ambassador's Fund	-	2,400	(264)	-	2,136
UoA Development Trust - Menstruation Management Product Provision	-	4,950	(4,500)	-	450
UoA Development Trust - First Aid Kits for Student Activities	-	4,916	(3,356)	-	1,560
UoA Development Trust - Class Rep Conference	-	2,500	-	-	2,500
Scottish Fair Trade	3	-	(3)	-	-
Foundation Scotland - Unlock the Future Fund	-	7,000	(5,214)	-	1,786
RockRose Energy - Donation to Zero Waste	-	500	(476)	-	24
Zero Waste Shop	-	696	-	-	696
Old Aberdeen Community Council - Tool Library Starter	-	300	-	-	300
The Trades Widows - Tool Library Fund	-	2,200	-	-	2,200
	-----------	-----------	-----------	--------------	-----------
	141,589	290,960	(320,628)	-	111,921
	-----------	-----------	-----------	--------------	-----------
General funds
Unrestricted funds	375,423	1,319,371	(1,363,062)	-	331,732
	-----------	-----------	-----------	--------------	-----------
Total funds	517,012	1,610,331	(1,683,690)	-	443,653
	=======	=======	=======	========	=======

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 43 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the financial statements (continued)

14. Analysis of funds (continued)

The nature of the main restricted funds at 31 July 2025 are as follows:

University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Sports Village Usage relates to the funding of the Association's use of the Aberdeen Sports Village facilities.
University of Aberdeen Donations in kind relates to rent and utilities paid for by the University on behalf of the Association.
EU/International Hardship Fund relates to funding to provide hardship support for EU/International students, who are not eligible to access other support funding within the University of Aberdeen. Awards will be determined jointly by the Association and the University of Aberdeen.
Class Rep conference. In 2018/19, a grant of £1,100 was made to support a Class Rep conference. As it was not fully spent, the balance will be carried forward to support a similar event in the future.
Sustainability activities. Used to fund a post to continue sustainability activities within the Association.
Club and Society Covid Recovery Support. This fund was used to create a Covid-19 relief fund to support affiliated Clubs and Societies whose activities were disrupted by the pandemic and to help them recover.
Black History Month. Funds to be used for events during Black History Month.
Café Start Up Costs. Funds were used to set up a café in the University’s student halls to provide a service to the students.
University of Aberdeen Development Trust AUSA Student Fund, relates to monies given to the Association in order to make grants to Clubs and Societies which will enhance the student experience.
RAG Charitable funds relate to the balance between monies raised during the year, and the balance of monies not yet disbursed to local charities.
National Lottery. An award of £10,000 was received to fund a mental health “Train the Trainer” programme in 2019. £9,600 was spent on this project, and the National Lottery have confirmed that the unspent balance may be carried forward to fund similar activities in the future.
Santander Bank. An initial award of £1,500 was received from Santander Bank in July 2019. Additional monies were received from Santander in 2020/21, which were used to create a Covid-19 relief fund to support affiliated Clubs and Societies whose activities were disrupted by the pandemic and were left out of pocket as a result.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 44 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the financial statements (continued)

14. Analysis of funds (continued)

Summer Activities Programme. To enable event to be run for students over the summer period, particularly for postgraduate students.
Gender Expression Fund. To provide financial assistance for students to purchase items that will make them comfortable with their gender presentation and identity.
E-Bike Scheme. To add a number of e-bikes to the current bike scheme enabling students to rent a bike for a period of time.
Inclusion Ambassador and Inclusion Ambassador's Fund. To fund a student intern to carry out inclusion work and to work on the EDI project.
Menstruation Management Product Provision. To provide students with menstruation management products such as Myoovi devices and electric hot water bottles.
First Aid Kits for Student Activities. Provide each sports club with an appropriate first aid kit.
Class Rep Conference. To hold a conference for our Class Reps to increase engagement, provide networking opportunities, and improve employability outcomes of the roles and strengthen student representation on courses.
Unlock the Future Fund. Work on various areas of sustainability and inclusion.
Donation to Zero Waste. Donation towards the purchase of goods for the Zero Waste shop which is run on donations.
Zero Waste Shop. This is income raised through the sale of donated goods which will then be reinvested in stock to provide supplies to students at a highly discounted rate.
Tool Library Starter and Tool Library Fund. Provided to buy equipment which will be available for students to borrow.
Student Interns (Induction Project): Funding used to employ two student interns to research and recommend improvements to the student induction experience.
Additional Sports Budget: Funding used to support sports clubs most affected by reduced ASV ‑ ‑
booking budgets, particularly high cost pool based niche clubs, enabling continued training and member recruitment.
Butchart Hall Mats (UoA Development Trust): Funding used to purchase new mats to improve safety and increase usable space for martial arts and other activities in Butchart Hall.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 45 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the financial statements (continued)

Intramural & Disability ‑ Inclusive Sport (UoA Development Trust): Funding used to provide inclusive and free sport opportunities through equipment purchases and accessible venue hire for a range of activities.
Envirolution Project (Aberdeen City Council): Funding used to deliver sustainability ‑ focused community events in Seaton Park, supporting student and community engagement.

15. Capital commitments

At 31 July 2025 the Association had no capital commitments (2024: £nil).

16. Related parties

University of Aberdeen

The Association is a semi-autonomous organisation within the University of Aberdeen. The property of the Association shall be vested in the University Court.

The Association is financially and materially supported by the University of Aberdeen, receiving a total of £1,015,764 in the year to 31 July 2025 (2024: £1,015,764) from the Disbursement Fund. Additionally, the Association received £nil as a restricted grant for the Contribution to AUSA for the new café (2024: £5,000).

In addition, the Association occupies premises at the Union Building, Hillhead Halls and Balgownie Playing Fields on a rent-free basis from the University of Aberdeen. The Association has estimated that the value of this donation in kind amounts to £219,065 (2024: £219,067).

The amounts payable to the University of Aberdeen at 31 July 2025 amounted to £118,415 (2024: £863). The amount receivable from the University of Aberdeen at 31 July 2025 was £16,972 (2024: £14,604).

17. Pensions

University of Aberdeen Superannuation and Life Assurance Pension Scheme

Aberdeen University Students' Association participates in the University of Aberdeen Superannuation and Life Assurance Pension Scheme (“UASLAS”) which is a funded defined benefit scheme which is open to new members and accruals. There were 13 members of staff participating in the scheme as at 31 July 2025 (2024: 8), and this is operated as a salary exchange scheme.

Under the UASLAS pension fund the contribution rate required for Aberdeen University Students' Association is set on a group basis, combining the experience of the employer with other employers within the same group also participating in the Fund. Within this group assets and liabilities of the Fund are not separately identified between the various employers participating as part of the triennial actuarial valuations. As a result, Aberdeen University Students' Association is unable to identify its relevant share of the underlying assets and liabilities in the Fund. These accounts have therefore been drawn up in accordance with FRS102 on the basis that the pension cost is accounted for as a defined contribution scheme.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 46 / 48

Aberdeen University Students’ Association Notes to the financial statements (continued)

17. Pensions (continued)

Information about the overall funding position of the UASLAS was provided by the actuary in his report dated 31 July 2019. The contributions payable by the employers are based on the position of the Fund as a whole, which is reassessed at each triennial valuation.

During the year, total contributions to this scheme amounted to £67,214 (2024: £56,452).

NEST

The Association also operates a defined contribution scheme with NEST. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Association in independently administered funds. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the Association to the funds and amounted to £5,265 (2024: £5,440).

18. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities

	2025	2024
	£	£
Net income for the year	(32,901)	(73,359)
Adjustments for:
Investment income	(1,094)	(1,097)
Depreciation and loss on sale	1,993	1,934
Decrease/(Increase) in stock	(1,370)	18
Decrease/(Increase) in debtors	(127,249)	(4,768)
Increase/(Decrease) in creditors	128,227	1,436
	-----------	-----------
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities	(32,394)	(75,836)
	=======	=======

19. Control

The charity is controlled by the Trustees on behalf of the members.

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 47 / 48

Henderson Loggie Secure Messaging E-SIGNATURE CERTIFICATE

Certificate Summary

ENVELOPE SUBJECT: Approval required

DOCUMENT: AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf

DOCUMENT ORIGINATOR: Ewan Shiels (ewan.shiels@hlca.co.uk)

ENVELOPE ID: e09e4c4d-b38f-4049-a1a9-8491afddf0f8 DOCUMENT ID: 80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3 ORIGINATOR IP ADDRESS: 157.231.93.186

CERTIFICATE STATUS: Completed

DELIVERED : Mar 31, 2026 1:22 PM UTC DOCUMENT PAGES : 47 CERTIFICATE PAGES: 1 TOTAL ENVELOPE PAGES: 48

COMPLETED SIGNATORIES: 2 / 2 COMPLETED IN PLACE SIGNATURES: 3 / 3 COMPLETED IN PLACE INITIALS: 0 / 0 CARBON COPY RECIPIENTS: 2

Signatures

E-SIGNED BY: Christina Schmid (ausapresident@abdn.ac.uk) SECURITY LEVEL: Secure Email (Authenticated) E-SIGNATURE ID: 43bee27a-b246-46b1-8fbc-87327e62c291

Timeline

SENT: Mar 31, 2026 1:22 PM UTC VIEWED: Mar 31, 2026 1:24 PM UTC SIGNED: Mar 31, 2026 1:24 PM UTC USING IP ADDRESS: 139.133.213.99

I AGREE TO THE CONTENTS OF ALL PAGES ABOVE WITH AN ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE PRINT NAME: Christina Schmid EMAIL: ausapresident@abdn.ac.uk

E-SIGNED BY: Keith Macpherson (keith.macpherson@hlca.co.uk) SECURITY LEVEL: Secure Email (Authenticated) E-SIGNATURE ID: 13469367-caca-45e2-9227-720ae3e485fd

SENT: Mar 31, 2026 1:22 PM UTC VIEWED: Mar 31, 2026 2:22 PM UTC SIGNED: Mar 31, 2026 2:23 PM UTC USING IP ADDRESS: 87.246.91.14

I AGREE TO THE CONTENTS OF ALL PAGES ABOVE WITH AN ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE PRINT NAME: Keith Macpherson EMAIL: keith.macpherson@hlca.co.uk

Carbon Copy

NAME: EMAIL: lorna.cruickshank@abdn.ac.uk

NAME: Fiona Heinonen EMAIL: fiona.heinonen@abdn.ac.uk

AUSA 2025 Accounts & Trustee Report for Signing.pdf [80c56376-fca8-47c5-a40b-58c4377290e3] Page: 48 / 48