Argyll Bird Club
Annual Report & Financial Statements
1[st] October 2024 to 30[th] September 2025
Argyll Bird Club
Contact information
Scottish Charity Number: SC050823
Address: Beech Hill, Inverneill, Lochgilphead, Argyll Postcode: PA30 8ES
Website: https://argyllbirdclub.org
Objectives and activities
Argyll Bird Club is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation which is a Registered Charity, governed by its Constitution. The Executive Committee consists of up to 12 Trustees, who are also Committee Members, that are appointed at the Annual General Meeting. The Trustees receive no remuneration.
The Executive Committee may co-opt non-members subject to certain provisions in the constitution, e.g. persons with specialist experience and/or skills.
The purposes of the Argyll Bird Club are:
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To promote interest in, and conservation of, the birds of Argyll and their habitats
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To carry on any other activities which further those purposes.
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To advance environmental protection or improvement including preservation, and conservation of the natural environment, the promotion of sustainable development, the maintenance, improvement or provision of environmental amenities for the community and/or the preservation of buildings or sites of architectural, historic, ornithological or other importance to the community.
These purposes are achieved mainly through a comprehensive programme of activities, publications and a strong social media presence.
Publications produced by the Club include a quarterly Newsletter for members and the club also publishes the Argyll Bird Report in PDF format each year which includes the Systematic List for the year with colour photographs of many of the rare and not so rare birds that live in or visit Argyll.
Financial assistance has also been provided to help individuals publish their own research on birds found in specific areas, one example being the grant of £1,000 to the author towards the printing costs for his forthcoming book ‘The Birds of Islay & Jura’.
The club are able to purchase and lend equipment to individual members and local groups who are engaged in activities that align with our objectives.
One example is the Mink Eradication project whereby the club has purchased Mink Traps along with ancillary equipment which is on loan to local members. They manage the traps which help protect ground nesting birds and their eggs from predation.
Another example is the club purchasing Song Meters which are used by club members for research purposes by recording bird calls and other animals in remote locations or at night and analysing the results.
Charity Trustees
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Financial Review
The principal source of funding for the Club is from membership subscriptions. Less income has been collected this year from the sale of data to environmental consultants who conduct investigations related to wind farm and fish farm planning applications. Expenditure is broadly comparable to previous years.
Investment Policy
Under the constitution, the Management Committee has the power to make any investment deemed to be appropriate in the support of the Club’s purposes. In the short term, surplus funds are held in a either a Fixed Term Deposit Account or an Instant Access Deposit Account.
Reserves Policy
The Club has a reserve fund available to support future projects and is currently finalising plans for conservation priorities in Argyll. We are making progress on the production of the Conservation Plan and the Committee Guidance Manual and hope to adopt this in 2025-2026. A separate Current Account and Easy Access Savings Account is used for the Conservation Fund.
Risk Management
The organisers of events arranged by the Club, particularly bird watching outings, are required to risk assess each event to mitigate exposure to risk. This year the Club has revised and improved the Risk Warnings message to members that attend Outdoor Bird Watching Events. This Risk Warning Guide is now a standard entry in the Quarterly Newsletter produced by the Club for members.
The Club has a Public Liability insurance policy in place.
Management Committee responsibilities
The Management Committee is responsible for keeping proper accounting records which give a true and fair account of the financial activities of the Club during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. The Management Committee is responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud or other irregularity.
This year the Treasurer is preparing for Making Tax Digital, which will impact our reporting to HMRC next year, using Accounting Software supplied by our main bank, Bank of Scotland, which prepopulates credit and debit entries in the accounts thus satisfying Month End Reconciliation and reducing the possibility of errors in our Final Year End Accounts.
Argyll Bird Club
Income and Expenditure for the year to 30[th] September 2025
| 2023-2024 INCOME 2,569.23 Subscriptions 2,628.02 260.00 Grants & Donations 1,235.00 237.00 Raffles 395.00 0.00 Members Refreshments-Lunch 718.00 600.00 Data Fees 255.00 201.25 HMRC Gift Aid 0.00 569.91 Bank Interest 746.39 4,437.39 Total Income EXPENDITURE 600.00 Bird Report 0.00 8.90 Print & Postage 293.58 694.63 Public Meetings 1,349.00 214.15 Insurance 250.95 0.00 Committee Expenses 0.00 0.00 Club Equipment 549.99 0.00 Zoom Licence Fee 155.88 1,654.99 Projects 1,132.41 482.51 Grants & Donations 1,000.00 0.00 Office Expenses 51.38 51.59 Bank Charges 0.00 3,706.77 Total Expenditure 730.62 SURPLUS/DEFICIT |
2024-2025 5,977.41 4,783.19 1,194.22 |
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Note: Subscriptions, when received from GoCardless, are net of fees; a total of £56.21 for the year
| Balance Sheet as at 30 September 2025 |
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|---|---|---|
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||
| GENERAL CLUB ACCOUNTS | ||
| 34.44 | Bank of Scotland Current Account | 166.48 |
| 6,055.15 | Bank of Scotland Deposit Account easy access @ 0.60% | 2,460.25 |
| 12,000.00 | UTB 6 Month Fixed Term @ 4.31% Matures 11 December 2025 | 5,000.00 |
| CONSERVATION FUND ACCOUNTS | ||
| Bank of Scotland Current Account - Conservation A/C | 6.76 | |
| Saffron BS Community Easy Access Conservation A/C @ 3.54% | 11,650.32 | |
| 0.00 | Debtors | 0.00 |
| CURRENT LIABILITIES | ||
| 0.00 | Creditors | 0.00 |
| 18,089.59 | TOTAL NET ASSETS | 19,283.81 |
| All funds are unrestricted | ||
| Dave Harris Treasurer |
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Independent examiner's report on the accounts
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Report to the Charity name
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Registered charity
On the accountsuaaof the $C050823Period start date l | Period. end date
charity for the period Day Month Year Day Month Year
1 October 2024 to 30" September 2025
Pt UN Pages / Page 6 / jhombreber ot additionalto include sheets)th
Respective The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance
responsibilities Of with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the
trustees and examiner Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees
consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations
does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section
44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts
examiner’s statement Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the
charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes
consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks
explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken
do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, | do
not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent examiner’s |r the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention.
statement
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which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
have not been met, or
- to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
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Signed:
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Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:
Declaration
Signed on behalf of the Charity Trustees: