2025-03-31-accounts - Lord Lyon Society (SCIO)

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Lord Lyon Society (SCIO)

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS

For the Year ended 31 March 2025

Charity No: SC050846

Lord Lyon Society (SCIO) Trustees' Annual Report Year ending 31 March 2025

Page 1

Reference and Administrative Information

Charity Name: Lord Lyon Society (SCIO)

Charity No: SC050846 Contact Address: Court of the Lord Lyon HM New Register House Edinburgh, EH1 3YT

Patron

HRH The Princess Royal

Trustees

Independent Examiner

Chartered Accountant Hollis Accounting Limited 3 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7HW

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing Document

The Society was formed by constitution as a SCIO on 17 March 2021 and is recognised as a charity by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator in accordance with the provisions of The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.

Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees

New Trustees are appointed by existing Trustees. The maximum number of Trustees is seven and the minimum number is three.

Organisational Structure

The Trustees meet when necessary. If decisions are required between meetings, then emailed agreement is deemed sufficient.

Page 2

Lord Lyon Society (SCIO) Trustees' Annual Report (continued) Year ending 31 March 2025

Objectives and Activities

The Society is established for charitable purposes only and the Society’s principal purpose is for the benefit of the public in Scotland and elsewhere to advance:

education; and
the arts, heritage and culture.
It does this by:
promoting Scottish heraldry, genealogy, and related arts, heritage and culture in conjunction with the Court and Office of the Lord Lyon (“the Lyon Office”);
advancing heraldic, genealogical and related arts, heritage and cultural education;
aiding and supporting the Lyon Office in protecting and preserving the records, archives and collections of the Court and Office of the Lord Lyon;
improving and increasing education and learning opportunities by promoting and aiding the Lyon Office in making the records, archives and collections of the Court and Office of the Lord Lyon accessible to the public;
aiding and supporting the Lyon Office in digitising (where reasonably practicable) the records, archives and collections of the Court and Office of the Lord Lyon for the purposes of protecting them and making them accessible to the public;
supporting and promoting the contribution of the Scottish Diaspora in the advancement of heraldic, genealogical and related arts, heritage and cultural education.

Achievements and Performance

A lot of work has been undertaken digitising and indexing parts of the Lyon Office’s library. In particular, an enormous amount of work has been undertaken by cataloguing, analysing and indexing the Lyon Office’s nationally significant collection of casts of seals (which comprise coats of arms spanning centuries), a collection parts of which have, quite literally, been untouched in over a century.

The Society has issued newsletters, provided a series of online talks and published the - Gazetteer on the Society’s website. https://lordlyonsociety.org.uk/heraldic gazeteer/

Membership subscriptions were stable in the period, and donations were £2,797 (2024: £1,236).

Minimal operational expenditure was incurred during the period.

Financial Review

The Society keeps available funds in a bank and paypal account to meet immediate needs. At 31 March 2025 the Society held bank balances of £53,810 (2024: £47,370).

Page 3

Lord Lyon Society (SCIO) Trustees' Annual Report (continued) Year ending 31 March 2025

Reserves Policy

The Trustees pursue a policy of maintaining a free reserve of unrestricted funds available to be spent in the furtherance of the Society’s objectives, as well as covering future needs, opportunities, contingencies and risks.

At the end of the current reporting period the Society had cash reserves amounting to £53,810 (2024: £47,370). This figure is part of the bank balance total in the Financial Review above.

Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities

The Trustees must prepare financial statements which give sufficient detail to enable an appreciation of the transactions of the Charity during the financial year. The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which, on request, must reflect the financial position of the Charity at that tume. This must be done to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and must take reasonable steps for the prevention and/or detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf,

The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King ofArms, Chair and Trustee

Page 4

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Lord Lyon Society (SCIO)

I report on the accounts of the Charity for the year ending 31 March 2025 which are set out on pages 5 to 8.

Respective responsibilities of Trustees and examiner

The Charity's Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

The Charity Trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

An examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. 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 I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent examiner’s statement

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention,

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44 (1)(a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations have not been met, or
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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Chartered Accountant Hollis Accounting Limited 3 Melville Crescent Edinburgh EH3 7HW

Date 20 November 2025

Page 5

Lord Lyon Society (SCIO) Receipts and Payments Account Year ending 31 March 2025

Unrestricted Funds 2024 £ 1,236 5,010 1,134	Restricted Funds 2024 £ - - -	Total Funds 2024 £ 1,236 5,010 1,134
7,380 -	- -	7,380 -
7,380	-	7,380
354 1,135 540	- - -	354 1,135 540
2,029 -	- -	2,029 -
2,029	-	2,029
5,351 -	- -	5,351 -
5,351	-	5,351

Lord Lyon Society (SCIO)

SC050846

Page 6

Statement of Balances

As at 31 March 2025

		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
		Funds	Funds	Funds		Funds	Funds	Funds
		2025	2025	2025		2024	2024	2024
		£	£	£		£	£	£
Bank& Deposit Balances
Bank& deposit balances brought
forward		47,370	-	47.370		42,019	-	42.019
Movement in year:
Excess ofReceipts over Payments
for the year		6,440	-	6,440		5,351	-	5,351
Bank& deposit balances carried
forward		53,810	-	53,810		47,370	-	47,370
Assets:	note	5
Investments		-	-		-	-	-	-
Other assets		-	-		-	-	-	-
Liabilities	note	6
Creditors		-	-	=		-		-
Accruals		1,080	-	1,080		540	-	540
		1,080	-	1,080		540	-	540

The accounts were approved by the Trustees on 18 November 2025

For and on behalf of all the Trustees

Lord Lyon Society (SCIO) Notes to the Accounts Year ending 31 March 2025

Page 7

Note 1. Trustee Remuneration and Related Party Transactions

During the year no Trustees were remunerated or reimbursed any expenses. No Trustee or person related to a Trustee has a personal interest in any contract or transactions entered into by the Society during the year.

At 01.04.24 £ 47,370	Income £ 8,917	Transfers £ -	At 31.03.25 £ 53,810
47,370	8,917	-	53,810
-	-	-	-
47,370	8,917	-	53,810

Fund Purposes

Restricted Funds

Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the Society's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the Society.

Unrestricted General Funds

These funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Society and which have not been designated for other purposes.

There were no transfers in the year.

Note 3. Analysis of Receipts

	Unrestricted	Restricted		Unrestricted	Restricted
	Funds	Funds	Total	Funds	Funds	Total
	2025	2025	2025	2024	2024	2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Donations and legacies
Donations < £1,000 each	2,797		2,797	1,236	-	1,236
	2,797	-	2,797	1,236	-	1,236
Charitable activities
Subscriptions	6,120		6,120	5,010	-	5,010
	6,120	-	6,120	5,010	-	5,010
Other income
Other income	-	-	-	1,134	-	1,134
	-	-	-	1,134	-	1,134

Total receipts	8,917	-	8,917	7,380	-	7,380

Lord Lyon Society (SCIO)

Page 8

Notes to the Accounts

Year ending 31 March 2025

Note 4. Analysis of Payments

Unrestricted Restricted Funds Funds 2025 2025 £ £ Cost of Generating Funds Fundraising activities 300 - Bank charges 295 - 595 - Charitable activities Website & outreach 1,342 - Other expenses - - 1,342 - Governance Costs 540 - 540 - Total Payments 2,477 - Note 5. Assets Investments Other assets Note 6. Liabilities Creditors Accruals Independent Examination	Unrestricted Total Funds 2025 2024 £ £ 300 105 295 249 595 354 1,342 - - 1,135 1,342 1,135 540 540 540 540 2,477 2,029 2025 £ - - 2025 £ - 1,080 1,080	Restricted Funds Total 2024 2024 £ £ - 105 - 249
595 -	354	- 354
1,342 - - -	- 1,135	- - - 1,135
1,342 -	1,135	- 1,135
540 -	540	- 540
540 -	540	- 540

2,477 -	2,029	- 2,029
		2024 £ - - 2024 £ - 540 540