AGM Finance Report and Audit disapplication 2024

Review of the 2023/24 Financial Year, Ending 5th April 2024

The Committee (Board) presents its report and accounts for the year ended 5 April 2024.

We had a total income of £103,687 (2023: £151,188). Donations were £46,779 (2023: £111,054) - which includes £6,000 from PayPal Giving Fund UK (2023: £73,000 from the PayPal Small Charities Campaign), and £13,372 for our Server Heroes Appeal (2023: £9,818). We received £7,300 (2023: £7,200) from our very generous anonymous sponsor and Gift Aid reclaims amounted to £7,243 (2023: £5,286). Our income from advertising/trading was £21,532 (2023: £19,018), and we received £12,524 (2023: £6,000) in grants from local Councils. The remaining income included £303 (2023: £350) from Give As You Live, £3,350 in bank interest (2023: £1,164), and a payment of £4,500 from a third party for systems integration work.

Our expenditure was £122,169 (2023: £90,213). IT costs were £72,922 (2023: £54,124) with most of the increase due to app development and server migration. We spent £23,430 (2023: £22,700) on media, £20,999 (2023: £11,400) on work with local councils to promote Freegle, £285 (2023: £759) on volunteer support, £0 (2023: £129) on fundraising, and £4,533 (2023: £1,101) on administration and insurance. The result for the year was a deficit for the year of £18,482 (2023: £60,975 surplus). We had a surplus brought forward from last year of £142,113 (2022: £81,138) so are left with reserves of £123,631 (2023: £142,113), of which £3,760 (2023: £5,042) is restricted for specific expenditure. Although we did not have a surplus this year, our rules state that any profits are applied solely to the continuation and development of the Society.

The link to the full 2023/2024 accounts for Freegle Limited can be accessed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w7ZCr8aBHQ586GayZ_TM8HNlwLjPoBtM/view?usp=sharing
The link to all previous accounts is at https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1hjTUolU9H1Fx2djrO4oNTpLppVQWn5WP

The Committee members have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a committee in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the society's independent examiners are aware of that information.

Looking forward to Future Financial Years

The Board has approved a budget forecast for the year. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kyGaqBNiXsGPfo8rRpXcK9RYvi-s3MdaPFsNJGwv97o/edit?usp=sharing

The budget provided a view on what spending was likely to be in the next financial year (2024/25) and also a longer term view of our financial position.

The budget shows that we continue to spend more than we bring in (i.e. we have a structural deficit). The budget estimated this to be about £47k per year.

However, we also have significant reserves and the Board has indicated a desire to spend some of these reserves to try to make Freegle more sustainable.

Note however, that reality is invariably different from what we forecast. Some things cost more, some things cost less, we might win some funds, we might not get as many donations, or we might get more and we will spend money on unexpected items and services.

AUDIT

Request from the Freegle Board:

1. The Board would like the AGM to approve the dis-application for a full audit for the Freegle Ltd accounts 2024/25. This would be in line with previous procedure and is due to the level of expense for an external auditor and time required from the volunteer Treasurer for a full audit.

Industrial and Provident Societies must have a full audit if they are a Registered Society with a turnover of over £10,200,000 or assets in excess of £5,100,000.

As we don't get near to these figures the expense and time for a full audit seems unnecessary when our transparency is confirmed by a qualified accountant’s Independent Examination. More information can be found in the legal explanatory note here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/14/section/84

2. If the above is agreed, the Board would also like the meeting to approve the continued appointment of Price and Co as independent examiners for the accounts, fees to be agreed by the Board on behalf of Members.

Link: AGM 2024 Agenda