INTERNATIONAL_FUTURES_FOR - Accounts

The trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2019.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's constitution, 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 their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016)

International Futures Forum is an educational charity with a mission to develop the capacities needed to live well and operate effectively in the complex conditions of the 21st century. The charity is an independent organisation headquartered in Aberdour, Fife with the following charitable purposes: to promote and advance education of all people, to enable them to meet their social and economic aspirations in the face of a complex present and an uncertain future; to encourage and facilitate research and practical collaboration in particular in the fields of health, learning, responsible enterprise and governance through meetings, publications and otherwise; to promote education in and development of the capacities required to restore effectiveness in action in the face of contemporary challenges at all levels locally and internationally for the benefit of the public.

Business Review

The charity’s work programme this year reflects its twin focus on capacity development and supporting effective action in practice. At the heart of the organisation’s work is the growing international community of transformative innovators, persons ‘making a difference in the face of all that stands in the way of making a difference’. Members of this community continue to meet regularly in different cities, mostly in the UK – and are a source of small but regular donations to the charity. A Swedish group was inaugurated in Stockholm in January. A programme of seminars in Edinburgh exploring themes of interest to this group and to the wider public included events on, for example, Universal Basic Services, community development and the role of craft in innovation. There was also a notable ‘civic conversation’ on the arts and culture at the Stormont building in Belfast. IFF ran a number of training courses put on during the course of the year in order to grow capacity and to develop the ‘21st century competencies’, including a first session designed exclusively for policymakers. IFF’s tools, processes and concepts were also called into play in work with a number of public organisations dealing with challenging social issues: with the Welsh Government working on the wellbeing of future generations, with the Scottish Government working on resilience in the face of health threats, and with the Edinburgh Futures Institute on issues arising from the deployment of technology and big data in the health and wellbeing fields. IFF also continues to spread the introduction of IFF Kitbag primarily into schools across Scotland to promote a culture of kindness and relationship – ‘learning to be and learning to be together’. Nearly 1000 Kitbags were deployed over the course of the year, most of them purchased in ones or twos by individual schools. We continue to seek grant funding to make the resource more widely available.

Financial Review

The results for the year are set out on pages 6 and 7 of the Accounts. The Directors are satisfied with the results for the year.

Reserves and going concern policy

It is the policy of the Trustees to ensure that the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets held by the charity should be three months running costs, which equates to £500 in general funds. The directors are confident that with further revenue funding anticipated in the next financial year, there will be sufficient funds to finance the company’s ongoing activities.

Principal Funding Sources

The Binks Trust provided generous support to the development of the Transformative Innovation Network and also to maintain the ‘Second Enlightenment Seminar Series’. The programmes to develop 21st century competencies were financed through contributions from the individuals involved and the Policymaker of the Future programme through a grant from the Scottish Government. The work with Edinburgh Futures Institute was financed through a research grant. Sales of Kitbags, books and other IFF products to support the development of 21st century competencies and their expression in effective action also made a welcome contribution to funding.

Investment Policy

The charity maintains its working capital in a bank current account.

Risk Management

The Board actively reviews the major risks which the charity faces on a regular basis and believes that maintaining reserves, combined with regular reviews of controls over key financial systems, will provide sufficient resources in the event of adverse conditions. The Board has also examined other operational and business risks faced by the charity and confirms that it has established systems to mitigate the significant risks.

Plans for Future Periods

Directors have been reviewing strategy as International Futures Forum approaches its twentieth anniversary in spring 2021. The aim is to pursue a twin-track approach of both stabilising and consolidating what is working well in the current pattern of activity, at the same time as taking a developmental step to exploit the growth points that are emerging and that will propel IFF into an even more ambitious future. Stabilisation will mean clarifying and simplifying existing operations: seeking support for the community of practice, the seminars and other events; increasing sales and ease of access to our products (eg translations of books and kits into other languages); and seeking partners especially for training and facilitation work so as to free up capacity for next practice in IFF itself.

The developmental step will involve articulating IFF’s distinctive offer and seeking opportunities to take on one or two big, complex, messy, seemingly intractable social challenges: to address those challenges effectively, to develop our own practice (action research) and to feed new, reliable tools and approaches into the existing international community of practice. In time we hope that our IFF Practice Centre can become a universally available, free at the point of use, public infrastructure to support this practice of transformative innovation. Future plans therefore include raising funds through individual contributions, specific grants and general donations to maintain and develop the resource and to make it more widely known and more easily accessible.

The company was incorporated on 20th August 2007, is limited by guarantee and is a recognised Scottish Charity (number SC038749). The company has gained exemption from using the word “limited” in its name. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is £1. The charity is governed by its memorandum of association.

Reference and Administrative Information

Charity registration number        SC038749

Company registration number        SC329625

Registered Office                The Boathouse, Silversands, Hawkcraig Road,                             Aberdour, KY3 0TZ.

Our advisors

Independent Examiner            Fiona E Haro, B Com (Hons), CA

Thomson Cooper Accountants        3 Castle Court, Carnegie Campus, Dunfermline,                             Fife KY11 8PB         

Bankers                    Royal Bank of Scotland, 113-115 South Street,                             St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9QB

Directors and Trustees

The directors of the charitable company (the charity) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law. The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:

Key management personnel International Futures Forum: Trustees’ and Directors

Chair                     Alison Elliot    

Secretary                 Jennifer Williams     

                    Nicholas Butler    

                    Leslie Dighton    

                    Philip Rycroft    

                    Sandra Robertson (Appointed 18 October 2017)

                    Brendan Dick     (Appointed 17 October 2017)

Appointment of Trustees

Directors with appropriate experience are sought for a Trustee position.

Trustee induction and training

New Directors receive instructions and information on their responsibilities as Directors and of the work of the charity. The induction and training of the Directors is carried out during their term of service.

Related parties

None of the Directors has any beneficial interest in the company.

The trustees, who are also the directors of International Futures Forum for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

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;

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity 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 (as amended) and the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2019, which are set out on pages 6 to 15.

The charity’s trustees, who are also the directors of International Futures Forum for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investments (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1)(a) to (c) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the financial statements as required under section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, 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 financial statements.

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

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 financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations;

to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2019.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring that the charity keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Act and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the financial year in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

International Futures Forum is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is The Boathouse, Hawkcraig Road, Aberdour, Fife, KY3 0TZ.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's constitution, 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 their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

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

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Unrestricted funds are funds that can be used in accordance with the objectives of the charitable company at the discretion of the directors.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside by the directors for specific future purposes or projects.

Restricted funds are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objectives of the charitable company. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received. The following policies are applied to particular categories of income:

• Voluntary income is received by way of grants and donations and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Grants, where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant.

• Incoming resources from grants, where related to performance and specific deliverables, are accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance. Income is deferred when performance related grants are received in advance of the performances or event to which they relate.

• Incoming resources from charitable activities is accounted for when earned.

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the general volunteer time Trustees is not recognised and refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for goods and services provided in the normal course of business, net of discounts, VAT and other sales related taxes.

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, and governance costs which support the charity. The basis of allocation for all support costs is on a direct basis.

Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. The company is not registered for VAT and accordingly irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended to which it relates.

• Costs of generating funds are those costs incurred in attracting voluntary income and the costs incurred in trading activities that raise funds.

• Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charitable company in the delivery of its activities and services to its beneficiaries. It includes both the direct costs and indirect costs necessary to support these activities.

• Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charitable company and include the audit fees and costs linked to its strategic management.

• Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly; others are apportioned on an appropriate basis e.g. estimated usage, staff costs by time spent.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives and intangible assets not yet available for use are tested for impairment annually, and whenever there is an indication that the asset may be impaired.

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition. Items held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured the lower of replacement cost and cost.

Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

Legal Status of the Charity

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. In the event of the company being wound up each member is obliged to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

Fees/Royalties

All fees/royalties received in both 2018 and 2019 were unrestricted.

Education of all people

Education of all people

Associate costs

Meeting and seminar costs

Repayment of grant

Kitbag costs

3H Uni costs

Rental costs

Producer costs

Travel and subsistence

Postage & stationery

Sundries

Software costs

Bank charges

Audit & accountancy fees

The company initially identifies the costs of its governance function. Having identified its governance costs, the remaining costs are allocated to support costs (see note 5). Refer to the table above for the analysis of support and governance costs.

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

The key management personnel comprise of all directors and employees of the company. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £29,580 (2018 - £35,802).

No members of the board of directors received remuneration during the year (2018 - £nil).

The company is a registered charity and consequently no provision is considered necessary for taxation.

Name of             Description, nature and purpose of the fund

unrestricted fund

Kitbag             Funds from the Scottish Community Foundation are reserved for                  spending on the development of kitbag for children and families.

H3 University         The University of the Third Horizon (H3Uni) is a project to design a set of              resources, teaching modules and courses to prepare young people for an              uncertain future. The project is led by Dr Anthony Hodgson.

Incoming resources

Resources expended

Transfers

Name of            Description, nature and purpose of the fund

unrestricted fund

General Fund        The ‘free reserves’ after allowing for all designated funds.

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2018 - none).