Fierce! (Festival) Limited - Charities report - 22.2

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 04609212 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1110138

TRUSTEES' REPORT AND

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

FOR

FIERCE! (FESTIVAL) LIMITED

Page

Trustees' Report

1

to

4

Independent Examiner's Report

5

Statement of Financial Activities

6

Statement of Financial Position

7

to

8

Notes to the Financial Statements

9

to

15

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2022. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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) (effective 1 January 2019).

Governing document

Fierce! (Festival) Limited is a Private Limited Company (4609212), limited by guarantee and not having a share capital, and a Registered Charity (1110138). The company is governed by Memorandum and Articles of Association, incorporated 3 December 2002, as amended by special resolution passed 31 May 2005. The basic company information is correct up to the date of filing this document.

Directors

The directors as named on page 4 have served either throughout or during the year.

Organisational Management

The Fierce! (Festival) Limited trustees meet at least four times per year which in 2021-22 has been a combination of online and in person meetings due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the related health and legal implications of meeting in person. A series of sub-groups in Finance, Fundraising and Marketing & Communications meet as required. The annual Board away day enables strategic planning and medium to long term review of organisational risk. Potential new trustees are invited to observe a Board meeting before becoming a trustee. The trustees have delegated the authority to Aaron Wright (Artistic Director) for the day-to-day management of the charity.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Purposes and activities

Fierce! (Festival) Limited is Birmingham's cultivator of artists, audiences and contexts for new intersectional performance, (curating the leading international Live Art Festival), guided by our core values, trust; rigour; disruption and joy. Fierce has an international reputation for intelligent commissioning and commissioned work tours worldwide. The festival embraces theatre, dance, music, installations, activism, digital practices and parties. Fierce fills the city with performances in theatres, galleries and out-of-the-ordinary spaces Fierce is guided by its vision to transform the national performing arts landscape so that:

- Audiences are broader and more confident

- Artists take greater risks and aspire to higher standards of excellence

- Live Art is the life blood of our culture

Activity in 2021-22 was limited by the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing related restrictions. The team focussed on planning for the two Birmingham 2022 projects; Key to the City and the Healing Gardens of Bab, including recruitment of freelance teams to support and deliver these. We were part of the consortium delivering the first year of the Horizon showcase and tested in-person activity with the return of the popular Artists Behind Bars event in October.

Programmes began in 2020-21 continued this year including the GBSLEP funded Distinctly Birmingham and the Jerwood funded Fierce Further.

The Administration Assistant whose role is made possible by funding for the Horizon showcase has continued in their role. An Assistant Curator joined the team in April to support the festival and other projects throughout 2021 and 2022; the organisational development programme that runs alongside this programme has been attended by members of the senior team.

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit "Charities and Public Benefit".

Fundraising

Fierce was awarded Culture Recovery Funding from Arts Council England which enabled us to support programme that had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including ensuring work for artists during this time, enable a safe return to office working taking into account the needs of team members with health conditions. Most importantly it meant that we could contribute £30,160 to reserves to support our future financial stability.

Funding has been secured from Creative New Zealand and the British Council UK and Australia Season of Exchange, to support elements of the Healing Gardens of Bab programme with further funding expected from Selfridges.

Fundraising has begun for the 2022 festival with a Scandinavian programme focus expected to bring in funding from Flanders House. Applications for some small Trusts and Foundations have been submitted.

Programme

Club Fierce

In October we delivered our popular Artists Behind Bars club night which enabled us to reconnect with local artists, offering vital work, and to test the viability of public-facing activity in the context of the ongoing pandemic.

Fierce FWD

The reimagined FWD programme was piloted this year with open-access workshops led by Key to the City artist Paul Ramirez Jonas as well as two well-attended informal 'salons' offering local artists opportunities to connect, network and share ideas.

Horizon

The first year of the Horizon showcase was delivered with a digital showcase comprised of screenings of works, industry talks and discussions and a national residency programme with online sharings. Over 400 people registered.

Fierce Further

Supported by the Jerwood Foundation, the Fierce Further programme continued this year with the three selected artists beginning work on their commissioned pieces with support from Fierce in fundraising and securing producing capacity. Two of the commissions will be presented at the 2022 festival.

Distinctly Birmingham

This programme, funded by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) is aimed at supporting artists developing work for the public realm and looking at alternative ways of supporting that work through partnerships with local businesses. The programme concluded this year with the selected artists presenting their research and ideas to local business leaders and stakeholders.

Equality and diversity

Equality and diversity are at the core of Fierce's vision and the work that we began in 2020 to review internal policies and procedures and publish accountability information on our website has continued throughout this year.

Fierce recognises the need to continue to pursue the diversification of the team and board, which has been a key objective in the recent recruitment and board recruitment.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

Income from Birmingham 2022 projects included contributions of £31,000 to core costs including staffing, This, along with careful financial management and continued development of income streams including consultancy, have helped to build the surplus ahead of the 2022 Festival.

Total income for the year was £332,184 and total expenditure was £221,546, in addition to the surplus from 2020-21 this means a total of £131,622 carried forward.

Reserves policy and going concern

As described above, the Culture Recovery Funding from Arts Council England enabled a contribution of £30,160 to reserves, bringing the total to £35,160. This is £14,677 short of the target of £49838 set out in our reserves policy which would be equivalent to three months' general expenditure to cover a period of unforeseen difficulty. Our long-term plans to build reserves include a minimum contribution of £5000 in non-festival years and where there is a surplus in festival years, a Board decision as to whether it would be appropriate to commit any of this to reserves. As such, the trustees believe it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006 and is governed by it's Memorandum and Articles of Association adopted on incorporation on 5 December 2002 as amended by special resolution on 31 May 2005.

Risk policy discussion

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

04609212 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1110138

Registered office

103 Argent Centre

Frederick Street

Birmingham

B1 3HS

Trustees

E Evans (resigned 10.12.21)

Dr B L Lobel

G A Collinge

S Pennington

H J Dyke

S T M Campbell

J Johnson-Small

N A Bouameur (appointed 6.9.21)

P Burns (appointed 10.12.21)

R Haines (appointed 6.9.21)

Company Secretary

Ms C Groom

Independent Examiner

Sedulo Accountants Limited

Chartered Certified Accountants

62-66 Deansgate

Manchester

M3 2EN

Bankers

Barclays Bank plc

Birmingham Business Centre

Colmore Road

Birmingham

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 12 December 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

P Burns - Trustee

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Fierce! (Festival) Limited ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a listed body. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a registered member of FCCA which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

1.	accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

2.	the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3.	the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

4.

the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Daniel Wilson

FCCA

Sedulo Accountants Limited

Chartered Certified Accountants

62-66 Deansgate

Manchester

M3 2EN

12 December 2022

31.3.22

31.3.21

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

fund

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME FROM

Grants and contributed

2

326,289

-

326,289

156,907

Other trading activities

3

5,893

-

5,893

2,991

Investment income

4

2

-

2

-

Total

332,184

-

332,184

159,898

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

Charitable Expenditure

221,543

-

221,543

83,106

NET INCOME

110,641

-

110,641

76,792

Transfers between funds

13

1,296

(1,296

)

-

-

Net movement in funds

111,937

(1,296

)

110,641

76,792

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

19,685

1,296

20,981

(55,811

)

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

131,622

-

131,622

20,981

31.3.22

31.3.21

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

fund

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

10

518

-

518

778

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

11

70,030

-

70,030

12,690

Cash at bank

220,202

-

220,202

30,556

290,232

-

290,232

43,246

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

12

(159,128

)

-

(159,128

)

(23,043

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

131,104

-

131,104

20,203

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

131,622

-

131,622

20,981

NET ASSETS

131,622

-

131,622

20,981

FUNDS

13

Unrestricted funds

131,622

19,685

Restricted funds

-

1,296

TOTAL FUNDS

131,622

20,981

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

(a)	ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and

(b)

preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each 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 charitable company.

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

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 12 December 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:

P Burns - Trustee

1.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

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

Going concern

In common with virtually every other charity in the country, the Company has been experiencing the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. Whilst the full impact of this exceptional situation on the Company cannot be assessed with complete certainty at the current time, the Directors believe they have taken all possible steps to protect the Company including accessing relevant Government assistance.

At the time of signing these accounts the Directors are of the opinion that the Company will remain viable for the foreseeable future and therefore these Financial Statements have been prepared on the Going Concern basis.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Goodwill

Goodwill, being the amount paid in connection with the acquisition of a business in 2015, is being amortised evenly over its estimated useful life of five years.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Computer equipment

-

20% on cost

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

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.

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

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

2.	GRANTS AND CONTRIBUTED

31.3.22

31.3.21

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

funds

funds

funds

funds

£

£

£

£

Grants

221,417

-

221,417

136,465

Other Project Income

103,966

-

103,966

1,429

Government Grants

906

-

906

19,013

326,289

-

326,289

156,907

Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:

31.3.22

31.3.21

£

£

Arts Council England

181,938

133,015

Jerwood Foundation

-

1,250

Other Project Income

-

750

Distinctly Birmingham

-

2,350

Jerwood: Fierce! Festival

6,704

-

Fierce Weston Jerwood Creative Bursary

8,775

-

GBSLEP

6,866

-

Creative New Zealand Funding

17,134

-

Other grants

-

(900

)

221,417

136,465

3.	OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

31.3.22

31.3.21

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

funds

funds

funds

funds

£

£

£

£

Ticket sales

1,991

-

1,991

(5,868

)

Earned income

3,902

-

3,902

8,859

5,893

-

5,893

2,991

4.	INVESTMENT INCOME

31.3.22

31.3.21

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

funds

funds

funds

funds

£

£

£

£

Deposit account interest

2

-

2

-

5.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

31.3.22

31.3.21

£

£

Depreciation - owned assets

260

260

6.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2022 nor for the year ended 31 March 2021.

Trustees' expenses

During the year, trustee expenses were re-imbursed to the value of £294.23 (2021 - £Nil)

7.	STAFF COSTS

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

31.3.22

31.3.21

Administration

5

3

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

8.	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

fund

fund

funds

£

£

£

INCOME FROM

Grants and contributed

153,307

3,600

156,907

Other trading activities

2,991

-

2,991

Total

156,298

3,600

159,898

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

Charitable Expenditure

81,331

1,775

83,106

NET INCOME

74,967

1,825

76,792

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

(55,282

)

(529

)

(55,811

)

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

19,685

1,296

20,981

9.	INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Goodwill

£

COST

At 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022

10,000

AMORTISATION

At 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022

10,000

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2022

-

At 31 March 2021

-

10.	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Computer

equipment

£

COST

At 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022

1,298

DEPRECIATION

At 1 April 2021

520

Charge for year

260

At 31 March 2022

780

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2022

518

At 31 March 2021

778

11.	DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.22

31.3.21

£

£

Trade debtors

5,000

11,963

Other debtors

1,320

727

Prepayments and accrued income

63,710

-

70,030

12,690

12.	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.22

31.3.21

£

£

Other creditors

1,080

127

Accruals and deferred income

158,048

22,916

159,128

23,043

13.	MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Net

Transfers

movement

between

At

At 1.4.21

in funds

funds

31.3.22

£

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

19,685

110,641

1,296

131,622

Restricted funds

Restricted Fund

1,296

-

(1,296

)

-

TOTAL FUNDS

20,981

110,641

-

131,622

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Movement

resources

expended

in funds

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

332,184

(221,543

)

110,641

TOTAL FUNDS

332,184

(221,543

)

110,641

Comparatives for movement in funds

Net

movement

At

At 1.4.20

in funds

31.3.21

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

(55,282

)

74,967

19,685

Restricted funds

Restricted Fund

(529

)

1,825

1,296

TOTAL FUNDS

(55,811

)

76,792

20,981

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Movement

resources

expended

in funds

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

156,298

(81,331

)

74,967

Restricted funds

Restricted Fund

3,600

(1,775

)

1,825

TOTAL FUNDS

159,898

(83,106

)

76,792

14.	RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2022 (2021: £Nil).