THE_SCOTTISH_FOUNDATION_F - Accounts

The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.

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 Articles of Assocaition, 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) (effective 1 January 2019)".

The purpose of the charitable group is to support the relief of poverty and unemployed and disadvantaged people, to advance education of young and unemployed people and to assist other charitable organisations that are concerned with the advancement of education and relief of poverty through community development initiatives.

The charity received a donation from its trading subsidiary during the year of £19,000 (2022 - £32,000) and donated it to its charitable subsidiary for its ongoing operations.

It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure. The Trustees considers that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year.

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

The charity is a company limited by guarantee to £1 per member. By definition no equity interests can be held in the company by any of the trustees or any dividend paid. The charity's governing document consists of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company. The charity has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Cullisvale Services Limited trading as The Scottish Training Foundation (STF) and Portfolio Consultants Limited. The results of these subsidiaries are shown within the notes tothese financial statements.

The charity is recognised as a Scottish Charity, Number SC004151. In the trustees' opinion the Company is not liable to UK income or corporation tax under the provisions of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, sections 505 and 506.

The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

None of the Trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the Trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.

The charity has a Board of Directors which is responsible for general policy decisions and for ensuring that the appropriate safeguards are in place in both the charity and wider group. The Board consists of three non-executive trustees, all experiencedin their professional fields, namely business finance and development, education and third sector social enterprise.

The group employs a General Manager, Andrew Weir, to manage the day to day operations of the group whilst overseeing the business financial management and corporate governance requirements.

At present the Board is satisfied with its composition which it believes to be effective in managing the business and the subsidiary companies and driving the short, medium and long term strategies.

The Board is responsible for the appointment of new members and continues to monitor the operational and strategic needs of the business, and will consider the appointment of new directors with relevant specialist skills that it believes will enhance the charity in the pursuit of its strategic goals.

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 2023, which are set out on pages 4 to 8.

The charity’s Trustees, who are also the directors of The Scottish Foundation for Social and Economic Development 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 as ammended. 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 2023.

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.

The Scottish Foundation for Social and Economic Development is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is 12 Eastbank Drive, Glasgow, G32 0HU, Scotland.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's [governing document], 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) (effective 1 January 2019)". 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. 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 available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

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.

Fixed asset investments are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. The investments are assessed for impairment at each reporting date and any impairment losses or reversals of impairment losses are recognised immediately in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

Support of Charitable Group

Support of Charitable Group

Donations to subsidiary

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).

The company was under control of the trustees during the current and prior year. No individual had a controlling interest.