ENFIELD_VOLUNTARY_ACTION - Accounts

EVA's Trustees, who are also directors of the organisation for the purposes of the Companies Act, submit their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in Note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Companies Act 2006 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 organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee and was set up in 1991. It was registered as a charitable company limited by guarantee on 20th April 1999. It is governed by a memorandum and articles of association.    

Administration details of the charity, its trustees and advisers            

Full details can be found on the inside front cover of this supplement.                                        

The EVA Trustees who served during the year and their nominating organisations:                                                    

Alok Agrawal - DEEP Indian 50 Plus Association (Enfield)    

Bevin Betton - Enfield Racial Equality Council             

Stephanie Collins – AlphaCare Specialists Limited                    

Tony Dallas – Success Club

Tim Fellows – Enfield LGBT Network

Nusrath Jaku – One-to-One Enfield

Christopher McCoy – Youth & Community Connexions                 

Norma McFarlane – The Shane Project                    

Margaret Thorley – Hope and Restoration

None of the Trustees have any beneficial interest in the company.                                                                                    

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT                                                                    

Governing Document

Enfield Voluntary Action is a company limited by guarantee (No. 3755382) governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association, and was incorporated on 20th April 1999. It is also a registered charity (No. 1077857).                                    

EVA provides services to over 700 voluntary, community and faith organisations that, in turn, provide services to the residents of the London Borough of Enfield. Organisations can become members of EVA which entitles them to nominate representatives to EVA’s Board of Directors. EVA’s membership process requires organisations to submit an up to date copy of their Governing Document, latest set of accounts/financial statements together with copies of their Data Protection Policy, Health & Safety Policy, Safeguarding Policy and Equal Opportunities Policy. To date, approximately 102 organisations have applied for membership with 21 applications currently being processed. EVA has three categories of membership – Introductory (for new and emerging groups), Associate (for groups whose services extend beyond the London Borough of Enfield) and Full Membership for groups whose services are provided for residents of the London Borough of Enfield.

The objects of Enfield Voluntary Action are set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association. EVA promotes positive local social action by helping people and groups access knowledge, skills and resources to make a difference.                                                        

The activities carried out to enable the organisation to achieve these objectives are as follows:                                                        

Charitable Objective 1 - To identify the needs of local voluntary organisations and to help them meet those needs by: providing information and support through: an information and advice service; training, seminars and other events; one-to-one support to new and established groups; producing newsletters and bulletins; signposting and referral to other agencies; practical facilities and equipment; and encouraging good practice                                                        

Charitable Objective 2 - To facilitate liaison and collaboration within the voluntary sector and between the voluntary, public and private sectors by: organising networking and consultation events and special interest forums; disseminating information on consultation and partnership opportunities and policy/planning initiatives; inviting and supporting voluntary organisations to enter consultations and partnerships and to represent themselves on key local policy/planning bodies; facilitating elections to various bodies.        

Charitable Objective 3 - To play a strategic role in strengthening the participation of the voluntary sector by: providing voluntary sector representation on key local policy/planning bodies; advising the public and private sectors on how to involve the voluntary sector, and vice versa and helping to develop mechanisms by which the local voluntary sector can access funding and resources

Charitable Objective 4 - To help voluntary organisations to recruit, train and retain suitable volunteers by: publicising and promoting volunteering and specific volunteering opportunities; maintaining a database of volunteering opportunities in Enfield; providing information, advice and training to potential volunteers; encouraging private and public sector organisations to engage with volunteering; providing information on good practice in volunteer management                

Charitable Objective 5 - To administer funding streams for the benefit of local voluntary and community organisations by: advertising grants programmes; and organising grant application workshops; administering the panel and assessment process.                                                            

EVA Trustees and Staff regularly consider the above Charitable Objectives to ensure that they are fit for purpose in all activities the organisation undertakes as the organisation moves forward.

EVA trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities EVA should undertake.

Recruitment and appointment of Directors (Trustees)                            

EVA's Board of Directors is made up of not less than three and no more than twelve persons nominated and elected by EVA Members. All full member organisations are eligible to receive papers, to enable them to nominate a representative to the EVA board, and to nominate a voting delegate to the EVA AGM. Board Members are elected for a maximum of six consecutive years. Retiring Directors are eligible for re-nomination after at least one year's absence from EVA's Board has been completed. The Board of Directors is also able to co-opt additional members to fill identified skills gaps. The Board of Trustees elect a Chair, Vice Chair, Honorary Treasurer and Company Secretary. Organisations nominating trustees and their nominees are required to agree:                                                        

• To provide their organisation's relevant documents (Governing Document, Annual Report, Latest Audited Accounts, Equal Opportunities Policy)

• To agree that their nominated representatives meet with the EVA Chair and Chief Executive to discuss the role of an EVA Trustee    

• To represent the VCS as a whole, and not their nominating organisation

• To accept that enquiries relating to Charity and Companies Registration, and the financial probity of their organisations may take place.    

• To provide details of other organisations with which they are involved, in order that conflicts of interest can be avoided.

• To complete the Charity Commission Declaration of eligibility for newly appointed trustees.                        

If the required documentation is not submitted by the deadline date, the nomination is not accepted. All nominees are interviewed prior to the nomination going forward.

Trustee Induction and Training

Trustees receive copies of all EVA policies; memorandum and articles of association; code of conduct; meeting timetable; conflict of interest declaration form and are required to attend the first available Roles and Responsibilities of Trustees training, following their election. At the first Board Meeting after the AGM, all Trustees are required to read and sign a Trustee Code of Conduct and complete a Skills Audit. Information taken from the skills audit is used to support EVA’s funding applications                                    

Organisation    

EVA's Board of Directors governs the charity. Board Meetings are held 5 times a year. There is a Policy, Personnel and Finance Committee that meets to discuss issues as required and then feed back/report to Trustee Board Meetings.                                                

EVA holds an Annual Review and Planning Day where Directors and Staff meet to review activities, check that services being provided are appropriate to enable the vcs to support local residents and to agree new projects if relevant. This event enables EVA to review how its charitable objectives are met; enables staff and directors to participate in discussion and debate on EVA's Business Plan; and to incorporate any changes required in light of current circumstances. The day to day running of the organisation is carried out by employed staff led by the Chief Executive, supported by 8 full/part-time staff. The Chief Executive has delegated authority to run operations and take financial decisions. All cheque payments and online bank transactions require two signatories/authorisations; 2 Trustees, the Company Secretary and the Chief Executive are signatories.                                

EVA is a member of the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action and consequently is committed to supporting the nationally agreed Code of Practice and Statement of Values for Councils for Voluntary Service.                            

Public Benefit

EVA's Board of Directors confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit and that the activities carried out by the charity during the year were all undertaken in order to further the charity's aims for the benefit of EVA's beneficiaries

Risk Management

A risk assessment is carried out annually in order to identify the organisation's exposure to risk. The risk assessment is regularly updated and includes procedures put in place to mitigate the risks identified. The Risk Assessment is submitted to Trustees annually for discussion and ratification.     

Financial Review                                                        

EVA continues to seek new funding streams in order to be able to continue to provide services to the vcs in Enfield. In March 2023 the London Borough of Enfield agreed an extension of EVA’s funding to provide support and capacity building to the Enfield Voluntary and Community Sector and co-ordination of volunteering opportunities to Enfield Residents. The award was for £113,333 the period 1st April 2023 – 30th November 2024. The funding awarded remains at the previous level and it has been recognised by Trustees that it will continue to be necessary for EVA to fundraise or use some of its reserves in order to be able to deliver services and maintain the high standards of support achieved over the past 32 years.

Reserves Policy                            

Enfield Voluntary Action aims to have Reserves equivalent to six months average annual expenditure. In addition, the reserves are also expected to cover long term sickness for long service staff; redundancy payments for all staff and asset replacement costs. EVA's Trustees have also agreed to allocate some reserves to act as bridging finance or match funding where new funding for a project is likely to be secured. These figures are calculated at: £345,543. EVA's reserves are therefore at the required level.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

EVA’s post COVID 19 working practices

EVA Staff have now adopted a system of hybrid working. Staff have agreed and signed new Conditions of Work and Home Working Risk Assessments are carried out annually. EVA Trustees continue to ensure that processes are in place to safeguard staff Mental Health and working conditions. Trustees agreed to continue the employee support cover, taken out through Peninsula HR Consultants which enables staff to contact an advisor to discuss issues that are of concern to them in a completely confidential setting.

PARTNERSHIP WORKING

Over the past year EVA has continued to work with various partners to provide additional training and support to the vcs groups and residents of Enfield as follows:

• Job Club – Partnership Work between Enfield Borough Over 50’s Forum and EVA (Funded by LBE ESP) – until July 2022

• LBE Prevent/EVA – Capacity Building targeted organisations

• LBE Active Enfield Team (additional support)

• LBE Active Through Football – supporting project development

• LBE Friends of Parks (funded by LBE ESP) – until July 2022

• LocalMotion

• Community Links Bromley (Health Champions/Mental Health First Aid Training)

• NHS Enfield CCG – Health Champions Network development

• LBE – Neighbourhood Fund – application support to groups

• MIND In Enfield – support to set up a Mental Health Network in Enfield

• BEHMHT – grants programme

• LBE Trusted Voices – grants programme

More details of all EVA Activities can be found in the 2022/2023 Impact Report (please contact admin@enfieldva.org.uk for a copy.

EVA continues to provide the following services to groups in Enfield:

Community Accountancy Service (ECAS) - partly funded by the London Borough of Enfield, Big Lottery Fund and Tudor Trust (until October 2022). EVA is a member of the Charity Finance Group which administer the Community Accountancy National Network to promote networking with community accountants and charity finance workers nationally. The main objectives of the project are to assist and empower groups in financial management. It empowers them with the basic financial management skills to enable them to carry out their budgeting and financial tasks, implementing good financial procedures and practice. This is carried out by providing one to one advice, support and training. The project meets EVA objectives of empowering and capacity building voluntary organisation in Enfield. The Community Accountant provides support to groups in meeting compliance requirements towards Funders, the pension regulators, HMRC, Companies House and the Charity Commission.

During the year 414 1-1 Support Sessions took place providing advice and support on Policy Development; Funding and Advice to 158 vcs groups. These sessions took place in person, via teams or over the telephone.

The Development and Funding Advice Manager facilitated Funding Workshops, Meet The Funder Sessions, and Training Courses. Two meet the funder sessions were organised attended by 36 representatives from 28 vcs organisations; 2 Making a Successful Funding Application courses took place attended by 25 representatives from 24 vcs organisations.

Social Prescribing/Health Champions Funded by Big Lottery and Cornerstone Fund (until July 2022)

The objectives of the Big Lottery Funded programme are to ensure that VCSE is put at the heart of health & social care service planning and subsequent delivery, thus enabling services to reach more residents through the channels of groups’ relationships with people with the overarching outcome of reducing health inequalities and making health more accessible for all. In order to achieve this EVA will also be working with voluntary organisations who will host the Health Champions (existing members of their staff or long-term volunteers) and Enfield Citizens Advice Bureau (ECAB). During the project EVA developed strategies, attended strategic meetings, identified strategic opportunities, populated and administrated Simply Connect Enfield (this includes regularly checking organisational information and activities are up to date and amending as required), managing the Health Champions, organising further training and networking meetings, monitor outputs, evaluate outcomes, measure impact and share learning.

During the year 1 Mental Health First Aid training course also took place attended by 13 vcs representatives. The course was free of charge for trained Health Champions.

Organisations with trained Health Champions that received funds to carry out Health Activities during the year completed their activities and returned their monitoring funds to EVA for inclusion in the final monitoring report to Big Lottery.

Supporting Groups to Raise Funds

Enfield Council was awarded a grant from the government's Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and commissioned EVA to deliver a grants programme of £75,000 for local VCS groups. Local voluntary and community groups that work with communities with a low uptake of Covid-19 vaccinations were invited to apply for grants of between £10,000 and £15,000 to fund communications and engagement activities to reduce health inequalities among key communities in Enfield.

As in the past, the Grants Panel was made up of representatives from vcs groups in the Borough and representatives from the funders. Representatives from organisations interested in becoming a Panel Member completed and submitted an online form. They received training from an independent trainer prior to the meeting. EVA Staff/Trustees were in attendance at the Panel Meetings but did not play a part in the decision making. The funding was awarded in February 2023 with projects expected to finish by March 2024. Five vcs organisations were awarded grants between £14,000 and £14,800 and 4 organisations received grants of £500.

EVA supported groups to apply for Enfield Neighbourhood Funds by running a grants workshop. 83 representatives from 73 vcs organisations attended the workshop facilitated by EVA’s Development and Funding Advice Manager and Community Accountant. 7 representatives from LBE attended the workshop in order to answer any queries received regarding the application process. EVA staff also provided one-to-one support to groups to assist them with their applications.

EVA continues to provide assistance to Johnson Matthey plc (a speciality chemicals company with a Chemical Plant in Enfield) who, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility Programme set up a small donations programme to benefit groups in the London Borough of Enfield. Every month one local organisation receives £500 to assist with their work in the Borough. Groups submit their ideas on a simple online application form which is forwarded to Johnson Matthey plc. Three ideas are then presented to employees and voted for. Over the past year EVA has worked on updating the existing application spreadsheet and checked with groups whether their applications were still valid. 20 applications were submitted to Johnson Matthey during the year for consideration.

Between April 2022 and March 2023 EVA supported Enfield VCS groups to successfully secure a further £1,210,029 of external grants for community projects supporting the residents in the London Borough of Enfield. This support included one-to-one meetings with groups, grants workshops, meet the funder sessions and training courses.

Volunteer Recruitment/Placement/Celebrations

EVA’s Volunteer Centre Manager continued to enable groups to meet their volunteer needs in many different ways. The Volunteering Opportunities Booklet was available in printed form with copies being distributed to all local libraries for those interested in volunteering to pick up. The booklet enables groups to advertise their opportunities on a quarterly basis. Regular Introduction to Volunteering Training Courses take place where those interested in volunteering hear about the types of opportunities available and learn what to expect from their volunteering experience with groups. A Volunteer Fair was organised in November at Community House where voluntary organisations had stalls and were able to meet potential volunteers face to face. 32 groups had stalls at the event which was visited by 95 residents.

In September 2022 Volunteer Centre Enfield hosted a Volunteer Awards Ceremony at Enfield Civic Centre. Organisations were invited to submit nominations of those individual volunteers that they felt should receive special recognition for their volunteering. 75 individuals from 16 organisations attended the ceremony and received trophies and a certificate.

The Volunteer Centre Manager continued to organise Enfield Volunteer Organiser’s Network meetings during the year. 3 online meetings took place attended by 43 representatives from 30 vcs organisations.

A Junior Apprentice Challenge Enfield Project took place during the year with primary schools in Enfield. This provided a unique challenge of bringing together partners from local Businesses (Mentors), and young people from local schools (the Apprentices) and local charities and community groups. The object was to raise the aspirations of young minds and at the same time to raise funds for the groups. The primary aim was to offer opportunities to students to participate in enterprise challenges. Business and social awareness learning opportunities were available for the pupils who were from Year 5 and Year 6. Three businesses signed up to the programme and provided 5 mentors each to the young people from 9 schools. Each school sent 10 students to the final event held in the Council Chambers at Enfield Civic Centre on 4th March 2023 where they gave presentations on their projects and answered questions from the Dragons (Judges). Prizes were presented to the schools judged to have produced the best poster, given the best presentation, and raised the most funds, best individual pupil overall and a final prize for the best overall school.

Fundraising

During the year EVA has continued to submit funding applications in order to secure services for the vcs. This included a successful application to City Bridge to provide funds to support the Development and Funding Advice and Community Accountancy aspects of EVA’s work with groups.

Communication

This year we have carried out a project to consolidate the mailing lists that had historically been separately managed by different members of staff, and to clean the data. We introduced new systems to ensure new contacts from local community and voluntary groups are added regularly to our mailing list and to remove defunct addresses. As a result, by April 2023 we were sending our monthly EVANEWS bulletin to 1050 people from local voluntary and community organisation - up from 695 in April 2022. We have also established special mailing lists for our networks and special interest groups, such as our Mental Health Network or new and developing organisations, to receive tailored updates and meeting invitations geared to their needs. Our contacts can now choose which special interest groups or networks they join.

We sent out 12 monthly issues of our EVANEWS email bulletin to our main mailing list of contacts from local community groups, plus one special issue. We also sent 14 other mailings to our network and special interest mailing lists, with meeting dates and topics of interest to that list. We sent four quarterly mailings to our list of local residents who have registered their interest in becoming volunteers. This list has grown in size from 440 in April 2022 to 650 in April 2023.

We have overhauled our website to establish a fully self-hosted system and brought our online booking system entirely in-house, following problems with our previous supplier. We now have full access and control over all our meeting and event booking forms and data.

We are planning to introduce an online payment system so that any training fees or deposits can be paid online when people register. [July 2023 update: our online payments system is now up and running.] We are planning a further upgrade of our website to develop its content.

Simply Connect (previously Connect Well)

Full and Associate members of EVA are eligible to be part of Simply Connect Enfield, an online searchable directory which will help groups to increase their reach and provide opportunities for people and groups to share and learn, and to take positive local social action. For London Borough of Enfield residents who are seeking a new leisure or social activity, need advice or information, or want to meet other people with similar interests or life experiences, Simply Connect Enfield will help them find and make connections with local groups who offer these services. To date details of 83 organisations have been added to Simply Connect, with an overall total of 616 activities entered, 483 of which are currently active. EVA’s Administrative Assistant is responsible for ensuring that organisational details and activities are accurate and up to date, this entails regularly contacting organisations to make regular checks.

EVA Networks and Forums that took place during 2022/2023 were as follows:

• Enfield Volunteer Organisers Network (Volunteer Centre Manager; funded by LBE)

• 1 X Voluntary Sector Homelessness and Housing Network (funded by NLCF) this network became the Cost of Living Network after EVA’s Annual General Meeting in October 2022. 2 further Network Meetings took place after that date.

• VCS Youth Activities Forum (Community Accountant; funded by Tudor Trust) 1 meeting took place during the year as the funding ended in July 2022.

• VCS Mental Health Network (Project & Partnerships Manager; funded by Mind in Enfield)

• Localmotion Core Group and Planning Meetings

• Enfield Wellbeing Network (Project & Partnerships Manager; funded by LBE Adult Social Services)

• Youth Alive (Project & Partnerships Manager; funded by LBE Public Health) until July 2022

• Health Champions Network (Funded by Lottery & Integrated Care Partnership Board)

Strategic Representation

EVA has been represented on the following Strategic Boards:

• CAHN and Enfield Black Community Health Forum

• Climate Change & Health – Health Champions Engagement

• Enfield Borough Partnership ICB

• Enfield Borough Partnership Board

• Enfield Community Centred Research

• Enfield ICB Community Connectorship Workshop

• Enfield ICP Communications & Engagement Working Group

• Enfield ICP Core20Plus5 IHI bid Submission Group

• Enfield ICP Inequalities Delivery Group

• Enfield Integrated Care Partnership Mental Health Steering Group

• Enfield Social Prescribing Advisory Board Meeting

• Voluntary Sector Strategy Group

• LBE Emergency Resilience Board

• Early Help Board

• NHS Charities

• LBE Reducing Inequalities/ Community Hubs

• Vaccine Champions Public Health

• Health & Wellbeing Board

• NCL ICS VCSE Alliance

• Population Health (CCG)

• Place based design (CCG)

• ICP Task and finish groups Childhood Obesity

• LBE Homelessness Prevention Board

• LBE Homelessness Transformation

• LBE Older People’s Partnership Board Meeting

• Food Alliance

• Mental Health Partnership Board

• Early Intervention & Prevention Steering Group

• Older People’s Partnership Board

• Physical Disabilities Partnership Board

• Enfield Social Prescribing Steering Group

• NCL Social Prescribing for Children & Young People Working Group

• HLP Social Prescribing for CYP London Community of Practice

• Enfield Active Through Football Consortium

• Community Panels Steering Group

• LocalMotion Enfield Core Group and Working Groups

• Enfield ICP Access to Services, Recovery & Innovation

Regional & National Representation/Membership

• NAVCA- Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) Membership Organisation

• CVS Directors Network/ London Plus – London CVS CEOs sharing good practice running CVSs across London

• London Plus Cost of Living Task & Finish Group

• Cornerstone Group – 5 CVSs working together on Health & Wellbeing projects in 5 London Boroughs to share good practice (Funded by City Bridge Trust)

• VCS Emergency Partnerships

• North Central London NHS Volunteer Responders

• Chief Officers Information Network

• Localmotion

• GLA Trustee Training Group

EVA has also on occasion been invited to attend the following meetings:

• Schools – Designated Safeguarding Leads’ Network

• Colleges

• Over 50s Forum

• Social Prescribing Network

• Enfield Thrives Together

• NASP NCL CVSs Social Prescribing/Thriving Communities

• North Mid Hospital Keeping People Healthy Board meeting

• Voluntary and Community Stakeholder Reference Group

• London Covid 19 Community Champion Action Learning Group

• Healthy London Partnership (NHS) SPLW Managers Meeting

Statement of trustees' responsibilities    

Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charity as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial year. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

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

The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with 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.

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

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

The trustees, who are also the directors of Enfield Voluntary Action 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;

- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 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 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.

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Enfield Voluntary Action (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2023.

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

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity 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 the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 the examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 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 that in any material respect:

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

the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

the financial statements 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

the financial statements 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 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.

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

Enfield Voluntary Action is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Community House, 311 Fore Street, London, N9 0PZ.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 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 accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

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.

Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

The charity received money mainly through donations and events occurring within the year.

Income 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.

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, 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 classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Costs are accounted for when they are incurred, with irrecoverable VAT being charged as a cost against the relevant activity.

Costs of charitable activities relate to the furtherance of the charities objectives.

Costs of raising funds relate to events and other activities through which the charity raises its profile.

Administration costs represent the running costs of the charity which are charged to the income and expenditure account in the period when they are incurred. They are included wholly within the Charitable Activities.

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 the statement of financial activities.

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).

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.

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.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

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

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.

Training income

Project Costs

Support Costs

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

There are no employees who received total employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) of more than £60,000.

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxationof Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

Other creditors in 2023 relate to funds received from the PGG that are due to an Independent Group and not EVA. Consequently these funds have been held in the accounts as an amount due to a third party.

Deferred Income in 2023 relates to a combination of project funds received where the projects spans over the financial year. These funds will be recognised in 2024.

Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The staff liabilities fund contains the costs associated with redundancies for EVA staff. EVA has long standing staff that have been developed over a number of years demonstrating exceptional commitment to their projects. Therefore, EVA has proportionally higher staff liabilities. EVA’s trustees have thus acted prudently and responsibly in designating funds to meet these liabilities.

Unrestricted

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Unrestricted

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