Fierce! (Festival) Limited - Charities report - 18.1

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 04609212 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1110138

TRUSTEES' REPORT AND

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2018

FOR

FIERCE! (FESTIVAL) LIMITED

FIERCE! (FESTIVAL) LIMITED

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2018

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 14

FIERCE! (FESTIVAL) LIMITED

TRUSTEES' REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2018

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 2018. 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 2015).

Governing Document

Fierce! (Festival) Limited 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 and up to date as of the filing of this document.

Directors

The directors as named on page 1 have served either throughout or during the year.

Organisational Management

The Fierce! (Festival Limited) trustees meet at least 4 times per year, and operate a series of sub-groups, which meet

regularly, covering the areas of Finance, Fundraising, and Marketing & Communication. The annual Board away enables

strategic planning and medium to long term review of organisational risk. Potential new trustees are identified via a

skills audit once a year at the Board away day, and invited to observe a Board meeting before becoming a trustee. Aaron

Wright (Artistic Director) is responsible for the day to day management of the charity.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Purposes and activities

Fierce! (Festival) Limited is a leading festival of Live Art and Performance, based in the West Midlands. It has an

international reputation for intelligent commissioning that has seen Fierce commissions tour worldwide. The festival

embraces theatre, dance, music, installations, activism, digital practices and parties. Fierce fills the city with

performances in theatres, galleries and other out-of-the-ordinary spaces.

Our mission statement is to 'to present the best live art from across the world in new contexts and settings through the

West Midlands, surprising and delighting audiences by challenging the conventional understanding of what art can be,

do and say, and to inspire regionally based art practices into making innovative and ground-breaking live art'.

The 2017-18 year saw the inaugural festival of the new Fierce team. This was extremely well received by audiences

(with 14 sold-out shows), industry professionals and media outlets.

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.

New Talent Development

We commission leading UK Live Artists at pivotal moments in their career, using Fierce's reputation to leverage

international support to help projects develop a lasting legacy. Fierce commissions for the festival included:

- Jamila Johnson Small - toured to Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Vooruit (Ghent), ImPulsTanz (Vienna), Baltic Circle

Festival (Helsinki), Take Me Somewhere (Glasgow) and Mousonturm (Frankfurt).

- Lauren Barri Holstein - 9 performances across the UK, including a sold-out run at Barbican; further international

touring planned for 2019.

- Rosana Cade & Elilidh Macaskil - Premiered in London in January 2018 and has secured a full run & national tour in

autumn 2018.

- Malik Nashad-Sharpe - Malik's work $elfie$, commissioned via Fierce FWD, has established their voice as a new artist

in the sector and has gone on to multiple tour dates internationally.

Fierce FWD

Our artist development programme saw 11 emerging artists supported, with 6 of those artists going onto present work,

take part in performances or facilitate activity during the festival.

Fierce is proud to contribute to creative discourse in the UK, with notable attendance from UK based arts professional

and artists. This was capitalised upon by ensuring networking opportunities were built into the programme, in turn

directly contributing to the development of the wider sector, fostering new national and international relationships.

Equality and diversity

Diversity and equality are at the core of our vision, and inform our recruitment of staff and board members, the artists

we employ and how we talk to and develop our audiences. Our understanding of diversity is intersectional and rejects

tokenism, actively seeking a multiplicity of representations. We aspire to be a leader in this area.

On announcement of the 2017 programme it was lauded by The Stage as 'One of the most representative programmes in

the country'. The 2017 Festival programme was 58% female lead, 60% LGBTQ lead, 33% BAME lead and 9%

disability lead.

Our Fierce FWD artist development programme also had strong representation with 5 of the 11 artists coming from

BAME backgrounds; 9 artists identifying as queer; 7 identifying as women or non-binary and 1 as disabled.

Fierce recognises the need to continue to pursue the diversification of the team, particularly at board level, this is a

priority for the new financial year.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

This festival year was budgeted as a deficit, following on from our large surplus in 2016-17. Total income for the year

was £205,131 and total expenditure was £251,128, resulting in a deficit of £45,997.

We worked hard this year to diversify our income in a challenging climate. New income streams included consultation

work for local and national arts organisations, increased international investment from embassies and organisations

supporting international touring, and a big increase in Box Office revenue from the 2015 festival to the 2017 festival

with several sell-out shows. We plan to build on this success by increasing the capacity of selected future shows.

We continue to look for best value and efficiencies in infrastructure, office costs and overheads.

In 2017-18 we were awarded Catalyst funding to help make the organisation more resilient in the future; diversifying

funding streams, developing the staff and board with relevant training and investing in systems. This sits alongside our

successful application to the Arts Forward scheme which will provide future business mentoring and support for the

team.

Reserves policy and going concern

In 2016-17, we made a large surplus of £68,414, which left us with total reserves of £35,774. This was a year of planned

savings in order to eliminate the negative reserves brought forward, and to support the 2017-18 festival year, which had

a budgeted deficit. Due to the nature of the charity's business we have developed a new biennial model. This will tend to

show consecutive years of surplus and deficit, depending on whether it is a festival year or not. The 2017-18 saw a

deficit of (£45,997), leaving us with a negative carry forward reserves figure of (£10,223). We plan for a strong surplus

in 2018-19, which will support the 2019 Festival and continuing to build our reserves to 3 month's operating costs in

order to support ourselves to be resilient to any future financial challenges. We have made good progress on this over

the past 3 years and have reduced the deficit by over £20,000, and plan to continue this trend into 2018-19.

As such, the Trustees believe it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis

FUTURE PLANS

In 2018/19 we plan a range of activity. We will present three events with different partners: in July we will present

internationally renowned artist Ivo Dimchev with his show P-Project in collaboration with BE Festival. In July we

present an evening of performance at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery to mark the opening their new exhibition

'Body & Self', and in January we present a new Fierce commissioned show 'Moot Moot' by artists Ivor MacAskill and

Rosana Cade at Midlands Arts Centre. We also present three of our late night Club Fierce events in collaboration with

Birmingham International Dance Festival, Shout Festival and one to mark Valentine's Day 2019. We will also start work

on a number of new commissions with UK based artists including Whiskey Chow, Greg Wohead & Gillie Kleiman, as

well as Lucy McCormick. Finally, we will launch the next edition of our Fierce FWD artist development scheme, for

Live Arts in the West Midlands region.

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.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

04609212 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1110138

Registered office

Unit 3 Minerva Works

158 Fazeley Street

Birmingham

B5 5RS

Trustees

C Cremin

J Diviney

E Evans

T J Hodgson

Dr C R Lambert

Dr B L Lobel

M Mulvey

- resigned 26.8.18

S S Trotman

J Wolinski

A Wright

- resigned 1.4.17

Company Secretary

S E Newman

Independent examiner

Sedulo Accountants Limited

Chartered Certified Accountants

Regency Court

62-66 Deansgate

Manchester

Lancashire

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 27 November 2018 and signed on its behalf by:

C Cremin - Trustee

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF

FIERCE! (FESTIVAL) LIMITED

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 2018.

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

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

Regency Court

62-66 Deansgate

Manchester

Lancashire

M3 2EN

20 December 2018

FIERCE! (FESTIVAL) LIMITED

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2018

31.3.18

31.3.17

Unrestricted fund

Restricted fund

Total funds

Total funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

2

185,987

-

185,987

146,716

Other trading activities

3

19,144

-

19,144

-

Total

205,131

-

205,131

146,716

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

Charitable Expenditure

250,287

-

250,287

73,456

Other

841

-

841

4,846

Total

251,128

-

251,128

78,302

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

(45,997

)

-

(45,997

)

68,414

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

34,982

792

35,774

(32,640

)

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

(11,015

)

792

(10,223

)

35,774

FIERCE! (FESTIVAL) LIMITED

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AT 31 MARCH 2018

31.3.18

31.3.17

Unrestricted fund

Restricted fund

Total funds

Total funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Intangible assets

8

2,000

-

2,000

4,000

Tangible assets

9

-

-

-

2

2,000

-

2,000

4,002

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

10

5,686

-

5,686

35,093

Cash at bank and in hand

50

792

842

11,083

5,736

792

6,528

46,176

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

11

(18,751

)

-

(18,751

)

(14,404

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS/(LIABILITIES)

(13,015

)

792

(12,223

)

31,772

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

(11,015

)

792

(10,223

)

35,774

NET ASSETS/(LIABILITIES)

(11,015

)

792

(10,223

)

35,774

FUNDS

13

Unrestricted funds

(11,015

)

34,982

Restricted funds

792

792

TOTAL FUNDS

(10,223

)

35,774

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under

Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2018.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended

31 March 2018 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 special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies

Act 2006 relating to charitable small companies.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 27 November 2018 and were signed on its behalf by:

C Cremin -Trustee

FIERCE! (FESTIVAL) LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2018

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 2015)',

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 £.

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.	DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

31.3.18

31.3.17

£

£

Charitable income

167,847

144,612

Other Project Income

13,444

2,093

Other income

4,696

11

185,987

146,716

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

31.3.18

31.3.17

£

£

Arts Council England

130,612

130,612

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

16,550

4,000

Jerwood Foundation

-

10,000

5 Trusts & Foundation

4,685

-

Junction CDC

7,000

-

The Yard Theatre

3,000

-

The Dance Exchange

3,000

-

The British Council

3,000

-

167,847

144,612

3.	OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

31.3.18

31.3.17

£

£

Fundraising events

18,527

-

Merchandise sales

617

-

19,144

-

4.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

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

31.3.18

31.3.17

£

£

Depreciation - owned assets

2

-

Goodwill amortisation

2,000

2,000

5.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2018 nor for the year ended

31 March 2017.

Trustees' expenses

During the year, trustee expenses were re-imbursed to the value of £249 (2017 - £1,352).

6.	STAFF COSTS

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

31.3.18

31.3.17

1

1

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

7.	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted fund

Restricted fund

Total funds

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

136,716

10,000

146,716

Total

136,716

10,000

146,716

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

Charitable Expenditure

64,248

9,208

73,456

Other

4,846

-

4,846

Total

69,094

9,208

78,302

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

67,622

792

68,414

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

(32,640

)

-

(32,640

)

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

34,982

792

35,774

8.	INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Goodwill

£

COST

At 1 April 2017

10,000

AMORTISATION

At 1 April 2017

6,000

Charge for year

2,000

At 31 March 2018

8,000

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2018

2,000

At 31 March 2017

4,000

9.	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Computer equipment

£

COST

At 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018

25,482

DEPRECIATION

At 1 April 2017

25,480

Charge for year

2

At 31 March 2018

25,482

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2018

-

At 31 March 2017

2

10.	DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.18

31.3.17

£

£

Other debtors

4,686

-

Prepayments and accrued income

1,000

35,093

5,686

35,093

11.	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.18

31.3.17

£

£

Bank loans and overdrafts (see note 12)

2,299

-

Trade creditors

1,923

10,172

Social security and other taxes

3,091

1,912

Pension Costs

611

164

Other creditors

4,007

-

Accruals and deferred income

5,620

2,156

Accrued expenses

1,200

-

18,751

14,404

12.

LOANS

An analysis of the maturity of loans is given below:

31.3.18

31.3.17

£

£

Amounts falling due within one year on demand:

Bank overdraft

2,299

-

13.	MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

At 1.4.17

Net movement in funds

At 31.3.18

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

34,982

(45,997

)

(11,015

)

Restricted funds

Restricted Fund

792

-

792

TOTAL FUNDS

35,774

(45,997

)

(10,223

)

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

Incoming resources

Resources expended

Movement in funds

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

205,131

(251,128

)

(45,997

)

TOTAL FUNDS

205,131

(251,128

)

(45,997

)

Comparatives for movement in funds

At 1.4.16

Net movement in funds

At 31.3.17

£

£

£

Unrestricted Funds

General fund

(32,640

)

67,622

34,982

Restricted Funds

Restricted Fund

-

792

792

TOTAL FUNDS

(32,640

)

68,414

35,774

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

Incoming resources

Resources expended

Movement in funds

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

136,716

(69,094

)

67,622

Restricted funds

Restricted Fund

10,000

(9,208

)

792

TOTAL FUNDS

146,716

(78,302

)

68,414

14.	RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2018.