Governance

2022 Annual report

Thanks to those who attended the recent County AGM – we looked at the key features of our financial statements that have to be reviewed and submitted to the Charity Commission. Big thanks go out to Corrie Irwin for performing the independent examination again.

We know that not everyone can make the AGM and thought it would be useful to share the key points that were covered so that everyone has an understanding of how County finances look.

Income for 2021 was £38,300, which was lower than 2020 (£72,022) mainly due to a reduction in grant income received. We’re grateful to London Borough of Hillingdon who continued to provide grant support during the period when Willow Tree couldn’t open, but understandably there was less support in 2021 as we came out of the various Covid restrictions.

Rental income at Willow Tree started to pick up a little towards the end of the year, and fortunately 2022 has looked much healthier so we start to see a return to previous levels of income.

The other key factor causing income to be much lower in 2021 was that County lowered the membership fees, due to significant increases higher up in HQ.

Expenditure for 2021 was £77,870 (2020: £95,837). Big efforts to reduce Willow Tree running costs had been made in 2020, but these continued to be well-controlled in 2021.

Although the headline figures might be concerning, showing a deficit for the year (income less expenditure) of £39,570, this was mostly due to the depreciation charge of £37,195. This isn’t a cash cost – rather it is an accounting measure that spreads the original cost of the Willow Tree out over a 50 year period. If we remove depreciation, there is a small cash deficit for the year of £3,084 – an encouraging result in another difficult year where our main source of income, Willow Tree, was closed for most of the year.

The trustees are responsible for performing a going concern review: in other words, we need to consider our ability to continue to operate for the foreseeable future. When we did this review at the end of August 2022, county’s unrestricted funds (i.e. the bit of the county that isn’t Willow Tree) included around £120k of cash. This may sound like a lot, but we are conscious of the need to be able to support ongoing expenditure both at Willow Tree and around the county in the event of any emergencies, and these funds provide us with the ability to do this.

If you have any questions please direct them to Anne Porcheron, the County Treasurer. Email: treasurer@girlguidingmiddxnw.org.uk