SUSSEX OPERA AND BALLET SOCIETY
(SOBS)
REGISTERED CHARITY NO 271113
Website: www.sussexoperaandballetsociety.org.uk
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2008
SUSSEX OPERA AND BALLET SOCIETY
Registered Charity No: 27113
Contents
Summary of Activities Page 3
Finances Page 4
Report of the Independent Examiner Page 6
Statement of Financial Activities Page 7
Balance Sheet Page 8
Independent Examiner: Mr D J Reeves
Bankers: CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ
Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank Plc, Bridle Road, Bootle, GIR 0AA.
Report of the Trustees
for the Year Ended 31 DECEMBER 2008
The Trustees present their report and independently examined financial statements for the
year to 31 DECEMBER 2008.
LEGAL STATUS
The Society was founded in 1974 and registered as a Charity by the Charity Commission
on 29th April 1976.
Charitable objects
The charitable objects of the society are to educate the public in the arts and sciences,
and in particular the arts and sciences of music, by the presentation of opera, ballet and
drama by providing weekend courses and other desirable activities.
The Charity governing document is its Constitution, this was last revised 19 November
2005.
As part of its educational role, the Society funds four bursaries annually, two each in
Classical Ballet and Opera. The bursaries are each for up to £500. The awards are made
to promising young students, who show outstanding ability and whose talents would be
nurtured by attending training courses relevant to those aspiring to professional careers in
these arts and who might not otherwise be able to afford the fees.
Administration
The Charity is administered by a management committee, who are Trustees of the
Charity, comprising:
Mrs Barbara Fisher OBE Chairman
Ms Rosey Eggar Vice Chairman
Mrs Marion Boyle Hon Secretary
Mr Edwin Cowley Hon Treasurer
Mrs Janet Cope
Mrs Victoria Heseltine
Mrs Caroline Houston
Mrs Elizabeth Pridmore (Muir-Lewis)
Mrs Gillian Worsfold
Miss Brenda Yates
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SUSSEX OPERA AND BALLET SOCIETY
Registered Charity No: 27113
The officers and committee members are elected by the members of the Society at the
Annual General Meeting and hold office for one year but may be eligible for re-election
thereafter.
New Committee Members, on election or co-option, are given a copy of Charity
Commission publication CC3 "The Essential Trustee: What you need to know" June 2005
and are asked to read it.
Annually, all Committee Members are required to affirm that they are not ineligible from
being a Charity Trustee under clause E3 of Charity Commission publication CC3 and agree
to abide by the Constitution of the Society and the current edition of its "Operating
Procedures".
The Trustees undertake the affairs of the Charity with assistance from some members.
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SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR
SOBS has had a year of change but thanks to the stability and dedication of the
Committee and the support from the President the transition has been calm and
as the new Chairman I am most grateful to the Committee and the members
for their warm reception.
It is with sadness I report the death of Sven the much-loved husband of our
Patron, Dame Beryl Grey. We also regret that our President Emeritus, Douglas
Craig, has been unable to attend meetings on account of poor health however
we are deeply grateful to him for his generous donation to our Bursary Funds.
The year began with an excellent meeting with the speakers Donald Macleary
and Edward Thorpe who like our members battled their way to the Hydro Hotel
through a heavy snowstorm. The season continued successfully and fortunately
with better weather with Elizabeth Muir-Lewis, Neil Jenkins and Mark Wildman.
A special event in every sense was our Patron, Dame Beryl Grey's talk at the
Ardington Hotel, Worthing. This was a memorable meeting not only for the
fascinating reminiscences but also because we were finally in West Sussex. Our
aim is to visit different parts of Sussex and our Committee member, Brenda
Yates had taken particular care to select the venue; members were also helped
by the provision of a coach from Bexhill via Eastbourne and Lewes which was
much appreciated. The event was in fact oversubscribed.
Marion has had a particularly busy year organising visits to Covent Garden and
Glyndebourne. It is encouraging members are so enthusiastic but the
administration is considerable and hopefully some voluntary help will be given.
The Hon. Secretary has a considerable brief and we must ensure she is not
overburdened. Similarly Edwin who continues to monitor our finances with
reassuring attentiveness has a heavy load. Thanks must go to each member of
the Committee and also to the willing assistants - matters such as attending
performances given by Bursary holders; making contacts with future speakers;
identifying possible venues; maintaining and storing the archives; hosting
Committee Meetings; writing the minutes of our meetings; organising
successful raffles; ensuring publicity for SOBS.
My apologies for omissions. We all share an enthusiasm for our Charity, SOBS
and our desire is to further opportunities for the future young performers. Many
of our members travel long distances to meetings, we are grateful to all of you
for your ongoing support and we look forward to seeing you at our next series
of talks.
Bursaries.
As you know we normally offer four Bursaries each year – two Margaret
Howard Bursaries and two Douglas Craig Bursaries. Each Bursary is for up to
£750. However a generous £500 donation from Douglas has allowed us to
again offer a fifth bursary.
The Margaret Howard Bursary for the Yorkshire Ballet Seminar was awarded to
Sean Bates (who was appointed Head Boy at White Lodge) and her award for
SUSSEX OPERA AND BALLET SOCIETY
Registered Charity No: 27113
Report of the Trustees (continued)
Ardingly International Music School (opera) was divided between Danny
Standing, Curtis Skinner and Matthew Hughes-Short.
The Douglas Craig Ballet Award was again divided between Jade Mitchell from
Burgess Hill, Matthew Keller from Seaford and Sasha Donava-Anns from Lewes,
Jade is a Senior and Matthew & Sasha Junior Associates at the Royal Ballet
School. The award to a singer at the Royal College of Music was given to Anna
Huntley.
The fifth bursary has been divided between Monica Bancos and Martha Jones
at the Royal College of Music.
FINANCES
The Society's financial position remains very healthy, the balance in our
accounts has risen by £1730 however when advance income/expenditure and
outstanding bursary expenditure is taken into account the Society's net worth
has increased by £332.
Reserves Policy
The Society needs reserves to cover its liabilities from any event it is likely to
organise and sufficient funds in the cheque accounts to avoid problems with
cash flow. It may choose to hold additional reserves for the purposes of
generating income for its charitable activities. The principal cheque account is
the CAFCash High Interest Cheque Account, the current account with A&L
(formerly Giro bank) is principally used for accepting existing standing order
receipts. The CAFCash High Interest Cheque Account 'restricted funds' account
is used for the Margaret Howard and Douglas Craig Bursaries.
At the year end the current accounts, the CAFCash High Interest Cheque and
A&L (formerly Giro bank) Accounts together stood at £14.3k. Through the
addition of interest, the CAFGold account has risen to £14.4k which is
considered sufficient to cover any likely liability from our events and to continue
funding our Bursaries.
The balance in 'restricted funds' has been reduced to that needed for the
immediate Margaret Howard and Douglas Craig Bursary awards. The
'designated fund' is used as the buffer to provide mid term protection of these
bursaries.
'Restricted funds' can only be used for the designated purpose and could
not be clawed back if there was a change in the Society's priorities.
'Designated funds' are a statement of intent; these could be reallocated
in response to a change in priorities.
The income (and associated expenses) from our raffles, conditional
donations specifying the Bursaries and interest from the CAFCash
'restricted funds' account continue to be held in 'restricted funds'.
Th Committee intend that Gift Aid income and interest on the Society's
other bank accounts be assigned to 'designated funds’ for our bursaries.
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SUSSEX OPERA AND BALLET SOCIETY
Registered Charity No: 27113
Report of the Trustees (continued)
Bursaries
Philip Hersee who has been receiving a half bursary for the Royal Ballet
Associates programme finished there at the end of the summer term, Jade
Mitchell the other student can remain with the programme for another year.
The Committee has agreed that, subject to satisfactory progress, Jade Mitchell
the other half bursary student should continue with her half bursary for her
remaining year with the programme and that an additional bursary be awarded
for the Junior Associate Programme for up to two years to the same student(s).
Income Expenditure Account - Activities
The Charity Commission requires that availability of our bursaries is actively
promoted and that such activity is an appropriate cost of these. Therefore the
Committee have placed Advertisements in appropriate festival programmes and
arts publications, and assigned the corresponding expenditure to the Bursary
funds.
Barbara Fisher OBE Edwin Cowley
Chairman of the Trustees Treasurer of the Trustees
March 2009
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SUSSEX OPERA AND BALLET SOCIETY
Registered Charity No: 27113
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the Sussex Ballet and Opera Society
I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 DECEMBER 2008, which are
set out on pages 7 to 10.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s
trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 43(2) of the
Charities Act 1993 (the 1993 Act)) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
• examine the accounts (under section 43(3)(a) of the 1993 Act);
• to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity
Commissioners (under section 43(7)(b) of the 1993 Act); and
• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the
Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept
by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also
includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking
explanations from you as 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 accounts.
Independent examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me
reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements
• to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the 1993 Act; and
• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the
accounting requirements of the 1993 Act have not been met.
No matter has come to my attention in connection with the examination to which, in my
opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the
accounts to be reached.
Derek Reeves
Shovelstrode Lodge
East Grinstead
West Sussex RH19 3PN
March 2009
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Registered Charity No: 27113
SUSSEX OPERA AND BALLET SOCIETY
Registered Charity No: 27113
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
(Including Income & Expenditure Account)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2008
Designated Restricted Total General Designated Restricted Total
General Funds
Funds Funds Funds Funds Funds Funds Funds
Note 2008 2008 2008 2008 2007.00 2007.00 2007.00 2007.00
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
INCOME
Subscriptions for the year 1 2840.00 2840.00 2813.50 2813.50
Donations 174.00 174.00 66.80 66.80
Gratuities and Presentations
Donations Busary Fund 550.00 550.00 261.00 261.00
Interest Receivable 2 1158.60 116.50 1275.10 1097.57 90.43 1188.00
Raffles - Bursary Fund 440.00 440.00 441.00 441.00
Gift Aid 3 544.08 544.08 149.88 149.88
Events: 4
ROH Les Patineurs 29 Dec 07 & Sylvia 16 Feb 08 1730.00
Elaine Padmore 26 Jan 08 2561.95
AGM, Edward Thorpe & Donald McCleary 6 May 08 2137.00
Elizabeth Muir-Lewis 22 Jun 08 1194.00
ROH Youg artists Summer concert 20 Jul 08 184.00
Neil Jenkins 14 Sep 08 1189.00
GTO 23, 28 & 20 Oct 7388.00
Dame Beryl Grey 15 Nov 08 2622.50
Coaches 552.90
19559.35 19559.35 24041.30 24041.30
Total Income 22573.35 1702.68 1106.50 25382.53 26921.60 1247.45 792.43 28961.48
LESS EXPENSES
Events: 4
ROH Les Patineurs 29 Dec 07 & Sylvia 16 Feb 08 1730.00
Elaine Padmore 26 Jan 08 2325.14
AGM, Edward Thorpe & Donald McCleary 6 May 08 2058.62
Elizabeth Muir-Lewis 22 Jun 08 1148.00
ROH Youg artists Summer concert 20 Jul 08 184.00
Neil Jenkins 14 Sep 08 1262.48
GTO 23, 28 & 20 Oct 7388.00
Dame Beryl Grey 15 Nov 08 2448.81
Coaches 542.00
19087.05 19087.05 22703.62 22703.62
Overheads:
Administration
Postage & Telephone 5 700.55
Printing & Stationery 323.75
Publicity 270.46
Travel & Subsistence 78.85
Equipment 170.00
Office Expenses 25.00
1568.61 1568.61 1366.80 1366.80
Gratuities & Presentations 53.50 53.50 59.99 59.99
Public Liability Insurance 6 412.78 412.78 412.78 412.78
Bursaries 7
Margaret Howard Bursary 1500.00 1500.00 1500.00 1500.00
Douglas Craig Bursary 1500.00 1500.00
Bursary Publicity 110.00 110.00 35.00 35.00
Gift Aid 3 105.54 105.54
Fund raising
Raffle costs 130.35 130.35 150.94 150.94
Financial Costs
Independent Examination fee 188.00 188.00 250.00 250.00
Total Expenditure 21309.94 1740.35 23050.29 24793.19 105.54 3185.94 28084.67
Net incoming/(outgoing) resources for the year 1263.41 1702.68 (633.85) 2332.24 2128.41 1141.91 (2393.51) 876.81
Reserves as at 31/12/07 23426.70 2141.91 474.70 26043.31 22298.29 2868.21 25166.50
Movement (to)/from Reserves 8 (10000.00) 10000.00
Movement (to)/from Reserves 9 (2812.65) 2812.65 (1000.00) 1000.00
Reserves as at 31/12/08 14690.11 11031.94 2653.50 28375.55 23426.70 2141.91 474.70 26043.31
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Registered Charity No: 27113
SUSSEX OPERA AND BALLET SOCIETY
Registered Charity No: 27113
BALANCE SHEET
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2008
2008 2007
Notes £ £ £ £
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors & advance expenditure 10 2914.00 2087.84
Cash at bank and in hand
Uncleared Deposit 9.00
CAF HIC 13712.47 12234.24
A&L 599.39 451.89
CAF gold 14380.79 13717.86
CAF HIC Reserved 2653.40 3212.25
34260.05 31713.08
CREDITORS:
Accruals
Unpresented Cheques 774.02
Subscriptions for 2009 11. 1415.00 1665.50
Event sales for 2009 4469.50 3230.25
5884.50 5669.77
NET CURRENT ASSETS/(LIABILITIES) 28375.55 26043.31
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 28375.55 26043.31
RESERVES
General fund 14690.11 23426.70
Designated Fund 8. 11031.94 2141.91
Bursary fund 9. 2653.50 474.70
28375.55 26043.31
ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES
Edwin Cowley
Hon Treasurer
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Registered Charity No: 27113
SUSSEX OPERA AND BALLET SOCIETY
Registered Charity No: 27113
Notes to the Financial Statements
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2008
1. Subscription income relates to 2008 There were 334 members, some paying at a historical rate
applicable at the time they took out their standing orders.
2 Interest receivable has all been allocated to the Bursaries fund by the Committee.
3. Gift Aid has all been allocated to the Bursaries fund by the Committee.
4. Events
£ £ £
Event Income Expenditure Net
ROH Les Patineurs 29 Dec 07 & Sylvia 16 Feb 08 1730.00 1730.00 0.00
Elaine Padmore 26 Jan 08 2561.95 2325.14 236.81
AGM, Edward Thorpe & Donald McCleary 6 May 08 2137.00 2058.62 78.38
Elizabeth Muir-Lewis 22 Jun 08 1194.00 1148.00 46.00
ROH Young artists Summer concert 20 Jul 08 184.00 184.00 0.00
Neil Jenkins 14 Sep 08 1189.00 1262.48 -73.48
GTO 23, 28 & 29 Oct 7388.00 7388.00 0.00
Dame Beryl Grey 15 Nov 08 2622.50 2448.81 173.69
Coaches 552.90 542.00 10.90
Total 19559.35 19087.05 472.30
5. Postage & Telephone
£
Postage 610.55
Telephone 90.00
Total 700.55
6. Event Insurance Public Liability Insurance by Clerical Medical
7. Bursaries As part of its educational role, the Sussex Opera and Ballet Society funds four bursaries
annually, two each in Classical Ballet and Opera. The bursaries are each for up to £750. The
awards are made to promising young students, who show outstanding ability and whose talents
would be nurtured by attending training courses relevant to those aspiring to professional careers in
these arts and who might not otherwise be able to afford the fees. This year an extra bursary was
funded from a generous donation of £500. Since the accounts closed £750 has been awarded to a
student at the Royal College of Music; a further £750 is outstanding for the Royal Ballet's Associate
Programme.
8. Designated Funds The Designated Funds have been boosted by transfering £10000 from General
Funds.
9. Restricted Funds The Restricted Funds have been adjusted to accord with the balance in the CAF
HIC Restriced Account by a transfer from Designated Funds
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Registered Charity No: 27113
10. Debtor & advance exepnditure This is made up as follows: £
ROH Bayadaire & Ondine 2836.00
Coaches 50.00
Mark Wildman 28.00
2914.00
11. Subscriptions for 2009 £
Single membership 855.00
Double membership 560.00
1415.00
12. Event Sales for 2009 £
ROH Bayadaire & Ondine 2758.00
Coaches 342.00
Mark Wildman 1369.50
4469.50
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