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M A T T E R SCORPORATE

2016ANNUAL REPORT

The British Association of Barbershop Singers

A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales Registered Office: 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick, United Kingdom CV34 5HQ

Registered Company No: 3823721 Registered Charity Ref No: 1080930

Chairman’s Report and Financial Statements


Chairman’s Annual Report1st January to 31st December 2016This is the second of my two annual reports, which means that I have approached the end of my term as BABS Chairman. It hasbeen another year of exceptional happenings, as well as some challenges. We’ve have built evermore strongly on our strategicplatforms, and have done so while establishing exciting new ones. I am honoured to have been the 27th Chairman of this excitingand thriving organisation.

The British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) is a company limited by Guarantee and operates in compliance with theCompanies Act 2006 and of the Charity Acts. The Directors and Trustees are all volunteers and do not receive any remuneration.The Board meets on a regular basis and has a pre-planned schedule of near bi-monthly meetings. We met formally on 11 separatedays during the year including our 2 Members days - the Annual General Meeting and our Autumn Members Meeting. In additionthere were 11 days of BABS hosted events such as Directors' Academy, Convention, Quartet Prelims and Harmony College. Thehighlight of the year was, as always, our incredible Convention in May.

The BABS Strategy for Growth and DevelopmentOur strategy for growth and development is under constant development and review. The strategy remains at the forefront ofour entire decision making. The Board recognises that to support the further development of the Association we also need tolook at our overall management and how we manage succession planning for the future. The current strategy is operated underthree key headings:

Growing Skills - through education and training.

Growing Numbers - through recruitment and retention.

Growing Reputation - through external marketing and partnerships.

The following summary of activity demonstrates the support provided in delivering our strategic aims:

Growing SkillsDirectors' Academy 2016 – in January we had yet another highly successful Directors Academy. The 2016 event was held atEastwood Hall in Nottingham, with the guest educators being Rob Manse and Steve Scott from the ‘Central Standard’ chorus ofKansas City. The educators concentrated on voice and choral pedagogy, demonstrating, among other things, how to make thevoice more efficient by correctly aligning the whole body. A great amount of positive feedback was derived from the forms completed at the end of the weekend.

Harmony College 2016 – The 38th Harmony College, once again held on the campus of Nottingham University, took placeover the bank holiday weekend in August. It was very pleasing to see the high numbers attending the event and the receptiongiven to the guest educators Joe Cerutti and ‘Round Midnight Quartet both from the USA. The Audition Chorus had 50 singersand the college chorus was almost 90. There were a great deal of appreciative comments received afterwards. A total of 34clubs took up the ‘free’ place offered to each BABS club and the college saw a full complement of 10 ‘grantees’ who hadreceived BABS educational and development grants to be there.

Quartet Development – The third of the quartet development days run by "Reckless" was held in Bristol with 8 quartets.Quartet discovery was not forgotten. There was a well-attended Quartet Exploration Day in January for those wishing to get thequartet buzz. The session was held in Huntingdon and had 62 attendees representing 14 clubs. The 7 coaches helped thosepresent to develop a love for this most fundamental and intense barbershop experience.

The second ‘Top Gun’ weekend for our top quartets was held on September 3rd & 4th at the Nottingham Campus. A mixture ofBritish and US educators put our top six quartets, including the senior champs, through their paces. The coaches were; RichKnight, Doug Harrington, our own Paul Davies and Sally McLean.

Guild of Judges - BABS has its own competition judges. As well as scoring our quartet and chorus contests, many are invited toadjudicate at non-barbershop festivals and barbershop contests in Europe. We run our own training during the year in readinessfor our annual contests and also send judges to category school in America for further training. To ensure continued alignmentwith the BHS, the Presentation category has changed its name to ‘Performance’. This change was made for the 2016/2017 contest cycle prior to the quartet preliminary competition in November. The change is designed to more accurately reflect thebroader ethos of the category. Thanks must be given to our Guild of Judges for their efforts throughout the year, in providingevaluations to all competing quartets and choruses; these evaluations provide an invaluable aid to future development.

Growing NumbersBABS Strategy for Recruitment is a vital and on-going requirement since around 30% of our members are over 70 and ouraverage age creeping up to 64.

2016 saw new member recruitment at 228 (248 in 2015) with 19 clubs recruiting 62 (31 in 2015) new BABS members fromLearn to Sing events for which an annual £200 grant is available. The concept of Learn to Sing was first tried by our club inTaunton in the 1980s and, as an example of how well it can still work, their event early in the year added 16 new members toBABS ranks in 2016 with our clubs in Burgess Hill and Reading adding 8 new members each. Lincoln also registered 8 new BABSmembers to add to the 11 recruited in 2015.

A handful of BABS clubs felt it worthwhile to move their weekly venues into more populous locations, two clubs amalgamatedand two new club joined. Vocal Fusion in Steyning West Sussex and Meantime Chorus in Central London, were established in2016, bringing the total to 62 clubs. Total individual membership of clubs was 2232 at the end of 2016 while the number of BABSregistered Quartets reached 77 (74 in 2015).

BABS continues to seek to encourage interest in Barbershop harmony singing in the wider Acapella world and has supportednew mixed gender Societies established in 2016 at Hull and Manchester Universities by Barbershop singers ,with a view to thementering BABS Open Mixed Voice Contests at our 2017 and subsequent Conventions and perhaps becoming registered clubs andthus BABS members, since both genders may be BABS members.

Growing ReputationWe are and should be proud of the fact that we sing barbershop harmony, and the position we now have of being one of theleading music organisations in the UK. We have made giant strides and the aim is to continue to drive this improvement.Whatever event we run, whatever material we produce, whatever we do and say, will have a bearing on our reputation. Thanksto exceptional resolution by our Marketing Director, we have a well-established and recognised “house style” of branding for allBABS events and activities that creates a professional look to our organisation, a sense of belonging and continuity of effort. Sing Barbershop - It’s the Harmony that makes the Difference, is our promotional message, building on the unique style ofsinging and the special fraternal environment that is produced by you the members.

External Marketing - Our marketing activity continues to play a part in building the positive awareness of barbershop withkey influencers’ within other music genres. We continue with an active programme of external facing awareness and we run regular features and advertisements within specifically targeted periodicals, journals and digital outlets. Each time we advertise,whether we are inviting choirs to try barbershop for themselves, promoting Convention or selling Harmony College, the messagereinforces the quality of the Association, and when taken together, reflects a vibrant and successful music organisation.

Harmony Express - The official publication of BABS has now an established on-line presence following it’s successful migrationduring 2015. The magazine is now much more readily accessible and is read by many of our overseas friends. The document canstill be printed for those who like that old fashioned feel but many now prefer to take HEX with them wherever they go. Theperiodical covers national barbershop news events, items of interest to our members and regional ‘club level’ activity.

Electronic Communication - The “InTouch” system allows for messages to be sent direct to every individual member andcan also be utilised to specifically communicate with targeted member groups such as our frontline directors. The system hasbeen successfully used to send personalised invitations to events such as Directors' Academy and is being used as the main formof communication with the Company Members with regard to their attendance at Company Meetings such as the AGM. It isimportant to ensure that all members provide their up to date email address to ensure they receive these messages. TheInTouch system is for barbershop matters only and you can rest assured that email addresses will not be passed to any thirdparty; neither will they be used for any commercial gain.

Singbarbershop.com - Our website continues to play a major role in both our internal and external communications. Thecontent, format and design are continuously being updated and amended to ensure that the website is fresh and informative andtakes account of these two sets of viewers. The Document Centre contains copies of official BABS documents and informationsheets. The site provides links to major BABS' events, like Convention and Harmony College, and to many external bodiesincluding our partner barbershop organisations.

UK Based Choral Organisations - We continue to develop our relationships with our external friends in choral singing. Thisyear our links have been strengthened by representation at many of the Making Music meetings and closer ties with the likes of‘ABCD’ (Association of British Choral Directors) and TONSIL (The Ongoing Singing Liaison Group). We have continuallyimpressed representatives of these organisations with our organisation and singing competency whilst they experienced some ofour events during the year including Convention and Directors' Academy. Their enthusiastic responses show that they continueto be impressed.

Barbershop Harmony Society - We continue our affiliation with the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) and attended theAffiliates and World Harmony Council (WHC) meetings in Nashville during 2016. Efforts continue to develop the Affiliationagreement into a partnership model which would better resonate with the developing world of barbershop singing.

Barbershop in Harmony - BinH operates as a collaboration between the three UK barbershop organisations, involving ourselvesand the two ladies organisations: the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (LABBS) - and Sweet Adelines Region 31‘Quartet of Nations’. A growing interest in the mixed gender quartet style of barbershop singing has been supported by a number of events in recent years. In 2016 the UK Quartet Championships was a Barbershop in Harmony (BinH) event, whichtook place immediately following the LABBS' convention at Harrogate. This type of quartet singing is an exciting developmentand will foster even greater interest in the musical style. The mixed voice quartet World Championships are held in Germanyevery two years with every fourth year being ‘European’ events and held at the European convention which moves around thevarious European organisations. The BinG (Barbershop in Germany) Convention took place over the weekend of March 4th to6th 2016 in Munich. I am pleased to report that the 2015 UK Mixed Quartet Champions, “Hannah and the Hurricanes” got thesilver medal coming second, scoring an eye watering 83.6%.

Convention & Contests

SING 2016 - Overall our 42nd Convention was a great success. The event, which this year saw us return to Harrogate,combined the usual competitions for Quartet and Chorus with some spectacular shows and many fringe events. Our internationalguests this year were Acoustix, the 1990 International Quartet Champions, and the current 3rd place International medallists,Main Street – both these quartets made an impact with many who attended and they made some new friends along the way.

New this year was the exciting introduction of the ‘BABS Mixed Voice Barbershop Choral Contest’, or the MVC for short. Thisevent is sure to gain in momentum following the exciting performances we saw on the Monday. This inaugural contest was wonby the ‘Strictly Barbershop’ chorus – well done everyone involved.

The friendly rivalry in both the quartet and chorus contests this year gave us the highest scoring competition, EVER! The numbersspeak for themselves. The Chorus competition was won by The Cottontown Chorus of Bolton with a sensational 82.9% - theywere closely followed by Grand Central Chorus with a tremendous 80.8%, with Hallmark of Harmony finishing third with a veryclose 80.3%. Not to be overshadowed, the quartet contest was of the highest standard also. Gold medal went to Finest Hourwith the UK’s all time high score of 82.9%. Second were Portobello Road (79.7%) and third were The Locksmiths (77.7%).

These are truly tremendous achievements and clear evidence that the many educational and coaching opportunities, which havebeen facilitated by BABS over the years, have been grasped and developed with enthusiasm. Congratulations to all the competitorsbut especially to the winners for their extraordinary determination and passion. Well done guys.

Quartet Prelims 2016 - The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester was, for a second time, the venue forour Quartet preliminary contest. The event took place over two days at the beginning of November and was once a tremendoussuccess. The Youth and Seniors’ competitions were held on the Saturday at the end of which we had our new Youth and Seniorschamps - "4 on Demand" and "Three ‘n’ Easy" respectively. The qualifier for convention next year, held on the Sunday, led to myown quartet “Portobello Road” leading the field with an average of 78.8% on the day.

Barbershop Harmony Society International in Nashville TN – As usual BABS was well represented in the Quartet contest at this year’s BHS convention in Nashville. The International Quartet Contest saw “Reckless” finish a frustrating 21st…AGAIN! Nevertheless they did a sterling job of mike warming the quartet semi-finals once more. “Portobello Road” finished acreditable 40th out of 57 competing quartets. The Youth Quartet contest saw “Tagline” finish a very healthy 6th and“Trailblazers” came in a strong 12th – really terrific performance by all our quartets in Music City.

Finance BABS remains in a strong financial position with its reserves standing at just over £100,000. Whilst committing investment in thevarious aspects of the Growth and Development Strategy, the Board continues the drive to contain day to day costs, with a commitment to obtain value for money and good financial management. A copy of the Draft Accounts is attached to this reportitemising full financial activities of the Association for the year ending 31st December 2016.

Harmony Foundation The Trustees met on six occasions in 2016 to consider applications for scholarships and grants. Funding comes from varioussources to enable these grants to be issued including Gift Aid, Regular Giving, Donations and Legacies.

Board Line-up & AppointmentsThe 2016 Board consisted of Ian James, Peter Cookson, Derek Parmenter, Paul Williams, Laurie Whittle, Alan Goldsmith, AshleyBaker and Colin Roper. Convention Manager, Alan Bithell, has continued his permanent secondment onto the executive team asConvention and Events advisor.

General Young People in Harmony (YPiH) – Part 1 of the long awaited Youth Development Pack was unveiled at the AGM in March2016. The aim was to produce the pack in a format that would enable clubs to set up workshops with local schools and toencourage barbershop singing in primary schools. Initially the pack has been sent to those clubs, both BABS and LABBS, who hadattended the youth seminar held at Oxford last autumn. The next stage is ongoing and will be to monitor how the packs are putto use and hopefully their success with schools. The board will report on the progress during 2017.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all our members and their families for their continued support ofthe Association. I particularly thank my fellow directors/trustees for the support they have given me during my two years inoffice, in addition to our Guild of Judges, coaches, educators, event organisers, and supporting administration teams.

The Association, under the guidance of the Board, is in a very strong position in many ways and the commitment to continue tostrengthen the structure and management through progressive development is unwavering.

Ian James

BABS Chairman 2015-16

The British Association of Barbershop SingersA company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales

Registered Office: 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick, United Kingdom CV34 5HQRegistered Company No: 3823721 Registered Charity Ref No: 1080930

Financial Summary 2016


After another busy year for the Association, I am pleased to attach a copy of the final accounts forthe year ending 31st December 2016. These are due to be formally approved by the Board ofDirectors at our meeting on the 18th March, prior to the AGM on the 19th March.

These accounts are produced in statutory form to comply with The Charities Commission Statementof Recommended Practice (SORP). Needless to say, these are supposed to help clarify things, but intruth only succeed in making understanding the accounts more confusing. The headings and terminologyused are determined by those statutory accounting principles. To help you understand the resultsbetter, I will illustrate at the AGM, the comparison of our actual results against the budgeted figuresagreed at the Autumn Members Meeting in September 2015.

In summary, the overall performance was better than expected. We budgeted for an overspend of£17,990 (to be taken from reserves), through the experience and dedication of my fellow Directors,we managed to contain expenditure, that resulted in us only overspending by £15.

Income & Expenditure Summary

Actual BudgetTotal Income £378,257 £378,340Total Expenditure £378,272 £396,330

Net Movement (£15) (£17,990)

The Charities Commission encourages organisations to hold sufficient reserves to cover currentactivities, liabilities or any unforeseen circumstances. At the end of 2016, the reserves stood at£110,926 (2015: £110,941), which the Board believe is sufficient to match our current activities.

It cannot be overstated how hard the Board work for this Association, with endless hours of effort sothat we continue the progress we are making. I wish to express my thanks to them for their diligentwork in controlling their individual budgets so carefully.

Paul Williams

BABS Finance Director

The British Association of Barbershop SingersA company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales

Registered Office: 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick, United Kingdom CV34 5HQRegistered Company No: 3823721 Registered Charity Ref No: 1080930

COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 03823721 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1080930


Company Limited by Guarantee

Unaudited Financial Statements

31 December 2016



Financial Statements

Year ended 31 December 2016

Page

Trustees' annual report (incorporating the director's report) 1

Independent examiner's report to the trustees 6

Statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account) 8

Balance sheet 9

Notes to the financial statements 11



Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report)


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The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2016.

Reference and administrative details

Registered charity name The British Association of Barbershop Singers

Charity registration number 1080930

Company registration number 03823721

Principal office and registered 6 Corunna Court office Corunna Road Warwick CV34 5HQ

The trustees

Mr P J Cookson Mr A J Baker Mr P M Williams Mr L V Whittle Mr D Parmenter Mr J C Roper Mr I James (Resigned 31 December 2016) Mr A Goldsmith (Resigned 31 December 2016)

Mr M C Baglow was appointed as a Trustee on 1 January 2017 Mr A Hughes was appointed as a Trustee on 1 January 2017

Company secretary Mr A J Baker

Accountants Mr K C Varney - ACMA of Varney Barfield & Co. Accountants 6 Corunna Court Corunna Road Warwick CV34 5HQ

Structure, governance and management

Trustees Report The Trustees Annual Report is prepared in accordance with the small company regime (section 419(2) of the Companies Act 2006).

Constitution The charity is constituted by a Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, as amended from 1 October 2009. It was incorporated on the 2nd August 1999. It is registered with the Charity Commission under number 1080930, as a company limited by guarantee.



Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)


Structure, governance and management (continued)

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Governance and internal control The charity believes that its management is such that any risks can be identified in advance and actions taken as appropriate. The charity does not have any formal policies or procedures for the induction and training of trustees.

Management The Directors and Trustees are responsible for making all decisions, there is no policy of delegation.

Only a BABS club member may be appointed to certain Trustee positions, as detailed in the Articles of Association.

Structure The charity carried out its principal work through three main streams. Firstly through college courses which are run through the Directors Academy and the Harmony College. It gains income from sales of tickets for concerts and from its main Convention held annually. The charity also runs a music store and magazine which generates income from sales and subscriptions.

Public benefit statement The trustees have complied with their duty to have a due regard to the guidance on public benefit, published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or duty.

Objectives and activities

Charitable objects The objects of the charity are to further the education of the general public in any and all aspects of barbershop harmony including singing and performing in the barbershop harmony style.

Organisational structure The charity has a board of directors who also hold the office of trustees. Each director has responsibility for a specific department, within each of their departments there are also voluntary officers.

Achievements and performance

Review of activities and achievements In fulfilment of the objective of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, it is the policy of the charity to undertake a wide variety of activities.

Directors' Academy - in January we had yet another highly successful Directors Academy. This year's event was held at Eastwood Hall in Nottingham, with the guest educators being Rob Manse and Steve Scott from the Central Standard Chorus of Kansas City.

Harmony College 2016 - the 38th Harmony College, once again held on the campus of Nottingham University, took place over the bank holiday weekend in August. It was very pleasing to see the high numbers attending the event and the reception given to the guest educator Joe Cerutti and the members of Round Midnight Quartet both from the USA. The Audition Chorus had 50 singers and the college chorus was almost 90. A total of 34 clubs took up the free place offered to each BABS club and the college saw a full complement of 10 grantees who had received BABS educational and development grants to be there.





Achievements and performance (continued)

- 3 -

Quartet Development - the third of the quartet development days run by the quartet Reckless was held in Bristol was 8 quartets, only 2 of which were BABS registered - a very encouraging sign.

Quartet Discovery was not forgotten. The session was held in Huntingdon and had 62 attendees representing 14 clubs. The 7 coaches helped those present to develop a love for this most fundamental and intense barbershop experience.

The second 'Top Gun' weekend for our top quartets was held on September 3rd and 4th at the Nottingham Campus. A mixture of British and US educators put our top six quartets, including the senior champions through their paces.

Guild of Judges - BABS has its own competition judges. As well as scoring our quartet and chorus at contests, many are invited to adjudicate at non-barbershop festivals and barbershop contests in Europe. We run our own training during the year in readiness for our annual contests and also send judges to category school in America for enhanced training. Thanks must be given to our Guild of Judges for their efforts throughout the year, in providing evaluations to all competing quartets and choruses; these evaluations provide an invaluable aid to future development.

Growing Organisation (previously Growing Numbers) Our membership at the end of 2016 remained solidly around the 2253 mark; these members form our 62 registered clubs. Within these numbers we can also boast an increasing number of active quartet 81 groups at the latest count.

Harmony Express - the official publication of BABS has now an established online presence following its successful migration during 2015. The quarterly magazine is now much more readily accessible and is read by many of our overseas friends. The periodical covers national barbershop news events, items of interest to our members and regional club level activity.

Summary The charity has a dedicated account known as the Harmony Foundation. The funds within this account allow for both member and non-member grants. Harmony Foundation is managed by the Trustees. Grants are awarded to support both non-members and members to further their education in all aspects of barbershop singing.

Many member clubs support activities within their own local community, singing and fundraising for other charities and by running Learn to Sing Courses for the benefit of the general public, these have proved very successful over a number of years, and provides an opportunity to increase the awareness of harmony singing.

The Association is run exclusively by volunteers, including a number of dedicated teams of music educators and judges who freely share their time and knowledge with members and non-members who seek to develop their interest of performing in the barbershop style.

The British Association of Barbershop Singers Company Limited by Guarantee



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Financial review

Sources of income The charity has three main sources of income, the main source is income generated from the convention each year. This is followed by the income from the academy and college, and the subscriptions paid by members. The charity also receives donations for its Harmony Foundation.

The Association is run as a non-profit organisation. All activities are scaled to match our income through membership subscriptions. Events are budgeted as breakeven, pay as you go events. Any surplus funds are held in reserve and reinvested into its members by way of free or subsidised education/training events.

The Association remains in a strong financial position with its reserves standing at just over £110,000. Whilst committing investment in the various aspects of the Growth and Development Strategy, the Board continues the drive to contain day to day costs, with a commitment to obtain value for money and good financial management. Subscriptions for 2017 were increased by £1 to £45.

We have no overhead in terms of property or offices.

Reserves The charity is retaining its reserves to fund future charitable activities in line with the governing documents. All reserves are unrestricted and can be used for any future activity the trustees deem fit.

The unrestricted funds (reserves) balance at the year end was £110,926 (2015: £110,941).

Financial risk management objectives and policies The Trustees do not consider it necessary to adopt detailed financial risk management policies, given the nature and structure of the charity. Where appropriate, the charity may pay a deposit several years in advance of a Convention event. The objective is to secure a venue, although the Trustees also consider the price paid (and associated price risk) when booking a venue in relation to the size of the venue and the likely attendance.

Plans for future periods

The charity will continue to receive subscriptions from their members and will be holding their annual convention, academy, and college courses in 2017.





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Trustees' responsibilities statement

The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes 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 charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, for that period.

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 applicable Charities SORP;

- make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and 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.

Small company provisions

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption. The trustees' annual report was approved on 19 March 2017 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by:

Mr A J Baker Charity Secretary



Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The British Association of Barbershop Singers


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I report on the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016, which comprise the statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account), balance sheet and the related notes.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. The charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

• examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;

• to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 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 Commission. 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 no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement.



Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The British Association of Barbershop Singers (continued)


- 7 -

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

• to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006, and

• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities

have not been met, or

(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

MR K C VARNEY - ACMA OF VARNEY BARFIELD & CO. Accountants

6 Corunna Court Corunna Road Warwick CV34 5HQ

19 March 2017



Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account)

31 December 2016

The notes on pages 11 to 18 form part of these financial statements.

- 8 -

2016 2015 Unrestricted

funds Total funds Total funds Note £ £ £

Income and endowments Donations and legacies 5 120,735 120,735 127,309 Charitable activities 6 256,894 256,894 294,067 Investment income 7 628 628 750 Other income 8 – – 188 -------------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Total income 378,257 378,257 422,314 ================================ ================================ ================================

Expenditure Expenditure on charitable activities 9,10 (378,272) (378,272) (412,505) -------------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Total expenditure (378,272) (378,272) (412,505) ================================ ================================ ================================

-------------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Net (expenditure)/income and net movement in funds (15) (15) 9,809 ================================ ================================ ================================

Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward 110,941 110,941 101,132 -------------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Total funds carried forward 110,926 110,926 110,941 ================================ ================================ ================================

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.



Balance Sheet

31 December 2016

The balance sheet continues on the following page. The notes on pages 11 to 18 form part of these financial statements.

- 9 -

2016 2015 (restated)

£ £ £ £ Fixed assets Tangible fixed assets 17 3,020 654

Current assets Stocks 800 104 Debtors 19 46,959 53,343 Cash at bank and in hand 157,126 176,512 -------------------------------- --------------------------------

204,885 229,959

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 20 96,979 119,672 -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Net current assets 107,906 110,287 -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Total assets less current liabilities 110,926 110,941 -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Net assets 110,926 110,941 ================================ ================================

Funds of the charity Unrestricted funds 110,926 110,941 -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Total unrestricted funds 110,926 110,941 -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Total charity funds 21 110,926 110,941 ================================ ================================

For the year ending 31 December 2016 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Trustees responsibilities:

• The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476;

• The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.



Balance Sheet (continued)

31 December 2016

The notes on pages 11 to 18 form part of these financial statements.

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These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees and authorised for issue on 19 March 2017, and are signed on behalf of the board by:

Mr P J Cookson Trustee



Notes to the Financial Statements


- 11 -

1. General information

The charity is a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales and a registered charity in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick, CV34 5HQ.

2. Statement of compliance

These financial statements have been prepared in compliance with FRS 102, 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland', the 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) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Charities Act 2011.

3. Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis, as modified by the revaluation of certain financial assets and liabilities and investment properties measured at fair value through income or expenditure.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity.

Going concern

There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.

Transition to FRS 102

The entity transitioned from previous UK GAAP to FRS 102 as at 1 January 2015. Details of how FRS 102 has affected the reported financial position and financial performance is given in note 25.

Disclosure exemptions

The entity satisfies the criteria of being a small entity. As such, no cash flow statement has been presented for the company.

The charity is a public benefit entity.

Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. These estimates and judgements are continually reviewed and are based on experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.



Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)


3. Accounting policies (continued)

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Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity's purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular future project or commitment.

Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure declared by the donor or through the terms of an appeal, and fall into one of two sub-classes: restricted income funds or endowment funds.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when entitlement has passed to the charity; it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the charity and the amount can be reliably measured. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

· income from donations or grants is recognised when there is evidence of entitlement to the gift, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably.

· income from contracts for the supply of services is recognised with the delivery of the contracted service. This is classified as unrestricted funds unless there is a contractual requirement for it to be spent on a particular purpose and returned if unspent, in which case it may be regarded as restricted.

· income from conventions held is recognised in the year in which the convention takes place. When received in advance, income will be deferred until the convention takes place.

· income from the charity music store is included in the year in which it is receivable.

· income from investments is included in the year in which it is receivable.





3. Accounting policies (continued)

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Resources expended

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is classified under headings of the statement of financial activities to which it relates:

• expenditure on raising funds includes the costs of all fundraising activities, events, non-charitable trading activities, and the sale of donated goods.

• expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs incurred by a charity in undertaking activities that further its charitable aims for the benefit of its beneficiaries, including those support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.

• other expenditure includes all expenditure that is neither related to raising funds for the charity nor part of its expenditure on charitable activities.

All costs are allocated to expenditure categories reflecting the use of the resource. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs are apportioned between the activities they contribute to on a reasonable, justifiable and consistent basis.

Tangible assets

Tangible assets are initially recorded at cost, and subsequently stated at cost less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. Any tangible assets carried at revalued amounts are recorded at the fair value at the date of revaluation less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses.

An increase in the carrying amount of an asset as a result of a revaluation, is recognised in other recognised gains and losses, unless it reverses a charge for impairment that has previously been recognised as expenditure within the statement of financial activities. A decrease in the carrying amount of an asset as a result of revaluation, is recognised in other recognised gains and losses, except to which it offsets any previous revaluation gain, in which case the loss is shown within other recognised gains and losses on the statement of financial activities.

Depreciation

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost or valuation of an asset, less its residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:

Equipment - 20% straight line

Stocks

Stocks are measured at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost includes all costs of purchase, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing the stock to its present location and condition.





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4. Limited by guarantee

The British Association of Barbershop Singers is a company limited by guarantee and accordingly does not have any share capital.

Every member of the company undertakes to contribute such amount as may be required not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charitable company in the event of its being wound up while he or she is a member, or within one year after he or she ceases to be a member.

5. Donations and legacies

Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2016 Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2015 (restated)

£ £ £ £ Donations Harmony Foundation donations 1,931 1,931 1,437 1,437 Harmony Foundation gift aid donations 20,001 20,001 18,340 18,340

Grants Grants receivable 793 793 640 640

Other donations and legacies Subscriptions 97,910 97,910 107,017 107,017 Harmony Express subscriptions 100 100 (125) (125) -------------------------------- -------------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------------------

120,735 120,735 127,309 127,309 ================================ ================================ ================================ ================================

6. Charitable activities

Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2016 Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2015 (restated)

£ £ £ £ Harmony store 10,204 10,204 7,550 7,550 Convention 144,803 144,803 174,029 174,029 Education 92,593 92,593 100,830 100,830 Quartet registration fees 2,052 2,052 1,393 1,393 Marketing income 7,242 7,242 10,265 10,265 -------------------------------- -------------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------------------

256,894 256,894 294,067 294,067 ================================ ================================ ================================ ================================

Income received for the following years Convention has been deferred to the value of £61,010 (2015: £72,511)

7. Investment income

Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2016 Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2015 (restated)

£ £ £ £

Bank interest receivable re: Harmony Foundation 628 628 750 750

============== ============== ============== ==============





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8. Other income

Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2016 Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2015 (restated)

£ £ £ £ MBNA commission – – 188 188 ============== ============== ============== ==============

9. Expenditure on charitable activities by fund type

Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2016 Unrestricted

Funds Total Funds

2015 (restated)

£ £ £ £ Shop costs 8,485 8,485 6,969 6,969 Convention costs 143,394 143,394 154,008 154,008 Educational activities 102,082 102,082 100,688 100,688 Competition activities 23,238 23,238 30,305 30,305 Marketing costs 17,932 17,932 28,077 28,077 Training and development 28,445 28,445 30,677 30,677 Grants and scholarships 14,828 14,828 19,930 19,930 Support costs 39,868 39,868 41,851 41,851 -------------------------------- -------------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------------------

378,272 378,272 412,505 412,505 ================================ ================================ ================================ ================================

10. Expenditure on charitable activities by activity type

Activities undertaken

directly Grant funding

of activities Support costs Total funds

2016 Total fund

2015 £ £ £ £ £

Shop costs 8,485 – – 8,485 6,969 Convention costs 143,394 – – 143,394 154,008 Educational activities 102,082 – – 102,082 100,688 Competition activities 23,238 – – 23,238 30,305 Marketing costs 17,932 – – 17,932 28,077 Training and development 28,445 – – 28,445 30,677 Grants and scholarships – 14,828 – 14,828 19,930 Governance costs – – 39,868 39,868 41,851 -------------------------------- ---------------------------- ---------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------------------

323,576 14,828 39,868 378,272 412,505 ================================ ============================ ============================ ================================ ================================

Grants are awarded by BABS Harmony Foundation to help people to develop their skills. Grants are to support singing competence, improve directing, coaching and arrangement skills plus the development of close harmony singing for young people. Costs, which may be met by a grant, are educational and course fees, residential fees and costs related to mounting an educational event.





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11. Analysis of support costs

Support costs Total 2016 Total 2015 £ £ £

General office 1,118 1,118 1,704 Finance costs 6,465 6,465 7,247 Support costs - Cost of trustees meetings 13,014 13,014 11,262 Support costs - Trustees expenses 8,316 8,316 11,375 Support costs - Insurance 10,200 10,200 9,760 Support costs - Depreciation 755 755 503 ---------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------------

39,868 39,868 41,851 ============================ ============================ ============================

12. Analysis of grants


£ £ £ £ Grants to individuals

Educational grants 14,828 19,930 ---------------------------- ----------------------------

Total grants 14,828 19,930 ============================ ============================

13. Net (expenditure)/income

Net (expenditure)/income is stated after charging/(crediting): 2016 2015 (restated)

£ £ Depreciation of tangible fixed assets 755 503 ============== ==============

14. Independent examination fees


£ £ Fees payable to the independent examiner for:

Independent examination of the financial statements 3,360 3,360 ======================= =======================

15. Staff costs

No salaries and wages have been paid to employees, including the members of the committee, during the year.





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16. Trustee remuneration and expenses

No remuneration or other benefits from employment with the charity or a related entity were received by the trustees

Eight (2015: eight) trustees has claimed expenses or had their expenses met by the charity.

Expenses paid to the trustees for travel and subsistence in the year amounted to £8,316 (2015: £11,375).

17. Tangible fixed assets

Equipment £ Cost At 1 January 2016 (as restated) 46,277 Additions 3,121 ----------------------------

At 31 December 2016 49,398 ============================

Depreciation At 1 January 2016 45,623 Charge for the year 755 ----------------------------

At 31 December 2016 46,378 ============================

Carrying amount At 31 December 2016 3,020 ============================

At 31 December 2015 654 ============================

18. Stocks


£ £ Finished goods and goods for resale 800 104 ============== ==============

19. Debtors


£ £ Trade debtors 762 1,292 Prepayments and accrued income 45,924 52,051 Other debtors 273 – ---------------------------- ----------------------------

46,959 53,343 ============================ ============================

The debtors above include the following amounts falling due after more than one year: 2016 2015 (restated)

£ £ Prepayments and accrued income 15,459 9,403 ============================ =======================





19. Debtors (continued)

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Other debtors due more than one year relates to prepayments for future Convention events. This mainly relates to deposits paid to secure a Convention venue.

20. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year


£ £ Accruals and deferred income 96,979 119,672 ============================ ================================

21. Analysis of charitable funds

Unrestricted funds At

1 January 2016 Income Expenditure

At 31 December

2016 £ £ £ £ General funds 110,941 378,257 (378,272) 110,926 ================================ ================================ ================================ ================================

22. Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted Funds

Total Funds 2016

£ £ Tangible fixed assets 3,020 3,020 Current assets 204,885 204,885 Creditors less than 1 year (96,979) (96,979) -------------------------------- --------------------------------

Net assets 110,926 110,926 ================================ ================================

23. Prior year adjustments

The figure calculated for the Early Bird registrations (deferred income) taken at the Llandudno Convention in 2015 was understated by £16,545, with the Convention Income for 2015 being overstated by the same amount. The error was identified in 2016, and a prior period adjustment made to correct for this.

24. Related parties

There have been no related party transactions in the reporting period that require disclosure.

25. Transition to FRS 102

These are the first financial statements that comply with FRS 102. The charity transitioned to FRS 102 on 1 January 2015.

No transitional adjustments were required in the retained funds or income or expenditure for the year.

2016 annual report - british association of barbershop … · 2016 annual report the british ......

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