Treasurer's Report on the Accounts for the year Ended 31st December 2022
Summary
Firstly I would like to record thanks to John Burn the previous Treasurer for all his help and assistance given to me in taking on the Treasurer's role, and to the Committee and Field Stewards for all their support and assistance.
The 2022 accounts and supporting schedules of Debtors, Creditors and Depreciation were prepared by myself and submitted to Azets (our auditors) in January of this year. Azets completed their audit and signed off the accounts for presentation to the Committee for signature at the meeting on 15th February 2023.
Profit & Loss Account - Income
Rents received were mainly in line with 2021 however the subscription income did increase as focus was made on making sure that anyone tending a plot paid a subscription for insurance purposes, and the subs received is more inline with the amount paid to the NSALG (Income £902, NSALG payment £907).
For 2023 it was proposed by myself and approved by the Committee last October to increase the subscription paid by each person tending an allotment plot from £2 to £3 from 2023 to match the amount being charged by the NSALG to Kettering Allotments.
Compared to other Allotment associations, our rent per pole is very low, and represents very good value to plotholders.
Investment income from NS&I dramatically rose from £1 in 2021 to £101 in 2022 which was due to the Bank of England increasing interest rate rises in most months last year.
Profit & Loss Account - Expenditure
The rent that Kettering Allotments pays to Kettering Council remained the same as in 2021.
The water rates increased across all fields due to the dry spring that was followed by a very hot summer with little rain and rose from £925 to £2151
Margaret Road £1114 Northfield Avenue £413 Scott Road £306 Windmill Avenue £318
Room hire increased by £340 as post the pandemic, the Committee met in person during 2022, and we also held a social evening in September to present the annual Brigstock cup and the field awards which accounted for £100 of this increase.
The insurance, fees paid to the committee and stewards, and stationery costs remained in line with 2022, but there was a large decrease in the amount spent on field maintenance of £2450, which was mainly resulting from £3000 being spent in 2021 for asbestos removal from Margaret Road. The committee remains focused on making the allotment fields a safe environment and free from all hazards for plotholders, and reviews carefully each proposed spend of allotment funds.
Margaret Road £2632, Northfield Avenue £358, Scott Road £1165 and Windmill Avenue £0
Depreciation represents the amount written off each year on the assets held by Kettering Allotments from the capital purchase a number of years ago of a container at Margaret Road.
Bank charges of £79 were incurred in 2022 as HSBC along with other high street banks changed their policy towards charities, not for profit organisations and small associations to charge a monthly management fee of £5/month, plus a small charge for banking cheques. Overall this cost is offset by the increase in investment income mentioned previously.
Overall, the accounts show a profit for the year of £300 compared to a loss in 2021 of £991.
Balance Sheet.
The Fixed Asset value has decreased by the Depreciation shown in the Profit & Loss Account, and there were no capital purchases in 2022.
Under Current Assets, the main difference is that during 2022 the Committee agreed to close the Santander bank account and to move those funds to HSBC for easier access and visibility. This proved to be a very long and difficult process over 5 months due to the lack of action and goodwill shown by Santander, and also Santander losing on several occasions verified and witnessed in branch documents submitted by the local branch to their head office. This was finally resolved when a formal complaint was raised and in October 2022 the funds were moved to HSBC. This is reflected on the Balance Sheet as a drop in Investments which is now solely with NS&I (which provides a monthly interest), and an increase in the Cash at bank (HSBC).
The Debtors (where we have paid for example the NSALG and Insurance in 2022 covering part of 2023) and the Creditors (where our payments in 2022 do not cover the full year and provision is made for those additional costs due) are in line with 2021, although under Creditors we now hold more deposits from members (£2375 at year end) as we charge a £25 deposit to new plotholders.
Overall, the accounts are in good shape with reasonable funds which allows the Committee to continue its goal to provide allotment plots to as many people as possible. The finances are discussed at each Committee meeting together with any proposed spending or income opportunities.
Finally, I would like to thank the members for their prompt payment of the 2023 rent and subscriptions, with a number of members paying in late November (Rent £291, Subs £56) and a large number throughout December (Rent £2917, Subs £352 ). There were a few members who incorrectly underpaid their subscriptions, or overpaid rent on Ridings 3 and 4 at Margaret Road where we implemented a 20% reduction for 2023 due to previous flooding. Most plot holders responded promptly and politely to requests for underpayments, and several refunds were made where overpayment had been received.
Mike Thurland, March 2023
The full audited accounts are avaialble to view here