GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2020 2020 ACCOUNTS 2019 FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2019 ACCOUNTS 2019 1 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND SUMMARY INDEX • INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTS 2019 • Accounts of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland incorporating the financial statements of the Trustees of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, prepared in accordance with the “Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) • Statement of Liquid Funds • General Council • Council for Global Mission • Council for Mission in Ireland • Council for Social Witness • Council for Congregational Life and Witness • Council for Training in Ministry • Accounts of the Trustees of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, prepared in accordance with the “Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) • The Presbyterian Church Investment Fund (commonly known as the General Investment Fund) • Trust Estate of Mr John Getty • Old Age, Presbyterian Women’s and Indigent Ladies’ Funds • Presbyterian Church in Ireland Pension Scheme (2009) • Certificatefrom the General Assembly’s Solicitor regarding deeds held in Church House • Published Bequests for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland • Detailed index 2 ACCOUNTS 2019 ACCOUNTS 2019 3 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTS 2019 The Code, the book of the constitution and government of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, in paragraph Para 272(11)(b) places a responsibility on the General Council to “prepare and present the annual accounts to the General Assembly....”. This Accounts Book includes three sets of summary accounts, (i) the accounts of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland which incorporate the accounts of the various General Assembly Councils and those of the Trustees (as detailed in (ii)). (ii) the accounts of the Trustees of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which incorporate ithe various Trust Funds they are responsible for such as the Commutation Fund, Magee Fund, Lindsay Memorial Fund, Crescent Loan Fund but excluding the General Investment Fund. (iii) The Presbyterian Church Investment Fund or the General Investment Fund. The General Assembly’s auditors, Ernst & Young, have given their audit opinion on these accounts. The accounts for the General Assembly and the Trustees have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102) “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 (FRS102)”. The Accounts Book also contains individual accounts for the various activities of the Councils of the General Assembly and these have been grouped by Council. Ernst & Young have attached a report to these accounts to confirm they have been incorporated into the consolidated accounts of the Councils of the General Assembly on which they have given their audit opinion. The Accounts Book includes accounts for the Church Pension Scheme, The Old Age, Presbyterian Women’s and Indigent Ladies’ Funds as well as some other Trust Funds although these do not fall under the direct control of the General Assembly. COVID-19 Since the year end both the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland governments introduced restrictions on congregations meeting for worship in their Church buildings as measures to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus. Recognising the impact this may have for the central funds of the Church a “Post Balance Sheet Event and Going Concern” note has been included in the audited accounts. The auditors have given “true and fair “opinions of the accounts ((i), (ii) and (iii) above) and have referred to this particular issue in an “Emphasis of matter – Effects of COVID-19” note in their audit reports. They note “Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter”. 4 ACCOUNTS 2019 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTS 2019 COMMENTARY ON THE SORP ACCOUNTS FOR THE COUNCILS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY During the year, there was a surplus of income over expenditure (before accounting for any change in the value of investments or the pension liability) of £318,276 (2018 – a deficit of £515,817). In 2019 the value of Investments increased by £6,641,242 (2018, a decrease of £2,795,291) and there was an actuarial gain on the provision for pension benefits of £10,394,724 (2018 a loss of £6,857,478) with an increase in investment values being partially offset by an increase in scheme liabilities. As a result, overall funds have increased from £49,474,957 to £69,071,971. A prior year adjustment was applied for 2018 in relation to investments held by the Council for Mission in Ireland and further details are provided in note 27 to the accounts. The following comments explain the main changes in income and expenditure from 2018. Total Income for 2019 was £29,286,532 compared to £27,209,447 for 2018 i.e. an increase of £2,070,085 (7.6%). The main changes in income are detailed below; Income from congregational assessments. This increased by 2% from £7,048,446 to £7,190,226. Assessments for all funds, other than the Pension Scheme Fund, are based on a percentage of a congregation’s assessable income. The assessment bands and rates for 2019 and 2018 were as follows Assessment Assessable Assessable 2019 2018 Band Income Income Assessment Assessment From To Rate Rate 1 0 10,999 Nil Nil 2 11,000 65,000 14.50% 14.50% 3 65,000 130,000 10.75% 10.75% 4 130,000 195,000 7.25% 7.25% 5 195,000 260,000 3.50% 3.50% 6 260,000 and above 0.00% 0.00% Rates applied to Assessable income for 2017 2016 ACCOUNTS 2019 5 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTS 2019 As the assessments rates and bands were unchanged in 2019 the overall change in income is due to an increase in the level of assessable income and the impact of currency rate movements on the conversion of receipts from congregations in the Republic of Ireland. The allocation of amounts received from congregations for assessments was as follows; 2019 2018 Central Ministry Fund 41.20% 41.29% Retired Ministers’ Fund 9.73% 9.75% Widows of Ministers Fund 9.15% 9.17% Prolonged Disability Fund 2.29% 1.72% Incidental Fund 18.88% 17.20% Ministerial Development Fund 2.97% 2.87% Sick Supply Fund 0.34% 0.23% Students Bursary Fund 3.43% 5.73% Church House Repairs Fund 12.01% 12.04% 100.00% 100.00% The assessment for the Pension Scheme Fund for 2018 and 2019 was 24.0% of the stipend paid to the minister during the year. This reflects the outcome of the actuarial valuation of the Scheme at 31 December 2017. The amounts allocated to each of the assessment funds are shown in note 2 to the accounts. – United Appeal income. Total income from congregations (which includes amounts received late for the previous year’s appeal) increased from £3,410,822 to £3,477,743. While the overall appeal target for 2019 was not reached at the cut-off date a further £162,940 (at date of this report) has subsequently been received giving a total of £3,464,998 against the 2019 “Target of Honour” of £3,550,000. – World Development Appeal. In 2019, £567,973 was raised for the Appeal compared to £585,685 in 2018. – Special Appeals. In 2019, there was a special appeal for Cyclone IDAI which raised £361,916, a further £121,224 was received for the prior year appeal for Indonesia and £4,735 for an earlier year’s appeal for East Africa. In 2018, there was a special appeal for Indonesia which raised £268,615 and a further £62,077 was received for a prior year appeal for East Africa. – Gifts and Donations. Gifts and donations decreased from £590,786 to £551,971. – Legacy Income. This increased from £660,968 in 2018 to £800,550 in 2019 and includes significant bequests for the Council for Social Witness, Union Theological College and the Council for Mission in Ireland. – Grants receivable. The accounts for 2018 reflected a grant in respect of the refurbishment of part of Assembly Buildings, which is now occupied by the Presbyterian Historical Society, as well as a grant in relation to the new visitor exhibition in the reception area. 6 ACCOUNTS 2019 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTS 2019 – Investment Income increased from £1,310,696 in 2018 to £1,370,344 in 2019. This mainly arises from investments held by Councils in the General Investment Fund and the divided declared was 27.5p per share in 2019 compared to 27.0p in 2018. – Residential Homes etc. There was a significant increase in fee income relating to Residential Homes from £6,551,306 to £7,158,996. The basic residential fee rate received by Homes in 2019 was £564 (from April 2019) which compared to £537 in 2018 (from April 2018) and £514 in 2017 (from April 2017). Occupancy rates remain at a high level in most facilities. Income from the other social witness facilities was slightly up on 2018. – Income from Church Publications. Sales increased from £178,500 to £228,076 due to an increase in the subscription rate for the Herald. Advertising income in 2019 was £28,039 (2018 - £27,714) and £59,035 was received during the year for royalty arrears from sales of the Church Hymnbook. – Income from Union Theological College fees, excluding fees from the Students Bursary Fund, decreased from £738,538 to £671,730 reflecting reduced student numbers. Total Expenditure reduced from £27,725,264 to £27,043,760. The main points to note are – The Support Services Committee of the General Council agreed that salaries should increase by 2.0% (pro-rata for part time staff) from 1 January 2019 with incremental point increases applying for years of service.