The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 October 2020.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the the Companies Act 2006 and “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 (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016) .
The Trustees have complied with their duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission. The benefit to the public is manifestly demonstrated by the achievements contained in this report.
On 2 April 2014, having received prior consent from the Charity Commission for the purposes of section 198 of the Charities Act 2011, the Directors unanimously passed a special resolution, updating the Charity's objects as follows:
1. The maintenance and support of the Synagogue and the maintenance of the mausoleum and cemetery belonging to the Charity;
2. The advancement of the education of the public by the maintenance and promotion for the public benefit of the moveable property of the Charity including Scrolls of the Law, bells, cloaks, silver plate, books, manuscripts and pictures in such ways as the Trustees of the Charity think fit, including:
a) The digitisation, translation and publication of books and manuscripts;
b) The display of artefacts.
3. The promotion of the advanced study of the Holy Law as revealed on Sinai and expounded by the revered sages of the Mishna and Talmud in one or more of the following ways:
a) In the training of Orthodox Jewish Teachers, Ministers and Rabbis, by awarding scholarships of such value and tenable at such institutions of further education as the Trustees think fit;
b) By making grants to any institution of further education which provides such education and is established for charitable purposes;
c) In such other ways as the Trustees think fit.
4. The advancement for the public benefit, of the education of young adults and lay leaders in the Orthodox Jewish community in such ways as the Trustees of the Charity think fit, including:
a) The promotion of study of the Holy Law as revealed on Sinai as expounded by the revered sages of the Mishna and Talmud and its application to contemporary life;
b) The provision of leadership training.
5. The promotion of religious harmony for the benefit of the public by:
a) Promoting mutual respect and understanding between those of different faiths and beliefs.
b) Teaching the benefit of tolerance, mutual understanding, social harmony and integration, in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Law as expounded by the revered sages of the Mishna and Talmud and as demonstrated in the life of Sir Moses Montefiore.
It is clear from Sir Moses Montefiore’s life and works that he would have expected the Trustees to interpret the objects of the Charity in the light of the current realities of ‘orthodox’ Jewish life in the UK and elsewhere. Accordingly, the Trustees have summarised high-level aims for the Endowment as follows:
1. To promote advanced Jewish scholarship based firmly on rabbinical tradition, coupled with the pursuit of tolerance, social harmony, and constructive engagement with p eople of all shades of religious belief and non-belief.
2. To encourage and provide resources for higher religious educational training, lay leadership training and university-level research, likely to lead in time to the fulfilment of the endowment’s primary goals, even though these activities may not always constitute advanced scholarship in themselves.
3. To maintain the Montefiore Synagogue, Mausoleum, and the Jewish cemetery at Ramsgate together with the rich collection of manuscripts and ritual objects owned by the Endowment.
4. To disseminate knowledge of the Jewish intellectual heritage represented by the collections, records and buildings owned by the Endowment.
Accordingly, the trustees have agreed the following strategy to achieve these aims.
The Endowment’s own long-term courses, such as the Semicha Course, the Dayanut Course and the Gap-Year school leavers programme will be supported on an ongoing basis, as will its support for similar courses at other institutions. Every opportunity will be taken to develop other courses and to identify and support worthy projects run by institutions with similar aims. In the UK’s small orthodox Jewish community, there are relatively few opportunities to embark successfully on large-scale projects consistent with the governing instrument of the Charity; and its trustees endeavour to maintain sufficient funds for any opportunities that may arise.
A programme of grants to assist research at university level on subjects consistent with the aims of the Charity will be promoted. Research publications on the Endowment’s website and elsewhere are encouraged and it is planned to run Leadership Training and other courses in Jerusalem for selected UK university graduates.
The Montefiore Synagogue and Mausoleum at Ramsgate and the Ramsgate Jewish Cemetery remain in need of continual maintenance and improvement. A schedule for necessary repairs and improvements, in order of priority is operation. Efforts will continue to make the site more attractive and available to visitors, and especially to organised groups of school children.
The Montefiore Endowment will continue its policy of staging special public events on important topics, even if they happen to be controversial, featuring internationally famous scholars, such as its last Seminar on The Status of Women in Jewish Law.
The Trustees have paid due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding which activities the Charity should undertake.
The strategic aims set out in the charity’s strategy document have been achieved during the past year in the following ways.
All the Endowment’s Courses were successfully delivered by Zoom during the year despite the pandemic and promised assistance to outside charities was continued in full after receiving evidence of delivery online.
The Synagogue, Mausoleum and Cemetery at Ramsgate, and their grounds were inspected and maintained on a regular basis and are in reasonably good condition. Before the Covid crisis the Synagogue was increasingly being used by school groups seeking knowledge of the Jewish religion for their studies, and appropriate explanatory talks were delivered. An audio-visual presentation was completed and is ready for use. Access to this heritage site by appointment was facilitated; and before interruption by the pandemic, it received an increased number of visitors and organised groups of school children by appointment.
Most of the Charity’s ritual silver is now on public display at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
The programme of Gap-Year Scholarships for male and female school leavers has become increasingly successful with 15 students currently participating at colleges of advanced Torah learning in Jerusalem. Additional lectures were delivered directly by the Endowment to the students in Jerusalem every fortnight by Zoom to broaden their knowledge in accordance with clauses 4 and 5 of the Charity’s aims.
The Montefiore Semicha Course continues successfully with nine students now on the Course.
The Montefiore Dayanut Programme for senior rabbis in advanced Torah learning (Dayanut) continues to attract world-wide attention with over twenty rabbis participating, including eight from the UK. In addition, two rabbis are undergoing practical training with the Endowment.
Grants were given to promote advanced study of the Holy Law at the Montefiore Kollel in North Manchester and at the London School of Jewish Studies in London. Satisfactory reports were received from both institutions concerning the achievement of the Charity’s aims.
Grants were made to a number of smaller charities to promote particular courses of study complying with one or more of the Charity’s aims. Such grants are awarded under carefully specified conditions and monitored to ensure compliance.
Five Ph.D. student s are continuing with their studies in furtherance of several of the Charity’s aims and other applicants are being considered.
A reprint was issued of the English translation of Dayan Basri’s monumental study of Jewish Monetary Law. Work was completed on the writing and publication of the book entitled ‘Memorable Sephardi Voices’ to promote the Endowment’s core aims and values.
Work continues on projects for making the Endowment’s manuscript collections more widely available to the public, online and otherwise; and numerous inquiries from scholars worldwide were answered. Public interest is amply demonstrated by the large number of “visitors” to the Endowment’s website.
Plans to move the Endowment’s Office and Library to more suitable premises on the Schaller House Complex in Hendon were completed and the move took place in November 202 0 .
It should be clear from the above account that the resources of the Charity are being successfully employed to further its declared aims for public benefit.
During the course of the year, in pursuit of the charitable objectives, total incoming resources amounted to £105,100 (2019: £117,302). Total resources expended were £527,015 (2019: £531, 552 ). There were also net gains on investments in the year of £34 1 , 528 (2019: £ 749 , 561 ) and the net movement in funds in the year was a decrease of £ 80 , 387 (2019: £335,311 - increase).
The Charity's investment activity resulted in a gain for the year. The trustees regularly monitor the performance of its investment policy and consider it to be especially satisfactory during this period of financial uncertainty.
The Trustees have an ongoing commitment to maintain the Synagogue, mausoleum and cemetery in Ramsgate along with a significant amount of moveable property. The Charity's present and planned educational and leadership programmes and assistance to charities with similar aims will involve significant expenditure in the coming years.
Reserves Policy
The reserves policy is reviewed annually to reassess risk and reflect any changes to the Endowment's income, capital, financial obligations and long-term plans for charitable expenditure. The minimum amount of reserves necessary to meet the Charity’s obligations for a year in case of emergency is between £0.5 million to £0.75 million, which is adequately covered at present.
Unrestricted Funds (not designated for other purposes) at the year’s end amounted to £7 36,979 (2019:
£70 8,388 ) comprising those funds which the Trustees are free to use in accordance with the charitable objectives of the Endowment.
Designated funds consist of several individual funds such like the Special Projects Fund, set aside by the Board of Trustees to meet the cost of the charity’s educational and other special projects as and when they occur, at the Trustees' discretion. Additionally, the Building, Tombstone and Burial Fund provides for the purchase and maintenance of the Synagogue and Mausoleum as well as for the maintenance of the burial grounds and tombstones. Other Bequest Funds provide for the general maintenance of the property of the charity. The value of Designated funds is currently £3, 309,953 (2019: £3, 801,840 ).
The Montefiore Endowment is currently a self-funding charity. The trustees do not consider that at present it would be prudent or efficient for the Charity to spend money on additional fund-raising. It therefore relies on internal resources to fund its work.
Investment returns have been satisfactory especially at this time of financial uncertainty; and the Charity now spends most of its income and capital gains on its increasing range of activities. The funding of the Charity’s present work depends very much on satisfactory results from its investment portfolio.
In the UK’s small orthodox Jewish community, there are not many opportunities to embark successfully on large-scale projects for public benefit consistent with the governing instrument of the Charity. As the Montefiore Endowment is one of the few Jewish educational charities with funds at its disposal, its trustees consider it essential to maintain a Special Reserve Fund to take advantage of such opportunities that may present themselves in the future.
The Semicha Course, to train future rabbis and teachers for the UK is one major project already made possible by this special reserve fund. This is now well established and consists of a series of repeating 4–5-year programmes.
Another example of a special project is the Dayanut Course, consisting of advanced training in Jewish family law for senior rabbis from the UK, Germany, Portugal, Turkey, Hong Kong, Australia, Israel, the USA was made possible because of the financial resources of the Charity and the creative thinking of its trustees.
The Gap-Year Fellowship Programme assists a dozen or more carefully chosen school leavers to spend their gap year studying Torah at three of Jerusalem’s leading religious institutions, together with a course of leadership training provided by the Montefiore Endowment – all in the hope of eventually building up in the UK a cadre of young community leaders imbued with the aims and values of the Montefiore Endowment.
The Endowment’s trustees plan to open a Montefiore Diploma course early next year for selected lay men and women and to follow this with other worthwhile projects for public benefit as and when suitable opportunities arise or can be created.
At present the special reserve fund is fully utilised to provide the income and capital gains necessary to enable the Charity to fund its policy of maintaining its buildings and collections, publications, and to expand its programmes to promote advanced Torah learning, and leadership training.
This arrangement, though appropriate at the present time and in the medium term, is not necessarily a long- term strategy. Fresh thinking will be needed to re-define the Charity’s priorities if and when the starting of new projects risks making significant inroads into the special reserve fund, and so diminishing the income and capital gains deriving from it.
The charity's Endowment Funds represents assets which must be held permanently by the charity,
A total return approach is adopted in respect of the Permanent Endowment held by the charity, with any income and capital gains or losses arising classed as unapplied total return which can be transferred to unrestricted income at the discretion of the trustees.
Investment policy
The assets of the Endowment are invested in a balanced way, having regard to the ongoing commitment to maintain the Synagogue, mausoleum and cemetery at Ramsgate and having regard to the operational commitments and expected costs of the Endowment. This is important as the Trustees rely only on internal resources to fund its work. After having regard to the above, the objective is to invest the assets of the Endowment in pursuit of capital growth. The trustees regularly monitor the performance of its investments against the stated policy.
Risk management
The trustees have considered the major risks to which the charity is exposed, have reviewed these risks, have established systems and procedures to manage them as set out in its Risks Register. They are satisfied that systems are in place or are being put into place to mitigate exposure.
The Charity is a company limited by guarantee and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association which were incorporated on 26th October 2005. The net assets of The Montefiore Endowment at Ramsgate (Charity No. 230919) were transferred to The Montefiore Endowment (Charity No. 1113038, Company No. 05604295) on the 20 November 2007. On 2 April 2014, having received prior consent from the Charity Commission for the purposes of section 198 of the Charities Act 2011, the Directors unanimously passed a resolution, updating the Charity's objects.
The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Trustees are currently recruited by word of mouth, or by personal approach. Special knowledge of at least one of the Charity's activities is generally required.
Trustees undergo regular training in accordance with agreed policy. New Trustees are furnished with recent minutes of relevant meetings and encouraged to discuss any matters with other Trustees and with the Secretary.
The Board of Trustees recognises that the responsibilities of a Trustee are considerable and continues to so inform all Trustees.
During the period, the day to day running of the Charity was undertaken by the above Trustees,
and by the following Honorary Consultants: Dr Roger Bilboul, Mr Jack Taylor and Professor Stephen Miller
Rabbi Asaf Mittelman was employed as part-time Director of Education and Rabbi Amrom Nemeth as his part-time deputy.
Mrs Giselle Sinyor and Mrs Julia Samuel were employed as part-time Joint Administrators, with Mrs Giselle Sinyor as Company Secretary. Mrs Lauren White assisted as Secretary.
Mr Ben Kelly was employed as part-time Superintendent for the Ramsgate properties and assisted by other part-time helpers on a casual basis.
Associated Organisations
The Montefiore Endowment is an independently constituted entity. It does occasionally invite Elders and/or former Elders and ministers of the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi Congregation to sit on its Board of Trustees and Advisory Council as appropriate; and many members of its Board of Trustees and Advisory Council are also members of the S&P Sephardi Congregation.
Note 20 sets out an analysis of the assets attributable to the various funds and a description of the trusts. These assets are sufficient to meet the Charity's obligations on a fund by fund basis.
A resolution confirming the re-appointment of RDP Newmans LLP as auditors of the charity was agreed by the trustees at the AGM.
During the year there have been transactions with two related parties - please refer to note 22 for further details.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.
The Trustees' r eport was approved by the Board of Trustees.
On behalf of the board of trustees
The Trustees, who are also the directors of The Montefiore Endowment for the purpose 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 Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
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 Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that 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.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The Montefiore Endowment (the ‘Charity’) for the year ended 31 October 2020 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the summary income and expenditure account, the balance sheet and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) .
In our opinion, the financial statements:
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
the Trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or
the Trustees have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the Charity’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Trustees' r eport; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the S tatement of Trustees' R esponsibilities, the Trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
We have been appointed as auditor under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: http s ://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Montefiore Endowment is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 44a Albert Road, London, NW42SJ. The Charity is registered at the Charities Commission with the registration number 1113038.
All of the Trustees are members of the charitable company and guarantee to contribute such sum (not exceeding £1) in the event of winding up.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and “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 (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The Charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The Charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling , which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary a mounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention modified to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives unless the funds have been designated for other purposes. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the T rustees for particular purposes.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Endowment funds are subject to specific conditions by donors that the capital must be maintained by the Charity.
Endowment funds represent assets which must be held permanently by the Charity. The Charity has adopted a total returns approach in respect of its permanent endowment under section 104A(2) of the Trust (Capital and Income) Act 2013. Any income and capital gains or losses arising on the assets are classed as the unapplied total return which can be transferred to unrestricted income at the discretion of the Trustees.
Income is recognised when the Charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the Charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Legacies are recognised on receipt or otherwise if the Charity has been notified of an impending distribution, the amount is known, and receipt is expected. If the amount is not known, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset.
Investment income is accounted for on a receivable basis.
Grants payable are charged in the year when the offer is conveyed to the recipient except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised as expenditure when the conditions attaching are fulfilled. Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end are noted as a commitment, but not accrued as expenditure.
Charitable expenditure comprises all expenditure directly relating to the objectives of the Charity. It also includes an allocation of support and governance costs.
Governance costs include expenses associated with constitutional and statutory requirements, such as audit fees and the cost of legal advice taken by the Trustees. Governance costs have been allocated in full to Religious and Cemetery running expenses. This allocation has been made on the basis of time spent.
Support costs are those costs that are not directly attributable to a single activity but provide the necessary organisational support for all the charity's activities. The support costs have been allocated based on the proportion of total direct costs attributable to each charitable activity to total resources expended.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Items of equipment are capitalised when the purchase price exceeds £1,000.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.
Investment property, which is property held to earn rentals and/or for capital appreciation, is initially recognised at cost, which includes the purchase cost and any directly attributable expenditure. Subsequently it is measured at fair value at the reporting end date. The surplus or deficit on revaluation is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
These assets are integral to the activities of the Congregation and are unique in terms of their religious and historic significance. Conventional valuation techniques cannot be applied because of their uniqueness and any valuation would be misleading. The heritage assets held are as follows:
a) Freehold Properties and Content
The cost of properties as listed below held for religious, burial and administrative purposes has previously been written off against reserves. Their current value is not shown as the properties are inalienable and historic.
i) Land comprising 0.095 hectares being the Synagogue and the Mausoleum thereon.
ii) Land comprising 0.29 hectares being the Burial Ground.
The above were valued for insurance in 2012 and are insured for £867,285.
b) Movable Assets
Movable assets, primarily silver, manuscripts and books are not included in the accounts at any value. This is in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice which specifies that assets held as the objects of the charity for long term retention and to which it is difficult to reliably estimate their value can be excluded from the balance sheet.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year . Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
At each reporting end date, the Charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any ) .
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The Charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the Charity's balance sheet when the Charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future p aymen ts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the Charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
In the application of the Charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Specifically, the Trustees have made made judgements on the apportionment of support and governance costs across the various charitable activities (see note 8 for further details) - the basis of this apportionment has remained consistent to prior years.
Income from listed investments
Rental Income
Religious and cemetery running expenses
Educational
Maintenance and conserving assets
Building costs
Semicha course provision
Expenses incurred in support of Semicha courses
Conservation programme
Manuscripts
Testimonial projects
Educational
Educational
See note a)
See note a)
IT costs
See note a)
Maintenance costs
See note a)
Accountancy and secretarial
See note a)
Rent and security costs
See note a)
Legal and professional fees
See note a)
Sundry expenses
See note a)
a) All other supports costs have been apportioned on the percentage of total charitable expenditure directly attributable to each charitable activity.
b) Governance costs have been allocated based on the percentage of total charitable expenditure directly attributable to each charitable activity.
During the year travel and accommodation expenses were paid by the Charity for a Trustee amounting to £nil (2019: £nil).
No other Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the Charity during the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
There were no employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more.
The Charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
The fair value of the investment properties has been arrived at on the basis of a valuation exercise based on current market rents and investment property yields for comparable real estate undertaken by the Trustees.
The Trustees having suitable knowledge and qualification considered the above valuation to be a fair reflection of the investment property at 31 October 2020.
Cash held by investment managers
The market value of the listed investment as at 31 October 2020 is £4,135,829 (2019: £4,419,080).
Endowment funds represent assets which must be held permanently by the Charity. The charity has adopted a total returns approach in respect of its permanent endowment under section 104A of the Charities Act 2011 as amended by the Trust (Capital and Income) Act 2013. Any income and capital gains or losses arising on the assets are classed as unapplied total return which can be transferred to unrestricted income at the discretion of the trustees. This approach was reflected as of 1 November 2017 where the original endowment was valued at £984,874 with the unapplied total return being £1,664,625. The value of the original endowment is deemed as the value of the permanently endowed investment funds as at 31 October 2004. This value was chosen being the most historic value available.
Transfer on adoption of total returns approach
Investment return: dividends and interest
Investment return: realised and unrealised gains/(losses)
Investment management costs
Transfer on adoption of total returns approach
Investment return: dividends and interest
Investment return: realised and unrealised gains/(losses)
Investment management costs
The unrestricted funds of the charity include general unrestricted funds and the following designated funds which have been set aside by the T rustees for specific purposes:
The Special Projects Fund was set aside by the Trustees to meet the cost of special projects as and when they occur at the Trustees' discretion.
Building, Tombstone and Burial Ground Reserves Fund - this fund is used for the purchase and maintenance of the Synagogue and Mausoleum as well as the maintenance of the burial grounds and tombstones.
Other Bequests Funds - this provides for the maintenance of the property of the charity.
The Investment Property Revaluation Fund is comprised of gains or losses in fair value of investment properties.
The Trustees are satisfied that sufficient resources are held in an appropriate form to enable each fund to be applied in accordance with any designations.
Total designated funds at the year-end amounted to £3,309,954 (2019: £3,801,840). General unrestricted funds at the year-end amounted to £736,979 (2019: £708,388). These funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees for particular purposes.
Unrestricted funds
Endowment funds
Unrestricted funds
Endowment funds
During the year the Covid-19 global pandemic was still prevalent, and subsequent intervention from governments worldwide have resulted in a high level of uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets. The outcome of these events is at the time of signing these financial statements unknown and as such the financial impact to investments cannot be estimated.
The charity's key management personnel consists of the Board of Trustees only, The trustees received no remuneration in the year.
During the year the Charity entered into the following transactions with related parties:
During the year, the Endowment paid rent and security costs of £nil (2019: £10,404) and a grant of £5,000 (2019: £10,000) to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews Synagogue, an associated charity as detailed in the Trustees report.
During the year, the Endowment paid rent and security costs of £1,667 (2019: £nil) and a grant of £50,000 (2019: £50,000) to Jews' College T/A the London School of Jewish Studies, a charity in which there are common trustees.