The Trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's [governing document], the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) 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) (effective 1 January 2019)".
The Company's charitable objects, as set out in its Memorandum of Association (3.1) are:
"To promote, maintain, improve and advance public education, appreciation and understanding of the Arts, and in particular the art of drama in all its aspects, by the production and presentation of educational, dramatic, theatrical and musical performances, with a particular emphasis on physical and visual theatre produced by the Company."
The board of directors believes that the above objectives have been fulfilled by the company's activities during the financial year.
Tim Licata, Plutôt La Vie’s co-artistic director continued educational activities with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s B.A Performance course in BSL and English. Plutôt La Vie also continued to support Articulation, in support of the Outdoor Arts, Circus and Physical Theatre sector in Scotland.
Tim Licata and Ian Cameron, co-artistic directors of Plutôt La Vie, had other artistic focuses during the 2022-23 year, which limited the company’s artistic activities.
Tim Licata worked with Magdalena Schamberger on the creation of In the Light of Day, a research and development project for people living with dementia in care home settings and theatres and with Tortoise in a Nutshell on a remount of their production Hibernate a performance for children 3-5 years old. Hibernate is “…a story aimed at exploring the relationship of two characters from very different generations. After the period of social isolation during the Covid19 pandemic, Hibernate looks to explore the emotional connection between the very young and older people. As an adaptable performance suitable for community settings, it provides a space for meeting and coming together to re-build connections lost over the past few years.” Tortoise in a Nutshell
CLOWN CABARET NIGHT – Plutôt la Vie at the Manipulate Festival, 2023
Plutôt La Vie was invited to curate a Clown Cabaret Night at the Manipulate Festival on February 10th, 2023. Tim Licata directed the evening which featured new and developing acts from: Isidora Bouziouri, Ruxandra Cantir, Saul Smith & Kirstin Halliday, Lucy McGreal and Lisette Boxman.
The company reports a deficit for the year of £269, which related entirely to Unrestricted funds. At 31 March 2023 Unrestricted reserves carried forward were £8,261.
FUTURE PLANS
Goals for the company in 2023 / 2024 will be to:
Change the company's status to a S.C.I.O. - Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organization.
Renew Plutôt La Vie’s Board of Trustees by adding a new Trustee during the 2023 – 24 year.
Produce Close-Up & Personal: The Magic of Tim Licata in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023.
Apply to the Made in Scotland Showcase to present An Unexpected Hiccup as part of the Made in Scotland Showcase during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024.
Apply to the Creative Scotland Open Fund to launch a new series of Clown Cabaret Nights in 2024/25.
Plutôt La Vie is an Edinburgh-based theatre company dedicated to producing imaginative, vibrant, entertaining and visually driven performances and providing high quality educational programmes in physical expression for young people, families, community groups, educationalists and other professionals in a variety of settings.
Plutôt La Vie was incorporated as a limited company on 20th July 2007 and is a charity registered under Scottish Law.
The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:
Tim Licata has Chief Executive responsibilities and delegated authority in accordance with the Articles of Association (Article 41). The company has benefited from the skills of freelance professionals and support from other boards and organisations. The directors are appreciative of this support.
Board members have met and/or communicated regularly, taking decisions about the strategic direction of the company, current activities and future projects.
Directors' Remuneration
Where appropriate, directors were paid for their professional services to the Company as reported in the accounts. This expense was incurred with the agreement of the Board and in accordance with the Company's Memorandum of Association (5.1) and in compliance with the Charity Trustee and Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are set out on pages 4 to 11.
The charity's trustees (who are also directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, and they consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1)(a) to (c) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to our attention.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; and
to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations;
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Plutot La Vie is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is 323/4 Leith Walk, Edinburgh, EH6 8SA.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's [governing document], the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) 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) (effective 1 January 2019)". 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 amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and 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.
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.
Expenditure is recognised when a liability is incurred.
Charitable activities include expenditure associated with the staging of productions and include both direct and support costs relating to these activities.
Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to the charitable activity on a basis consistent with their use.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
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.
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 payments 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.
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.
Creative Scotland
Theatre Tax Relief
Fees
Props
Travel
Publicity and marketing
Production costs
Rent
During the year the trustee, Tim Licata, was paid £980 (2022 - £9,629) in respect of services provided to the charity. These services were provided on normal arms length commercial terms. In addition 1 trustee was reimbursed £418 of expenses (2022 - £129).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).