[foundation-board] Fwd: Accounts - updated

Tue Feb 22 14:08:23 UTC 2011

On 22 February 2011 11:42, Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock at okfn.org> wrote:

> Thanks for this feedback Becky. I will pass this on. As no-one else has
> responded I am going to take it that, modulo these changes, the Accounts are
> approved by the Board for submission to Companies House.

Although I appreciate it's frustrating that no-one else on the Board
responded to this email in the timeframe you gave, I for one am not happy
proceeding in this fashion. I think approval of the Company accounts
requires positive assent of a quorum of Board members, not least because
I suspect otherwise the accounts may well be invalid as an official
document. I'm happy to give my approval modulo my comments (which shouldn't
require much if any substantive change anyway) - they now have James'
approval and presumably yours, so it shouldn't be too hard to secure a
quorum.

Becky

> (We are now on a relatively tight timeline as they are due in by next
> Monday).
>
> Rufus
>
> On 17 February 2011 14:32, Becky Hogge <becky.hogge at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Rufus
>>
>> Thanks for these, I'll take a look at them over the weekend.
>>
>> I certainly don't have the expertise to say for certain whether we are
>> liable for corporation tax or not. I remember that ORG was not liable
>> (although we did pay it once, and subsequently reclaimed it) but I don't
>> know whether this was because we held all "profits" on account for
>> activities the following year, or because we had not-for-profit conditions
>> in our Mems and Arts.
>>
>> OKF may need to state explicitly that we have such terms and are therefore
>> not liable. See, for example, p20 of ORG's review of activities 2005-2007
>> http://www.openrightsgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/org_reviewofactivities2007.pdf,  which
>> includes the statement "It is our understanding that corporation tax is not
>> payable by Open Rights as it is a not-for-profit company." They appear to
>> have used this wording consistently up until 2010, when it no longer appears
>> in the version of their accounts republished in their Annual report,
>> although it could still appear in the accounts they have submitted to
>> Companies House, I haven't checked.
>>
>> Rufus, do you want a second opinion beyond Urban Ledgers, in which case, I
>> suggest that unless someone from the Board wants to step forward with more
>> expertise than I have, we solicit one from a professional accountant, or
>> would a reconfirmation from Urban Ledgers be sufficient?
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Becky
>>
>> On 15 February 2011 17:46, Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock at okfn.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> Please find attached our draft accounts for 2009-2010. Since these are
>>> due by the end of February I would ask that people aim to get comments to me
>>> to pass on to Urban Ledgers by next Monday at the latest.
>>>
>>> One major point to note is that we have a very substantial debtor entry
>>> (re. DGU CKAN work) and a significant creditors entry (for £77,967). This
>>> latter is an effort to represent anticipated liabilities or spending on
>>> projects where we had already received funds but not spent them (primarily
>>> CKAN DGU and WDMMG).
>>>
>>> One question I wish to double-check is whether we will be liable for
>>> corporation tax on the profit/loss we show. Since we are a not-for-profit
>>> and any income we receive on projects would eventually be discharged on
>>> those projects or related ones I do not think we are liable and Urban
>>> Ledgers had confirmed this previously but I would like to double check.
>>>
>>> Rufus
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From: Catherine Davis <catherine.davis at urbanledgers.co.uk>
>>> Date: 15 February 2011 16:03
>>> Subject: Accounts - updated
>>> To: rufus.pollock at okfn.org
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Rufus,
>>>
>>> We have now taken into account your previously emailed comments, and
>>> noted the slight reallocation of the hosting expenses, and raised an accrual
>>> for Software Development for £77,216.40.
>>>
>>> Please find attached both the full and abbreviated set of accounts for
>>> your perusal and approval.  Once you're happy with them, you'll just need to
>>> sign and date in the various places and send either the full or abbreviated
>>> set (your preference) to Companies House prior to the due date.
>>>
>>> In terms of the accruals we've raised in the accounts, we haven't made
>>> any changes in Xero (as we don't have access to do journal entries), however
>>> I would recommend you post the following entries to bring everything in
>>> line:
>>>
>>> *As at 31 May 2010:*
>>>
>>> Debit   401 Audit and Accountancy Fees  £750
>>> Credit  805 Accruals £750
>>> (being our fees for preparing the end of year accounts)
>>>
>>> Debit   3201 Contractor Software Development  £77,216.40
>>> Credit  805  Accruals  £77,216,40
>>>
>>> *As at 1 June 2010:*
>>>
>>> Post the reversal of the two journals above, ie:
>>>
>>> Credit   401 Audit and Accountancy Fees  £750
>>> Debit   805 Accruals £750
>>>
>>> Credit  3201 Contractor Software Development  £77,216.40
>>> Debit  805  Accruals  £77,216,40
>>>
>>> When it comes time to pay the accountancy fee invoice and the contractors
>>> in respect of these accruals, simply post from the usual accounts, ie: for
>>> accountancy fees you would simply post against account 401 with the other
>>> side being Bank.
>>>
>>> I'd also recommend closing off the period in Xero as at 31 May 2010 so
>>> that no entries can be inadvertently backdated to the prior year, once it's
>>> been finalised.
>>>
>>> Just sing out if you need a hand with any of the above, or if you have
>>> any changes you'd like to be made to the accounts.
>>>
>>> Kind regards
>>> Catherine
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Catherine Davis*Managing Director* *M*0795 808 5386*T
>>> * 0207 700 0355*F*0207 700 3722 *W*www.urbanledgers.co.uk
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Co-Founder, Open Knowledge Foundation
>>> Promoting Open Knowledge in a Digital Age
>>> http://www.okfn.org/ - http://blog.okfn.org/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> foundation-board mailing list
>>> foundation-board at lists.okfn.org
>>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-board
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Co-Founder, Open Knowledge Foundation
> Promoting Open Knowledge in a Digital Age
> http://www.okfn.org/ - http://blog.okfn.org/
>
>
>
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