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Trustees' Report and Accounts
18 October 2011
The RSPB’s accounts have been prepared in accordance with the recommendations of the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (revised 2005) (SORP).
We have also prepared the Operating statement to assist readers who simply wish to gain an overview of the RSPB’s financial position.
Explanatory notes
The backing we received in this financial year from our members and supporters enabled us to continue to increase our conservation and education work, spending £3 million more than last year. This was thanks to a magnificent response by our staff and volunteers to the challenges faced.
Due to the consequences of grant reductions and the high price of land our expenditure on land purchases and associated visitor facilities fell by £6.2 million.
Administrative overheads, including governance, are approximately 5% of our charitable expenditure and membership related costs a further 5%. This leaves 90% of our resources available to be spent directly on delivering our conservation objectives.
Net income (money available for conservation objectives) is slightly down on the previous year, mainly because of a particularly large corporate partnership deal struck that year. The underlying income trend is stable in challenging times.
Net income at £94.0 million is after deducting the £15.7 million cost of generating income and a further £12.8 million cost of goods for resale for our trading operation. The majority of products sold, such as bird food and feeders, optics, wildlife books and videos, relate directly to our charitable objectives.
The RSPB is known for its commitment to putting its income to work as soon as possible. This year some projects have been carried over, and the unspent but committed funds largely explain the £4.7 million surplus. This work will be completed in the 2011/12 financial year.
It has been opportune to replenish financial reserves a little with uncertain times ahead for grant fundraising due to public sector cuts and continued economic uncertainties. Free financial reserves are held at a modest level to maximise the funds available for immediate conservation needs. We hold just nine weeks’ worth of expenditure in free financial reserves.
The defined benefit pension scheme is relatively immature in that there are significantly more contributing members than pensioners; therefore the net liability of the scheme, at £33.5 million (2010: £34.7 million), will not crystallise for some years. In view of this and the medium term recovery plan, the RSPB trustees do not consider the liability to represent a constraint over the use of financial reserves for the foreseeable future.
The last full actuarial review was completed in July 2010. The actions taken as a result of this review were a reduction in benefits accruing of around 25% and a sharing of the risk of increased longevity. The final salary section of the scheme was closed to new entrants in February 2007. The assets and liabilities of the pension scheme are reviewed every three years, following which a plan is agreed with the pension scheme trustees to make good any deficit. The next review will begin on 1 April 2012.
For more detail on these or any other aspects of another very eventful and successful year, 2010/11, you can download a copy of our report and accounts for 2010/11 via the link on the right.