Page 26 - BPW-UK ANNUAL REVIEW 2023-2024

Again, I have thoroughly enjoyed my role as Treasurer these last 12 months and particu-
larly working with Judith Leggat who continues to support me compiling the spreadsheets that
sit behind our figures.

We took the decision to simplify the accounting approach this year, following consulta-
tion with our Accountant Alexander Bell of Studholme-Bell. Agreement to make the changes
from the Federation Executive Committee and the Governance Working Group was then re-
ceived. Therefore, we will no longer be reporting potential debtors/prepayments for member-
ship fees and affiliation fees to BPW International/BPW Europe paid in advance or insurance
that might be refunded should we cancel the policy. We also wrote off £70 of stock that had
been carried for many years.
In summary the accounts for BPW UK show a total income of £16,564 and expenditure of
£17,425 resulting in a deficit of £861. The increase in these figures, compared to last year, is
due the financial transactions of our face-to-face UK Annual Conference monies going through
the bank account. I will provide details regarding the Annual Conference in a later paragraph.

Actual subscriptions were £5,310 against a budget of £4,677. This increase is due to no
longer holding membership fees paid in advance as potential refunds should a member leave
throughout the year.
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The membership as at 31 December 2023 was 80 made up of 76 paying members and 4
‘Free of Charge’ members. 11 members ceased to be members during the year and 4 new
members joined. We have 2 ‘Friend Of’ supporters.
The overall deficit of £861 is considerably less than that forecast in the Budget, mainly
due to not spending as much as anticipated this year on the new website, and, neither the
June O’Dell nor the International Awards have been applied for again amounting to £1,500. Al-
so, our members generously donated £663 towards the running costs of the organisation, and
the FEC members did not claim expenses of £2,766 including Conference and BPW Internation-
al Presidents’ Meeting. We did not hold a Members Day or YBPW event so there were savings of
£750. We made a profit of £50 on the sale of BPW Europe merchandise.

A total of £164 was sent to the Members Emergency Fund.
On the expenses side our business banking fees have been minimal and with interest
rates increasing this has benefited our investment account at Lloyds and National Savings. We
have renewed our Zoom subscription as this is essential for our operation and Areas and Work-
ing Groups have also made extensive use of it. We split the Inter-Regional Public Speaking
Championship Budget of £1,500 between the two Areas (Northern Ireland & Southern, England
& Wales) holding Public Speaking heats to put towards their costs and expenses in support of
the competition. The cost of attending the 2023 BPW International Presidents’ Meeting was
£673 less that we budgeted for, again due to our President’s generosity. We also saved £200 on
the Annual Review publication costs and a favourable exchange rate meant we saved £193 on
our affiliation fees to BPW International.

PayPal continues to be available should members wish to use it when renewing and ap-
plying for membership. The fees have been more than covered by the higher interest rates giv-
en on our other savings. Bank transfer and cheque payment remain an option of course.
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