Ensuring Transparency and Standing Strong Together

Hello, PKAVS!

As your Senior Management Team, we'd like to share an update following a recent news story about PKAVS based on the financial accounts in our 2023-2024 impact report.

While it may feel as though we have been through a storm (literally and figuratively!), we are here to reassure you we are getting through it together. We also want to ensure you have a clear understanding and maintain the culture of transparency we pride ourselves in.

Currently, we are navigating a challenging operating environment, which has led to our unrestricted reserves position being low. Key contributors to our financial position coming out of 2024 include:

• Structural Costs: Certain fixed costs unrelated to direct service delivery have strained our unrestricted reserves.

• Increased Demand for Services: As you know, the need for our services has grown significantly, and we have expanded our offerings to meet this demand. This is testament to your hard work and commitment to our clients.

  
  

These factors, plus the knock-on effects of COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, have put a strain on our reserves. This is a familiar situation to organisations across the voluntary sector and a focus of the work and advocacy of our Third Sector Interface team.

Over the last 18 months, our board has identified these financial challenges and been actively working to address them. We'd like to reiterate some of the actions we are taking to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of PKAVS, in line with our strategic goals:

• The board are supporting us directly by ensuring financial governance.

• Each year, the board and SMT review our costs to ensure we are budgeting and spending appropriately. We do this in partnership with our accountants.

• We have a new treasurer on the board who brings specialist financial expertise.

• Alongside our yearly audit, our accounts are published on our website. Currently, all of our services break even or are in a small surplus.

• Alex, our fundraising manager is supporting us to obtain funds in a way we wouldn't have been able to before.

We want to foster an open dialogue across all levels of our organisation, so please be in touch if you have any questions or concerns.

Together, we will continue to deliver services that create a brighter Perth and Kinross and enhance the lives of people and the strength of communities in our region.

Thank you for your understanding and your contributions to our efforts!

Signed,

The Senior Management Team

(Shaheena, Raymond, Mel, Sarah, Janice and Andrea)