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Accounting 101, capital items do not count towards profit. > So the business model is asking users for a donation? This sounds more like a non-profit to me. I

Accounting 101, capital items do not count towards profit. > So the business model is asking users for a donation? This sounds more like a non-profit to me. It is a non-profit! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Trust_Limited https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Trust_Limited

mbesto 8y ago
> Accounting 101, capital items do not count towards profit. Technically yes and no. The initial capital amount does not, but its amount gets depreciated/amortized over time.
- jgamman 8y ago
  oh for a one armed accountant...
- jimnotgym 8y ago
  Since you want to be technical, we should say that the changes to the value of capital items get charged to the income statement (profit & loss). Capital items only get depreciated if they are wasting, and could indeed be revalued upwards. It is quite common for real property, for instance) to not get depreciated and be held at historical cost, or indeed to be revalued annually.
k1m 8y ago
It's not. Good article from former Guardian journalist Jonathan Cook: HSBC and the sham of Guardian's Scott Trust https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2015-03-03/hsbc-and-the-sham-of-guardians-scott-trust/ https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2015-03-03/hsbc-and-the-s... The following is quoted in the piece: > The Guardian is not owned by a trust at all. In 2008, “the trust was replaced with a limited company” that was accordingly re-named “The Scott Trust Limited.” Though not a trust at all, but simply a profit-making company, it is still referred to frequently as ‘The Scott Trust,’ promulgating the widely-held but mistaken belief in the Guardian’s inherently benign ownership structure. … The problem, of course, is that the Guardian functions under the same sort of corporate structure as any other major media company.
- jsmith99 8y ago
  Very many charities are incorporated as limited companies. It's simply a convenient structure. They are incorporated by guarantee meaning they don't have shares.
  - BuildTheRobots 8y ago
    Except, they're not and never have been. According to companies house, they're limited by shares (1000 of which have been issued, with a nominal value of 250,000). Have a look at any of their confirmation statements or incorporation: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06706464/filing-history https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06706464/filing-h...

mbesto 8y ago

> Accounting 101, capital items do not count towards profit. Technically yes and no. The initial capital amount does not, but its amount gets depreciated/amortized over time.

jgamman 8y ago
oh for a one armed accountant...
jimnotgym 8y ago
Since you want to be technical, we should say that the changes to the value of capital items get charged to the income statement (profit & loss). Capital items only get depreciated if they are wasting, and could indeed be revalued upwards. It is quite common for real property, for instance) to not get depreciated and be held at historical cost, or indeed to be revalued annually.

k1m 8y ago

It's not. Good article from former Guardian journalist Jonathan Cook: HSBC and the sham of Guardian's Scott Trust https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2015-03-03/hsbc-and-the-sham-of-guardians-scott-trust/ https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2015-03-03/hsbc-and-the-s... The following is quoted in the piece: > The Guardian is not owned by a trust at all. In 2008, “the trust was replaced with a limited company” that was accordingly re-named “The Scott Trust Limited.” Though not a trust at all, but simply a profit-making company, it is still referred to frequently as ‘The Scott Trust,’ promulgating the widely-held but mistaken belief in the Guardian’s inherently benign ownership structure. … The problem, of course, is that the Guardian functions under the same sort of corporate structure as any other major media company.

jsmith99 8y ago
Very many charities are incorporated as limited companies. It's simply a convenient structure. They are incorporated by guarantee meaning they don't have shares.
- BuildTheRobots 8y ago
  Except, they're not and never have been. According to companies house, they're limited by shares (1000 of which have been issued, with a nominal value of 250,000). Have a look at any of their confirmation statements or incorporation: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06706464/filing-history https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06706464/filing-h...