look at the number of companies formed by City Harvest & their web of inter-connections & vested interests.
Bloody complicated - need a forensic accountant to spot what is KKN & what is conflict of interest.
Consolidated questions & revelations by
a conscientious CHC insider on Kong & Family & their internal crony practices ..........
Will there be lawsuits for defamation in view of ST online's wide readership?
Source : ST Discussion Board 'CityHarvest questioned' thread.
__________________________________________________________
Originally Posted by
sorenk2233
Kudos to City Harvest for being transparent about their financial statements. They have proudly listed it in their website.
However, some things cause alarm bells to ring.
1. The church has spent millions on television, audio, broadcast, and multi-media.
Audio and Light --> $1.256 and $1.1 million during the past two years.
Christian TV, Broadcast --> $793,000 and $1.039 million during the past two years
Church TV --> $2.105 and $1.374 million, during the past two years.
Internet broadcast --> $573,000 and $432,000, during the past two years.
And if you add them up, a total of $8,672,000 has been spent on multi-media related ventures.
Perhaps the CHC might want elaborate why the need for such expenses?
Perhaps they would also like to explain why Rev. Kong Hee has to be featured on Christian television? The reverend does not receive a salary from City Harvest, but by them endorsing him by placing him on Christian television (seen in US), is that not a benefit/ incentive paid by the Church? Would that not be considered a form of payment?
2. Staff salaries are astonishing! A church is liken to a customer care service. And no doubt there is a need to employ members to meet the needs of Church members. However, how transparent would CHC be in disclosing their staff salaries?
I would not be surprised that many senior/ executive level staff in CHC's organization may be receiving 5-figured salaries. There is nothing wrong in paying good and qualified workers well. The question is how much is too much? And whether it is justifiable.
3. A further investigation should look into companies often contracted by City Harvest Church.
Are those companies funded by church members? What other interests do the companies play in facilitating CHC? Are any of CHC's board members/ executive members shareholders in the companies? If so, then how much have they benefited?
If such a significant amount is spend on audio and lighting, perhaps a thorough investigation ought to be checked on the co-relation between the company and CHC. Is the same company behind Sun Ho's singing career? High probability it could be so. Also, I understand that CHC started a dance studio to get Youths involved in the arts (great avenue to get kids off from drugs and off the streets). However, has this been a personal gain for Sun Ho's entertainment venture?
3. In the early months of 2010, many CHC members went for a study trip to South Korea. The world's largest church is located there. I wonder if the senior/ executive staff had to pay for the "study trip" or if the trip was absorbed by the church. If so, is this a common practice for independent churches?
Why am I writing this and posing though questions with regards to the financial management of City Harvest Church? Partly because I feel the need for religious organizations to come clean about their transactions. Partly because there is too much going on behind the scenes that needs to come to light. Partly because there needs to be checks and balances in independent mega churches.
......
A religious organization being extravagant in its spending is not the issue. We see cathedrals, mosques and temples made of great extravagance. In many religions, many high ranking officials often wear robes lavished in gold trimmings, fine fabric and intricate detail. Hence, being extravagant and having state of the art technology should not be part of the discussion. What should be of interest is the co-relation to
an independent church with its contracted companies?
1.
The lighting and audio for City Harvest Church has contracted Xtron Productions Pte Ltd. This coupled together with the fact that this company is one of the management agencies for co-founder and singer, Miss Ho Yeow Sun.
In addition, many of the employees hired by
Xtron Productions are members of City Harvest Church. Many of these
individuals are members of CHC's television, media and sound ministries. If this does not raise bells, then perhaps one might like to see who are the owners, co-owners and managers of Xtron Productions.
2.
City Harvest Church has changed its financial year-end twice in the last few years. The first in 2007, from 31 December to 30 June. The second in 2008, from 30 June to 31 October. Such unexplained change of financial year-end is commonly seen as a red-flag by auditors and regulators. Should we be concerned?
PART I ...... (to continue....)
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