THE Commissioner of Charities (COC) has found that four mega churches, two temples and one Christian group have 'proper systems and processes' and 'largely' comply with regulations, a year after he started a governance review on these groups.

They are: Campus Crusade Asia, City Harvest Church, Faith Community Baptist Church, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, New Creation Church and Trinity Christian Centre.

However, he wanted these religious groups to brush up on four areas.

Without naming the groups involved, one concern he had was that some loans were made to 'related parties' without the documented approval of their boards.

The COC said that these groups should have a policy when it comes to extending loans and seek 'proper approval' for all loans.

It said charities should also monitor the outcome of the projects which the loans are for and ensure the loans are repaid based on the agreed schedule.

On donations to external parties, the COC recommended that charities document their policies regarding such donations made, as it was found that many did not have proper application requirements, evaluation criteria and approval limits.

Another concern was the independence of the board.

Some groups have paid staff chairing their boards and this may compromise their board's independence.

This review is significant as it marks the first time the COC is focussing such attention on religious groups.

Moving forward, the seven charities have said it would work on these areas and plug operational gaps to improve their governance and administration.

A progress report from the charities will be submitted to the COC at the end of the year.

Additional reporting by Melissa Kok.