Archived: Reventure Limited: mini-charity review

Mini-charity review of Reventure Limited (Reventure), an organisation that is connected, by the directorship of Jame Lewis, to the CMA Standards Council, Christian Management Australia’s ‘major new initiative, accrediting Christian organisations against a set of standards of good governance, financial oversight, and fundraising ethics.’

Is it responsive to feedback?

• When sent a draft of this review, on 28 March 2017, they…did not respond.

Is it registered?

• Yes, as a charity.
• Reventure is a public company, a company limited by guarantee.
  • It does not have the necessary provisions in its constitution to allow it to omit ‘Limited’/’Ltd’ at the end of its name.
• Reventure has a fully-owned subsidiary, Converge International Pty Ltd (Converge) a private company.
  • Converge has not registered the name it uses, Converge International.
• No information was found to indicate that Reventure seeks donations from the public.

What does Reventure do?

• In its own right: here.
• Via its subsidiary: here.

Do they share the Gospel?

• Although Reventure has a statement of faith in its constitution (although not on its website), it appears that it doesn’t share the Gospel – ‘Gospel’, ‘Jesus’, and ‘Christ’ do not appear on either website.

What impact are they having?

• Nothing found, for either entity.

What do they spend outside the costs directly incurred in delivering the above impact, that is, on administration?

• The information is not presented to allow this calculation – for either entity.

Can you get a tax deduction?

• No

Is their online giving secure?

• NA

What choices do you have in how your donation is used?

• NA

Is their reporting up-to-date?

• Yes (two weeks late, seven and a half months after their year-end)

Does their reporting comply with the regulator’s requirements?

• Annual Information Statement 2016 (AIS 2016): No
  • Most of the figures in the ‘Comprehensive Income Statement summary’ do not match those in the financial statements.
  • No outcomes are reported.
  • ‘Reventure Limited’ is not an ‘Other Name’.
• Financial Report 2016: Yes. Consolidated financial statements, Reventure and its wholly-owned subsidiary Converge.

What financial situation was shown in that Report?

• Profit as a percentage of revenue declined markedly, from 7% to 0.2%.
• Working capital (current assets less current liabilities) improved slightly, but is still negative at 0.84.
• Goodwill is 81% of the non-current assets.

What did the auditor say about the last financial statements?

• He gave a ‘clean’ opinion^[1].

If a charity, is their page on the ACNC Register complete?

• ‘Phone’ is blank – but this is not compulsory information.
• ‘Website’ is blank, but they don’t have to disclose it to the ACNC if they don’t want to.
• ‘Reventure Limited’ is not an ‘Other Name’.

Who are the people controlling the organisation?

• Not mentioned on the website.
• On the ACNC Register (under ‘Responsible Persons’):
  • Susan Bazzana
  • Russell Bricknell
  • Tara Commerford
  • Trevor Harvey
  • Rohan Higgins
  • Lindsay McMillan
  • Jame Lewis
    • Jame is a director of Christian Management Advancement Ltd, an organisation that believes that
      • Christian organisations should be the standard-setters in terms of impeccable corporate behaviour.
        • The mission of their committee, the CMA Standards Council, is to ‘help build faith and trust in Christian organisations’, including by allowing organisations who are compliant with a set of standards, formed by the Council, to display the Council’s seal of approval.
• Converge: see here.

To whom is Reventure accountable?

• To the ACNC.
• And, as a company, to ASIC.
• Converge: to ASIC.

1. To take the right amount of comfort from a ‘clean opinion’, please read here and here. ↑