The Philippine Institute of Certified
Public Accountants held the induction
ofits 2005 National Board of Directors,
Sectoral Council Members and Committee Chairs, Metro Manila Regional
Council Officers, Chapter Officers and
Directors, Chapter Committee Chairs,
and the Southern Luzon Regional CouncilOfficers as well as the Board of Trustees of the PICPA Foundation and the
PICPA Ethics Board at the Grand Ball-
room of the Hotel Intercontinental on
January 31, 2005.
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon
joined the ceremonies as Guest Speaker
and Inducting Officer. Encouraged by
the organization’s dynamic spirit of action, Senator Drilon extended his best
wishes to the Institute’s new leadership
and members as it continues to embody
the values, ethics and professionalism
of the CPAs in the exercise of the
C PAs are often placed in positions of trust. We are true professionals
who possess qualifications, particularly transparency in our discipline that
inspires respect and confidence. We are valued and trusted professionals
who not only keep up with the quickly changing world around us, but who
continue to shape it.
As your National President, it is my ardent desire to mold and develop
the role of leadership and competitiveness in every Philippine CPA. It is my
personal goal to develop not only the confidence and maturity, but
the professional expertise of our CPAs to be equally competitive in the
international marketplace.
D AVID L. BALANGUE
2005 PICPA N ATIONAL PRESIDENT
The competition in the
international marketplace
is heightening and the
Filipino CPA has to
reinvent himself now to
survive.
discipline.
Speaking on behalf of the new executive team, elected 2005 PICPA National President, David L. Balangue, in
his inaugural address, challenged the
members of the Institute to rally behind
the new executive team their own call
to duty to serve PICPA, the profession,
t
isstakeholders, and colleagues in support of this year’s theme “Get On…
Move On!”. Cognizant of the relationship of the members and officers as “two
sides of the same coin, where the
absence of one renders the coin worthless”, Pres. Balangue pointed out that
“when the membership is equally
dynamic and focused in pursuing the
continuation on page 5
PRESIDENT’S
Reprising our roles during our 2004
Annual Planning Conference at
Cagayan de Oro City on November 24th,
it was indeed a moment when each one
of us must have had this thought cross
our minds more than once: PICPA is
indeed in the big leagues. We are a
significant organization composed of
professional men and women CPAs
present in all four major sectors of the
discipline.
As I joined our various chapters
from all over the country during their individual induction ceremonies in these
first three months, I can’t help but be
proud of the PICPA banners prominently
visible throughout the length and
breadth of our country.
Truly, the APO for CPAs!
Since October 2, 1975 when we
were first conferred the Accredited
Profesional Organization (APO) status,
PICPA has been growing and nurturing
into a strongly relevant organization for
C PAs … not only in membership but in
our deliverables as well, maturing
First Quarter 2005
through the years. We are now more
than 15,000 strong but that is still meager compared to the whole universe of
117,000 Philippine CPAs.
To be truly representative of the
interests and pursuits of our profession,
we need to increase our membership to
include majority of licensed
C PAs. Our Institute is fully geared
to support the professional growth
and excellence of our CPA corps;
we should endeavor to spread the
benefits of our ready infrastructure
to most, if not all, of our country’s
C PAs.
W e aim to develop the intrinsic
competitiveness of the Philippine
C PA, not only in his own shores
but globally. In addition to our
extensive array of available resources
for continuing professional growth,
networking within an organization as
huge and as varied a membership
roster enjoyed by PICPA is an advantage that is not easily replicated
by smaller, more limited groupings,
regardless of orientation and discipline.
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
NOTES
Get On … Move On!
It is indeed a fitting tribute to those
of our members who remain driven and
are focused in undertaking their
different roles within PICPA – that we
have an action theme this year. G ET
O N … MO V E ON ! is an invitation to all
PICPAns to hop on the PICPA Bus and
be part of the journey towards
professional excellence. It is essential,
however, that we take the first step.
Let’s board the Bus and move on;
let’s not waste time waiting for the next
bus. This is not a short journey, the
road to excellence. The time to start is
now.
Our Action Plan for 2005
The year 2005 is marked by five
action goals that comprise our Action
Plan which we developed as a collegial
body at our Cagayan de Oro Planning
Conference. Each one of us present at
that November planning meet embrace
these five agenda as our roadmap for
2005. We endeavor to cascade these
continuation on page 18
3
W H A T’ S
NEWS
IN
P ICP A
PICPA-CPE BU S … G E T T I N G
R E A DY FOR THE RO A D
undoubtedly nourish the mind of the
C PA.
In April, the Committee will roll-out
a Train the Trainers Seminar-Workshop
in response to the clamor of many
PICPAns for such a training. The 3-day
seminar-workshop aims to develop the
valuable skills of the participants in the
conduct of PICPA courses. It will teach
them the various methods and techniques in presenting and facilitating such
training courses. Specifically, the topics
that will be covered are Platform Presentation Skills, Facilitation Skills and
Accounting and Auditing Updates. The
Committee intends to roll-out the workshop in 5 batches.
Seminar on accounting, auditing
and taxation; management concepts
It has been years that the PICPACPE Bus stopped plying the streets
when the CPE on the Road Project
took a respite. With the new
Accountancy Law that now requires
every CPA to pursue a continuing
professional education to become
globally competitive, the CPE on the
Road Committee, led by Jessie D.
Cabaluna as Chair, mapped out a
comprehensive and wide-ranging plan
to fulfill this mission. According to
Chair Cabaluna, the bus is all set to
take the road.
As listed in the Committee’s
calendar of activities, the year
beginning in April will see a series of
seminars and fora that will dwell on
timely and relevant topics that will
MEETING
THE
IRR DEADLINE
The Ad-hoc Committee on Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR),
headed by Atty. Kiko Gonzales, is in the
finalstages of making the PICPA comply
with the requirements imposed by the IRR
of the Accountancy Act of 2004 last year.
The committee has already addressed
the issues that were included in the IRR
to maintain the accreditation of PICPA as
the Accredited Professional Organization
for Accountancy professionals. A major
part of these changes includes the
amendments to be made in the by-laws
of the Organization which will be subjected to ratification on June 2005.
The Ad-hoc Committee on IRR,
which was created last year by the Y2004
PICPA Board, has been working for the
past nine months initially to evaluate the
proposed changes to the IRR and secondarily, to amend the by-laws to con-
4
form with the pertinent requirements of the
IRR which are deemed beneficial to
PICPA. These requirements relate to five
(5) major areas namely: 1.) Membership
Development, 2.) Financial Reporting Requirements, 3.) Continuing Professional
Education, 4.) The Public Practice of Accountancy, and 5.) Restructuring of the
PICPA Organization.
In a series of fora, these issues were
presented and explained to the members
to get their opinions. In fact, the IRR was
the main agenda of the Planning Session
for 2005 held last year during the Annual
National Convention. The incoming and
outgoing presidents of all the PICPA Chapters formulated and discussed the action
plan for each of the issues. The action
plans were presented to the members during the Convention, as well.
After having modified and polished
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
and practices; and other important
issues and subject matters were also
lined-up by the Committee to
complete its calendar. The design and
implementation of these seminars will
be coordinated with the concerned
PICPA committees.
The CPE on the Road Committee already prepared the necessary
application and supporting documents
forits accreditation as CPE Provider
as well as the documents for the
accreditation of the Train the Trainer
W orkshop.
For more information about the
seminars of the Committee, please
visit w w w.picpa.com.ph or call the
PICPA Secretariat at telephone number 723-0691.
some points in the IRR as well as identified the amendments that have to be
made on the By-Laws to effect the
changes, the Committee is now conducting a general meeting with the members
in the different regions to solicit their final comments and opinions before moving to the final step. The Committee
meets at least once a month to complete
the fine-tuning and implement the action
plans at the soonest possible time.
The Committee believes that the
changes the organization is undergoing
at present are necessary not only for
compliance with the requirements of the
Accountancy Act of 2004 but more importantly, to improve the delivery of service to its members and to the various
publics it serves. It is also appealing to
all CPAs to actively participate in implementing the revised Accountancy Act and
adapt to these changes.
The Committe is composed of Atty.
Francisco Gonzales (Chair), Mr.
Eduardo de Guia, Mr. Ruperto Somera,
Ms. Cecilia Patricio, Mr.Ariston Mitra,
Mr. Fidel Abalos, Mr. Sotero Trinidad,
Mr. Juanito Espino and Mr. Antonio
Hernandez.
First Quarter 2005
W H A T’ S
NEWS
IN
P ICPA
EXECUTIVE TEAM..., from page 1
STRICTER
R ULES O N
CPE FOR CPA s
The Accountancy Act of 2004,
specifically Section 2 of RA No. 9298,
requires the CPA to abide by the requirements, rules and regulations on
Continuing Professional Education
(CPE) that will be promulgated by the
Board of Accountancy, subject to the
approval of the PRC, in coordination
with PICPA as the accredited national
professional organization of CPAs or
any duly accredited educational institutions. Non-compliance with the provisions of the Act will result in suspension or revocation of the practitioner’s
certificate of registration and professional identification card or suspension to practice the profession
Specifically, the CPE Program for
C PAs aims to:
(1) ensure the continuous education of the CPA on the latest trends
in the profession,
(2) promote and protect the general welfare of the public,
(3) raise and maintain the CPA’s
capability for delivering quality professional services,
(4) instill and maintain the highest technical and ethical standards of
the practice of the profession, and
(5) make the Filipino CPAs globally competitive.
For the renewal of the CPAs
Profession ID card, a total of 60 CPE
units must be earned. The earning
of CPE units shall be gradually
implemented. 20 CPE credit units
shall be earned this year, 40 units
shall be earned in Y2006 and 60
units shall be earned in Y2007 and
thereafter.
To implement this, PICPA created
the PICPA CPE Council which will
First Quarter 2005
be working closely with the PRC CPE
Council. It is tasked to assist the
C PAs in complying with the requirement by designing and implementing
a CPE Program that will fully address
the CPE needs of every CPA. In line
with this, it will set the standards for
the CPE program development to ensure the quality of all the professional
development activities that will be
undertaken by the CPA in the course
of meeting the CPE requirement.
Hence, the PICPA CPE Council
will accredit CPE Providers and will
process and evaluate every program
that they will undertake in coordination with PRC CPE Council. Accordingly, the CPA will only earn CPE units
from approved CPE activities which
are conducted by accredited CPE
providers.
According to the Chair of the
PICPA CPE Council, Dean Ester
Ledesma, even PICPA Chapters will
have to be accredited as CPE
Providers.
The PICPA CPE Council had
already set the requirements on how
to earn the CPE units, as well as
the criteria and procedures on the
accreditation of CPE providers and
the CPE programs, activities or
sources.
The PICPA CPE Council can be
contacted for further inquiries on this
program through telephone number
723-0691.
The members of the PICPA CPE
Council are Ester Ledesma as Chair,
Erwin Vincent G.Alcala as Co-Chair,
Gloria T. Baysa, Antonio V. Cruz,
Eduardo B. de Guia, Francisco B.
Gonzalez, V, Antonio T. Hernandez,
Jaime P. Naranjo, Cecilia R. Patricio
and Marietta B. Sorio.
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
projects and activities of the Institute,
and the officers are focused and
vigilant in religiously undertaking
PICPA’s roadmap – we have mutually
signed our pact to serve the profession
and the Philippine CPA”.
Pres. Balangue likewise challenged
PICPA’s membership to help achieve
this year’s two major objectives: (1) the
seamless implementation of the various
provisions
of
the
Philippine
Accountancy Act of 2004 (RA 9298) and
ts
i Implementing Rules and Regulations,
particularly the provisions that directly
impact on the Institute’s status as the
Accredited Professional Organization
for CPAs; and (2) to make the
Philippine CPA globally competitive,
through the Institute’s various activities
and projects, especially its Continuing
Professional Education program which
has been given importance by the new
accountancy law. In addition, Pres.
Balangue presented to the membership
the Executive Team’s five-spoke agenda
for the year, namely:
•expanded membership;
• organization restructuring to fully
reflect sectoral representation;
• compliance with more stringent
financial reporting requirements for the
Institute;
• implementation of the CPE
program; and
• accreditation of CPAs in public
practice.
In concluding his speech,
Pres. Balangue likewise emphasized
the CPA’s role in nation-building towards
the re-shaping of the country as an
economically competitive member in
the world marketplace.
The PICPA Metro Manila Regional
Council Officers led by George Villaruz
as chair, as well as the officers of the
region’s four chapters were also
inducted during the event. Their oath
of office was administered by
Pres. Banlangue.
The officers of the Southern
Regional Council officers led by Ariston
Mitra and the Region’s Chapter Presidents were likewise inducted during the
occasion.
5
W H A T’ S
NEWS
IN
P ICPA
F O U R THE LO VE OF… PICPA
It was fun. It was entertaining. It
was lovely. It was undoubtedly an
evening of great and enchanting
music!
The pre-valentine musical concert
that PICPA sponsored on February 12
at the Paco Park was a success even
if the planning and implementation
were done only in a week’s time. The
MEETING
I N
THE
In response to the Philippine Institute
of Certified Public Accountant’s action theme
for the year 2005, “Get On…Move On!”,
PICPA IRRI-UPLB hosted the 1st Quarter
Southern Luzon Regional Conference last
12 March 2005 at the DL Umali Hall, IRRI,
Los Baños.
The conference started with the registration of participants coming from all over
the region including those from Mindoro and
Bicol. Based on the said registration, there
was a good turn out of attendees.
A multimedia presentation signaled the
start of the program which was formally
opened by Southern Luzon Senior Regional
Director Ariston Mitra who welcomed the
guests and delegates of the event. This was
followed by the keynote of address of conference guest speaker, Laguna
Vice-Governor Edwin Olivarez. To end his
speech, Vice Governor Olivarez
challenged everyone by quoting JFK’s
famous line, “Ask not what your country can
do for you – ask what you can do for your
6
singers and musicians
alike delighted the
guests, who are mostly
PICPA members. The
Concert was dubbed
“FOUR THE LOVE
OF… PICPA” as there
were 4 artists who were
featured, and the
proceeds will be used for
the maintenance of the
dilapidating
PICPA
Building.
The artists, Alexis
Edralin,
Classical
Soprano together with
three Classical Tenors, Jon Penaverde,
Dondi Ong and Nazer Salcedo, rendered timeless Tagalog Kundiman and
Contemporary Songs, Broadway Hits
and Opera Arias. The songs which were
carefully selected from serious to romantic to hilarious, brought so much
love and endearment to the guests who
were seated comfortably around the
SOUTH
country.
”
For the President’s Time, PICPA National President Dave Balangue was represented by Special Assistant to the National
President Jessie Cabaluna. Ms. Cabaluna
discussed PICPA National’s various projects
for the year including membership growth
and CPE issues.
The first technical
session of the conference
was handled by Atty.
Antonio P.Acyatan who
dealt
on
“Good
Corporate Governance.”
During the working lunch,
an entertaining video
presentation on Public
Speaking was made.
The video was based on
the Standard Deviants’
approach which is
unconventional
yet
practical.
The next technical
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
large fountain at Paco Park. The musicians, internationally renowned pianist, Julie Mendoza, and the young
flutist Toffer Oracion completed the
perfect ambience for that evening
concert. The lights, candles and
flowers added drama to the affair.
To go with the music and the ambience was the excellent Mediterranean-inspired food and banquet setting
prepared by The Red Chef. Truly, the
guests were pampered with comfortable music and graceful dining, a
Valentine treat to lovers of all sorts.
Behind the perceived “Event to
Remember” were the Special Events
Group led by Aphat Martinez and Randi
Lorica as co-chairs, under the kind
guidance of Lita Aguirre, PICPA Vice
President for Operations and adviser
of the committee; the Building and
Maintenance Committee led by Jessie
Cabaluna as Chair; and PICPA Secretariat led by Beth Paguio. All these they
did For the Love of PICPA.
session was by Atty.Alexander Cabrera who
zeroed in on the “PROS and CONS of the
Proposed Increase in VAT Rates.” This session was followed by the “The Accountancy
Act of 2004: Its Implementing Rules and
Regulations,” handled by Atty. Francisco
Gonzales V. An open forum capped the
technical sessions.
PICPA IRRI UPLB 2005 Chapter President Edelisa Bardenas delivered the
closing remarks.
First Quarter 2005
W H A T’ S
NEWS
IN
P ICPA
THE A C C O U N TA N C Y A CT OF
2004 AND ITS IMPLEMENTING
R ULES A N D R E G U L ATIONS:
Last May 13, 2004 the President of
the Philippines signed into law Republic Act No. 9298 entitled “AN A C T
REGULATING THE PRACTICE OF ACC O U N TA N C Y IN THE PHILIPPINES,
REPEALING FOR T H E P U R P O S E
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 692,
O T H E RWISE KNOWN AS THE REVISED A C C O U N TA N C Y LAW ,APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR A N D
FOR OTHER PURPOSES” or otherwise
known as the “PHILIPPINE ACCOUNTA N C Y ACT OF 2004”.
The passage of the Accountancy Act
of 2004 has greatly affected the practice of the profession because of the revisions and enhancements made under
the law.Among these changes are the
following:
1. Recognition of the four fields of
accountancy, namely: Public Accountancy, Commerce and Industry, Education/Academe, and Government. (Sec.
4)
2. The increased power of the Board
of Accountancy to ensure that accounting professionals are qualified to practice in the various fields of accountancy
and that they comply with the ethical
standards of the profession. This includes the power to prepare, adopt, issue or amend the syllabi for CPA Board
Examinations, as well as the promulgation of Accounting and Auditing Standards.
3. The Board of Accountancy is likewise empowered, on its own, to investigate, issue cease and desist orders,
punish for contempt any person, association, partnership or corporation for
violation of RA 9298 and the accounting or auditing standards and/or rules.
4. Creation of the “Roster of Certified Public Accountants” which contains
a list of all CPAs in practice and their
First Quarter 2005
H OW IT A F F E C T S
T H E C PA AND PICPA
place of business to ensure and provide
the general public a list of duly qualified
practicing CPAs.
5. Requirement for all CPAs to indicate their License number, among others, in all documents they sign, use, or
issue in connection with the practice of
the profession.
6. Practice of Accountancy shall be
limited to those who have received from
BOA a certificate of registration/ professional license and issued a professional
identification card or a valid temporary/
special permit. However, for those who
practice PUBLIC A C C O U N TA N C Y there
is the additional requirement of obtaining a “certificate of accreditation” which
may be acquired only after obtaining
three (3) years meaningful experience
in the areas of public practice and accountancy. For those who have already
obtained their accreditation prior to the
passage of the act, the same shall remain valid until the same expires.
7. Accredited Professional Organization. The Accountancy Law of 2004
requires that all CPAs whose names
appear in the Roster of Certified Public
Accountants must be united and integrated in one and only registered and
accredited professional organization.
8. Accreditation requirements by the
B O A for the practice of Public Accountancy that shall include partners and staff
members thereof.
9. Mandatory Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs for
the renewal of the CPA license as well
as accreditation to practice public accountancy.
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
10. Foreign reciprocity rules relating to the practice of the profession by
non-Filipinos.
These pertinent features of the new
Accountancy Act of 2004 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations which
has been published early this year can
be categorized into five basic groups
namely: CPE, Public Practice of Accountancy, Membership Development,
Financial Reporting, and Restructuring
the PICPA Organization.
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL
ORGANIZATION
Among the matters included in the
Accountancy Act of 2004 is the requirement of obtaining at least sixty (60)
CPE units over a three-year period by
all CPAs in the practice of the profession for the purpose of renewing their
professional licenses. The sixty CPE
units should be taken over a three-year
period, which is the length of the professional license of the CPA.
Starting the year 2005, those CPAs
whose licenses are expiring within the
year are required to have obtained at
least twenty (20) CPE units; those whose
licenses will be expiring on 2006 are required to have at least forty (40) CPE
units spread over the two year period of
at least twenty units for 2005 and another twenty units for 2006; for those
whose license will expire on 2007, they
will be required to obtain the total sixty
continuation on next page
7
W H A T’ S
NEWS
IN
P ICPA
THE A C C O U N TA N C Y.., from previous page
(60) CPE units spread evenly over the
three year period. Renewals after 2007
will all require the total sixty (60) CPE
units.
The CPE program is nothing new
to the CPA; this program was previously
required for the renewal of CPA licenses
since the late 1980’s but was terminated
in the 1990’s because of the difficulty in
implementation by the PRC when they
took over the CPE program. The current model of the CPE program is largely
patterned under the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, imposed on members of the Philippine Bar.
It is expected that under this model,
both the BOA CPE Council and the
PICPA CPE Council will implement and
work out the said program. The BOA
CPE Council shall accredit the programs
and program providers rendering the
CPE program while the PICPA CPE
Council shall be made to take charge of
the implementation of the said programs
and verify their compliance with the
standards set by the BOA CPE Council.
The PICPA CPE Council shall, for the
purpose of the CPE, be treated as a
separate entity from the PICPA organization because of the work to be done
between the BOA and PICPA CPE councils.
The PICPA is currently working on
plans to develop training programs as
well as training centers for the CPE requirements and reestablishing the “CPE
on the Road” program in order to make
the CPE reach all the CPAs in the Philippines and to make the said program
affordable to all CPAs.
During the discussions of the PICPA
CPE Council, which has been meeting
regularly for the purpose of making the
PICPA ready for the CPE programs, it
has been agreed that the CPE shall provide for standard courses which are required to be taken by all CPAs as well
as specific topics tailor-fitted in recognition of the needs of the various sectors that make up the profession.
The CPE programs may be undertaken by independent entities other than
the PICPA but these organizations and
individuals must first qualify as a CPE
provider as approved by the BOA CPE
Council. Other means of gaining further
8
continuing professional education, like
a post-graduate degree in a business
course, authorship of books relating to
business, distance learning programs
and the like are recognized as alternatives to the CPE requirements except
that the same has to be first evaluated
and approved before the same is considered equivalent CPE units.
PUBLIC PRACTICE OF
A C C O U N TA N C Y
During the early years of the Accountancy profession in the Philippines,
the common connotation is that all accountants are those individuals who review financial statements of a company
as to determine whether the same has
complied with the standards of reporting for which an unqualified or qualified
opinion is issued. The said connotation
stillexists in the present time except that
the growth of industries and businesses
requires the expertise of the CPA in
each of the different industries he will
be engaged in.
Comes now the Accountancy Law
of 2004 that formalizes the requirement
of accreditation before one is allowed
to practice public accountancy. Under
the Accountancy Law of 2004 and its
implementing rules and regulations,
C PAs in the practice of public accountancy are required within 90 days to register with the BOA to practice public
accountancy.This is in line with Board
Resolution No. 38, Series of 1990, as
amended by Board Resolution 69, Series of 2002 relating to the accreditation
of public practitioners with the BOA.
Those who have already been registered
and accredited by the BOA under the
previous resolutions are still required to
submit to the BOA the other requirements imposed by the IRR to continue
with their accreditation.
Such documents required to be
submitted include:
1. Copy of the Code of Good Governance of the Individual CPA’s, Firms
and Partnerships.
2. Copy of the internal quality review procedures being implemented by
the CPA, Firm or Partnership.
3. Sworn statement by the CPA or
C PA Firm, Partnership that all the memAccounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
bers and staff had: a) meaningful participation in the internal quality review
process; b) undergone adequate and
effective training on current accounting
and auditing standards, code of ethics,
laws and their rules and regulations,
code of good governance and other related documents.
4. In case of a CPA, Firm or Partnership, registering for the first time, a
sworn statement of the CPA, Firm or
Partnership that they have complied with
the requirement of the three (3) year
meaningful experience in any areas of
public practice and taxation.
5. Sworn statement of good moral
character.
The said application for accreditation shall likewise be subjected to a
Quality Review by the Quality Review
Committee by the BOA for the approval
of the accreditation of the applicant.
It is worthy to note that the
requirement for the three-year
meaningful experience is already made
part of RA 9298. It is also made clear
that the accreditation for public practice
is is over and above the requirement
for the CPE units discusses in the
previous section.
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOMENT
NTEVELOPMENT
A feature provided for under RA 9298
is the requirement imposed on the Accredited Professional Organization or the APO.
Under the said act, particularly Sec. 30, it is
provided that:
“ All registered certified public
accountants whose names appear in
the roster of certified public
accountants shall be united and
integrated through their membership
in a one and only registered and
accredited national professional organization of registered and licensed
certified public accountants, …”
It is likewise provided under Annex “A”
of the IRR of RA 9298 that as part of the
continuing accreditation of the PICPA as
the APO, it is required that:
“ (d) It shall have a creditable plan
to enlist into active membership within
three (3) years, at lease a majority of
the CPAs in the practice of accountancy as defined in Section 4, Rule I
of this IRR;”
continuation on page 19
First Quarter 2005
TECHNIC A L BRIEFS
tioned as exempt transactions at Sec.
109, from the sum of not more than
P550,000.00 gross annual sales and/or
REVENUE REGULATIONS No. 1-2005 receipts to a sum of not more than
December 28, 2004
P750,000.00.
Furthermore, contained in the reguThis Regulation amends the provi- lations is a clause that encourages the
sions of Revenue Regulations (Rev. electronic data submission to the BIR
Regs.) Nos. 7-95 and 8-2002.
of certain information reports such as
The threshold amount for exemp- the Submission of the Quarterly Sumtions indicated in the previous VAT regu- mary List of Sales/Purchases thru the
lations is now raised to reasonable fig- facility of the EFPS using the Electronic
ures to catch up with the much realistic Filing Facility for taxpayers under the
economic transactions that may be cov- jurisdiction of the Large Taxpayers Serered by the VAT exemptions as prices vice, and those enrolled under the EFPS
are soaring up due to inflation.
to the RDO/LTDO/LTAD, on or before
Sale of real property utilized for low- the thirtieth (30th) day of the month, folcost housing as defined by R.A. 7279, lowing the close of their taxable quarotherwise known as “Urban Develop- ter.
ment Housing Act of 1992 ” and other
laws such as R.A. 7835 and R.A 8763
shall be exempt from VAT if the price REVENUE REGULATIONS No. 3-2005
per unit does not exceed P750,000.00. February 17, 2005
Whereas, sale of real properties utilized
for socialized housing as defined under
Prescribes the rules and regulations
R.A. 7279 and other related laws such implementing Executive Order (EO) No.
as R.A. 7835 and R.A. 8763 wherein ex- 398 and requires all persons, natural or
emption from VAT is also recognized is juridical, local or foreign, desiring to
increased to P225,000.00.
enter into or participate in any contract
Moreover, the sale by real estate with the government, its departments,
dealers and/or lessors of house and lot agencies and instrumentalities, as a
and other residential dwelling shall be pre-condition, the timely submission of
exempt from VAT valued at One million tax returns and complete payment of
five hundred thousand pesos taxes. In any government contract or
(P1,500,000.00) and below increased bidding, the following should be comfrom the previous (P100,000.00) effec- plied:
tive 1 January 2005.
1. The contractor-bidder should
It is interesting to note that the pre- submit income and business tax returns
vious threshold of exemption from VAT duly filed with the Accredited Agent
on lease of residential units with a Banks (AABs) or through Electronic Filmonthly rental of eight thousand pesos ing and Payment System (eFPS) with
(P8,000.00) is now raised to a value corresponding reference numbers.
not exceeding Ten Thousand Pesos
2. The contractor-bidder should
(P10,000.00) regardless of the amount secure Tax Clearance from the BIR.
of aggregate rentals received by the les3. The procuring government ensor during the year. Likewise, the rule tity should verify the authenticity of the
of exemption shall apply even if the Tax Clearance either through the BIR
lease of residential units exceeds Contact Center (Tel No. 981-8888) or
P10,000.00 but the aggregate rentals do through
the
BIR
Portal
not exceed the new threshold of (w w w.my.bir.gov.ph)
.
P750,000.00, for total revenues to be
Effective on the following dates, the
subject to VAT.
BIR mandates:
Another significant change in the isApril 1, 2005 - the use of eFPS by
sued RR is the increase in the level of all prospective contractors-bidders.
threshold on the sale or lease of goods
April 30, 2005 – last day for the subor properties or the performance of ser- mission of non-eFPS filed tax returns
vices other than the transactions men- and payment documents duly authenti-
TA X A TION
First Quarter 2005
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
cated by the concerned Revenue District Office, as an interim procedure.
May 1, 2005 – the start date on the
submission of eFPS filedtax returns on
all government contracts as required
under the EO.
REVENUE REGULATIONS No. 4-2005
February 17, 2005
Prescribes the requirements to facilitate the verification of the income tax
return & financial statement of the bank
borrowers and co-makers. To comply
with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
Circular No. 472, Series 2005 requirements and to facilitate the authentication of loan documents, the following
should be observed:
1. The income and business tax
returns should be duly stamped and received by the BIR, either through the
Accredited Agent Banks (AABs) or
through Electronic Filing and Payment
System (eFPS) with corresponding reference numbers.
2. All prospective borrowers and
co-makers are strongly advised to file
electronically their income tax returns
and financial statements, if borrower is
engaged in business, with the use of the
electronic filing and payment system
(eFPS)
.
3. The bank should secure an authority or waiver of confidentiality from
the client-borrower / co-maker to conduct random verification with the BIR.
REVENUE REGULATIONS No. 5-2005
February 17, 2005
Prescribes the monthly submission
of sales report and other information
generated by Cash Register Machines
(CRMs) and Point of Sales Machines
(POS) and / or any sales machine generating receipt / invoice registered with
the BIR.
In order to report the monthly sales,
the business establishments must enroll on or before March 10, 2005 each
of their CRM / POS machines with the
BIR in order to obtain a Machine Identification Number (MIN) for each
continuation on next page
9
TECHNIC A L
BRIEFS
TA X ATION.., from previous page
machine. The MIN shall serve as the
permanent transaction number of each
machine and will be the unique identifier that will be used by taxpayers when
reporting their monthly sales. In enrolling, taxpayers may use either Short
Messaging System (SMS), e-mail or BIR
Portal.
The deadline for reporting the
monthly sales per machine shall be on
or before the 10th calendar day of the
following month.
In cases of multiple submissions,
the most recent record submitted within
the month of sales reporting shall be
considered as the final sales report. A
corresponding Sales Report Number
(SRN) shall be issued to each reporting
transaction which will uniquely identify
each report.
Taxpayers can request report to
esales@bir.gov.ph for the summary of
their submitted monthly sales.
The facility to cancel registration/enrollment of the CRM/POS/any sales
machine will only be available in the BIR
Portal. Cancellation of enrollment is
only applicable to retired machines/soft
ware or those permanently transferring
ownership from one taxpayer to another
taxpayer.
Non-compliance with the requirements of this regulation may be a ground
for the revocation of the taxpayer’s permit to use the POS/CRM, and to the
penalty provided under the NIRC.
Establishments who failed to register
their POS/CRM machines are required
to do the same to the concerned
RDO. January and February sales
reports shall be submitted on or before
Mach 10, 2005 (extended up to April 10,
2005).
REVENUE REGULATIONS No. 6-2005
March 4, 2005
This Regulation implements
Executive Order No. 399 directing the
BIR to establish the “No Audit Program”
(NAP) for the purpose of enhancing tax
compliance and increasing tax
collections. Under the NAP,ataxpayer
who qualifies under its terms and con10
ditions shall be exempted from audit
and/or investigation of his tax, except
Overseas Communication Tax and all
forms of withholding tax, for the particulartaxable year for which he qualifies.
The NAP shall be in force for taxable
years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and
2008.
For a taxpayer to qualify for the
N A P, he must satisfy all of the following:
1. Income tax payment for the Current Taxable Year must exceed income
tax payment for the Base Year by at least
20%;
2. Income tax payment for the last
quarter of the Current Taxable Year must
exceed the income tax payment for the
last quarter of the Base Year by at least
25%;
3. Income tax payment for the first
quarter of Taxable Year immediately following the Current Taxable Year must
exceed the income tax payment for the
first quarter of the Current Taxable year
by at least 25%;
4. Ratio of income tax payment to
gross sales/ receipts for the Current Taxable Year must be at least equal to that
of the Base Year;
5. Ratio of income tax payment to
gross sales/receipts for the first quarter
of the Taxable Year immediately following the Current Taxable Year must be at
least equal to that of the first quarter of
the Current Taxable Year;
6. Ratio of net value added tax or
business tax actually paid to gross sales/
receipts for the Current Taxable Year
must be at least equal to that of the Base
Year, provided, however, that in no case
shall be it be less than three percent
(3%), or the industry benchmark as may
be determined from time to time by the
Commissioner.
The following taxpayers however
can not participate in the NAP:
1. Those who are reporting net loss
or have a Net Operating Loss Carryover;
2. Those who are paying Minimum
Corporate Income Taxes
3. Those whose gross income,
whether in whole or in part, are not subject to the regular individual/corporate
income taxes.
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
P R O F - DEF
THE
CHALLENGES OF
A SUCCESSFUL
M A NA G E M E N T
CAREER
Management is primarily learned
from on-the-job experiences by doing,
observing, and interacting with others.
Personal development thrives most in
an atmosphere of diversity and adversity.
W elcome trials
W arren Bennis, a renowned leadership expert, has concluded that it is
the “crucibles,” or tests and trials, in
people’s lives that profoundly shape
them as leaders.
To derive meaning from your experiences, you need to reflect on and consolidate the lessons of those experiences. To change and grow, you must
be prepared to engage periodically in
introspection and to collect feedback on
and analyze your behavior, attitudes,
and values. But it is difficult to remain
objective because defensive reactions
may come into play and prevent you
from honestly evaluating yourself.
Thus, you have to validate your assessment of yourself from other sources.
The more candid feedback that you can
obtain from varied sources, the more accurate and precise your assessment will
be.
Stretch yourself to a perfect fit
The best assignments from a developmental perspective are the ones in
which the fit is imperfect, so that you
are forced to stretch your knowledge,
skills,talents and resourcefulness in order to do a good job.
These assignments are riskier, since you
are more likely to make mistakes that
might set back your career progress or
continued on next page
First Quarter 2005
TECHNIC A L BRIEFS
THE CHALLENGES.., from previous page
have a negative impact on organizational performance. But they are also the
kinds of assignments from which you
can acquire new knowledge, skills, perspective, and judgment.
In terms of developing leadership
talents in particular, it pays to look for
stretch assignments involving change.
Some examples include introducing a
new product or information technology
system, revitalizing a mature business,
orstarting up a subsidiary in an international market.
These sorts of assignments require
you to establish direction, communicate
that direction (vision and strategies) to
diverse stakeholders, and figure out how
to motivate them to implement the strategies and realize the vision.
The more revolutionary, as opposed
to evolutionary, the change, the more
powerful the leadership learning opportunities will be.
Expand your networks
To grow and develop, you must be
prepared to seek assistance. You must
devote time and energy to building a
network of developmental relationships
(superior and lateral, internal and external to the organization). From these developmental relationships, you can better learn from your own experiences by
receiving feedback, advice, and emotional support.
These relationships can be helpful
only if you are willing to take some risks,
admit your shortcomings, and receive
constructive criticism.
Choose the right position
You should take into account two
factors when making decisions about
which job opportunities to pursue: How
good is the fit between who you are and
what the position (and the organization)
is ? How good is the fit between who
you are and who you want to be?
What learning opportunities does
the position offer? The fit is deemed
“perfect” if you have the requisite talents and characteristics (personal values that match the corporate culture)
to do the job.
“Fit” can be forced: you may some-
times choose an alluring job that you
are not prepared for or that you are not
compatible with, believing that you will
eventually grow into it anyway.This can
be a dangerous tactic. If your values
are not consistent with those of the company, you may have to make considerable compromises.
You should look for jobs in which
you can leverage initial fit to establish
a self-reinforcing cycle of success
whereby, year after year, you acquire
more of the sources of power necessary to be effective and successful.
You should pursue situations where
your strengths are really needed and
important, where your weaknesses are
not a serious drawback, and where your
core values are consistent with those of
the organization.
Studies comparing high-potential
managers who have “derailed” (or who
have become plateaued or terminated)
with high-potential managers who have
made it to senior executive positions
show that one characteristic of those
who derail is that initial strengths (e.g.,
a hands-on style or technical virtuosity)
later become fatal flaws. When faced
with new and different challenges, these
managers continue to rely on their initial capabilities, even when they are no
longer sufficient or appropriate. They are
unable or unwilling to develop other
complementary capabilities.
What jobs are too risky to accept?
As a general rule, the risk is probably
too great if it will take more than six
months to progress far enough along the
learning curve to produce meaningful results in a particular job.
Seek to balance your development
You should seek out diverse
experiences to facilitate and balance
your development in multiple areas.
Managers who are able to grow beyond
their initial strengths and develop a
broad repertoire of talents are more
likely to progress in their careers
because they have the requisite
abilities to meet the ever-changing
demands of their jobs.
(Re-printed from Management Brief
Vol. XVI, No. 1 January 2005, a monthly
publication of Punongbayan & Araullo)
A C C O U NTING
D E V E LO P I N G
NEW METRICS
AND ASSURANCE
P RO C E S S E S
Developing new metrics and appropriate assurance processes for
non- financial performance is continuous learning process through which
organizations learn how to define,
capture, respond to, and report on
non-financial performance as part of
their overall performance management
and measurement. It is a critical
exercise that enables an organization to
manage non-financial business risks
that have a significant impact on its
financial bottom-line.
Historically, this endeavor has not
been done easily. It is necessary to
determine what to measure and then
what to communicate and to whom. The
process encompasses four crucial
perspectives, which can be organized
or evaluated using a “balance
scorecard” tool. This approach can become an assessment tool that enables
management to explicitly link financial
and non-financial performance to demonstrate “value added.” The balanced
scorecard approach is outlined below.
Define Organizational Values
Reviewing an organization’s most
basic values and their relationship to
non-financial performance is a critical
first step. Statements of values that are
based on previous business models will
send conflicting signals to stakeholders.
A restatement of values, including a new
vision of competitive advantage and
stakeholder relationships, will communicate the new sense of purpose and the
underlying standards for judgments. This
endeavor will create, in turn, the momentum throughout the company for
redefining what is meant by “value.”
Through a strategic assessment,
organizational leaders can develop an
continued on next page
First Quarter 2005
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
11
TECHNIC A L
BRIEFS
DEVELOPING NEW.., from previous page
integrated approach to assurance.
explicit statement of strategic intent that
reflects a company’s core competencies,
competitive position, stakeholder interests, regulatory environment, and overall values. From this clear vision, links
between financial and non-financial performance will emerge. In turn these links
will form the basis for establishing integrated performance and reporting processes that are relevant to, and drive,
performance improvement at all organizational levels.
Improving performance requires action based on specific goals. Thus, the
organization should use its new value
perspective to examine existing objectives, internal processes, and management control systems, and extend those
to non-financial performance – the new,
key driver of corporate value. Integrating
these systems will communicate “what’s
important” and demonstrate the relevance of non-financial performance to
all organizational levels. Such as effort
will help enable the organizational levels. Such as effort will help enable the
organization to customize or create new
assurance processes that are aligned
withits individual business strategies and
performance indicators.
Creating these goal-driven processes for performance management,
reporting, and assurance, however, extends beyond selecting top-level performance measures. Organizational leaders need to demonstrate the connections
between non-financial and financial performance, and how the new indicators
of performance can drive overall performance. These “cause and effect” relationships can be cascaded to all levels
of the organization to:
Link Profits and Principlesciples
Corporate boards and senior management should align stakeholders’ interests around the company’s value,
strategy, and vision. In committing to creating a system for integrating non-financial measurement and demonstrating its
value throughout the organization, leaders first should consider how profit and
principles ultimately interrelate at the
strategic level – and how such relationships may serve company stakeholders.
They should articulate this thinking in an
explicit vision, align financial and non-financial objectives, and create an integrated performance management system. Without a strategic, deliberate approach, improvements in non-financial
areas may be marginalized, and, ultimately, diminish the overall value they
are seeking to establish.
Successful efforts to maintain and
improve an organization’s non-financial
performance requires a new perspective
on “what’s important” and, thus, will be
closely tied to efforts dedicated to overall performance improvement. Achieving
this new perspective requires companies
to critically review their current strategic
intent and identify where non-financial
performance affects current and future
value. This analysis should be aimed at
molding the organization’s key values,
and if necessary, dismantling its conventional wisdom about non-financial performance and its relationship to value. Thus,
the analysis should go beyond a dispassionate analysis of competitive position
to include stakeholder expectations and
the organization’s most basic values.
• Demonstrate how local improvements are connected to overall organizational objectives, including financial
performance and,
• Motivate employees and build
confidence that non-financial performance has a tangible return.
Thus, the balanced scorecard approach can help enable the organization
to identify and manage the risks and opportunities related to its non-financial
performance as well as benefit from an
12
Address Stakeholder
Expectations
While competitive analyses are familiar territory, addressing stakeholder
expectations can be more art than science. Focusing solely on those stakeholders associated with financial objectives (e.g., customers and shareholders)
is too narrow an approach to drive additional competitive advantage from nonfinancial performance. Attempting to
serve all stakeholders equally is untenable and, worst of all, may result in
greatly diminished financial performance.
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
Thus, the organization must prioritize
stakeholder expectations. One approach
is to match each group with the way in
which the company might meet its needs.
These “stakeholder maps” can then be
used to determine how value can be derived from these relationships. They can
also be used as a basis for establishing
behavioral guidelines for dealing with
stakeholders and to articulate a philosophy on which those relationships are
based.
Recognize and Address
Potential Obstacles to Change
Another critical step is to acknowledge and then seek to overcome a number of external and internal challenges.
Externally, equity markets continue to
reinforce efforts to derive short term
value, national economic models do not
account for the environment or social issues, and commonly accepted global
measures for non-financial performance
are still under development. Internally,
leaders need to ensure that the move to
develop integrated performance management, reporting, and assurance processes has meaning and relevance at all
levels of the organization. They will have
to integrate explicit efforts to measure
values into overall business strategy.
Communicate the Results
Once new measures and assurance
processes are in place, and stakeholder
engagement has yielded new information, organizations should take steps to
communicate and report such information. Organizations may pursue a phased
approach to such reporting. Any organization that reports externally on its nonfinancial performance will ultimately consider whether it should have that report
verified by an external assurance provider. If management decides that external assurance could be useful, leaders
have to determine which aspects of company performance should be verified and
which stakeholders would most benefit
from the assurance of such information.
An important aspect of such decision will
be determining how to address the increasing pressure many companies are
experiencing (e.g., in France and Denmark) to have their reports externally
audited.
First Quarter 2005
A CROSS
PA L AW A N
CHAPTER
IN FULL SWING
Pesident Juanito Nostratis gave inspirational messages.
The speaker was Prof. Ma. Violeta V.
Vicente, former member of the Board of
Accountancy. She enthusiastically and
clearly discussed the revisions and
improvements on SFAS and IAS. An open
forum ensued after the discussion. The participants were composed of students from
Palawan State University, Holy Trinity
College, Palawan Polytechnic College Inc,
faculties, other professionals and PICPA
members.
The PICPA Palawan Chapter started
Y2005 with a seminar on Republic Act
9298, otherwise known as the Accountancy
Act of 2004, at the Legend Hotel, Malvar
St., Puerto Princesa City. The guest
speaker was Atty. Francisco B. Gonzalez,
2005 Chair Ad Hoc Committee on
Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR)
of the Accountancy Act of 2004, who
discussed the highlights of and issues on
the IRR.
During the seminar, Mr. Ariston T.
Mitra, PICPA Southern Luzon Regional
Director, also tackled important matters
concerning the chapter.
At the end of the seminar, the participants were given an opportunity to ask
questions on the matters discussed. Participants were composed of students from
Holy Trinity College, Palawan Polytechnic
College Inc, and Palawan Chapter members.
Capping the day-long seminar was the
induction of Palawan
Chapter 2005 officers
led by Juanito A.
Nostratis as President.
Atty. Gonzalez graciously inducted them.
During the affair, the
Chapter honored Past
National
Director
Ponciano D. Payuyo
as an Outstanding
PICPA Member for
Luzon. A Leadership
Award was also presented to Arlene N.
Sabellina as 2004
Chapter President.
Residents of Nakkar, Quezon avail of
On February 13-14, the Chapter parfree medical check-up and medicines
ticipated in Puerto Princesa City’s Annual
during the dental - medical mission
Love Affair with Nature. The mangrove
sponsored by Eastern and Southern
planting was held at Purok Silangan, Bgy.
Metro Manila Chapters
San Manuel in Palawan.
On professional development, the
Chapter successfully conducted a two-day
seminar on IAS/IFRS at the Performing
Arts Center of the Palawan State University (PSU). Prof. Mary Allyson C. Liboro,
Dean of College of Business and AccounIn keeping with their commitment to
tancy, delivered the opening remarks. It participate in various civic activities, the
was followed by an intermission from Eastern Metro Manila and Southern Metro
Sining Palawan Dance Troupe. PSU Presi- Manila Chapters co-sponsored a Medical
dent Dr.Teresita L. Salva and Chapter
A MISSION IN
NAKAR
First Quarter 2005
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
THE
N A TION
& Dental Mission on February 25 at Gen.
Nakar, Quezon.
Officers and members of the
Chapters assisted volunteer doctors,
dentists, nurses and medical assistantsin
administering medical and dental care to
186 residents of the area.
Free medicines given by various
sponsors were likewise distributed to the
beneficiaries.
In another development, the Southern
Metro Manila Chapter played host to its
Atty. Kiko Gonzalez,
National Director for
Commerce and Industry
Sector, Inducts the Y2005
Officers of Palawan
Chapter.
members through a luncheon meeting that
was held at the Bulwagan ng Diwang
Pilipino of the Development Bank of the
Philippines in Makati City on February 16,
2005.
Special guest during the meeting was
the Hon. Roberto G. Manabat, SEC General Accountant, who shared his views on
the SEC’s requirements relative to the new
International Accounting Standards (IAS)
and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for 2005, among others.
D E V E LO P I N G
ENTREPRENEURS
As part of its commitment in upholdingits socio-civic responsibility, the Eastern Metro Manila Chapter, on February 19,
2005, sponsored a Livelihood Project on
Meat Processing which was held at the Our
Lady Mediatrix of All Graces Chapel in San
Mateo, Rizal.
The attendees were informed of the
different methods in processing meat products to generate additional source of income for themselves and their family.The
project provides useful tips and ideas that
can help attendees start a small business.
13
A CROSS
THE
N A TION
M E T RO M A N I L A
CHAPTERS
I N T E G R ATE IFRS
& PFRS
Cognizant of the issuance of new and
revised accounting standards by the
Accounting Standards Council (ASC) of the
Philippines, the different Metro Manila
Chapters jointly sponsored a two-day
seminar to inform attendees and provide
them with an understanding of the new
accounting pronouncements.
The seminar included updates on
the principles and application of the IFR
and PFR standards on such topics as:
first-time adoption of the PFRS;
share-based payments; business
combinations; insurance contracts;
non-current assets held for sale and
discontinued operations.
The seminar was held on February
15 to 16, 2005 at the Bulwagan
ng Diwang Pilipino of the Development
Bank of the Philippines in
Makati City, with 120 individuals in
attendance.
Participants from the
four chapters of Metro
Manila Region
attentively listen to the
speaker during the
seminar.
ous Cooperatives on developments in
accounting and auditing standards.
Held on February 10 to 11, 2005, at
the Valle Verde Country Club, the seminar
had as resource speaker, Ms. Edith S.
Lauron, who provided attendees with new
insights and information as to the manner
and processes by which activities of cooperatives are accounted for and audited in
the light of recent accounting and auditing
pronouncements.
To strengthen the camaraderie among
ts
i members, the Chapter also held a postvalentine party on February 18, 2005. The
Junior Executive Lounge of the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) served as the
venue for the successful Fellowship Night
of WMMC.
The activity had a fun-filled and entertaining program which provided attendees
with opportunities to establish and
strengthen camaraderie among members
but also to showcase each one’stalents
and prowess in songs and dances.
Atty. Ma. Victoria Benedicto graced
the occasion as the special guest for the
evening, which was well-attended by
WMMC members.
CDO-MISAMIS
O R I E N TA L
C H A P T E R FA C E S
FIRST QU A RT E R
S TO R M
The officers and
council of past
presidents of CDOMisamis Oriental
Chapter take their oath
of office for the Y2005.
These new standards include the new
International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board which were adopted
by the ASC as the Philippine Financial
Reporting Standards (PFRS).
Dubbed “Linking and Integrating the
IFRS and PFRS”, the seminar was
conducted by Dr. Rosalinda D. Evangelista
who shared with the participants her
expertise on the topic.
14
COOPS GET
ACCOUNTING &
A UDI TING
U P DA T E S
The Western Metro Manila Chapter
held a two-day seminar to provide updates
for members and representatives of variAccounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
February 12 was a 3-in-1 affair that
started with a Tax Update Seminar of about
170 participants. It was followed by the 1st
General Membership Meeting and the Joint
Induction Ceremonies where 2004 President Virginia Lourdes C. Yacapin turned
over the leadership authority to 2005 Chapter President Amanoding D. Esmail. National President David L. Balangue was the
Inducting Officer, Guest of Honor and
Speaker. 2004 National President Pio D.
Baconga was also present and introduced
the highly esteemed Mr. Balangue.
On March 16, more than 200
delegates attended the 1 st BMBE
(Barangay Micro Business Enterprise)
Conference in Northern Mindanao. It was
a joint activity of PICPA Cagayan de OroMisamis Oriental Chapter and the Cagayan
continuation on next page
First Quarter 2005
A CROSS
CDO-MISAMIS..., from previous page
de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (COCCIFI). Past Chapter President Ray G.Talimio, Jr. was the
Conference Chairman. The one-day event
was in support of the Ten-Point Program
of Her Excellency Gloria MacapagalArroyo and the Medium Term Regional
Development Plan. With the theme –
“BMBE’s: Moving Forward Together, Key
to Countryside Development”, the
conference succeeded in discussing
policies and programs designed
to strengthen the micro-enterprise in the
region. Among the topics tackled were the
following: Minimum Wage Exemption
Requirements, Tax Exemption Guidelines,
Licensing Requirements of BMBEs,
Marketing Opportunities for BMBEs,
Livelihood Technologies, and How to Avail
of Financial Assisance.
On March 18, there was another
Tax Update Seminar held in response
to the clamor to hold a repeat of the
A L BAY OFFICERS
INDUCTED
The Albay Chapter recently held itsinduction of Y2005 officers with the theme “GET ON… MOVE ON”
at the South
Ocean Villa, Legazpi City with City Mayor
Noel E. Rosal as Guest of Honor
and
Inducting Officer. The new set of officers
is led by Severino P. Francia as president.
In his message, Guest of Honor & Inducting Officer Legazpi City Mayor Noel
E. Rosal challenged the officers to serve
First Quarter 2005
N A TION
their constituents well and to be instruments (Special Achievement Award in Entrepreof leadership, excellence and dedicated neurship).
service to the community.
In his acceptance speech, newly inducted Chapter President Severino P.
Francia lauded the Mayor’s unceasing supST
port of the various projects of PICPA, particularly of the successful hosting of the
57th PICPA National Convention held in
Legazpi City in 2003, which was consid-
TA R L AC’S
1
QU A RT E R
R E P O RT
Officers of the Tarlac
Chapter finalize their
plan of activities for the
1st Quarter.
City Mayor Noel
Rosal inducts the
new PICPA Albay
Officers led by
Pres. Dean P.
Francia.
February 12 activity. It was again a wellattended seminar.
THE
ered historical being the first time for Albay
to host a national PICPA convention.
Francia also declared that he will
pursue the plans and programs of the
Chapter which are aligned with the main
agenda of the National PICPA.
Before the end of the ceremony, the
council of elders were awarded by 2004
PICPA Albay President Flordeliza Napili
for their outstanding contributions to the
chapter and as pillars of the institution. They
were Amelia R. Saysori (Most Outstanding CPA in Public Practice), Hon. Ramon
C. Lawenko (Most Outstanding CPA in
Government), Atty. Wilfrido D. Busalla
(Most Outstanding CPA in Education),
Abner Ty (Most Outstanding CPA in Commerce & Industry) and Leopoldo Andal
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
The Tarlac Chapter held its first general membership meeting at the Urdu Restaurant in Tarlac on January 27. During
the meeting, the Chapter’s 2005 plans and
programs were discussed and officers and
members were assigned to each task that
will be carried out.
In support of Tarlac City Government’s
effort to fully serve its constituents and improve tax collection, the City Government
invited the chapter president, Primo
Galang, to witness the signing and launching of the Tax Data Gathering Program of
the City of Tarlac on February 28. The
launching was attended by Mayor Genaro
Mendoza, City Councilors Tonyboy
Cervantes, Joji David, Abel Ladera, Vlad
Rodriguez, and Glen Caritativo, and City
Treasurer Vic Pingol, the proponent of the
project.
On February 28, the Chapter held its
2nd General Membership Meeting which
was well attended by regular members and
officers. Dr. Sheila Sobreda, an oncologist, was the guest speaker. As part of
her speech, she presented a video on her
topic “Fight Cancer Before It Gets You!”
According to Dr. Sobreda, cigarette smoking causes lung cancer which is the number one cancer killer, and excessive drinking of alcohol causes liver cancer. Most
continuation on next page
15
A CROSS
THE
N A TION
TARLAC’s FIRST..., from page 15
Ledesma, Hon. Ma. Elenita Cabrera and
Prof. Norma de Leon. They covered all
women are stricken with
ovarian and breast cancer.
To formally install the
Chapter’s Y2005 officers
into office, the Induction
Ceremony was held on
March 5. PICPA National
President Dave L.
Balangue was the guest
speaker and inducting
officer.
Guillermo Luz of Makati
Business Club
keynotes the Cebu
Summit 2005.
PICPA Batangas Chapter
Officers and Members show
support to BIR’s Tax Campaign
initiatives.
A FOCUS ON
P RO F - D E V
The Batangas Chapter, led by its
president Saylita A. Cabral, will focus
t
is plans and programs this year on the
professional development of its members. To achieve this mission , the Chapter lined-up various seminars and fora.
On January 14-16, the Chapter
sponsored a seminar on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for
the chapter members and accounting
students of Lyceum of Batangas, University of Batangas, FAITH in Tanauan,
Rizal College of Rizal and Batangas
State University. The 3-day seminar was
held at PRTC in Recto, Manila.
Resource speakers were Dean Ester
16
IAs except IAS 32 and
IAS 39.
On January 14, the
Chapter also held a
symposium on Substituted Filing of Income
Tax Returns. More than
300 PICPAns and
guests attended the
symposium which was
held at the Sawali Restaurant in Batangas
City. Resource Speakers were BIR Chief
Marilou C. Lontoc who
discussed RR 15-99, the creation of
Revenue Regulation Accreditation
Board and qualifications of Tax
Practitioners/Agents; Atty.Arturo Castro
who tackled De Minimis Benefits;
and Emelita Ruado who discussed
RMC 1-2003. The Chapter held this
seminar in support of the BIR’s tax
campaign activities.
On January 19-20, an Awareness
Forum on E-NGAS and Updates was
held at the Batangas Country Club.
Speakers were COA Directors Belen
Lorenzo and Felicitas Ona. Topics
included E-NGAS Structure and
Requirement, Revised NGAS Chart
of Accounts and Comparative Feature
of NGAS and OGAS.
On January 23, another seminar on
IAS/IFRS was conducted with Prof.
Erwin Alcala as guest speaker. The
whole-day seminar was held at the
Batangas Provincial Conference
Center. A big number of PICPA
members attended the seminar.
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
MINDS MEET IN
SUMMIT 2005
The PICPA Cebu Chapter held its
first-ever PICPA Cebu Summit on
February 5 at the Mediterranean Room
of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.
Adopting the theme, “Focusing on
Professional Integrity, Competence and
Transparency towards the Attainment of
Economic Growth of the Community”,
the summit aims to unravel important
issues affecting the CPAs today. It
reminds them of the core values that
they must uphold at all times and at all
costs as they set foot on the global
marketplace.
The one-day affair, which was
keynoted by Makati Business Club
Guillermo M. Luz, saw the intellectual
exchange of opinions, ideas and
experiences between and among the
participants and resource speakers. The
topics discussed included Work-Life
Balance by the showbiz personality
Maria Cecilia Laxa Pangilinan,
Proposed Tax Laws by DOF
Undersecretary Grace M. Pulido-Tan,
IRR of the Revised Accountancy Law
by BOA Chair Eugene T. Mateo, and a
roundtable discussion on the Conflicting Issues Between IFRS and BIR by
SEC Asst. Director Carol C. Lerma and
BIR DepCom Jose Mario C. Bunag.
The induction of the officers of the
PICPA Cebu Foundation, Inc., PICPA
Eastern Visayas Region and PICPA
Cebu officers ensued. The oath of office
of all the inductees was administered by
PICPA National President David L.
Balangue.
Capping the day-long activity was
a fellowship at the Teatro Casino Filipino. The activity was sponsored by
PAGCOR.
Two seminars were conducted by
the Chapter after the Summit 2005
among other activities.
On February 10-12, a seminar on
IAS/IFRS was held at the University of
San Carlos. The resource speakers
were Dean Ester Ledesma and Dr.
Elenita Cabrera. A big number of Chapter members and accounting students
attended the seminar.
On February 17, the Chapter cosponsored with A C PAE-Cebu and USC
First Quarter 2005
A CROSS
a seminar on Teaching Strategies in
MAS and Analytical Tools for Management. It was held at the Univeristy of
Cebu in Lapu-lapu City. Dean Larry Tan
of the Chiang Kai Shek College was the
resource speaker.
THE A-TEAM UP
N O RT H
The new officers of the PICPA
Pangasinan Chapter were officially
installed into office on February 18
at the Lenox Hotel in Dagupan City
during their first membership meeting
for the year. They were inducted
by PICPA Northern Luzon Regional
Director, Rosemarie Lacsina.
Invited as guest of honor and
speaker was Dr. Ruperto P. Somera,
PICPA Sectoral Director for Education.
In his speech, Somera challenged the
new officers and the members of the
chapter to participate actively in implementing the plans and programs of the
National PICPA especially in complying with the requirements of the Accountancy Act of 2004. He lauded the new
team of the Chapter for focusing their
efforts on the professional development
and promotion of the general welfare of
the members.
The A-Team of the Pangasinan
Chapter mapped-out an extensive
roadmap for the year. Activities zero in
on CPE, membership development,
social and civic involvement, and sports
and fellowship. Their plans and programs were aligned to National PICPA’s
main agenda.
The new team is led by Antonio O.
Patungan, East-West Bank Branch
Manager, as President. Joining him in
the team are Gertrudes Reyes (EVP &
Pres. Elect), Rey Curament (VP-Internal Affairs), Mario Gabrillo (VP-External Affairs), Deborah Castillo (VPProfDef), Michelle dela Cruz (Secretary), Remedios Movida (Asst. Sec), Ma.
Theresa Repollo (Treasurer), Sheryl
Escano (Asst. Treasurer), Remedios
Sapiera (PRO), Elma Lorenzo (Auditor),
Ma. Rita Garcia (Director-Education),
Conrad Zarate (Director-Commerce &
Industry), Ofelia Celi (Director-Government), and Lelani Garcia (DirectorFirst Quarter 2005
Public Practice).
S TA RTING A
G R E AT Y E A R
The Camarines Sur Chapter held
the Induction of the Y2005 Board of
Directors and Officers on February 19
at the RJ’s Peak Villa Caceres Hotel in
Naga City. The affair was highlighted
by the presence of the Junior Regional
Director for Southern Luzon, Melita B.
Estrellado, who administered the
THE
N A TION
proactive manner to sustain the accreditation of PICPA as the professional
organization of CPAs in the country.
Also present during the affair was
the City Mayor, Hon. Jesse M. Robredo.
In his message, he expressed his
gratitude to the Chapter for helping the
City Government in realizing some of
t
is goals.
During the affair, a Leadership
Award was given to Outgoing Chapter
President, Francisco Deoacareza, for a
successful and productive Y2004. Special awards were also given to Y2005
Chapter President Manolito Penaflor
Y2005 Pangasinan
Chapter Officers, led
by Pres. Antonio
Patungan, take their
oath of office. PICPA
Regional Director for
Northern Luzon,
Rosemarie Lacsina,
administers their oath.
The Y2005 officers of
PICPA Camarines Sur
Chapter present
special awards to
some of their leaders
who contributed
significantly in
achieving the
objectives of the
Chapter last year.
induction of the new set of Chapter officers as well as the trustees of the
PICPA Foundation Inc.
Addressing the officers and members in behalf of PICPA National President David Balangue, Estrellado rallied
them to take active roles in implementing the requirements of the new Accountancy Law specially on the continuing
professional education and membership
development. She stressed that there
is a need to work together in a more
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
and Chapter Secretary Ester Maralit.
A live-band musical show and
ballroom dancing followed the induction
ceremonies. The newly inducted
Chapter President, Manolito I. Penaflor,
is confident that the year 2005 will
be another great year for the Chapter
as new as well as inactive members
attended the induction ceremonies
which is a sign that more members
will be actively involved in their
activities.
17
PRESIDENT‘S NOTES
LET”S TAKE..., from page 3
bership of over 15,000 across the
country is amply distributed amongst
goalposts to our members such that Commerce & Industry, Public Practice,
each one of our more than 15,000 Government, and Education.
W e need to encourage involvement
members shall know our Action Plan.
of those members who are in our roster
but who remain excluded from any
1. Expanded Membership
Despite the expanse of our mem- sectoral membership by choice. Rebership roster, we are by no means near member that our energies as a collegial
our target member population. There body of accounting professionals are
are over 117,000 registered CPAs today, sadly depleted by those who are equally
and our profession expands every year qualified but choose to sadly remain in
by another 2,500 successful new CPAs.
As I mentioned during our Induction Ceremonies in January 31 st this year,I
would like to see more and more CPAs
– old and new – joining our ranks and
eventually obtain a dynamic professional organization grounded on a solid
base of highly competent CPAs.
Towards compliance as the APO, we
sent out early this year a memo to our
Chapter Presidents prepared by the Ad
Hoc Committee on the IRR chaired by
Kiko Gonzalez to assist in the
compilation of registration data
requirements for all CPAs, whether or
not PICPA members. We aim to
achieve a comprehensive database of
Philippine CPAs who remain active
practitioners of the discipline.
2. Sectoral Representation
The PICPA is the single professional
organization of CPAs that has instituted,
since obtaining our APO status in 1975,
the structure embodying the sectoral
affiliation of its members. Our mem18
the sidelines. I would like to see a
dynamic APO where majority – if not all
– of our entire membership are actively
participating in the four sectors.
3. More Stringent Financial Reporting Standards
W ith the advent of the Philippine Accountancy Act of 2004 (RA 9298), the
Philippine accounting industry is said to
be on a “burning platform”, and the way
of doing business even in the last 4 to 5
years is becoming more and more outdated in these more demanding and
changing environments. There are rising public expectations for demonstrable
results and enhanced responsiveness
from the CPA.
In the past four years, the Philippine
accounting profession has been in a
period of transition to new sets of accounting, auditing, and ethical standards. This is in line with the Philippine
government’s commitment to harmonize with international accounting
and auditing standards, which goal
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
is endorsed and supported by our Institute.
• As of 2004, the Philippines has
adopted 25 of the 33 outstanding IASs,
or 76%. The year 2005 is the last leg of
this transition.
• The IASB issued 17 revised IASs
and 5 new IFRSs which will all be effective in 2005. The revised IASs resulted
from the IASB’s improvements project
which seeks to principally reduce or
eliminate accounting alternatives, redundancies, and conflicts within existing standards.
• International auditing standards
are likewise being endorsed for adoption. As of March 31st 2005, the A S P C
has adopted 41 international auditing
standards and 12 auditing practice statements. The IASB has also revised some
ofitsstandards, which the ASPC is likewise adopting.
In March, PICPA as the APO prepared a position paper for the PRC on
the liberalization of the accountancy
practice in connection with the ongoing
bilateral discussions between the Philippines and Japan under the aegis of
the General Agreement on Trade in
Services. As a brief overview, the Philippines is more of a net exporter of accounting and auditing services thanks
to our country advantage of a strong and
steady supply of accounting and other
business-related graduates, among
others.
4. Implement the CPE Program
A significant thrust of RA 9298 is the
delegation to PICPA by the PRC CPE
Council of the operation and wide-range
implementation of the Continuing Professional Education program. The
seamless execution of a robust, energetic, and relevant CPE program under
the aegis of the PICPA CPE Council is
a major activity in our 2005 Action Plan.
I expect our CPE Council under
Dean Esther Ledesma as Chair and
Arnel de Jesus as Liaison Director to
feature prominently in ensuring that our
CPE program will undertake PICPA’s
responsibilities towards the professional
development of the membership.
A major component of our overall
CPE program is the Standing Committee of CPE on the Road under Jessie
First Quarter 2005
PRESIDENT‘S NOTES
Cabaluna as Chair. As I mentioned during our January Induction, your National
Board of Directors challenges our members to participate actively as the CPE
is brought to the various chapter destinations all over the country.
5. Accredit CPAs in Public Practice
Intandem with our efforts to expand
our membership and continue the goal
of raising the bar of professional accounting and auditing standards, we aim
to flush out and eliminate those practitioners who use their CPA license as a
badge to undertake fraudulent, irregular, and unprofessional practices in a
client company’s audit without strict
compliance of generally accepted accounting standards.
Accreditation of CPAs in public practice assures our stakeholders – particularly the public – that a company’s audit
is undertaken only by qualified and competent CPAs. As we in PICPA strive to
continually uplift the standards of our
profession, I would like to see that the
effects are across-the-board and shall
put an end to such irregular audit prac-
THE A C C O U N TA N C Y A C T.., from page 8
also contained in the rules pertaining to the
“Cancellation of Accreditation”, l ikewise
contained in Annex “A” of the IRR that:
“(c) It did not achieve its plan
provided in paragraph 2 to enlist
into active membership within three
(3) years, majority of the CPAs in
the practice of accountancy as defined in the Section 4, Rule I
hereof.”
Based on the above pertinent
provisions of RA 9298 and the IRR, it is now
mandated to the APO, which is currently
PICPA, to obtain a majority membership of
those CPAs in the active practice of the
profession within a period of three years.
Failure on the part of PICPA to do so would
lead to the possibility of PICPA losing its
accreditation as an APO.
There are currently an estimated
117,000 duly licensed CPAs in the Philippines, and this is contained in the “Registry” of the Philippine Regulations Commission which is tasked through the BOA to
monitor the accountancy profession. The
said number contains all the individuals who
First Quarter 2005
tices that sully the profession’s integrity. Team made up of your friends, acquaintances, and colleagues who are equally
It will be a Fun and Rewarding Year! driven to make their mark to serve the
Keeping our sights focused on our PICPA membership and the profession
deliverables – both to the profession and this year. However,alltheefforts of your
the membership – should ensure that officer corps will be next to nothing if
we not only keep up with the quickly the members do not share the same
changing world around us, we continue excitement, enthusiasm, and committo shape it.
ment.
It is my ardent desire to mold and
The Philippine CPA’s environment in
develop the role of leadership, maturity, 2005 is marked by a constant flux of events
and competitiveness in every Philippine underscored by the need for harmonized
C PA. I personally would like to make standards and pertinent legislation, particuevery effort to ensure that the profes- larly the Philippine Accountancy Act (RA
sional expertise of our CPAs, through 9298) and the Corporate Reform Act
our various plans and programs in (House Bill 286). The Philippine CPA is
PICPA, shall be equally competitive with facing a horizon where country borders are
their peers in the international market- slowly coming down in favor of a globalization in the marketplace.
place.
W e are together in a journey aboard
W e have over 40 Standing and Spethe
PICPA Bus towards professional excial Committees, as well as our regional
cellence. Our travel should be equally fulcouncil committees, who are vested with
filling, exhilarating, and mutually rewarding!
clear mandates to work in concert towards the development of true CPA proFor the Love of PICPA and the
fessionals by way of programs, projects,
Profession...
and activities over these next three quarters.
W e have an excellent Executive
have been issued a professional license to
practice Accountancy in the Philippines
since the early 1900’s. Since the provision
of RA 9298 recognizes the practice in the
four major groups as provided in Section 4
Rule I of the IRR, the number of actual CPAs
still in practice, as defined under the IRR,
has been limited to only those in actual practice, may it be in public practice, commerce
and industry, academe/education and government. It is only this number to which the
APO must obtain at least a majority of its
members, which has been named in the IRR
as the “Roster of Accountants” as against
the “Registry of Accountants”.
The number of CPAs who would form
the “Roster” is yet undefined and it is for
this reason that the PICPA, through its President Mr. Dave Balangue, issued a memo to
all members last January 2005 for the
registration of all CPAs, whether members
or not of PICPA, through the “CPA INFORM ATION SHEET”. Under the said campaign,
all CPAs are requested to fill up the said
information sheet and submit the same to
the PICPA. This will now determine which
C PAs are in active practice for the purpose
of creating a PICPA version of the “Roster
of Accountants” that will be later submitted
to the Board of Accountancy.
Under the said program, PICPA will be
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
able to determine the actual number of CPAs
still in practice in the Philippines to which
the membership of at least majority “of CPAs
in Practice” will be measured for the continued accreditation of PICPA.
It is likewise believed by PICPA that
because of this registration, the issues
relating to unauthorized and illegal use of
C PA numbers by individuals representing
themselves as Certified Public Accountants,
will be reduced, thereby protecting the
general public.
Though the campaign is currently
limited to the PICPA organization, moves
have been made to work with the other organizations, among them the A C PA P P,
A C PAE, GACPA and A C PACI, representing
specific fields in the practice of accountancy,
in order to further implement this information campaign. It is also in the works that
other forms of media, like the internet,
newspapers be utilized in order to reach
other CPAs who have not yet been informed
of the registration campaign.
FINANCIAL REPORTING
Among the requirements imposed by
the IRR of RA 9298 on the PICPA is the
continuation on page 22
19
SECTOR AL
VIEWS
An internal quality of the heart, integrity is a value that one holds in one’s
system and therefore cannot be seen.
To some, it is the character that a person has developed over the years. It is
seen more in its demonstration rather
sure the integrity of representations of
owners in government and in different
industries, creating in our own way a
language used by those interested in
businesses to deal with one another In
so doing we provide a bridge, among
the businesses of the world, to their
owners, debtors, creditors, clients, and
other potential owners and users.
However, at a time when our practice seemed to reach the height of sophistication, when global competitiveness and world-class practice have become a badge of honor to most of us,
we became observers and participants
to a time of great soul-searching when
our own integrity as a profession has
than the verbal profession of its holder.
Integrity refers to what we do, not what
we say, whether we are with others or
when no one is looking. However, man
is so complex that we can really believe
one way, and do things from the heart
another way, and often not even be
aware of it. By integrity then we should
mean a fusion of our belief system with
our unpremeditated action. This is a tall
order and a difficult path for anyone to
follow.
While this is difficult, we try, with
principles and standards developed by
our elders over the years, to interpret
and implement its meaning. We constantly revise these standards to match
the times and the seasons of our generations, borrowing from the wisdom of
our elders but contributing our own. As
guardians of financial statements on
whose word owners, investors, creditors
and various publics depend, we have
devised sophisticated means of measuring the external evidence of this invisible quality called integrity. We have
defined and refined how we can mea-
b e e n
questioned not
only by our
observers
but also by
ourselves.
Thus, as we
saw some
idols
fall
even as our
elders have
revised the
st a n d a r d
wording for attestations, the very meaning of the word integrity has become one of the gray areas that we realized we must confront
and revisit. Four years into the new millennium, integrity is still a big word for
us CPAs.
At PRC, with our leadership to
whom we are grateful, we have also
done some soul-searching, establishing
the meaning of integrity with rules and
regulations designed for good governance, and revisiting them. Our new
passers now can actually boast of pass-
INTEGRITY
FOR OUR
TIMES
20
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
ing at a time when we have defined integrity with great detail and precision so
that only those who can comprehend
many rules under pressure have a good
chance of passing. Before, marked paper referred to those whose papers bore
their names or clear symbols that should
not be there. Now, marked paper refers
to those bearing other marks that should
not be there, whether using ink or no
ink, such as nail or pen marks, snopake,
shading many choices in the multiple
choices, and putting words where there
should be no words but just shades. For
some, it is easy to determine intent, as
in the presence of nail marks on all the
multiple choices which might not easily
be seen on the surface of the exam, but
can be felt and seen from the backside
of the paper. Quite obviously the examinee was trying to fool the computer into
reading a right answer in whatever
choice the right answer was marked. Of
course such papers are judged wrong,
canceled and the culprits subjected to
disciplinary action.
To simpliify evaluation, the rules
were designed to standardize disciplinary action without really reading the
purpose of each heart. Because of many
deferments due to inconsistent birth
data, rules extend to the use of NSO
birth certificates to validate the identity
and birth data of examinees as a national level of quality assurance. For
transcripts to be surely coming from the
schools named therein, because of the
proliferation of fake transcripts, examinees are asked to validate the same by
getting new transcripts with scanned pictures. We have somehow softened this
stand, recognizing the incompleteness
of NSO data, by allowing civil registrars’
certificates provided these are authenticated by NSO preferably on security
paper submitted together with the negative certification from NSO. We are still
rethinking all these measures, trying to
find a right balance that will serve the
purpose of integrity and fairness to all.
Being an evaluator is not easy but
somebody has to do the job. In rare but
real instances, statistical improbability
with scores clustering unusually were
considered sufficient proof of leakages
obtained in unseen places from unseen
hands. But at one time the invisible
First Quarter 2005
SECTOR A L
bring to all concerned.
Thus, even in public finance, it is
no longer confined to its traditional role
of raising and disbursing funds for government operations. Policies are being
applied and shifted especially to bring
government more accessible and closer
to the people.
A proof of this trend is the innovative project of “City Hall sa Mall” which
the City of Manila launched two years
ago, providing services in shopping centers such as processing applications for
business permits and issuing community tax certificates and occupational
permits.
Manila has also piloted this year the
point of payment system wherein business permits are obtained at the time of
payment. Gone are the days when the
taxpayer has to wait endlessly for weeks
before he can have it. With the new sys(By Avelina A. de la Rea, Commissioner, tem, time has become essentially imProfessional Regulation Commission.)
portant not only for the taxpayer but also
for the City government.
Another popular and so far practical service-oriented practice that local
government units can provide is a onestop center for taxpayers. Manila has
this center called “Taxpayers’ Lounge.”
The Lounge or Center does not only
offer comfort, convenience and other
amenities, it also takes care in the probecame visible in a way that made us
delve deeper into the possible relationships that led to the unfortunate incident.
While investigations are going on,
we understand that we CPAs can keep
our hearts by sticking to some fundamental principles of life foremost of
which is to keep our simplicity. There
are many ways of living and many hopes
and dreams, but if we remember we
cannot take anything with us when we
leave this world, we will want to travel
light. We might make mistakes but the
path back to integrity may not be so
complex if we also remember that there
is only One who possesses the real
meaning of integrity, of unblemished
wholeness, to whom we as fractioned
images can turn for guidance and comfort, the One who leads us to the path
to true integrity of the heart.
THE
B U Z Z WO R D
IS TO
BECOME
First Quarter 2005
and payment of real property and business taxes, fees and other charges.
Check payments are also allowed here
after clearing, so that every transaction
is hassle-free without requiring the taxpayer to go from one office to another
to carry out his business.
After the “Lounge,” Manila has established another convenient center for
taxpayers called “Mabuhay Lounge”
where the Manila Pre-Approved Permit
System (MPS) was launched last year.
The MPS made processing of business permit applications and payment
of business taxes faster and more convenient. For the first year, the City’s
top 20 businesses took advantage of the
more efficient services offered such as
the pre-approval of business permits
and the processing of documents and
payment. With only three steps: Application, Assessment and Payment, the
business taxpayer gets his permit,
pronto!
What will a
!
C
I
R
T
N
E
C
T
N
E
I
L
C
If you go around today in local
government circles, the catch phrases
that you will often hear are: be clientcentric and business-friendly!
That is, focusing accountability to
the people especially in departments
most frequented by a demanding clientele who expects almost excellent service from government. Hence, public
service has become more challenging
and meaningful with officials becoming
more concerned on the needs of the
public and the more lasting effectsitwill
VIEWS
cessing of multiple transactions but expeditious service to its clients. Services
range from assessment, computation
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
City or Local Government
gain in bringing about
changes in its business
policies especially on areas that cater to the needs
of taxpayers? The desired outcomes will
dramatically improve. Take the case of
Manila. The revenue collection increased steadily by 20 percent per annum since the above initiatives were
implemented. The level of confidence
in the local leadership has also risen,
inspiring the City government to set gocontinuation on next page
21
SECTOR AL
VIEWS
BUZZWORD..., from previous page
ing more projects for the people. Thus,
from one positive result to another, local governance gets better and easier
in the long run.
Computerizing basic transactions is
also one way of showing that the government is indeed sincere in giving better and more efficient service to the
people. It is not only technical-savvy,it
has also become the “in and required
thing” both in private and public offices, with people demanding more convenience but shorter time for their transactions.
Making available information materials such as brochures, leaflets,
banners also educate and empower
taxpayers as it inform and update them
of recent developments regarding LGU
policies, issuances and even the time
of payment for their taxes so they can
avail of discounts and avoid paying
surcharges for late payments.
Policies and even laws have also been
amended to make them less prohibitive so
THE A C C O U N TA N C Y A C T.., from page 19
submission of consolidated financial
statements of the organization together
with all the foundations associated with it .
At present, the Financial Statement of the
organization is completed for the year
2003 but there are other chapters that
have failed to submit their financials for
2004. The PICPA national office is coordinating this matter to comply with this
requirement.
RESTRUCTURING OF PICPA
The Ad hoc Committee on the Implementing Rules and Regulations has
completed the proposed revision to the structure of PICPA. which will be implemented
through the amendment of the current bylaws of the organization.
Among the changes in the by-laws of
PICPA are the following:
1. Recognition of the four major geographical areas of Luzon, Visayas,
Mindanao, and National Capital Region.
2. Separation of Southern Luzon to
Southern Tagalog and Bicol Regions.
3.
Creation of the position of
Regional Sectoral Representatives to rep22
that a taxpayer who has, for instance,
incurred delinquent accounts in the
payment of his tax dues can opt to pay in
easy installments, instead of harassing him
to pay in full. Hence, a win-win solution is
sealed between the public and the
government, making a more lasting and
intangible relationship between them. In
the end, with the people becoming more
in the center of government’s concerns, the
level of confidence in the political
leadership also becomes stronger and
stable.
In the future, it will no longer be a
surprise if the general perception about
government, or even, City Hall, in
particular, will be changed to a more positive image. Government, then, will be perceived not as an administration characterized by a rigid hierarchy of administrators
and officials bringing about excessive red
tape, routine and corruption, but will be a
semblance of being sensitive to the needs
of the people, concerned with building relationships rather than breaking it.
The system, after all, especially LGUs
constitute the level of government most
directly accountable to the people.
resent the four sectors of the profession in
the regional level after the abolition of the
position of National Sectoral Directors and
Sectoral Council Members from the National
Office.
4. Creation of the Geographical
Offices for the purpose of providing service
to the needs of the members and their sectors on a geographical level.
5. Reduction in the number of
National Board members from 25 to 16,
where each geographical area has four
directors, each representing a particular
sector.As earlier mentioned, the positions
of National Sectoral Directors have been
abolished.
6. Rotation of the Presidency of the
organization to both regional and sectoral
representation.
7. Creation of the Long Range
Planning Committee and the CPE Council.
These proposed amendments would
be submitted for approval to the general
membership on June 11, 2005 at the
Annual Presidents’ Conference to be held
in Cebu City.
A complete copy of the proposed
amended by-laws is available for download
at the PICPA website together with the CPA
INFORMATION SHEET. Our PICPA website
is w w w.picpa.com.ph .
Accounting Times Vol. 57 No. 2
ANNOUNCEMENT
PICPA
R E I N S TA M E N T
P RO G R A M
PICPAns with outstanding
accounts may now be
reinstated by paying P2,000.00
only. The fee is broken down
as:
P 1,000 2005 Membership Fee
1,000 2004 & prior years’ accts.
----------P 2,000
======
Contact your Chapter now or
call PICPA National at tel. 7230691 to 93 or 726-9456.
Deadline is June 30, 2005.
behind the
BY LINES
Mario Teodoro Josephat C. Martinez, Jr.
Chairman
Estelita C. Aguirre
Liaison Director
Erwin Vincent G.Alcala
Editor In-Chief
Rhodora G. Icaranom
Armi S. Linsangan
Bing A. Marañon
Czarina R. Miranda
Emmanuel Y. Mendoza
Belinda P. Nazareno
Lily A. Navarro
Ma. Lucia Estela P. Castro
Maurice C. Sabio
Liberty M. Toledo
Angel C. Ylagan
Editor Staff
Beth G. Paguio
Jasper O. Remedios
Secretariat
First Quarter 2005