Upholding the theme: Accounting towards a new paradigm, Exceed: The Annual DLSU Accounting Convention for Business Leaders (EXCEED 2020) was launched last February 22, 2020 at Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium, De La Salle University under the leadership of Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (JPIA) – DLSU.
The convention held a plenary session, simultaneous classes and symposium on its 10th year attended by students from the host university, Far Eastern University (Manila and Cavite Campus), Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Adamson University, Ateneo de Davao University, Lyceum of the Philippines University-Manila and many other universities from different parts of the country.
Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and business leaders: Tireso Randy Lapidez, Audit Partner at KPMG; Mailene Sigue-Bisnar, Audit and Assurance Partner at P&A Grant Thornton; Johnny Ang, SGV & Co. Partner; and Maria Rosell S. Gomez, IT Risk Assurance Partner of PwC were the featured panel interviewees during the Plenary Session.
It is to be noted, indeed, that accountancy is not just limited by its discipline and auditing because fields such as public relations, marketing , leadership, law, and data analytics also play vital roles in forming great CPA business leaders.“When you’re a CPA, you can also work anywhere,” said Bisnar as she incorporated the essence of her expertise in Marketing & Communications aside from being an accountant herself.
Succeeding the Plenary Session, the Simultaneous Classes were conducted during the afternoon. DLSU faculty and the National Association of CPAs in Education President Florenz Tugas, shared accounting as an academic practice. On the other hand, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of the General Accountant Assistant Director Guada Preciados and Commission on Audit (COA) Office of the Chairperson Public Information Office Chief Jonathan Beltran expanded the accounting discipline through highlighting its role in the government specifically under SEC and COA. Similarly, P&A Grant Thornton People and Culture Group Semi-senior Shelle Macatugob shared her knowledge and experiences regarding the said company and had given a glimpse of accountancy in a private sector.
Furthermore, United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Undersecretary General Heidi Mendoza, COL Financial Special Projects Consultant Lowell Tiu, and P&A Grant Thornton Tax Advisory and Compliance Division Head Attorney Eleanor Roque lead the topics of Digital stock trading, external auditing, and legal tax avoidance.
Valens Research President and CEO Joel Litman, SGV Assurance Partner Benjamin Villacorte, Free Legal Assistance Group Chairman Chel Diokno and Powerhouse Consultants Company
Managing Director Mark Fajiculay led the afternoon symposium speeches as they discussed the future challenges and changes in the profession that needs to be addressed.
Litman encouraged students to research about the Uniform Adjusted Financial Reporting Standards to compare with Philippine Financial Reporting Standards and Villacorte explained the implications in business due to changes from IFRS 9: Financial Instruments, IFRS 15: Revenue of Contracts with customers and IFRS 16: Leases.
Fajiculay expounded on the possibilities of the emerging Industry 4.0 and clarified that accountants would still be in demand even so since it is focused more on automation while Diokno motivated students to always uphold integrity in the profession with a message, “As I see your faces right now— the future leaders of the our country, I know our country is in good hands. I cannot wait to see what kind of Philippines you are building.”
The event culminated as DLSU alumna at P&A Grant Thorton Business Development Director Janis Medina-Maghinay gave a closing remarks.
“The field of accounting is a dynamic landscape. As BSA students, we must be able to realize that there are other necessary technical skills we must be equipped with as future accountants in the 4th Industrial Revolution— and that is how we visualized Exceed’s theme for this year.” as quoted in an interview from Jillian Chua, one of the convention project heads.
ADVT
