4,000 accountants to gather for Sorsogon confab

By Benilda Recebido

SORSOGON CITY, Sorsogon --- The Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), the national accredited professional organization for accountancy in the country, announced that it will be holding its 2023 annual national convention in this city from November 22 to 26, 2023.

Themed “Redefining the Roles of Certified Public Accountants,” the event will feature leading technology, audit and tax industry professionals who will present best practices in accounting today.

It will also highlight keynote speakers who will teach leadership tactics to put career and organization on track for growth.

Over 4,000 PICPA members from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, notable speakers, students, and guests will be in attendance, making the event the largest professionals’ convention to be held in this southernmost tip province of Luzon.

Randy B. Blanza, PICPA national president, told the Philippine Information Agency in Sorsogon that PICPA has chosen Sorsogon as its venue not only because of the hospitality of the provincial and city governments of Sorsogon but also because the event will create a “big opportunity” for the locals to showcase the mystic beauty and potentials of Sorsogon.

“This is not only an event of PICPA, but also an event of Sorsogon and the Bicol Region,” said Anna Jardin-Britanico, overall in-charge of 78th Annual National PICPA Convention.

Britanico said the convention would also be available to students who are taking accounting programs, especially those who are graduating, through an online medium that is free.

Blanza said they have prepared different activities for their delegates.

“Apart from the seminars, we also have sports activities, cultural presentations, and the likes,” he said.

Members of PICPA Sorsogon Chapter share a light moment during its general membership meeting in time with the culminating activity of Accountancy Week. On record, there are hundreds of CPAs in the province, distributed among its four sectors: public practice, academe, commerce and industry and the government. (PIA Sorsogon File Photo)

“This is because we want to break stereotypes among certified public accountants (CPAs) that we are just about numbers. We want to show that CPAs are more than that. We are also partners in nation- building. We CPAs work with different sectors of government and private industries and offer our expertise to formulate sound analysis for business ventures,” Blanza, also a lawyer, said.

“In fact, we also collaborate with the government on how to improve and update the accountancy curriculum so as to really equip our students with competencies as a certified public accountant,” he added.

The role of CPAs goes beyond financial reports, feasibility studies, income tax, and auditing.

As an organization, PICPA is composed of four different sectors of CPAs that include CPAs in government relations, commerce and industries, academe, and public accountants.

With 84 chapters spread throughout the country and 20 international affiliates, such as in Canada, the US, Saudi Arabia and Australia, PICPA continues to thrive in a post-pandemic setting, further strengthening and continuously updating competencies among accounting students.

Blanza said PICPA was aware of the apparent challenge that CPAs face today with the drastic decline in enrollees for accounting programs, and even in the decline of practicing CPAs in the country.

More often, accounting graduates find international job offers more financially rewarding than practicing in the country, he said.

PICPA sought the aid of the government to address this issue by granting scholarships for accounting programs and tirelessly promoting the accounting profession among youths.

Blanza hoped that his leadership would shed light on the myths that surround the accounting profession, and thus, put the accounting profession in the list of dynamic, environmentally and socially involved professions.

For more information, visit the PICPA ANC Sorsogon Bicol 2023 official Facebook page, or contact Bryan Riñosa at 09262243967 or the PICPA ANC 2023 at 09693762307 or 09674463261 or click this registration link: https://forms.gle/EgqwnKsTWQwZceA46 . (with reports from Jefferson Pura, PIA Sorsogon)