PRC unit upholds ruling on CPA hires

MANILA, Philippines -  The Board of Accountancy (BoA) of the Professional Regulation Commission has ruled to uphold a resolution requiring companies to employ certified public accountants (CPA) to prepare their financial statements.

In an announcement, BoA said they resolved to continue the implementation, “with modifications” during a special meeting held last March 9 “purposely to hear the appeal of some public practitioners to shelve the resolution.”

BoA had invoked Republic Act 9298 or the Philippine Accountancy Act of 2004 which defines the practice of accountancy in commerce and industry in the country.

The board added there is a “substantial number of CPAs numbering about 4,200 who have applied for accreditation as compliers of financial statements of various covered companies. “

But BoA decided to defer implementation of certain provisions of Resolution 68-2016 “on the requirement for external auditor to notify the board of any omission or non-compliance with the conditions set forth therein, until such mechanism shall have been established to monitor compliance.”

BoA assured that relevant government agencies and other stakeholders will be consulted in coming up with such mechanism.

The board clarified that sanctions specified in Resolution 68-2016 may only be imposed “after due process and as maybe warranted by evidence.”

“We appeal to all stakeholders to give BoA Resolution 3-2016, as amended, a chance to  proceed in the interest of the accountancy profession,” BoA added.