The Results Are In

I was skimming through Tuesday’s issue of The Manila Bulletin and I was surprised to find out that PRC had released the complete list of passers in the 2008 October CPA Board Exams. Dubbed as one of the hardest examinations being conducted annually by the Commission, the CPA Board Exam has undoubtedly produced the country’s top professionals over the years. Majority of those who passed are being encouraged to start their careers in reputable audit firms like SGV, Punongbayan and Araullo, Laya Mananghaya, CL Manabat, to name a few. Some even go corporate in the hope of harnessing their skills in highly competitive workplaces that guarantee far greater chances of career advancement, not to mention, enticing remuneration packages that include opportunities to work or travel abroad. If being employed is not their main priority at hand, they could always jumpstart their careers as ordinary businessmen, consultants or, after the lapse of three years, private practitioners.

The CPA Board Exam has maintained that degree of prestige and public adulation similar to that of the Philippine Bar that only few are chosen from thousands of hopefuls willing to give their all just to have the letters C-P-A affixed to their names. Four years of laborious study and mastery of the science of accounting all lead to that day when not only your intelligence will be tested but your strength of character as well. During our undergrad, we used to complain why we had to take subjects that were irrelevant to our study. Quite a number in our class did not finish with academic distinction because of failing marks in minor subjects like Religious Studies, Botany and Chemistry. The road to becoming a CPA is not a “wide open space.” Instead, it is nearly insurmountable—a tough road to tread even. It demands not just mental preparation but also physical, financial and, more importantly, spiritual preparation.

There was a time when the national passing rate for every board exam ranges from eighteen to twenty percent, perhaps a means employed by PRC to regulate entry into the profession. If it is true that this passing rate serves as “quota” in determining the number of board passers on a given year, that makes passing the board exams particularly difficult considering that you have to outdo seven thousand other examinees all over the country in order to be part of the top 18%. Logically, it follows also that even though you passed the exams but did not qualify in the eighteen-percent limit, you would still fail. That is just a matter of speculation.

Having this mindset and I hope that I am wrong, I believe that, with this list of board passers, the PRC had been more lenient by granting a higher national passing percentage. Out of 6,663 who took the exams in Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Legaspi this month, 2,442 passed, or a whopping thirty seven percent (37%). I begin to wonder. Will this bring about diminution to the profession with this new roster of CPAs who has not undergone rigid pre-qualifying exams? Alternatively, was it simply out of fear that CPAs these days are approaching extinction that the urge for young blood is highly anticipated? You will be the judge.

By the way, congratulations to Ateneo de Zamboanga University for being one of the top performing schools under the 26-50 bracket with a 70.27% passing percentage, putting it on second place next to UP Dilliman.


To view the complete list of passers, click the link.

http://www.mb.com.ph/BDPR20081023138543.html