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Filbert Tsai
Quick guide to doing business in the Philippines
The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia with a strong labor force of more than 73.1 millionFilipinos. Highly educated with a 98.18 percent literacy rate, Filipinos have a good command of the English language which makes the country one of the top countries to set up a business-process outsourcing center.
Subscription e-commerce is growing rapidly
In a survey done by McKinsey in February 2018 for the US market, they found that 15 percent of online shoppers have signed up for a subscription box on a recurring basis. While there are no similar surveys specifically for the Asian market, the US adoption rate is quite telling of the opportunities. The same study found that a majority of subscribers tend to prefer curation services, suggesting a preference toward personalized goods or services
Clear and concise
Clear and concise financial reporting is the clear message coming out from the Disclosure Committee’s “Principles of Effective Communication” published in 2014 as part of the International Accounting Standards Board’s Disclosure Initiative. The temptation is real. Auditors love overloading financial statements with disclosures to protect their personal interests as part of the growing scrutiny of audit institutions globally.
Just the beginning
On July 10, 2018, the event that many have been preparing for will come. Countless sleepless nights, thousands of hours spent reading and crunching numbers on the calculator and a few teardrops of frustration for unsolvable problems will then be rewarded as the passers of the May 2018 Certified Public Accountants will be taking their oath as professionals. We’ve all been there. I’ve gone through that, and here you are—marching your way and taking your oath as a freshly minted CPA. Take pride, because you made it. You have just completed what is referred to as the Initial Professional Development (IPD) by the International Education Standards 7 (IES 7).
A guide to working capital management for start-ups
In its simplest sense, working capital means a company’s ability to pay for its dues when it comes due. This sounds super easy, but it’s actually one of the main reasons a lot of companies end up bankrupt.
The solution to CPD woes
Professional accountants understand the importance of continuous learning. However, to be compliant with the requirements of the law that learning needs to be expensive is something that we simply could not embrace. There’s a lot of clamor around the various professions to trash out the law due to absurd amounts that needs to be spent just to maintain their professional license. If they are complaining, why shouldn’t we accountants complain when we have the highest level of required Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units over a three-year rolling period?
Piece of advice to the soon-to-be CPAs
Congratulations to the passers of the recent October 2017 Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Licensure Examination conducted by the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy. After their oath taking in the next few weeks, they will become members of the Philippine accounting profession. I am not here to tell you what it’s like to work in an accounting firm—it’s better for you to experience it yourself. What I’m going to tell you today are a few reminders.
Value of financial metric
I often receive queries from start-up founders, presenting me a set of metrics they’ve learned through various financial-literacy programs. Most finance courses for entrepreneurs delve straight into understanding financial statements, then dig right into ratio analysis and financial metrics.
Understanding the new CPD
Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) are now required to comply with the new continuing professional development (CPD) requirement to renew their licence. Many were shocked with the sudden increase, from the previous 60-unit requirement to the 120-unit requirement, prescribed by the Board of Accountancy (BOA) Resolution 358-2016 as a result of Republic Act 10912, otherwise known as the CPD Act of 2016.
Corporate governance for the start-ups
Corporate governance concepts are crucial for the long-term success of a business. Listed companies are even required by most regulatory bodies throughout the world to adopt a code of governance that complies with the minimum requirements of the listing country. This just highlights the importance of corporate governance.
Get back and write your business plan
Starting up a business means innovation, and defying business traditions is the way to go. This is the classic message that I have seen in a lot of articles written on start-ups. While I haven’t gone to the extent of researching the business success of these article writers, it is alarming that many are taking these types of advice with more than a grain of salt.
Accounting systems for start-ups: A hype or a need?
DO you really need an accounting software for your start-up?
Improving disclosures on corrupt practices
Curbing corrupt practices in the government requires significant political will and governance mechanisms to allow transparency in financial disclosures of individual government personnel. Current laws in the Philippines require the annual filing of government official’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) under Republic Act 6713. However, these filed statements are not subject to annual audit though readily available for inspection.
Metrics, metrics on the wall– which one should I use for my business?
Financial dashboards have become one of the most saleable feature of an accounting software. Filled with colorful graphs and data visualization tools, these dashboards provide quick insights on how a business is performing. However, dashboards are as helpful as a blueprint — these provide extensive useful information for engineers but clueless chatter for lay persons. Similarly, with extensive information, lay persons, without extensive knowledge on reading blueprints, can make significantly wrong decisions relying on usually reliable information. There is nothing really wrong with the data, but on how the user understands the information.
Triumphing the small business cash management
SMALL businesses typically measure their wealth on the basis of cash availability. Thus, we frequently see in practice that start-ups and small businesses’ cash is under the same personal bank account of the entrepreneur. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this practice, but it pays to split that out—for one very compelling reason—it is absolutely (or almost) free to set up a separate bank account for your company.
Building business intelligence through data analytics
DATA are kept historically for future retrieval and reference in the context of dispute. The development of massive data warehouse allowed better data retention benefiting from the economies of scale. Further, the technological innovations have pushed the boundary of processing speeds to allow massive data sets to be churned to good use.
Three reasons to fire your accountant–immediately, please
SOLE proprietors (SPs) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) typically hire accountants to help them handle all the clerical stuffs ranging from tax filings, payroll processing, payroll tax filings and bookkeeping—these are the traditional jobs that SPs and MSMEs “outsource” to their old trusty bookkeepers or “accountants”. However, it is time, perhaps, that SPs and MSMEs begin to question if these are what they want.