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The issue on gender parity or diversity is oftentimes the point of discourse. There is always the debate on the opportunities (or lack thereof) extended to women in the various socioeconomic areas. In the Philippines, how are our female Certified Public Accountants faring in the work or career-related area? What kind of progress are Filipina CPAs making in their accountancy careers? Are there more female accountants moving up the top accounting and finance ladder?
Our lady CPAs apparently are doing quite well. Three of the seven members of the Board of Accountancy (BOA) are women. Two of the Big 6 accounting firms are headed by lady CPAs. Ms. Heidi Mendoza, a CPA and former Commission on Audit Commissioner, is the under-secretary-general for Internal Oversight Services of the United Nations, the second-highest position in the UN. The number of new CPA exam passers based on the respondents to the CPA Tracker Survey of the BOA indicates that over 64 percent of these new CPAs are females. These definitely indicate that women have prominent roles in the Philippine accountancy profession.
In the 2017 Global Gender Gap report of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Philippines placed 10th place in the ranking among the countries of the world as to being the most gender equal. This WEF report ranked 144 countries based on four categories: labor-force participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
As indicated in this report, the Philippines maintained its status of being the most gender-equal country in Asia with an index score of 0.790.
In the Grant Thornton’s latest 2018 “Women in Business” survey report, the Philippines was ranked No. 1 for women in business. The report disclosed that the country’s female population holding senior positions was at a far higher rate than the global average. This report indicated that 46.5 percent of senior management roles in the Philippines were held by women, nearly doubling the global average of 24 percent.
The International Labour Organization has also been conducting studies that confirms that the ratio of women to men in executive jobs in the Philippines is the highest in the world.
While these reports do not focus specifically on the gender status of female CPAs, these findings and the proven successes of our lady CPAs in the Philippines is a clear indication of the extent of female power in the accountancy profession.
In recognition of the important role of the women in the accountancy profession, the BOA has a number of initiatives involving our female CPAs. These include the search for the Ms. CPA Diamond Ambassadress of Goodwill (Goodwill Ambassadress) and a forthcoming survey study on gender issues in the accountancy profession. The Goodwill Ambassadress project is one of the activities for the celebration of the 95th year anniversary of the accountancy profession in the Philippines. The BOA is searching for female CPAs who exemplify the values and personality of the Filipina accounting professional. The announcement of the selected Goodwill Ambassadresses will be during the oath taking of the new CPAs on July 10 at the Philippine International Convention Center.
Definitely, in the Philippines, it is more fun to be a Filipina accountant.
Chairman Joel L. Tan-Torres is the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy. He is a Certified Public Accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations. He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010.
This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.