Diagnostic Study of Accounting and Auditing Practices in the Philippines
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Diagnostic Study of Accounting and Auditing Practices The Philippines ii © Asian Development Bank 2002 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Asian Development Bank. This publication was prepared by consultants and staff of the Asian Development Bank. The findings, interpretations, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the Asian Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. The Asian Development Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequences for their use. iii Preface his report describes Philippine accounting and auditing arrange- Tments, identifies deficiencies in those arrangements, and presents recommendations to address the deficiencies. It is part of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) series of country Diagnostic Studies of Accounting and Auditing (DSAAs). In 2000, DSAAs were completed and published for Cambodia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, People’s Republic of China, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam. In 2001- 2002, DSAAs were prepared for Azerbaijan, Fiji Islands, Marshall Islands, Philippines and Sri Lanka. The report was prepared for ADB by Barry Reid (Consultant) with overall guidance from R. Narasimham (Senior Portfolio Management Specialist, ADB), under Regional Technical Assistance 5765 — Banking, Capital Market and International Competitiveness Reforms in Response to the Currency Turmoil. Maria Rita Castillo provided strong research assistance; Aileen Aguilar and Yvonne Osonia provided excellent administrative support. The draft report was discussed and debated with representatives from government, the private sector, and international organizations at a workshop held at ADB Headquarters in Manila on 12–13 March 2001. It was updated in June 2001 following further discussions with the Au- diting Standards and Practices Council (ASPC), Board of Accountancy (BOA), Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the World Bank. This study coincided, and was coordinated, with a World Bank re- view of Philippine Corporate Sector Accounting and Auditing Practices. The World Bank review is part of the ROSC (Reports on the Obser- vance of Standards and Codes) exercise. In terms of timing and coordi- nation, the draft ADB DSAA report was completed prior to commence- ment of the World Bank review and copies were provided to Paul Bermingham (Chair, Financial Management Committee), Abelardo Dumondon (ROSC consultant), Zubaidur Rahman (ROSC consultant), Joseph Reyes (Operations Officer, Financial Management, World Bank Office Manila) and Selina Shum (Senior Financial Specialist). Further- more, Joseph Reyes and Abelardo Dumondon attended the Manila workshop at which the draft DSAA report was discussed and debated, and Francis B. Narayan and Barry Reid attended workshops in relation to the World Bank review during June 2001. Not surprisingly, the two country action plans are consistent. The country action plan presented in this report was discussed with representatives from the government and the accountancy profes- iv sion during March–May 2001. These discussions identified and agreed policy actions that were included in an ADB loan for development of Philippine non-bank financial governance. An associated technical assistance grant is supporting the implementation of several of the recommendations presented in this report. The study results and recommendations were further discussed and debated at an international workshop at ADB headquarters in Manila on 5–6 March 2002, after which the report was finalized. The report was updated in early 2003 under TA 5980-REG Diagnostic Study of Accounting and Auditing in Selected Developing Member Countries so that it could be pro- vided together with the other TA 5980-REG reports. The authors would like to offer their appreciation to the numerous officials, researchers and agencies that gave their valuable time and made materials available during the course of the research. We would particularly like to thank Antonieta Fortuna-Ibe (Chair, Philippine PRC), Carlito Fuentespina (President, PICPA), Tito S. Nabua (Director, Region IV, Philippine Commission on Audit), Purita A. Fajilan (Consultant, SEC) for their attendance and presentations at the Manila international workshop; and Richard Ondrik (Senior Programs Officer, Philippines Country Office, ADB) for chairing the session on Country Presentation: Philippines at the Manila international workshop. For further information, please visit ADB’s website at www.adb.org or contact: Sarath Lakshman Athukorala Financial Management Specialist Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila P. O. Box 789 0980 Manila, Philippines Tel. (632) 632-6626 Fax: (632) 636-2365 E-mail: [email protected] v Currency Equivalents ( as at 31 March 2002 ) Currency Unit − Peso (P) P1.00 = $0.01955 $1.00 = P51.150 Abbreviations ACPACI Association of Certified Public Accountants in Commerce and Industry ACPAE Association of Certified Public Accountants in Education ACPAPP Association of Certified Public Accountants in Public Practice ADB Asian Development Bank AGIA Association of Government Internal Auditors APEC Asia Pacific Economic Council APO accredited professional organization ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASC Accounting Standards Council ASPC Auditing Standards and Practices Council BIR Bureau of Internal Revenue BOA Board of Accountancy BSP Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) BTr Bureau of the Treasury CAPA Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants CFAA Country Financial Accountability Assessment (World Bank) COA Commission on Audit CHED Commission on Higher Education CPA certified public accountant CPE continuing professional education DBM Department of Budget and Management DMC developing member country DOF Department of Finance DSAA Diagnostic Study of Accounting and Auditing ED Exposure Draft FINEX Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines GACPA Government Association of Certified Public Accountants GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GDP gross domestic product GOCC government owned and controlled corporation IAPC International Auditing Practices Committee IAPS International Auditing Practice Statement IAS International Accounting Standard vi IASB International Accounting Standards Board (formerly IASC) IASC International Accounting Standards Committee IEG International Education Guideline IES International Education Standard IFAC International Federation of Accountants IIA Institute of Internal Auditors IMF International Monetary Fund INTOSAI International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions IOSCO International Organization of Securities Commissions IPSAS International Public Sector Accounting Standard ISA International Standards on Auditing JBIC Japan Bank for International Cooperation JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency LGU local government unit MTPDP Medium-Term Philippines Development Plan NEDA National Economic and Development Authority NIRC National Internal Revenue Code OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PICPA Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants PRB Professional Regulatory Board PRC Professional Regulation Commission PSC public sector committee RETA regional technical assistance ROSC Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (IMF/World Bank) SAI Supreme Audit Institution SASP Statement of Auditing Standards of the Philippines SEC Securities and Exchange Commission SFAS Statement of Financial Accounting Standard SOE state-owned enterprise TA technical assistance UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme US United States USAID United States Agency for International Development WTO World Trade Organization Notes ( i ) The fiscal year of the Government ends on 31 December. ( ii ) In this report, “$” refers to US dollars. (iii) “Korea” refers to the Republic of Korea. vii Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................... 1 I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................15 1. Study Background.................................................................................15 2. Study Objectives....................................................................................16 3. Country Case Study and Workshop................................................16 4. ADB Focus on Philippine Financial Governance.......................... 17 5. The Philippines ......................................................................................18 6. International Guidelines and their Surveillance .......................... 25 7. Report Structure................................................................................... 26 II. ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING IN THE PHILIPPINES................................. 29 Part One. Accounting................................................................................. 30 1. Introduction........................................................................................... 30 2. The “Philippine Accounting System”..............................................