Accounting profession becoming ‘crowded’

Recently the Board of Accountancy of the Professional Regulation Commission adopted the multiple choice type of examination for CPA (certified public accountant) candidates. I believe the switch was made, because of the number of examinees (which has reached thousands), to expedite the checking and early reporting of exam results. The multiple choice test has produced many passers, a high passing percentage and a very high rating for the topnotcher. But there is a possibility that a good guesser can become a professional.

In contrast, during our time, in the June 1953 examination, only a little over 200 of about 1,000 passed. We had a uniform average of 75 percent. Candidates then were not allowed to bring calculators or a syllabus. We used worksheets and wrote reports. I can still remember the three examiners then—Ollada, Caguiat and Reyes. At present, there are six examiners because there are more subjects covered.

In the December 1953 CPA licensure examination, all candidates flunked. The failed candidates sought an audience with the late President Ramon Magsaysay to reconsider the “0” results. It was the late Sen. Jose W. Diokno who recommended a 25-percent passing rate.

With the CPA licensure examination conducted twice a year and a high passing rate, the CPA profession has, I believe, become a bit “crowded.” I am therefore giving this unsolicited advice to high school graduates who are thinking of taking up accounting: Choose

other professions that are in demand in the corporate world, such as internal auditing and computer engineering.

—BERNARDO V. PERALTA,

retired accounting professor, Cebu City