State accountants bag transparency plum

The Securities and Exchange Commission chairperson Emilio B. Aquino and General Accountant Emmanuel Y. Artiza have been recognized by the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants for their contributions in upholding transparency and accountability as accountants in the government service.

Aquino was named as a Special Achievement Awardee in International Professional Involvement for his active participation in international affairs and programs that promote good governance and sustainability reporting.

Meanwhile, Artiza was hailed as a Special Achievement Awardee in Government Service for consistently promoting the highest standards in the accounting profession as general accountant of the SEC. The awards were conferred during PICPA's 77th Annual National Convention Awards Night held on November 24 in Cebu City.

SEC's pool

"We thank PICPA for promoting the role of the accounting profession in achieving transparency and accountability not just in the government service but also in the private practice. The SEC is proud to have its own pool of bright accountants who ensure compliance with both local and international standards among its supervised entities," SEC Chairperson Emilio Aquino said.

"As regulator of the corporate sector, the SEC will continue to establish best practices toward the sound and prudent use of public funds, as well work for the improvement of audit quality, in order to promote trust and confidence in the business community."

Aquino is the first Certified Public Accountant and lawyer to serve as the SEC's chairperson.

Since the start of his term in 2018, the Commission has received unqualified opinions from the Commission on Audit on the fairness of presentation of its financial statements from 2018 to 2021. This is the longest streak of unqualified opinions that the SEC has received over the past decade.