IN today’s business environment, trust is becoming as important as profit. Investors, lenders, regulators and even employees want to know not just how much a company earns, but how it earns it. One accounting area now receiving renewed attention is related party disclosures — a topic governed by IAS 24.   Related party transactions are not illegal. In fact, they are common, especially in family-owned businesses, conglomerates and growing groups of companies. Problems arise wh

ON Jan. 20, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Memorandum Circular 4, Series of 2026, introducing a subtle but impactful shift in corporate financial reporting. The circular raised the threshold at which companies must submit audited financial statements. Applicable to fiscal years ending on or after Dec. 31, 2025, the adjustment is designed to ease compliance burdens for micro and small corporations while maintaining oversight for larger, higher-risk e

TWO parallel measures field before the 20th Congress seek to reduce the value added tax (VAT) from 12 percent to 10 percent, reflecting a shared goal of easing consumer prices and improving the Philippines’ competitiveness within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).   In the upper chamber of Congress, Sen. Erwin Tulfo filed Senate Bill (SB) 1552 or the VAT Reduction Act of 2025. The measure aims to increase household purchasing power by lowering the tax burden

Tax Updates No. 01-2026 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contacts Should you have any comments or questions arising from this publication, please contact ACPAPP Secretariat . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACPAPP is a united professional organization of CPAs in public practice that promotes prof

EVERY year-end, a repeat finding returns like clockwork. It appears in the management letter, shows up in the findings tracker, and resurfaces in the same closing meeting where everyone nods because it feels familiar. The wording changes — “Improve documentation,” “Strengthen controls,” “Tighten review” — but the meaning is the same. We’ve seen this before; we meant to fix it, but the year moved faster than the plan. Most professionals know this cycle. A team decides to fix a

BECOMING a certified public accountant (CPA) was more than a milestone — it was the triumphant culmination of sleepless nights, relentless efforts, and quiet prayers. It marked not just an ending, but a launchpad into a new chapter of my professional life. In the early days, one path stood above the rest: audit practice. It was never merely a career choice, but a calling — a commitment to safeguarding trust and upholding the principles of integrity and accountability, guided