CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

The quality of education of an educational institution is often determined

by the graduates it generates. In like manner, the quality of graduates generated

by an institution is measured by their performance in board examinations. This

performance based on the percentage of passing in the licensure examination

serves as a parameter that reckons the quality of education they acquired in a

particular school (Ballado- Tan, 2014).

One of the hardest licensure examinations in the Philippines is the

Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination (CPALE) prescribed by the

Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and given by the Board of

Accountancy (BOA).

The accounting profession was the first among the professions to achieve

full computerization of the CPA licensure examinations, paving the way for the

current record two-day release of examination results. As the global professional

environment unfolds, with the onset of the 21st century, accountancy continues

its trailblazing efforts. It is the first among the Philippine professions to be

included under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) policy of liberalization of

services. This means that Philippine accountants will be freely competing with in

the global playing field against accountants from other parts of the world and will
be able to hold their own (Board of Accountancy). Over the years, however,

Philippine higher education has been undermined by the rapid increase of

universities and colleges, many of questionable quality, and the inability of

authorities to enforce even the basic standards. Poor-quality schools, many of

them state-run or business-oriented, are in fact dragging down the national

passing rates in board exams, barely producing graduates with minimum

competence. Experts blame the excess of colleges and universities — partly due

to state sanction and also because of the prospects of quick profits in a sector

considered immune from economic downturn — for the waning state of the

country’s higher education system (Santos, 2014).

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Based on the May 2017 Certified Public Accountant Examination

performance of schools released by the PRC, there are 443 schools accredited

by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to offer the Accountancy

program, one of which is Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) – Manila.

PRC announced last May 29, 2017 that 3,389 out of 9,645 passed the

May 2017 Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination, corresponding to a

35.14% national passing rate. EAC – Manila’s passing rate for this said licensure

examination was 11.54%, a result of the 3 out of 26 examinees passing the

board exam, significantly lower than the national passing rate.

The average passing rate of EAC – Manila for the last seven CPA

Licensure Examination was 8.63% based on data gathered from PRC,

apparently very low for the CHED requirement in maintaining an Accountancy

Program for a certain institution. This result shows that not all graduates of the

college were prepared for the examination. One of the goals of this study was to

derive findings that will serve as basis on fields that needs improvement to better

the passing rate of EAC graduates to the CPA Licensure Examination.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

TEACHING SCHOOL STUDENT CURRICULUM

METHODS ENVIRONMENT ATTITUDE DESIGN

HIGH CPALE
PASSING RATE

Many factors play into the decline of the passing rate of higher educational

institutions, Emilio Aguinaldo College – Manila is no exception.

Teaching Methods

Substantial research on the effectiveness of teaching methods indicates

that the quality of teaching is often reflected by the achievements of the students.

According to Ayeni (2014), teaching is a process that involves bringing about

desirable changes in learners so as to achieve specific outcomes. Schools

offering the Accountancy program, including EAC, desire a high passing rate as a

specific outcome from their students, thereby making teaching methods a factor

that affects the performance of their graduates in the licensure examination. In

light of the fact that learning is a process that involves investigating, formulating,

reasoning and using appropriate strategies to solve problems, teachers should

realise that it becomes more effective if the students are tasked to perform rather

than just asked to remember some information. According to the study on

Teaching Methods and Students’ Academic Performance by Elvis Munyaradzi

Ganyaupfu (2015), teachers should create an atmosphere conducive to learning

in order to enhance the development of students’ learning experiences.

Moreover, teachers should also increase their knowledge of various instructional

strategies in order to keep students engaged and motivated throughout the

learning process.

School Environment

The school environment, which includes the classroom, school location,

school facility, school climate and technology, etc, is a variable that affects

students’ academic performance (Department of Educational Foundations and

Management, Ambrose Alli University, 2016). Hence the school environment

remains an important area that should be looked into and well managed to

enhance the graduate’s performance in the licensure examination.

Student Attitude

Attitude is the belief that one has towards people and surroundings. In

case of education, students’ positive attitude may influence their academic

achievement (Das, Mishra, Halder, 2014). Attitudes are seen as more or less

positive and encompass emotions, beliefs, values and behaviour and hence

affect individual way of thinking, acting and behaving which has a lot of

implications to teaching and learning (Mensah et al, 2014). Research studies

support the fact that students’ success depends upon the learners’ attitude

towards the subject as this determines their ability, willingness to learn, choice of

action and response to challenges. It determines the level of engagement,

interest, personal effort without which one can hardly perform (Garden & Smith,
2015). Negative dispositions induce tendencies of fear, anxiety and stress where

one resorts to other non-productive practices. Consequently, the student exhibit

low motivation, decreased level of participation, boredom and behaviour

problems including class or lesson avoidance .This is in fact evident when the

teacher is doing his best presentation in class, but the student may seem to be

alienated and aloof (Furinghetti and Perkhonen, 2015).

Curriculum Design

In education, curriculum is the totality of student experiences that occur in

the educational process. The curriculum for BS Accountancy Program is

designed to support aspiring professional accountants to develop the appropriate

entry-level technical competence, professional skills, values, ethics and attitudes

to successfully complete their studies, pass their professional licensure

examination and the practical experience period. It is composed of a minimum of

173 units, including the required General Education, or GE curriculum, and

covers all major areas required by the profession such as:

1. Accounting, finance and related knowledge;

2. Organizational and business knowledge;

3. Information technology, knowledge and competencies

According to CHED there are certain implications that should be kept in

mind, before implementing the minimum curricular standards. These are:

1. Schools of Accountancy are encouraged to undergo accreditation

preferably within five (5) years after recognition.
 2. Curriculum development is a dynamic and continuing process.
Accounting education should not only keep pace with current realities but should
anticipate changes that may take place in business and the accounting
profession.
3. Curriculum content should be carefully selected so that the available
time and resources are effectively utilized and only the appropriate and pertinent
subject areas are included.
 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The framework of this research is shown in the following paradigm, using

the Input-Process-Output (IPO) System;

Input Process Output

Demographic Profile of the Collection of the data Determined the

respondents: through a research
demographic profile of the
questionnaire
Age respondents.
Analysis of the data
Gender gathered from the Determine the factors
research questionnaire
Year Graduated affecting the CPA passing
Frequency rate of EAC-M for the last
2) Factors affecting the
passing rate of five years.
Percentage
Accountancy Students of
Emilio Aguinaldo College Determine conclusions and
Likert Scale
in the CPA Licensure recommendations on how
Examination
Weighted Mean to improve the
Teaching Methods performance of graduates
Chi Square’
Environment of EAC to the CPA
Licensure Examination.
Student Attitude

Curriculum Design

Figure 1

Conceptual Paradigm
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study intends to identify and examine which of the relevant factors affect

the passing rate of Emilio Aguinaldo College Accountancy graduates passing rate

to the CPA Licensure Examination. Specifically, this will provide clear answers to

the following questions:

1. What are the demographic profiles of the accountancy graduates who took

up the CPA Licensure Examination for the last seven licensure

examinations?
a. Gender
b. Age
c. Year Graduated
2. What are the factors affecting the passing rate of Accountancy Students of

Emilio Aguinaldo College in the CPA Licensure Examination?

a. Teaching Methods
b. Environment
c. Student Attitude
d. Curriculum Design
3. Is there a significant relationship between the underlying factors and the

passing rate of Emilio Aguinaldo College graduates passing rate to the

CPA Licensure Examination?

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The study would only assess the students who graduated with the degree

of Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. Researchers prefer to choose those

graduates. This study would only test the effects of the underlying factors on the

passing rate of Emilio Aguinaldo College graduates to the CPALE. All other

quantifiers, such as gender and age will be considered insignificant in this study.

Also, this study would only be focusing on the Emilio Aguinaldo College –
Bachelor of Science in Accountancy population since the researchers would like

to focus on the analysis of implication of low passing rates for the accountancy

program in the Philippines as applied in Emilio Aguinaldo College – Manila; this

no comparison with other universities with BSA programs would be established.

In the performance of statistical study, this research would employ the

population of EAC-BSA students who have undergone the last seven CPA

Licensure Exam from May 2014 – May 2017. This selection is used since the

best people to test as how the program has affected their well-being are those

who have been through the whole program. This way, the information that will be

gathered from them quantifies majority of the experiences throughout their stay

under the accountancy program. With that, the proponents of this study will be

reasonably assured that the pieces of information from data response gathering

are true, accurate and reliable.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

For accounting students who used up the entire five years of giving their

best to master the art of accounting, graduation is not the ending line for them.

Undergoing a thorough review after graduation to pass the CPA board

examination would require them determination in achieving the three letter title,

CPA. The results of this research and its analysis would be able to improve the

understanding of the accountancy program and its implication to the students.

Specifically, the research would be help to the following:

 Graduates and Students of Accountancy - The results of this study can

provide information to give a clear picture on the current situation of the passing

rate of Emilio Aguinaldo College to further motivate future graduates and

licensure examination takers to assess themselves and conduct self

improvements necessary to ensure a higher chance of passing the licensure

examination.

Emilio Aguinaldo College and the Administration - This research could

be of aid in determining the effects of the teaching approaches they apply on the

curriculum to the students to determine their effectiveness and appropriateness,

and it would also be of use to future evaluations of the program.

Educators – This research could help educators to seek out additional

ways of providing knowledge to students after determining and considering the

various level of students understanding.

Future researchers – the result of the study will serve as reference for

further studies.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Board of Accountancy (BOA) – the body authorized by law to promulgate rules

and regulations affecting the practice of the accountancy profession in the

Philippines.

Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination (CPALE) – an

examination given to students who finished the accountancy program and

wanted to become a Certified Public Accountant.

Commission of Higher Education (CHED) -- is attached to the Office of the

President for administrative purposes. It covers both public and private higher

education institutions as well as degree-granting programs in all post-secondary

educational institutions in the country.

Curriculum – the subjects comprising a course of study in a school or college.

Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) -- a Philippine government

agency mandated to regulate and supervise the practice of the professionals, the

highly skilled manpower of the country.

School Environment -- is broadly characterized by its facilities, classrooms,

school-based health supports, and disciplinary policies and practices. It sets the

stage for the external factors that affect students.

Teaching Method – comprises the principles and methods used by teachers to

enable student learning.