AGUANTA, Princess Nicole Allyson

IA – 331
AAPrinciples – Internal Auditing

Individual Assignment 04:

The Professional Practice of Accounting

1. What is a professional accountant? Identify the characteristics that make Accountacy

a profession.
 A professional accountant is simply a person who is an expert in the
Accounting field. He or she achieved this status through years of rigorous
studying and training, and passing the professional licensure or
certification exam. Aside from being recognized as one of the hardest
programs with one of the hardest licensure exams, it is a profession
because of its importace in the world of business. It is also a profession
because of the strict rules and standards it has to follow to produce
something that affects a lot of chess pieces in the economy. It cannot be
practiced by just anyone. It can only be practiced by someone who is
certified and licensed – and that makes it a profession.

2. What are the different scopes of practice of Accountancy? Identify each and explain
the scope of the practice.
 The different scopes of practice of Accountancy are: public accounting,
private accounting, education/academe, and government accounting.

To practice in public accounting, an accountant must first pass the difficult

Certified Public Accountant Licensure Exam (CPALE). According to
Accountingverse, The CPA would work in accounting firms or individually
to provide services – such as audit and attestation, tax, or consulting
services – to a wide range of people who rely on the professionalism and
credibility of CPAs on a contractual basis.

Private accounting – also known as commerce and industry – is the

opposite of public accounting. The accountant serves only one client
which is the company he or she is an employee of. This includes jobs like
accounting clerk or officer, internal auditor, bookkeeping, petty cash
accountant, and more. This also gives the accountant a chance to have a
position in the company’s management such as vice president for finance
and/or chief positions.

Government accounting is like private accounting. However, the

accountant works for a government agency. The government also has
funds which needs budgeting and planning. Hence, the need for
accountants in the field.

Accountants who do not want to practice in any of the abovementioned

fields may pursue a career in education, research, and training. Examples
of these are accountants who teach and share their knowledge with
aspiring accountants in universities and review centers.
AGUANTA, Princess Nicole Allyson
IA – 331
AAPrinciples – Internal Auditing

3. What are the different standard setting bodies that affect the practice of
accountancy?
 There are many local and international standard setting bodies that affect
the practice of accountancy. There are: Financial Reporting Standards
Council (FRSC), Auditing and Assurance Standards Council (AASC), and
International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Under IFAC, there are the
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and International
Auditing and Assurance Standards board (IAASB).

4. What are the different government agencies that affect the practice of accountancy?
 The main government agencies that affect the practice of the accounting
profession are the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and
Professional Regulatory Board of Accountacy (BOA). PRC is the
organization who is responsible for the regulation and licensing of
professions, including the accounting profession. BOA, under the
jurisdiction and administrative supervision of the PRC, has authority over
the Philippine accounting profession and education. Its role include the
standardization of accounting programs and CPALE.

Other organizations and agencies include the Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Commission on
Audit (COA), and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). These indirectly
affect the accounting profession by the requirements they set forth which
accountants must follow or apply during their practice.

5. What is Continuing Professional Development? Why does a professional accountant need to

do Continuing Professional Development?

 CPD is a program where in professionals engage in learning activities set

by the PRC CPE Council and BOA. This is for them to further develop
their knowledge and skills in accordance with their profession’s latest
practices. This includes workshops, conventions, seminars, or studying
further (ex. taking a master’s degree).

Accountants, in order to successfully do their critical roles in their respective

fields, need to keep learning. Learning never stops for anyone. As the world goes
on, people discover and create new things such as laws, rules, and standards. New
laws or standards are created or old laws get amended. Things like this affect the
accounting profession because this is what they base their practice on. Hence, the
need for CPD.
AGUANTA, Princess Nicole Allyson
IA – 331
AAPrinciples – Internal Auditing
For example, TRAIN Law and CREATE Law. Accountants who got certified
years ago before these laws became laws, but still practice to this day, need to
know these laws in order to apply them to practice because it is required.

6. What are the methods to obtain Continuing Professional Development Units?

 As I have mentioned above, CPD includes seminars, workshops,

conventions, and taking up a higher degree level. These are some ways
to obtain the required 120 credit units within 3 years with a minimum of 15
units earned in each year. Other ways to obtain CPD units are:
authorships (publishing a journal or book), being a resource speaker or
peer reviewer, or being a CPE provider.

References

Areas of Accounting Practice - Accountingverse. (n.d.). Accountingverse. Retrieved

August 10, 2021, from https://www.accountingverse.com/accounting-

basics/areas-of-accounting-practice.html