PQF WEBINAR THE CPA’s IN PUBLIC PRACTICE PERSPECTIVE

I. About the Organizer and Speaker

The webinar was organized by the PICPA National Office. I recently had the honor of
listening to a talk given by the two speakers, Ms. Lara N. Alvarez and Ms. Lady Grace Vidly L.
Hernandez. Ms. Lara is a business consultant, owner of PN Alva Accounting Firm and the Business
Development Manager of Automate Technologies Private limited. She specializes in digital practice
as well as in taxation and management advisory services. She’s also the director for public practice
of PICPA, Baguio, Benguet, Mountain Province Chapter. Miss Lara as she is known, has secured
the second runner-up spot in the Miss PICPA 2023 during the seventy-eight PICPA annual national
convention in Sorsogon city. She is one of the 16 finalist on the apprentice, one championship edition,
Season one. She’s indeed beauty, brain, and brawn. Doctor Hernandez who’s both doctorate and
master’s degree in business administration from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila.
She is not only a licensed CPA and real state appraiser but also the esteemed proprietor of lianes
accounting services. Furthermore, Doctor Hernandez serves as the chief executive officer of fast
5000 lending corporation and it’s currently the chairperson of the BS Accountancy Program at Rizal
College of Taal. She is an active member of PICPA Batangas Chapter.

II. Summary of the Webinar

a. ASEAN Qualifications reference framework

✓ Common reference framework
✓ Preparation for cross-border practice
✓ Comparison of educational qualifications
b. PQF Framework showcase objective
✓ To develop approaches to validate non-formal education
✓ To support recognition of qualification
✓ To lead into better understanding of qualifications system
✓ To promote learner and worker mobility
✓ To promote higher quality qualifications system
✓ To develop qualifications framework to encourage lifelong learning
c. PQF Explanation
- Describes the levels of educational qualifications
 - Sets the standards for qualification outcomes
- A quality assured national system for the development, recognition and award of
qualifications based on standards of knowledge, skills and values acquired in different
ways and methods by learners and workers of the country,
d. PQF Qualifications
- It refers to the formal certification that a person has successfully achieved specific learning
outcomes relevant to the identified academic, industry or community requirements
- It confers official recognition of value in the labor market and in further education and
training.
e. Challengers and problems in the accounting profession that the PQF may address
• Lack of uniform standards for competency levels
• Limited recognition and global mobility
• Skills Gap and practical experience
• Ambiguity in career advancement pathways
f. Who will benefit
• Learners, workers, and professionals
• Employers and the industry
• Academe
• Government
• All filipinos
g. Relevant Laws
1. RA 9298 PHILIPPINE ACCOUNTANCY ACT OF 2004
2. RA 10968 An act institutionalizing the Philippine qualifications framework (PQF),
Establishing the PQF-National coordinating council (NCC) and appropriating funds
therefor
3. RA 10912 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) ACT OF 2016
h. Career Progression and Specialization program
✓ Level
✓ Outcomes
✓ Domains
✓ Competency Areas
i. Domain of Learnings & Competency areas
1. Technical Competence
- Financial statement audit (CA01)
- Compilation Services (CA02)
- Tax services (CA03)
- Accounting systems (CA04)
- Management Advisory (CA05)
2. Business Acumen
- Business strategies and models (CA06)
- Project Management (CA07)
- Quality improvement (CA08)
- Market and Regulatory Environment (CA09)
3. Leadership and Governance
- Engagement Level (CA10)
- Firm level (CA11)
- Governance principles and intervention (CA12)
4. Social Relations
- Communication (CA13)
- Negotiation and Facilitation (CA14)
- Teamwork (CA15)
- Conflict Resolution (CA16)
- Social Responsibility (CA17)
5. Ethics and Integrity
- Ethics (CA18)
- Integrity (CA19)
6. Information and communication technology
- information and communication technology (CA20)
III. What I have learned from the webinar

Throughout the webinar, I learned about the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework,
which is a framework for understanding educational qualifications in different countries. It is useful
for things like working in different countries and comparing qualifications. And those PQF
qualifications? They're like official certificates that show you've achieved certain learning goals,
which is important for getting jobs or further education. They also talked about how the PQF could
help with problems in the accounting field, like inconsistent standards and limited global mobility.
Overall, lots of people can benefit from this, including learners, workers, employers, and basically all
Filipinos.

In conclusion, the webinar was incredibly informative, and I gained valuable insights from the
speakers. They provide insight on key frameworks such as the ASEAN Qualifications Reference
Framework and the PQF Framework, which are critical for understanding and comparing educational
qualifications. I learned that the PQF Framework showing has multiple purposes. It intended to
discover ways to recognize learning outside of traditional schools, facilitate the recognition of
qualifications from various sources, and clarify how qualifications function. It also aimed to help
people move around more easily for study or work and make sure education and training are really
useful.
IV. E-CERTIFICATE & DOCUMENTATION