Chamber taps PICPA for members’ tax needs

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is partnering with the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) to help the former's member companies with their tax compliance needs.

CCCI president Virgilio Espeleta said the chamber and PICPA will launch a series of tax compliance cliniquing sessions during the Entrepreneurs' Summit on June 12-14, among the main events of the Cebu Business Month.

PICPA will conduct free counseling during its action session at the summit on June 14.

The partnership, the official said, is aimed at helping companies in their tax-related problems.

According to Espeleta, one particular vulnerable point of business compliance in the Philippines is taxation. 

"With an increasingly complex tax rules and more rigorous and coordinated enforcement by tax authorities, tax management continues to be a challenge among businesses," the CCCI president said.

Espeleta also added that government regulation is a mandatory function every organization needs to comply. 

"As business organizations, we need to adhere to certain laws, regulations, guidelines and specifications covering everything from human resources to financial practices, relevant to our industry. Failure to do so could lead to legal penalties which include enormous monetary fines," he noted.

The first round cliniquing session is an alignment and mindsetting among business owners followed by a diagnostic assessment conducted by PICPA’s members, who are certified public accountants (CPA).

"Weekly thereafter, modular handholding coaching shall be conducted for your CFO (chief financial officer) or accounting staff in our chamber office," he said, noting these modular sessions will start in next month.

"At its coaching stage, this service will cost you nominal amount to cover admin costs while you may later engage specific accounting firms for your compliance program subject to their standard fees," he told companies.

He urged businesses that coming up with a comprehensive tax compliance management program for their organizations can reduce risk, increase efficiency, facilitate better strategic alignment and enhance their brand.

He further called on chamber members to review their current tax systems and procedures to ensure they are fully compliant through joining PICPA's sessions.