Streamlining. Due recognition. Better treatment of their profession. Formal organization. These are just few of the quest of the prime movers of the upcoming The Philippine Bookkeepers Congress come July 10 and 11 2008.

This “first” in the country is being organized and planned today as its organizers face just a few more loose strings to tie and few more logistics odds to beat. This year’s theme is dubbed as “Routes Towards Professionalizing the Bookkeeping Industry – Opportunities and Challenges”.

As the first quarter of this year ends, people behind this convention seek to come up with a very distinct opening salvo to the year-long quest to solve some of the misconceptions and fallacies about bookkeeping as a profession.

Hoping to attain a more stable and recognized status as one of the valuable fields of Accounting, Entrepreneurs Accounting Academy, as one of its major organizers, pushes the holding of the said convention that would cater to the news, updates trends and current practices of bookkeeping as one sturdy profession in the business world.

As one of the key players in every field of business establishment, bookkeepers and bookkeeping clerks in the Philippines aspire to be given due acknowledgement from the people who matter to them the most. With the upcoming congress they hope to streamline and fully standardized all the methods, ways, and practices of bookkeeping as an important profession in the business arena just like accounting and auditing.

This is due to the fact that bookkeepers are the very people handling almost all the crucial and important financial transactions and bookkeeping. They are the ones who records transactions, post debits and credits, produce financial statements, prepare reports and summaries for supervisors and managers.

They also handle payroll, make purchase, prepare invoices and keep track of overdue accounts. And these are all on top of the fact that bookkeepers are also the ones in close contact with their companies’ banks since they are they are also the ones who prepare bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying and balancing receipts, and sending cash checks or other forms of payment to the bank, every so now and then.

For most of these bookkeepers, considering the bulk of responsibility left on their shoulders, bookkeeping should then be given due credit and appreciation from the bigwigs of the business world.

With participants coming from all over the country, the very hopeful and positive organizers of this activity aim to create the first ever national organization of bookkeepers for the Philippines.

So their challenge to all bookkeepers in the country: Stand up and rise up to the challenge of being part of the business’ notables!

ePLDT business process outsourcing (BPO) unit SPi yesterday announced it bought American medical billing company, Springfield Service Corp., for $44 million (P2.1 billion).

The purchase will support SPI ‘s expansion of its healthcare platform.

Ray C. Espinosa, ePLDT president said it was the largest acquisition for SPi, proof of the company’s plan to accelerate growth and strengthen its position in the BPO industry.

Springfield Service Corp., is the 10th largest player in the medical billing and revenue cycle management market in the US. It has 383 employees operating in 5 locations. It provides billing and accounts receivable management services for over $1.3 billion of physician charges annually.

SSC is estimated to generate in excess of $30 million in revenues over the next twelve months.

Ernest L. Cu SPi president and CEO said the acquisition of the US medical billing company would allow the company to penetrate in the US healthcare industry.

“We have been tracking companies in the medical billing space for some time with the goal of finding one to acquire whose corporate culture and values match our own. SSC fits the bill. Their annuity-based business nicely complements our existing Healthcare platform and provides an excellent entry point for us into this rapidly growing $25 billion industry.”

Cu went on to say: “The inclusion of SSC’s service offerings in our Healthcare portfolio allows us to further strengthen our relationships with the more than 400 hospitals, multi-specialty clinics and physician practices that we currently serve.”

SPI said the US healthcare industry accounts for 15 percent of US GDP and is the largest segment in the US economy.

In 2003, US healthcare expenditures reached nearly $2.0 trillion. Healthcare costs have continued to rise by 18 percent annually since then.

“The management team of SSC is equally pleased with the business combination,” stated Mike Beninato SSC president.

“Both SPi and SSC share a vision to reduce healthcare costs while improving quality through streamlining business processes, and improving patient care. This acquisition is tremendous news for our customers and employees, who will benefit from the resources available from SPi. We look forward to SSC’s continued growth and profitability in the years ahead.”

In February 2007, SPi disclosed that its setting aside more than P 5 billion for its capital expenditures this year to pursue acquisition and expansion plans.

SPi a BPO provider with offices and facilities across North America, Europe, and Asia with its sister company., Ventus.

SPi has 11,000 employees delivering a wide range of call center and with significant penetration in the legal, publishing and healthcare sectors.

In July 2006, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone co. information and communication technology unit, ePLDT Inc. has acquired the SPi Techologies Inc., for $135.34 million in cash.

In 2006, SPi’s strategic growth and operational expansion included the acquisition of CyMed, Inc. This acquisition enabled SPi to further strengthen its US delivery capability through the addition of 650 medical language specialists. SPi now has the most diversified healthcare delivery platform in the industry in US, Philippines, and India.

Source: Malaya Newspaper

It’s green and going to all bookkeeping professionals in the country for their first-ever gathering, this as the 1st Annual Philippine Bookkeepers Congress pushes through this July 10 and 11 at the Manila Peninsula Hotel, Makati City. This year’s Congress is launched with the theme, “Routes Towards Professionalizing the Bookkeeping Industry – Opportunities and Challenges”.


This two-day activity seeks to forge a strong bond among the many bookkeepers in the country who don’t seem to have a clear cut and standardize grounding of bookkeeping as their career and profession. The said Congress will focus on the development, instruments, opportunities, issues and the major thrust of professionalizing and standardizing the field of bookkeeping in the Philippines.


In an interview, Ms. Sarah Songalia, the 1st Annual Philippine Bookkeepers Congress’ Managing Director, revealed that this activity will prove to be very beneficial to all bookkeepers who wished to streamline and calibrate their present bookkeeping lot for it aims to provide its delegates with an opportunity to update and calibrate their bookkeeping skills and professional know-how so as to better their crafts as part of a growing profession in the country.


The Congress will cater to renowned bookkeeping whiz and experts all over the country who hope to arm the delegates with fundamental and updated bookkeeping industry intelligence and training to meet the demands of a highly competitive marketplace that is in need of properly trained and holistically educated bookkeepers and bookkeeping professionals.


She added that salient issues and topics will be covered and discussed in this affair. The following topics are to be dealt with in this Congress:

8:00AM Philippine National Anthem

8:15AM Invocation

8:30AM Welcome Address: Her Excellency, President GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

9:15AM Inspirational Address: Entrepreneurs Accounting Academy, “The Bookkeeper as an Integral Player to Economic Development”

9:30AM Day 1 – Developing Bookkeepers To Become Partners In Tax Administration

Ms. LILIAN HEFTI
BIR Commissioner

Concurrent Sessions:

10:30AM Common Errors Of Bookkeepers In Taxation

Dr. RUPERT “Pert” SOMERA”

1:30PM Effective Withholding Tax Administration and Monitoring

Ms. ARMI S. LINSANGAN
(Ret.) Chief BIR LTAID 1

3:00PM BREAK

3:30PM BIR Audits: Tools and Strategies

Speaker from KPMG Manabat San Agustin & Co.

7:00PM Welcome Reception Dinner

Keynote Speaker: Sen. MANUEL VILLAR
“Finance and Accounting BPO: The Government’s Response to the Sunshine Industry.”

8:00AM “Complying With New Financial Reporting Standards”

Keynote Speaker: WASHINGTON SYCIP, Founder, SGV & Co.

Concurrent Sessions:

8:45AM “The Financial Statement Presentation: Changes and Implications of the New Philippine Financial Reporting Standards”

Speaker from SGV

10:30AMPFRS: Impact on Tax Reporting

Speaker from Punongbayan and Araullo

1:00PM “Transitional and Implementation Issues On Philippine Financial Reporting Standards Adoption”

Atty. Ma. Gracia Casals-Diaz
Officer-In-Charge
Office of the General Accountant

2:30PM “Towards An Organized Response to the Challenges and Opportunities in the Bookkeeping Profession”

Keynote Speaker: Atty. EUGENE MATEO, BOA Chairman

3:15PM Break Out Sessions

So come one, come all! Be part of The Philippine Bookkeepers Congress’ passionate and profound quest to better the craft of bookkeeping in the Philippines!

For information and inquiries, please contact:


1st Annual Bookkeepers Congress Committee
Tel. Nos. (632) 339 1301 or (632) 338 3857
Auto fax (632) 325 0072)
Email: info@bookkeeperscongress.com
Website: www.BookkeepersCongress.com

Don’t be left out, join the 1st Philippine Bookkeepers Congress!