2014 ANC - 'Twas a Great Convention (Wish you were there)

There and back again

“Moving forward, yet looking back,” aptly describes the 2014 Annual National Convention of the Association of Certified Public Accountants in Commerce and Industry (ACPACI) in collaboration with the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) last September 12 to 14, 2014 at the Baguio Country Club in Baguio City.

It pays to have a good sense of irony. After skipping Baguio City for four years and holding its conferences in key cities and tourist destinations like the City of Vigan, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Cebu City and Naga City, the three-day convention, anchored on the theme #MovingForward, returned again in the City of Pines. Like the hobbits who travelled to Middle Earth-- from The Bree, to Rivendell, to Gondor and Mordor-- but came back to The Shire in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, ACPACI went back to Baguio City- wiser, better and a stronger organization.

Opening Ceremonies

The program’s opening salvo was a lively and colorful cultural presentation of students from the Baguio City National High School for Special Programs in the Arts. This was followed by the Declaration of Opening of the Convention by the 2014 ANC Convention Chair, Mr. Aphat C. Martinez and the messages from ACPACI President, Ms. Ning Santo and PICPA President, Ms. Tita Caluya. Baguio City Mayor, Hon. Mauricio Domogan, graced the occasion to convey his message and to perform the symbolic Transfer of the Key to the City, formally proclaiming the commencement of the well-attended conference.

Reverend Father Elgar Aromin Bautista, CICM of St. Joseph Parish in Irisan, Baguio City delivered the Keynote Address on behalf of Rev. Fr. Jessie Hechanova, President of St. Louis University –Baguio. In his spiritual speech, Rev. Fr. Bautista spoke about “How a CPA Can Become an Image of God?” He said that “spirituality increases morale and promotes productivity,” and “leading is like shepherding, you’ve got to get close to your people and get personal; know their condition not only their work status but also their personal status.” He stressed that “being kind allows you to network and it allows you to get the help and support of your people; do mentoring before expecting accountability.”

Among his pieces of advice about leadership: “to build bridges, not walls; a leader should be approachable, sympathetic, always listening and willing to cooperate; to focus on the good qualities of a person; to listen to learn and to empathize by putting oneself in the others place; keep the fire of enthusiasm burning and work harder, faster and never give up; strive for professionalism.” At the end, he sagely counselled the enraptured crowd that life is more than work; find joy and live your best life every day. Fr. Bautista’s keynote address was more than a speech, it gave a profound feeling of renewal, like having a mini makeover of the soul; it was blissful, transcendent and a high that lingered.

Technical Sessions

The ANC had a jam-packed schedule, right after the opening ceremonies, the technical sessions ensued. Mr. Marcial Morales, CEO of the Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Company of Manila (AG&P), spoke about his steep ascent to success from being AG&P’s accounting executive to becoming its Chief Executive Officer in the first session dubbed as CPA to CEO: A Transformational Career Journey. In his lecture, Mr. Morales discussed his realizations and wisdom such as “struggles are small steps in preparing for much bigger challenges in career and life as a whole,” because life is a journey and rarely a straight path; even a roadblock is a chance to learn and every crossroads helps you decide what you really desire.

Technical session 2 was about IT Trends and Solutions: What We Still Don’t Know. The speaker was Mr. Warren Bituin, SGV Partner. More than bits and bytes, this session tackled significant progress in information technology as well as current, around the corner and the next big thing in the digital and IT world: social media, smart phones and tablets, web-based applications and software applications, digital money, “the internet (or interconnectivity) of things”, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud),etc. Mr. Bituin likewise identified many of the risks and challenges that businesses face in the digital transformation era such as losing its control over customer relationship, increased competition and risk of commoditization, hacking, phishing, privacy issues and fraud among others.

The third and last technical session for that day was Enhancing Financial Management Skills by Mr. Raoul Villegas, Isla Lipana & Co. Director. Mr. Villegas impressed and captured the interest of the participants with his eloquence and guided them with his practical and useful presentation to step-up and boost their financing prowess like choosing a mentor, knowing the business model, being updated, working collaboratively and maintaining a healthy curiosity for learning among others. Indeed, these are sure-fire formulas for the accountants to further harness their financial management skills and reach the top.

Fellowship Night 1

It’s (Throw) Back to the ‘80s

The first ANC fellowship night paid tribute to the 1980s, a decade where big hair, big accessories (door-knocker like earrings-- the size of golf balls) and oversized shoulder pads were ubiquitous. Aerobic socks in delectable lollipop stripes and tight short shorts like Jaworski and Bjorn Borg used to wear were very much in vogue. Facebook, internet, mobile phones were non-existent, instead, there were those ancient analog telephones with rotating plate and numbered holes. One had to wait for the plate to return to its original position before moving on to the next digit. Queen, Madonna, Hall & Oates, and Nazareth were staples on the airwaves. Nazareth’s “Love Hurts” and Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” were regarded as the “theme songs ng bayan” (theme songs of the land). Apple’s iPads and iPods were still just a gleam in the eyes of Steven Jobs; songs were stored in cassette tapes and the cassette players became the people’s favorite music-purveying machine, especially those jeepney drivers and teenagers – imagine the boombox-toting John Cusack in the ‘80s coming-of-age movie, Say Anything.

Baguio Country Club’s (BCC) Forbes Ballroom is an ideal space for the Fellowship Night. The area is sprawling, more than enough to accommodate all the delegates, and it echoes a rustic-cozy vibe and adirondack charm with its ochre timber-panelled walls and ceiling, which complement the canopy of amber glow emitting from the antler chandeliers hanging from the rafters.

When it comes to food, BCC did not disappoint. BCC served up great selection of yummy seafood and meat dishes, fresh and locally foraged fruits and vegetables and delicious desserts with special mention to their melt-in-your-mouth raisin bread which BCC baked themselves. The bread is worth sacrificing your waistline for. Pure gold. The staffs were so attentive and friendly and very eager to please the guests.

Opening the ballroom’s double doors, one was greeted by the ‘80s-centric tableaus: ACPACIANs and guests dressed in their Bagets, Grease, aerobics and Madonna outfits; the tabletops layered with colorful satin linens-- yellow, orange, green and red, representing the different teams (yellow /Sunflower power group; orange /Everlasting love group; green / Christmas/Pine tree team and red/ strawberry jam team) competing in the well-conceived parlor games prepared by the Fellowship Committee that night, care of Ms. Kathie Sobremonte, Fellowship Committee Chair, who also hosted the event along with funny guy, Mr. Benette Consolacion; the tables dressed-up with shallow bamboo vessels filled with flowers as the focal point, and adorned with eye-catching accents like table cards etched with “I Love ‘80s” and pictures of that era’s icons- humans and otherwise- such as Boy George, Mr. T and Voltes V. The table setting delivered in the cute department, playful – a work of art. Hat’s off to ANC Chair, Mr. Aphat Martinez, the Sports & Fellowship Committee team and his Red Chef team.

Friendly competition ensued after dinner. The four teams faced off each other in a plethora of brain-twisting and challenging but equally entertaining games like: Name that Line, Name that Tune, Jeopardy, etc. In the Name that Line game, they were asked to identify from which movie a particular line came from. The Yellow/Sunflower Power team won that round. It was a close fight between Yellow/Sunflower Power team and Orange/Everlasting Love team, but the former bested the latter, though, by mere two or three points. Also, noticeably, the members of each team would do just about anything to score points; their “gumption” and high level of energy were almost palpable. There was something original about this Fellowship Night: real community. The night was drenched with a lot of “all together now” moments, which made the gathering a truly memorable one.

DAY 2

Sweat it all out!

Day two started with Zumba/Yoga exercises at BCC’s Infinity Garden. The garden offers a breathtaking view of the mountain and pine trees that make any outdoor activity picture-perfect. At 6:00 AM, it was time for the delegates to workout and sweat it all out. It was a chance to reboot oneself. ACPACI believes in the spirit-lifting and mood-elevating power of Zumba/Yoga. The high-energy, one-hour routine (jumping, squatting, stretching and arm and legs exercises) prepped the attendees for the day and technical sessions ahead. This was a group effort, the team with the most number of members who attended the session, earned the highest points, and that team was the Yellow/ Sunflower power team.

Technical Sessions

The technical session started off with What’s Hot in Tax?, and it was handled by Mr. Wowie Roguel, Punongbbayan & Araullo Partner and ACPACI Director. He discussed new BIR revenue regulations and pronouncements and covered hot topics in taxation. Thereafter, Mr. Oliver Bucao, RG Manabat & Co.- KPMG Partner, tackled IFRS Matters: The Latest and the Important before the crowd. The IFRS guru presented the different amendments, improvements and interpretation in the Philippine/ International Financial Reporting Standards and how they’d affect the financial statements like the disclosure requirements, revenue recognition, deferral accounts, operating segments, etc. 150127 2014anc 43The last session, a non-technical one, was Understanding and Appreciating Art by Art Educator and gallery owner, Mr. Ben Hur Villanueva. Mr. Villanueva’s talk was a riot and earned a lot of mirth and chuckle from the audience. He had a good sense of humor and was a raconteur. People loved the stories he shared like his “diction” problem which resulted to several trips to the Dean’s Office during his teaching stint at Ateneo de Manila, about joining and winning an art contest honoring Andres Bonifacio, and his anecdote about how he shanghaied his art students—ALL BLIND—to the National Museum to “understand and appreciate art.” He also showcased some of his prized sculptures to the participants who not only underwent sensory art appreciation but also harvested golden nuggets of wisdom from the sculptor like “to think differently, do things differently and be open to all possibilities.”

Fellowship Night 2

Winter Wonderment

Just as in the first Fellowship Night, the attendees, in their winter attire, were wowed by the enchanting transformation of Forbes Ballroom into tundra of whiteness giving ode to Disney’s box office behemoth, Frozen.

Graceful and resplendent as softly swirly flurries, the snowy tablescapes welcomed guests to their own winter wonderland. Ivory feathers and silvery twigs filled the towering mercury glass vases and brought a dash of panache to the Frozen-themed setting. The shimmering faux snowflakes and glittering crystal garlands were charming additions to the tables and chairs draped in milky-colored sheets.

The night kicked off with the opening remarks from ACPACI President, Ms. Ning Santos, afterwards, the battle for supremacy continued among the four groups. Again, fun and creative parlor games were enjoyed by the delegates: the “Emo-Let it go” singing contest, “Do you want to dress a snowman?” and the somewhat R-rated, “Touch my hanging belt.” In the “Emo-Let it go,” the contestants were asked to sing the uber popular “Let it go” karaoke style, with a twist – they’d sing it while crying or laughing or being angry, depending on the kind of “emotion” they randomly picked out. The contestants were game and brazen, and in the spirit of camaraderie, they’d do anything (even embarrassing one like this game) to garner points for their beloved team.

Somewhere in between, there was a “Bring Me” contest handled by Ms. Sobremonte and a Winter Fashion Show by the ACPACI officers-- past and present. Posing as seasoned supermodels from Milan, Paris and London, the officers, donned in winter clothes, strut their stuff in the catwalk like Cara Delevingne and Adriana Lima. During free periods, many of the delegates embarked on a cultural and anthropological (read: shopping) immersion in Baguio City. They visited the City’s top of the list tourist spots and stopped and indulged in a bit of retail therapy at Baguio City’s array of stores and bazaars that offer fabulous finds, pasalubong (presents) and sundry mementoes to bring home in Manila. (Please also read The Glorious Reasons Why I Heart Baguio City in the sidebar.)

‘Twas a Great Convention

The Orange/Everlasting Love team reigned in the second Fellowship Night. They rallied and ruled practically in every game-- almost toppling the Yellow/Sunflower Power team from the top spot. After tabulating the scores, it was a TIE between the Yellow/ Sunflower Power team and Orange/ Everlasting Love team followed by Green/Christmas/Pine Tree team and by Red/Strawberry Jam team. Generous cash prizes and goodies were awarded to the teams in order of ranking. It was an exhilarating night filled with fun and good vibrations. The same as the movie Frozen, the 2014 ANC was a monster success, with a “happy ending” that culminated the conference.

‘Twas a great convention and arguably one of ACPACI’s best ANC by far in terms of attendance, the treasure throve of knowledge and valuable insights gained from the presenters, the fun factor, energy level, audience participation and innovative parlor games and whopping prizes. And in case you’ve missed it, you’d probably wish that you were there.