Philippine Asian News Today Vol 19 No 24 | Page 20

20 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY December 16 - 31, 2017 PICPA – Vancouver – 15th Year Anniversary Celebrations December 10, 2017 – The Vancouver Chapter of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) celebrated their 15th Year Anniversary on December 10, 2017. The Gala Event, held at Riverside Banquet Halls in Richmond, BC was attended by founding members, members, their families and friends. It was also an opportunity for the accounting organization to express its appreciation to the community for their full support for all 15 years. The Vancouver Chapter was founded by the Group of Six Filipino CPAs – Marissa Velarde, Elizabeth Dee, Gloria Fidel, Shirley MacNutt, Elsie Edillor and Irene Dupaya. 15 additional CPAs eventually joined and signed the charter giving the organization its Vancouver Chapter status. The organization have a membership of nearly 300 and the organization is recognized by CPABC as an extension of PICPA-Manila. The Vancouver Chapter had assisted members in obtaining their accounting designations in Canada. The organization also successfully appealed some cases of candidates to the Canadian governing bodies. The Vancouver Chapter is authorized to issue Certificate of Good Standing for active members pursuing their Canadian designation. Currently, 30 members successfully obtained their designation through the organization. Professional Development Trainings are also being conducted quarterly by the organization which are also credited to CPABC reporting requirements for Canadian Certified Professional Accountants. The Vancouver Chapter also assisted in forming the group of Filipino CPAs in Calgary. It is also active in the fund-raising campaign for donations for the Filipinos affected by natural calamities in the Philippines. The organization had also members as volunteers assisting in the preparation of Personal Income Tax Returns for the needy. PICPA Vancouver also hosted the 4th International PICPA Conference held in Vancouver. The Vancouver Chapter will continue to foster the well being of Filipino CPAs by assisting new members in obtaining their Canadian designation, introduce new members for apprenticeship for Canadian accounting work experience, and mentoring program from members working in various industries. The mentoring program goes hand in hand within the Professional Development Program, now in alliance with Acsenda School of Management in Vancouver. With the support from the members and the Filipino community, the Vancouver Chapter will continue to update members in the new announcements and developments of the accounting profession in Canada. The website of Vancouver Canada is currently being updated and expected to be fully operational in the new year. The website will be a resource for all the organization’s activities, newsletter and postings for accounting job opportunities in Canada. (Photos by Christian Cunanan) L to R: Previous year Officers : Marissa Velarde, Pamela Gonzales, Awardees: L to R: Antonio Matias, Romy Cadavido, Nico Dereh, Joy Lagayan Dereh, Pat Tess Balas, Hellen Marasigan, Cris Saguindan, Eugene Malbog, Parungao, Bert Parungao, Ernie Ong, Grace Jaoud, Jun Alianza, Jun Nicdao, Marissa Velarde, Hellen Marasigan, Dan Roxas, Shirley MacNutt ( not in picture) Antonio Matias, Ernie Ong Special Awardees: Antonio Matias, Romel Boromeo, Dennis Kunis, Araceli Fortaleza (representing Rey Fortaleza), Marissa Velarde, Dan Fortaleza Group Roxas, Hellen Marasigan PICPA Past and Present Presidents : Pamela Gonzales, Grace Jaoud, Dan Roxas, Elsie Edillor, Joy Lagayan Dereh, Bert Parungao, Marissa Velarde, Founding President, Antonio Matias Jai Ho : Joy Lagayan Dereh, Pamela Gonzales, Glo Fidel Apple Plata entertains the crowd WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM