CHAIRMAN ACTS AS MODERATOR IN REGIONAL FORUM

Romeo C. Alba, Chairman and Managing Partner of BDO Alba Romeo & Co., was one of the moderators in the recently concluded “Forum on the Impact of IFRS: A Regional Perspective” which was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Intercontinental Manila in Makati City.

Alba acted as moderator/facilitator of the session on ‘Accounting for Small and Medium-sized Entities’ with highlights on the International Accounting Standards Board Exposure Draft and Malaysian experience. Dr. Nordin Zain, Executive Director and founding member of the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB), was the session resource speaker.

The 1-day regional forum attended by some 200 regional and local participants was hosted by the Philippines’ Financial Reporting Standards Council (FRSC) where Alba seats as a Council Member. Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Warren Mc Gregor, Liaison Member of IASB, Mohammad Jusuf Wibisina, Chairman of the Indonesia Accounting Standards Board, Carlos R. Alindada, Chairman of FRSC, Manuel M. Pascual, President of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) , and David L. Balangue, Chairman of the PICPA Foundation, Inc., were some of the accounting luminaries in the said event which was also timed with the meeting of the International Accounting Standards Board and Regional Standards Setters.

These accounting forums were especially significant, particularly since the Philippines had undertaken in 2005 the successful transition towards full compliance with international financial reporting standards, one of the first to experience convergence in the Asian region.