INTHEBLACK August 2024 - Flipbook - Page 36
F E AT U R E
“I am really excited about 2025. This is when we will cross the 2 million jobs
level. That is why it is significant. It took almost 20 years to hit 1 million jobs,
and we are attempting to do the second million in less than six years.”
JACK MADRID, IT AND BUSINESS PROCESS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (IBPAP)
“We thought that the concept of helping
the small accounting firms in this way
would give them some leverage, enable
them to compete with larger firms and
level the playing field,” Parazo says.
“We are strong believers that there should
be the utmost care and a strong relationship
on the ground in Australia, and we see
ourselves as supporting practices to help
them add capability and scale.”
ACCOUNTING EXPERTISE
BPO in the Philippines has evolved
beyond firms taking advantage of English
language skills in call centres and the
lower cost base for data and IT facilities.
DBA’s strategy, for instance, leverages
the skills base of the Philippine accounting
profession – expertise that can help to fill
the skills gap faced by Australian firms due
to the tight job market.
Joel Tan-Torres FCPA, the former
dean of the Virata School of Business
at the University of the Philippines, says
the strong level of undergraduate education
in the Philippines is complemented by
a long tradition of accounting graduates
undertaking the CPA Program.
This puts Filipino accountants in
good stead to work with foreign firms,
particularly those in countries such
as Australia, adds Tan-Torres, who is
now a tax consultant at JL2T Consulting
in Quezon City.
Tan-Torres, who has worked with
the Philippine Government to administer
professional examinations for accountants
and auditors, has high respect for the
competency of locally trained accountants
and their knowledge of international
financial reporting standards.
SIGNS OF GROWTH
The economy of the Philippines is
one of the region’s best performing,
Tan-Torres says. This provides context
for some of the optimistic expectations
for the BPO industry.
The country’s GDP grew by 5.5 per cent
in 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics
Authority, with government forecasts of
up to 7 per cent growth in 2024.
Inflation has been trending downwards,
hovering at 3.7 per cent in June 2024,
but this is up from January’s three-year
low of 2.8 per cent.
PHILIPPINES:
REAL GDP GROWTH RATES AND REVISED GROWTH TARGETS
5.7%
6.1%
7.6%
5.5%
-9.5%
7.0%
7.5%
8.0%
6.0%
6.5%
6.5%
Legend:
Real GDP growth rates
Revised GDP growth targets
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Source: Statista, 23 April 2024, Philippine Statistics Authority, 4 April 2024, and live streamed media briefing with Arsenio M. Balisacan, secretary of the
Philippines National Economic and Development Authority, 3 April 2024.
36 INTHEBLACK August 2024
