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US government study finds racial bias in facial recognition tools

MANY facial recognition systems misidentify people of color more often than white people, according to a US government study released on Thursday that is likely to increase skepticism of technology widely used by law enforcement agencies.

The study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that, when conducting a particular type of database search known as “one-to-one” matching, many facial recognition algorithms falsely identified African-American and Asian faces 10 to 100 times more than Caucasian faces.

The study also found that African-American females are more likely to be misidentified in “one-to-many” matching, which can be used for identification of a person of interest in a criminal investigation.

While some companies have played down earlier findings of bias in technology that can guess an individual’s gender, known as “facial analysis,” the NIST study was evidence that face matching struggled across demographics, too.

Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, called the report “a comprehensive rebuttal” of those saying artificial intelligence (AI) bias was no longer an issue. The study comes at a time of growing discontent over the technology in the United States, with critics warning it can lead to unjust harassment or arrests.

For the report, NIST tested 189 algorithms from 99 developers, excluding companies such as Amazon.com Inc. that did not submit one for review. What it tested differs from what companies sell, in that NIST studied algorithms detached from the cloud and proprietary training data.

China’s SenseTime, an AI startup valued at more than $7.5 billion, had “high false match rates for all comparisons” in one of the NIST tests, the report said.

SenseTime’s algorithm produced a false positive more than 10% of the time when looking at photos of Somali men, which, if deployed at an airport, would mean a Somali man could pass a customs check one in every 10 times he used passports of other Somali men.

SenseTime said the report “reflects an isolated case” and that what it submitted had bugs it has addressed. “The results are not reflective of our products, as they undergo thorough testing before entering the market (and) all report a high degree of accuracy,” it said.

Yitu, another AI startup from China, was more accurate and had little racial skew.

Microsoft Corp. had almost 10 times more false positives for women of color than men of color in some instances during a one-to-many test. Its algorithm showed little discrepancy in a one-to-many test with photos just of black and white males.

Microsoft said it was reviewing the report and did not have a comment on Friday morning.

Congressman Bennie Thompson, chairman of the US House Committee on Homeland Security, said the findings of bias were worse than feared, at a time when customs officials are adding facial recognition to travel checkpoints.

“The administration must reassess its plans for facial recognition technology in light of these shocking results,” he said. — Reuters

How PSEi member stocks performed — December 23, 2019

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, December 23, 2019.

 

Which basic goods and services do consumers expect to spend more/less in the first quarter of 2020?

Which basic goods and services do consumers expect to spend more/less in the first quarter of 2020?

Stocks seen climbing further on window dressing

LOCAL SHARES are seen to sustain their upward momentum on Thursday backed by the continued recovery of water stocks, window dressing, and expectations of a better year ahead.

“Market may continue its upward momentum as water concessionaires continue to recover and on window dressing,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message

He set support and resistance levels at 7,745 and 7,900, respectively.

“We still see an upward bias for the local market tomorrow. The rally could be extended as investors continue to take positions in anticipation of a better year ahead for the market. Local fundamentals, though challenged are still sound,” Japhet Louis O. Tantiango, research associate at Philstocks Financial Inc. said in a text message on Wednesday, noting favorable policies like low interest rates and the expected on time signing of the 2020 budget.

“Global circumstances are also expected to be supportive with the US-China phase one deal about to be signed,” he added.

On Monday, the 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index continued its recovery to end at 7,872.60, up 99.48 points or 1.28%, while the broader all shares index climbed 46.50 points or 1.01% to end 4,645.33.

Some 478.95 million issues valued at P8.30 billion switched hands on Monday, down from previous session’s P13.15 billion.

Net outflows for Monday’s session was at P1.22 billion, down from previous session’s P1.27 billion.

Water stocks continued to move upwards on Monday. Manila Water Co., Inc., rose 15.19% to end P8.57 each; Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which owns more than half of Maynilad Water Services Inc., gained 4.91% to close P3.42 each, and DMCI Holdings, Inc. increased 0.31% to close P6.40 apiece.

This was fuelled by optimism on water companies as shareholders expect favorable developments regarding the government’s decision on their contracts, which is scheduled for January 2020.

Earlier this month, President Rodrigo R. Duterte warned water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad that he would scrap their contracts, since their concession deals disadvantaged the government. He also warned that all of those responsible with the deals will be charged with economic sabotage.

On Dec. 16, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said that the Department of Justice is not considering replacing the two companies as water providers, but is renegotiating their contracts. There is still no definite date as to when the companies and the government will meet to discuss the contracts, but this will likely happen early next month.

Fitch Solutions Macro Research said the government’s move to revoke the extension of its agreement with the two water concessionaires reflects “high regulatory risk” faced by the private sector in coming up with deals with the Philippines. This also shows “deficiencies in the due diligence and contracting processes in the past and present.” — V.M.P. Galang

Peso likely to rise on holiday spending

THE PESO may climb on remittances and development in the US-China talks.

THE PESO will likely strengthen further on the back of remittances for holiday spending and as US President Donald J. Trump said they are close to signing the phase one of Washington’s trade deal with Beijing.

The local unit closed at P50.83 against the greenback on Dec. 23, shedding 1.5 centavos from Friday’s finish of P50.815 a dollar, according to data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort attributed the peso’s movement last Monday to new leads regarding the trade deal between the world’s two biggest economies.

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said profit taking before the Christmas break may have dominated the market.

For today, RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort said a major factor for a stronger peso would be the inflows of foreign currencies converted and accumulated for spending on Christmas and New Year.

“Any window-dressing activities as the account yearend draws closer would have a positive impact on the local financial markets, including the peso,” he added.

For his part, UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion said the market will keep an eye out for developments related to the phase one deal of US and China.

“The details of the phase one of the US-China trade deal has been trickling out and provides many insights into the future of trade between the two biggest economies. Market has been positive and upbeat about these,” he said.

Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have a ceremony to sign the first phase of their trade deal agreed to this month, Reuters reported.

“We will ultimately, yes, when we get together. And we’ll be having a quicker signing because we want to get it done. The deal is done, it’s just being translated right now,” Mr. Trump said.

For today, RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort sees the peso moving within the P50.60-50.90 range, while UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion expects the exchange rate to settle within the P50.50-50.80 band. — LWTN with Reuters

Foreign work permits exceed 100,000 in 2019, led by POGOs

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said the number of foreign work permits it issued this year is nearly five times the 2018 total, with the influx of workers for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) accounting for much of the growth.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said in his year-end speech that more than 100,000 Alien Employment Permits (AEPs) were issued in 2019, against 21,320 a year earlier.

“We have also issued 111,583 Alien Employment Permits to foreign nationals working in the Philippines. Of this figure, 75.07% or 83,764 AEPs were issued to POGO-related establishments nationwide,” he said.

Acting Labor Assistant Secretary and Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Director Dominique R. Tutay said that most of these workers in the POGO industry are foreign based on data from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR).

“As of data from Dec. 10, there were about 118,239 workers in POGO-related establishments and 82% or 97,283 were foreign workers while the remaining 17.7% or 20,956 are Filipino workers,” she said.

DoLE said the growth was also due to improved enforcement of permit rules on foreign nationals seeking employment. In May, it released Joint Guidelines No. 01 or the “Rules and Procedures Governing Foreign Nationals Intending to Work in the Philippines” in partnership with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Department of Justice (DoJ), and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Senator Joel J. Villanueva announced that he is planning to investigate the industry, alleging that POGOs attract illegal foreign workers and serve as fronts for other activities. Last week, 342 illegal Chinese aliens were arrested in Quezon City while working at a POGO that did not have an operating license and were suspected of committing cybercrimes. — Gillian M. Cortez

Service sector gains 4 million jobs between 2012 and 2018

SERVICE SECTOR jobs increased by more than four million between 2012 and 2018, led by professional scientific and administrative support workers, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said.

According to its Regional Analysis of the Philippine Services Sector report released this month, PIDS said over the period, employment grew 69.12% in administrative and support service activities and 45.38% in professional scientific and technical activities.

In total, services employment grew by 21.42%, accounting for more than half of total employment and 60% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Growth was lowest in accommodation and food services, arts entertainment and recreation, and education.

“Industry-specific factors in education services were quite strong that the dynamism of the economy failed to offset the industry mix effect. It was the only sector that registered lower total employment during the period,” according to the report.

It said higher employment in services can be attributed to the shift in final demand from goods to services due to higher incomes.

The shift was also influenced by changes in the structure of household expenses through urbanization, more labor participation among women, and changes in demographics.

“The inter-industrial demand of services by manufacturing which is linked to outsourcing processes is another factor. On the supply side, inter-industry productivity differentials between manufacturing and services with the former enjoying higher productivity… has been cited as the reason for increased employment in services.”

Among the four million added jobs, more than a million were in Region IVA. This was followed by 716,378 jobs in the National Capital Region and 435,587 in Region III.

Region IVA, or CALABARZON, has the largest population with almost 15 million people. Only this region reported expansion across all services subsectors. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Energy dep’t to require more firm contracts for reserve power

THE Department of Energy (DoE) has issued a circular that will require half of the supply contracted as reserve power to be on a “firm” basis in which the grid operator has a binding agreement to source its requirement from a power generation plant.

“Signed na ang AS (ancillary services) policy. Ipa-publish na lang namin (The ancillary services policy has been signed. We will shortly publish it),” DoE Assistant Secretary Redentor E. Delola said.

“We’ll probably publish it in the next couple of weeks,” he told reporters.

Ancillary services, which generally refer to power reserves, are necessary to support the transmission of power capacity and energy from generation sources to consumption loads. These reserves maintain the reliable operation of the transmission system in line with good utility practice and the Philippine Grid Code.

The DoE posted in the first quarter the draft rules setting forth the process of procuring ancillary services, which is the task of system operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

“We also put contracting caps for the reserves. Inaayos lang natin ‘yung definition, kung ilang megawatts per type of reserve, ilang percent of that should be (on a) firm contract of NGCP,” Mr. Delola said. “Sa draft na nilagay natin, 50% of each reserve requirement should be with firm contract.”

(We also placed contracting caps for the reserves. We’re just finalizing the definition on how much megawatts per type of reserve and how many percent should be on a firm contract of NGCP. Under the draft, 50% of each reserve requirement should be with firm contract.)

With the new rules, all reserve energy categories — primary, secondary and tertiary reserves — are to be procured through contracts provided that a competitive selection process is undertaken for this purpose.

Reactive power support and black start ancillary services are to be procured only through contracts. Black start is the process of restoring a power system to recover from shutdown.

Mr. Delola said at present, many of NGCP’s power reserve contracts are on a non-firm basis, which may not be available when the system operator needs it.

“When you need it, because it’s non-firm, puwede n’ya sabihin na wala ako (the supplier can say that it’s not available),” he said.

Mr. Delola said the circular will also launch the reserves market where power generation companies can trade their output.

Once the reserve market starts operating, the procurement of ancillary services is to be done through contracts or through the market. All reserve categories are subject to the central scheduling and dispatch of the market operator.

“The new market management system is capable of handling the reserve market,” Mr. Delola said, referring to the information technology infrastructure that allows for the trading of electricity in the wholesale electricity spot market. — Victor V. Saulon

DoE warns of risks of holding onto RE certificates

THE Department of Energy (DoE) has warned holders of renewable energy (RE) certificates not to hold on these tradable instruments once the trading market starts to operate next year as their life is limited only to three years.

“Ang buhay ng isang RE certificate is three years lang. So risk nya ‘yun kung mag-ipon siya ng marami at ‘di niya ma-dispose kasi mawawalan ng value siya after three years (RE certificates are only good for three years. It’s a risk to accumulate them because disposing of them is not certain),” said Mylene C. Capongcol, director of the DoE’s Renewable Energy Management Bureau, in an interview as the agency prepares for the commercial operation of the Philippine Renewable Energy Market System (PREMS).

Ms. Capongcol issued the warning as she called on the mandated participants in the RE market to sign up with the registry, which will be supervised by the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC).

“Next year is the full determination of the criteria for the commercial operation of REM (renewable energy market). So (that includes) testing (and) registration of the members,” she said.

By January 2020, the RE registrar is expected to be able to use the PREMS as a tool to ensure that industry participants comply with the requirements of the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and other policy mechanisms provided for by Republic Act No. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

RPS requires distribution utilities, including electric cooperatives and retail electricity suppliers, to source or produce a fraction of their electricity requirements from eligible RE resources.

The mechanism is meant to develop indigenous and environmentally friendly energy sources. It sets a minimum annual incremental requirement for the RPS participants, who can opt to buy RE certificates from the market as compliance to the law.

The RE registrar tracks the compliance of about 130 on-grid utilities out of the country’s 151 entities, Ms. Capongcol said. The PREMS, the online platform, will facilitate market competitiveness, efficiency and transparency in the trading of RE certificates.

Alberto R. Dalusung III, who served as a consultant for biomass projects and a member of Biomass Renewable Energy Alliance, Inc. (BREA), described the certificates as the “environmental attributes” of renewable energy generation.

“Every time you generate 1 megawatt-hour equivalent, (you have) one certificate,” he said. “(There are) mandated parties that will have to have the certificates to back up their own consumption of energy.”

The RE market gives biomass power plant developers another outlet to generate revenue aside from selling their output to the electricity market. The price of the RE certificate will be determined by the market as buyers and sellers negotiate.

“(There’s) another market for the certificates. It’s another market separate from the market for the power. This is the market for the environmental attributes of the power,” he said. “It’s a way for recognizing that renewable energy helps the environment.”

Joseph S. Yu, president and chief executive officer of SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP), said the company is awaiting the mechanics of the RE market.

“I think there is value in REMS (renewable energy market system) because we think there is a lot of value with the RPS, renewable portfolio standard. But for RPS to really take off, REMS must be done right and people must be comfortable and confident that those certificates can be traded easily and transparently. If we can get that piece right then RPS can take off and help us realize the promise of renewable energy,” he said.

SNAP is a joint venture of Norway’s SN Power AS and listed energy company Aboitiz Power Corp. It generates power mostly through hydroelectric plants. It also has a retail electricity supply business. — Victor V. Saulon

Trade Secretary Lopez studying Recto tax bill

TRADE SECRETARY Ramon M. Lopez is studying an exporter-supported bill proposing to immediately reduce corporate income tax from 30%.

The Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) said in a statement that it supports Senate Bill No. 595 filed by Senator Ralph G. Recto. The bill applies segmented tax rates according to companies’ taxable income.

Companies with taxable income of P400,000 or less will be taxed 5% under the proposed bill. Companies that make over P8 million are taxed 25% of the excess over P400,000.

Mr. Lopez told reporters Friday that the proposed system might discourage higher income activities.

“Offhand, parang it might discourage mga new activities, the yearning (for) more. Importante naman kasi, if you apply the same corporate income tax rate on the (high) income, malaki ‘yung absolute value na rin — they pay more at the current system, (Offhand, it might discourage new activities, the yearning for more. That’s a significant point because if you apply the same corporate income tax rate on high earners, the absolute value will be big — they pay more under the current system),” he said.

However, he sees the positives of immediately applying higher taxes on high-income companies if the move is linked to the bill reducing corporate income tax and rationalizing incentives.

The proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA) would reduce corporate income tax to 20% from 30% over 10 years.

Mr. Lopez noted that the immediate shift in taxation would improve government revenue.

“Kaysa matagal bumaba ‘yung 30 to 20 (percent corporate income tax in CITIRA). So in that context, I really have to study pa. Kasi kung ganun, it makes sense, kung gusto siguro makasingil agad sa high income, hindi magkakaroon ng revenue loss yung DoF (Department of Finance). (The 30 to 20% reduction takes a long time. So in that context, I really have to study this further. Because it makes sense — DoF will forego less revenue if it can charge high-income companies immediately),” Mr. Lopez said.

Philexport said that the immediate reduction of corporate income tax would put the country at par with other Southeast Asian countries, adding that the bill would also help small businesses.

“(This) will help MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) enjoy even lower tax rates than the proposed 20% CIT,” Philexport President Sergio Ortiz-Luis said.

The average corporate income tax rate in Southeast Asia is 22.4%, Philexport said.

Mr. Lopez said that he will study the bill further before arriving at a final position. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Senate panel approves bamboo industry dev’t bill

THE Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship has approved a bill institutionalizing the development of the Bamboo industry, a measure backed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Senate Bill No. 1240, or the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Act, firms up the legal standing of the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC) and include in its membership one representative each from bamboo farmers, manufacturers and processor associations.

Currently, the PBIDC is operating under Executive Order 879 s. 2010, issued during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The DTI supported the proposal, noting in its Sept. 2019 position paper that the bill is “in line with DTI’s thrust to revive the manufacturing sector.”

The Council is primarily tasked to create the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Road Map, which the National Economic and Development Authority should harmonize all existing programs aimed at improving the Bamboo Industry.

The NEDA noted that at present there are on-going programs implemented by the DTI, Department of Science and Technology-Forest Products Research and Development Institute and Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau.

It proposed in its September 2019 position paper that the harmonized program should consider “i) production and value chain of bamboo products; ii) research and development to address key challenges in the industry; and iii) establishment of enabling mechanisms to promote investments in bamboo industry.”

The measure will also incentivize investors in nursery and plantations, classifying such as a “pioneer” industry under the Bureau of Investments’ (BoI) Investment Priorities Plan for five years.

The bill also proposed to grant a ten-year exemption of nursery and plantation owners from payment of government share for use of public land; and exemption from other fees, such as forest charges and import duties for imported machines and equipment, among others.

The bill will appropriate P100 million annually for the Bamboo Industry Development Center, which will serve as the Council’s secretariat. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Wrapping up the year right

December is indeed the most festive period of the year. For most, it is an opportunity to take a much-needed break from work and spend some quality time with loved ones to celebrate Christmas and New Year. However, for us accountants, this marks the start of the busy season as yearend approaches. And so, before taxpayers all go on hiatus this holiday season, here are a few important reminders to ponder in areas of tax and payroll compliance.

TAX COMPLIANCE
An annual Registration Fee must be paid by all businesses, including self-employed professionals, using BIR Form 0605 on or before Jan. 31.

Following RMC 82-2008, taxpayers who are maintaining manual books of account must register new books when the pages of the previously registered books have all been exhausted. In the case of computerized books of account, the deadline for registration and submission in CD-R or DVD-R format and other required documents for calendar year 2019, shall be Jan. 30. For loose-leaf bound books of account, the deadline is 15 days after the end of the calendar year, as stated in RMC 13-82.

The filing of the Annual Information Return of Income Payments Subjected to Final Withholding Tax (BIR Form 1604-F) and the corresponding Alphabetical List of Employees/Payees from Whom Taxes Were Withheld must be done on or before Feb. 28. The deadline was extended by the BIR from Jan. 31 to give way to the enhanced version of the module. Beginning calendar year 2019, the BIR requires filing of this tax return separate from the Annual Information Return for Income Taxes Withheld on Compensation (BIR Form 1604-C).

As for the Annual Information Return of Creditable Income Taxes Withheld (Expanded)/Income Payments Exempt from Withholding Tax (BIR Form 1604-E), together with the Alphabetical List of Payees from Whom Taxes Were Withheld, the deadline for filing is on or before March 1.

The filing of withholding tax returns (BIR Form 1601-EQ for creditable withholding tax, Form 1602Q for final tax on interest on bank deposits, Form 1603Q for final tax withheld on fringe benefits, and 1601-FQ for all other final withholding taxes) and the remittance of taxes withheld at source must be done not later than the last day of the month following the close of the quarter during which the taxes were withheld. As such, for the quarter ending Dec. 31, the returns must be filed, and taxes withheld must be remitted on or before Jan. 31. The filing must be accompanied by the Quarterly Alphabetical List of Payees (QAP), reflecting the name of income payees, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), the income paid segregated per month with the total for the quarter (all income payments prescribed as subject to withholding tax under the regulations, whether actually subjected to withholding tax or not subjected due to exemption), and the total amount of taxes withheld, if any.

Effective Jan. 1, per RMC 136-2019, taxpayers who are classified as Top Withholding Agents (TWAs) under RR 7-2019 are to continue or commence deducting the 1% or 2% Creditable Withholding Tax (CWT) on their purchase of goods and services. Taxpayers who are eliminated from the updated list of TWAs will cease to deduct and remit the 1% or 2% CWT from their regular suppliers. Relative to this, the BIR also issued RMC 122-2019, stating that the submission of the Semestral List of Regular Suppliers (SRS) is no longer required.

PAYROLL COMPLIANCE
Under Sec. 2.79.6 of the Consolidated Withholding Tax Regulations, employers are required to compute for income tax on the annualized gross compensation income or the sum of the taxable regular and supplementary compensation paid to each employee for the entire year. The payroll process called annualization takes place on or before the end of the calendar year, and before the payment of the compensation for the last payroll period. Any excess withholding tax shall be refunded to the affected employees on or before Jan. 25 of the succeeding year. Failure to refund makes the employer liable to a penalty equal to the amount which was not refunded to the employee.

The employers, through the Certificate of Compensation Payment/Tax Withheld (BIR Form 2316) submitted by their newly hired employees, are required to consolidate the income from the previous employment with the current earnings to accurately determine the tax due on the employee.

The issuance of BIR Form 2316 to all active employees, whether qualified for substituted filing or not, should be done on or before Jan. 31. In the case of terminated employees, the form must be issued by the employer not later than the payment of the employee’s final pay. It should be noted that the BIR issued a revised BIR Form 2316 following the amendments under the TRAIN Law deleting the requirement to disclose qualified dependents and tax exemption status. The new form also allows the use of any valid identification (ID) of the employee instead of the Community Tax Certificate (CTC) under the conforme section.

Similar to BIR Form 1604-F, the BIR also extended the submission of the Annual Information Return of Income Taxes Withheld on Compensation (BIR Form 1604-C) and the Alphabetical List of Employees under RMC 124-2019. From Jan. 31, which previously coincided with the release of BIR Form 2316 to all active employees, the deadline has been moved to Feb. 28, for the taxable year 2019. Concerning the new Alphabetical List of Employees, the BIR has simplified the format into two schedules, which are “Alphalist of Employees” (Schedule 1) and “Alphalist of Minimum Wage Earners” (Schedule 2). The new format requires classification of the employee’s status as (1) Regular; (2) Casual; (3) Contractual/Project-Based; (4) Seasonal; (5) Probationary; or (6) Apprentices/Learners.

As to the filing and payment of the taxes withheld for December through BIR Form 1601-C, payment must be made on or before Jan. 15 for manual filers. For those using eFPS, electronic filing will be done based on the taxpayer’s industry classification following the schedule outlined in RR No. 26-2002. The remittance must be made on or before Jan. 20.

The BIR requires submission of the signed duplicate original copies of BIR Form 2316 for those employees covered by substituted filing on or before Feb. 28, with accompanying Certified List of Employees Qualified for Substituted Filing of Income Tax Return (ITR), reflecting the amount of income payment, tax due and tax withheld.

It is important to note that the list of year-end tax and payroll compliance requirements discussed above is not comprehensive. Other reportorial requirements include Submission of Annual Income Tax Returns, and Audited Financial Statements to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Securities and Exchange Commission, among others.

And while most of us have already made vacation plans, we accountants need to plan in time for us to wrap up the year and end it right.

The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Isla Lipana & Co. The content is for general information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for specific advice.

 

Marvin L. Madrigalejo is a Senior Manager with the Client Accounting Services group of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of the PwC network.

+63 (2) 8845-2728

marvin.l.madrigalejo@pwc.com

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