The Philippines' national motto is "For the Love of God, People, Nature, and Country" but perhaps it should be "try, try, again." It works on a national level as politicians keep messing up the country so a new batch is elected in. More fundamentally it works at a personal level as Filipinos do not give up.
Meet the latest Filipino success, Ryan San Diego Tiazon. After 20 years and 6 tries he finally passed the Certified Public Accountant exam.
“Walang forever” was his motto. And he held onto it until he finally passed the Philippine Professional Regulation Commission’s (PRC) board exam for accountants. Did not matter if it took six attempts in 20 years.
“I just believed in myself. I am not an intelligent person, but due to perseverance and determination, I managed to pass the difficult exam. I made no excuses in doing the review. I studied six to eight hours a day, sometimes till 1 a.m., despite the difficulty and pressure at work. In the end, the results were very rewarding. And I am so proud of myself because I have finally fulfilled my dream to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA),” 43-year-old Ryan San Diego Tizon of Olongapo City told GMA News Online.
Tizon obtained his accountancy degree at Columban College – Olongapo City in 2001.
“I was confident that completion of the course was quite enough. Then, I realized I am not an accomplished accountant if I could not pass the CPA licensure exam,” he said.
Tizon, who worked as night auditor at a hotel in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, first took PRC’s Special Professional Licensure Examination (SPLE) in 2004 but failed. He tried again in 2005 but the result was the same. His third attempt, which was in 2006, was likewise a failure.
Tizon tried again for the fourth time in 2019 but likewise did not make it despite having enrolled himself at a review center. Tizon said he “felt truly prepared” for the exam that year after “working hard to understand all details” and even topping the pre-board test which, he said, was unexpected.
“Most who have failed, gave up and not stand (again) to face another challenge. But for me, the more I failed, the more I challenged myself to pass the CPA exam. In this situation, I can say, ‘walang forever, i-embrace mo ang failure mo’ (Nothing is forever, embrace your failure’). Use your failures as self-motivation to do more. Work hard, study hard and pray even harder. That, to me, is the secret of success,” Tizon said.
He kept pushing on, being even more prepared “to battle for the exam” in 2020. But unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, resulting in SPLE’s suspension until 2023.
During this period, Tizon, on advice of the review center, took the US Certified Management Accountant (US-CMA) exam as an alternative option on Oct. 18, 2020. He made it in one hit.
“Thank God,” he said, “I’ve obtained my first-ever title.”
But he still got his sights trained on the PRC board exam, and in 2023 was at it again.
“I continued my self-review and was hoping that it will resume (soon). I kept going to maintain the momentum from what I have learned during my review,” said Tizon.
He, unfortunately, was disqualified in his 2023 attempt for failure to meet a PRC requirement.
Quitting is not in Tizon’s blood, apparently. And so, with grit and persistence, he made sure he has covered “anything I had missed in my previous trials,” and made yet again another bid to pass the PRC exam, which was held in three days from June 16 to 18 this year.
It worked!
“Prayers, hard work, and determination manifested a good result. I finally passed the CPA licensure examination. While it’s been 20 years since I started my journey, I am now a graciously dignified CPA and US-CMA,” he said.
Tizon arrived in Dubai on Aug. 2, 2010. He has been working as an accountant in the city through the years.
He said he will be looking for better opportunities, adding that finally passing the CPA board after two decades of tenacity is now slowly sinking in on him.
It is interesting that Ryan has been working as an accountant for the past 14 years in Dubai but he says he "realized I am not an accomplished accountant if I could not pass the CPA licensure exam." Yet, his firm hired him anyway. Do they think he is not accomplished or is in anyway unqualified for the job?
It is certainly commendable he passed after six tries even if it took 20 years. However, is that really an accomplishment? For him it sure is but if a client knew his CPA took that long to pass the certification test would he cheer or go find someone else?
It is also interesting that Ryan places so much emphasis on prayer. No doubt prayer is important but are we to believe he passed on the sixth try due to divine intervention? Are we to believe anyone passes these tests because of divine intervention and not because they studied hard and are familiar with the material?
This year Ryan was one of 56 CPA test takers in Dubai. Only four of them passed.
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 4 out of 56 passed in the Special Professional Licensure Examination for Certified Public Accountants given by the Board of Accountancy in: Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Al-Khobar, Jeddah and Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Doha, Qatar; and Manama, Bahrain last June 2024.
That is an astounding pass rate of only 7.1%. The results in the Philippines are only slightly better.
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 3,155 out of 10,421 passed the Licensure Examination for Certified Public Accountants given by the Board of Accountancy in N. C. R., Baguio, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Koronadal, Legazpi,Lucena, Pagadian, Pampanga, Rosales, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, Zamboanga and Puerto Princesa, Palawan this May 2024.
Only 30% of all CPA test takers in the Philippines passed. How many of the Dubai and Philippines test takers were repeaters? I have taken a look at teachers before and the majority of test takers for the teacher certification exam are repeaters.
It is further announced that of the 8,737 elementary teacher passers, 2,678 are first timers and 6,059 are repeaters. For the secondary teachers, 4,652 passers are first timers and 7,422 are repeaters.
https://www.prc.gov.ph/article/january-2022-results-licensure-examination-teachers-released-thirty-30-working-days/5508
All the best to Ryan and every other test taker who finally passed the certification exam after multiple attempts. But the hard fact is it appears too many people are taking certification exams as repeaters. What does this mean for the Philippines? If so many professionals are only professionals after multiple tries, how is that a good thing? Does allowing test takers to repeat as many times as they can until they pass create a culture of incompetence? It is a subject for a more in-depth article but that is way out of my league. One would have to analyze all the certification exams given over the years as well as the quality of professionals in the workplace and the quality of work done by those professionals. That is a lot of information to which I do not have access.
