Proud of its people
PUNONGBAYAN & ARAULLO ( P& A) started in 1988 with only seven people manning the firm. Being a small upstart, the auditing firm’s founders, Benjamin Punongbayan and Jose Araullo, had to make sure that the few people they were taking in were among the best in their respective fields.
“They invested starting day one. But when I say invested, I mean they were investing in getting the right people. They sought the best graduates from the major accounting schools,” P& A Chairperson and CEO Ma. Victoria C. Españo said in an interview with BusinessWorld. “We were really just a small player, but we were able to make a mark in the community.”
Today, the auditing firm has 600 people in its employ and some of the country’s largest companies are a part of its client list. It also became a member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the largest organizations of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms in the world.
Although a new generation of partners is now behind the firm, Ms. Españo still ascribes the success of the group to the foun- dation laid by the firm’s founders and the standards they set for service and ethics.
“They made sure that we have processes and systems that would support these people to be able to do their jobs well,” she said. “That was the driving force. It was a longterm dream. It was not just for them, but they really focused in building the institution.”
Hiring the right people remains paramount for the firm, Ms. Españo shared. However, to remain in step with other major players in the industry, the firm has started to capitalize on the advancements of technology.
“Nowadays, with technology, everything can be placed in the computer and can be accessed as long as there is an Internet connection. To allow our employees to work in the client’s office or somewhere else, we make sure that we have the information technology infrastructure that would enable them to do that. We make sure that they have the resources and the materials that they need.”
Furthermore, advancements in communications technology has also allowed the firm to deliver and become more efficient in responding and catering to its clients’ needs.
In its continued growth, P& A has been able to gain the trust of some of the country’s largest companies. The firm has performed particularly well with local corporations, as it ranks among the top auditing firms that have the most number of Filipino corporations as clients.
“If you look at the top 1000 companies that you have in BusinessWorld’s Top 1000 Corporations, I believe we’re a part of the top 5 in terms of the number of corporations included in the list that we are auditing,” she said.
Asked about the firm’s plans for its future, Ms. Españo shared that it will simply just continue what it has been doing over the past two decades — recruit and develop outstanding accountants.
“Our main resource is our people. The focus has always been and will continue to be our people. So we strive to hire good talents,” she said. “We put a lot of resources in training our people and equipping them with the knowledge and resources they need to perform well and consistently deliver high quality output.”
“Our main resource is our people. The focus has always been and will continue to be our people. So we strive to hire good talents. We put a lot of resources in training and equipping them with the knowledge and resources they need to perform well and consistently deliver high quality output.”