R.G. Manabat & Co., a member of international auditing giant KPMG, marks its tenth year of providing professional services in the fields of audit, tax and advisory in the Philippines.
From a company of 250 people when it started, KPMG RGM & Co. now has 1,000 dedicated employees housed in its own building—the KPMG Center in Makati City.
The past decade saw the Philippine economy emerge as a vibrant market with thriving industrial and services sectors, the same period when KPMG Manabat & Co. rose to the top of the business advisory sector.
Roberto Manabat, the man at the helm of R. G. Manabat & Co, guided the company through the decade, while facing many challenges. A graduate of the University of the East and Asian Institute of Management, he worked for SGV & Co. and Securities and Exchange Commission, before establishing RGM & Co. in 2007.
As he collects his thoughts from a decade of triumphs and adversities, Manabat underscores the importance of keeping up with the standards of the industry.
“We had to prove to our international partner, KPMG, that our governance processes met the highest standards. This meant adopting new ways of implementing decision-making; ensuring the buy-in of partners, principals and staff; and communicating our philosophies, strategic directions to everyone in the firm,” he says.
Such challenges continue to this year, when the local accounting and auditing sector faces new standards meant to instill transparency in the industry, in the face of global and economic developments.
Auditing firms, according to Manabat, are now required to review audit opinions and financial statements together with issues encountered during the auditing process and how these issues are addressed.
“This is a big step towards transparency. The government is pushing us to stick to the regulatory standards that further professionalize our ranks and prevent us from being embroiled in controversial and embarrassing situations,” he says.
“Not only clients books are subject to audit, we also face audit by the government as ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission,” he says.
High-profile cases such as that of Enron in the US have affected the auditing industry. That led not only to the bankruptcy of Enron but also the dissolution of its auditing firm.
Manabat says cases like these affect the image of the industry in general, the reason why the SEC and the Philippine government are enforcing stricter regulations to increase the transparency of the profession.
Manabat, who has about 40 years of track record in the field of accountancy, started the company 10 years ago with his friend and co-worker Emmanuel Bonoan.
The firm’s next generation of leaders is a team of young and bright partners who have established new service lines.
To continue its growth story, the firm recently announced that 2017 is a transition year, with Sharon Dayoan, the company vice chairman and head of audit, assuming the chairmanship by January 2018, Manabat who will become chairman emeritus. Bonoan is the vice chairman and chief operating officer while Henry Antonio is vice chairman and head of advisory.
Guided by the KPMG values of excellence, trust, and commitment to the firm’s clients and people, they assembled a dynamic team of young leaders to continually motivate the rest of the organization – providing audit and assurance services and advising clients across a diverse range of industries on multifaceted business and tax needs.
The past decade made an interesting journey for the growing band of resilient professionals as they have developed into one cohesive team, each day affirming their commitment to be relevant to the firm’s clients and the Philippine business community.
Manabat has been a prominent advisor to many corporate and government agencies on good governance principles and practices and is a sought-after resource person on matters pertaining to corporate governance, internal audit, financial reporting and risk advisory topics.
He has particular interest in the insurance industry, having been the practice leader for the sector.
His professional career is capped by his assumption of the chairmanship of the KPMG R.G. Manabat & Co., a member firm of KPMG International.
The company has recently released the 2016 consumer market report, accounting the big strides in the consumer durable good category and its contribution to the local economy.
The report cited the significant contribution of automobile and housing markets as two of the biggest contributors to the country’s economy, in general.
Interest rates have been instrumental to the growth of the consumer market due to lower interest rates ranging from 5 to 6 percent that allowed greater flexibility for borrowers to file for loans either for an auto loan or a housing loan.
However, pending regulations and policies, specifically on VAT and excise tax measures, might affect consumer appetite, albeit short-term impact at the onset, according to the study.
The report mentioned two ways that will dampen consumer appetite – first is the slowing of economy due to less remittance from overseas Filipino workers.
The economy has always been shielded from world economic crises because of the fact that OFWs continue to contribute significantly to the domestic economy. The second is a change in the macroeconomic policies of the country that may result in the deterioration in investor confidence.