REP. NIKO DAZA’s MESSAGE FOR NEW CPAs
This is the challenge to all of us—that our education and personal and professional achievements will become our instruments in making things better for the millions of Filipinos who continue to hope for a better future.
Thank you for allowing me this chance to be with you as you celebrate this very important milestone in your life as professionals, movers, and global citizens. I congratulate all of you not just for passing the board but also for showing, once again, that determination and hard work ultimately lead to success.
You have already accomplished so much and I am confident that you will accomplish more, with God’s guidance and graces. I hope that this day inspires you more, remaining steadfast and hopeful that with the wisdom and legacy of education that you have been blessed with, you will continue achieving your dreams and bringing honor to your loved ones and our country.
It is an exciting time. More than ever, the Filipino finance professionals—including about 200,000 registered Certified Public Accountants [1]—are becoming more in-demand locally and globally. There are reasons to celebrate but also bigger challenges for companies so that our highly-competitive accountants and finance professionals will prefer to work here rather than elsewhere. Of course, there’s nothing wrong in seeking opportunities abroad but it is every family’s dream for every Filipino to have the free choice to stay and work “where the heart is.”
We are at a crossroad—we have just completed another election—and like many of you who are beginning another chapter in this journey called life, I carry hope in my heart, that the next years will bring us opportunities to grow and flourish as individuals while giving back to our communities. This is the challenge to all of us—that our education and personal and professional achievements will become our instruments in making things better for the millions of Filipinos who continue to hope for a better future.
It is also my hope that through your efforts as accountants, managers, and business leaders, our country will reach new heights—and pardon the cliché—churn more numbers and spread sheets that will lead to more investments and partnerships, and ultimately robust and sustained growth.
Once again, thank you so much for sharing this important milestone with me. Congratulations, more power, at mabuhay po kayo!
This is the challenge to all of us—that our education and personal and professional achievements will become our instruments in making things better for the millions of Filipinos who continue to hope for a better future.
___________________
Note: This Special Message was first published in the souvenir program for the Oath-Taking Ceremony for the successful examinees of the licensure examination on Certified Public Accountants (CPA) conducted by the Philippines’ Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on May 2025.
[Images Jakub Żerdzicki & Charles Forerunner at Unsplash]
[1] Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy data (2023).