An alumnus of this university’s College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA), Mr. Lope L. Bato, Jr., became the 67th national president of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA). He is the first IIT graduate to become PICPA national president and only the 8th Mindanaoan to be elected as such.
Mr. Bato, who received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration major in Accounting in 1986, began his term as PICPA national president in July 2020.
As a businessman, Mr. Bato organized two Mindanao-based regional auditing firms: Quilab Cabilin Bato & Co., CPAs (QBC & Co., CPAs) in June 1992, and Lope Laranjo Bato & Co., CPAs (LLB & Co., CPAs) in October 2015.
In 1996, he was the Chapter President of PICPA Cagayan de Oro – Misamis Oriental Chapter and was the youngest to assume the presidency of the said chapter.
In 2009, he served as the national Vice-President (PICPA National) for Public Practice.
He is also the Founding President of the Association of CPAs in Public Practice – Northern Mindanao Chapter.
Noted for his leadership ability and experience in a wide range of senior positions, Mr. Bato received numerous awards. The Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro awarded him the Most Outstanding Director in 2003.
MSU-IIT conferred on him the Outstanding MSU-IIT Alumnus (TOMA) award in the field of Banking and Finance in 2009.
He was recognized as Outstanding PICPA Member in 2006 and Honorary Lifetime Member of PICPA in 2010.
CBAA Dean, Dr. Polaus M. Bari was happy to learn of the news. “I am delighted that a CBAA alumnus now sits as PICPA President. I hope this inspires the younger generation, especially the BS Accountancy students aspiring to be Certified Public Accountants in the future.”
“I expect that this feat will encourage them to work hard since diligence in anything we do will really reap the fruits of success,” Dr. Bari said.
*The writer, Jessa Mae S. Banse, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Accountancy, College of Business Administration and Accountancy. She is currently the chairperson of the said department. She holds a Bachelor’s and a Master of Science degrees in Accountancy. She specializes in financial accounting and reporting.
You can connect with Ms. Banse through linkedin.com.
In partnership with the 28th Mindanao Business Conference, MSU-IIT’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension (OVCRE) organized the opening activity for MinBizCon 2019 through MSU-IIT Technology Fair last September 11, 2019 in Robinson’s Place Iligan.
Iligan City hosts this year’s Mindanao Business Conference with the theme, “Mindanao: The Emerging Investment Destination”. With this, MSU-IIT takes its part and opens the 4-day event with MSU-IIT Technology Fair – showcasing the institute’s extension programs and innovation ecosystem through booths and presentations from iDeya: CIT, FabLab Mindanao, Technology Application and Promotion Unit (TAPU), College of Engineering and Technology (COET), Go Negosyo Center, Teenpreneur 2019, Premier Research Institute of Science and Mathematics (PRISM) and Civil Society Participation in Social Enterprise Education and Development (CSO-SEED).
The last part of the program was a mentoring activity for students and teachers coming from MSU-IIT Integrated Developmental School (IDS), Masters Technological Institute of Mindanao (MTIM), Saint Michael’s College, Dalipuga National High School, Tomas Cabili National High School and Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology. Students were grouped into five and was assigned a mentor from a specific field in business. These mentors had a 10-minute talk with the students and then a question and answer portion before transferring to the next group until every student had heard from each of the mentors. The event ended successfully with hopes of creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among young business students in Mindanao – for Mindanao.
Non-accountant treasurers and audit committees of the Cooperative Union of Iligan City (CUIC) were taught the basics of accounting in a two-day seminar workshop led by the Department of Accountancy.
The seminar workshop, held at the CUIC Regional Training and Marketing Center in Suarez on June 24-25, is the second of the series of trainings and activities the College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA) has in store for CUIC for the whole year. It only took days after the MOA was signed between CBAA and CUIC when the first seminar was conducted by the CBAA’s Department of Marketing.
The nature of the said seminar workshop equipped the participants with the knowledge and skills that are basic in accounting. Faculty Extension Coordinator of the Department of Accountancy Prof. Tressa Maye H. Salarza explained the rationale behind the target participants: though the cooperatives have their respective accountants, CUIC found it important that treasurers and audit committees have the knowledge of bookkeeping, journalizing, and the basic concepts in accounting.
Unlike teaching Accountancy to undergrads, Prof. Salarza explained that they had to align their lectures and training materials according to the framework of a cooperative.
It is befitting the faculty members of the Department of Accountancy to share their expertise and to extend their services beyond the classroom and not just produce future CPA graduates, but also to make accountants of those who are in this line of work that requires primarily, accountability.
The 10th MSU-IIT Grand Alumni Homecoming last July 14 capped the 44th Charter Day Celebrations of the MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology. While each college entertained its own alumni, the College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA) hosted the most number of graduates, members of the 1981 School of Management Technology (SMT), CBAA’s former name, most of who are now Certified Public Accountants.
Marc Mamay, CBAA 2003 graduate
Mr. Marc Mamay (who graduated in 2003) as one the Most Outstanding Entrepreneurs of the year during the said 10TH Grand Alumni Homecoming. Another alumnus Mr. Samuel Marzo, alumnus of the Department of Marketing also won the same award during the 2009 Grand Alumni Homecoming.