Two BS in Accountancy students from the UPV College of Management were recognized during the 26th Search for Outstanding Accountancy Students of the Philippines (SOASP). Ms. Keren Kathe Jocson Jacomilla and Mr. Christian Luwin Noveros Nadanga received their awards as part of the SOASP’s Top 25 National Finalists at the Makati Diamond Residences in Makati City last March 21, 2025.
The SOASP is organized by Punongbayan & Auraullo (P&A), the Philippine member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd., and the P&A Foundation Inc., in partnership with the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the Association of Certified Public Accountants in Commerce and Industry (ACPACI).
Data from P&A revealed that a total of 455 participants who are graduating by the end of the academic year 2025 from 92 schools nationwide took the written qualifying examinations last February 22, 2025. Each school was allowed to send up to six students who competed in the preliminary round. Of the 455 participants, only the top 25 students from 14 schools went to the national finals, who battled it out during the quiz bee round. The qualifying exams and quiz bee questions were based on the different subjects in the CPA Licensure Examination, including financial accounting, auditing, management services, taxation, and regulatory framework for business transactions.
Present during the competition were P&A Grant Thornton Chairman and Managing Partner Mr. Romualdo V. Murcia III, PICPA National President Atty. Roland Cafe Pondoc, and SOASP Partner-in-Charge of P&A Foundation Inc. Atty. Vier Aznar, amongst others. The CM awardees were accompanied by Prof. Kim Rommel E. Panaguiton, adviser to the CM SOASP participants. Both students received a plaque of recognition and a cash prize.
The SOASP is an annual nationwide competition highlighting the country’s top accountancy students and aims to represent a significant step forward in strengthening partnerships, building a legacy, and highlighting a positive change for remarkable public accountants (P&A, 2023). (With sources from P&A Grant Thornton)
