CL Manabat cleared to audit KBs

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has added the accounting firm of CL Manabat & Co. to its list of six accredited auditing firms allowed to audit the country’s 44 commercial banks.

BSP Deputy Governor Alberto Reyes Jr. told reporters yesterday that CL Manabat & Co. has been selected based on its experience, track record and credibility rating.

CL Manabat will be one of only six accounting firms that have been accredited as external auditor to commercial banks, along with Punongbayan and Araullo, SGV & Co., Juaquin Cunanan-PriceWaterhouseCooper and Laya Mananghaya KPMG.

Manabat is the local partner of the Swiss-based Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of the world’s five biggest accounting firms with over 82,000 employees in 130 countries worldwide.

Reyes said that under the selection criteria of the BSP, accredited accounting firms must have at least 30 corporate clients with resources of at least P50 million each.

Reyes said accredited accounting firms were also required to have at least one existing commercial bank in its client list and have at least five years of experience in bank auditing.

Furthermore, accredited auditing companies were prohibited from having loans or loan accommodation with any of the banks it is auditing or will audit in the future.

"They’re also not allowed to have direct or indirect financial connection with their bank clients," Reyes said.

BSP began accrediting accounting firms as part of its good governance program, predating even the collapse of the US power giant, Enron. – Des Ferriols