Back then in early 90’s, when a student wants to pursue Juris Doctor (formerly Bachelor of Law), the reputed best undergraduate programs to prepare for the law course is to take up liberal arts programs – Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (AB Pol Sci), Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Bachelor of Arts in English, and similar specialization.

I have dreamt to become a lawyer since my childhood days. No rational reason actually. It’s just that, we are 10 siblings. Me, my five brothers and four sisters. Our parents’ wish is at least 1 of their 6 boys will, one day, become a lawyer or a priest.

It’s an easy choice. I don’t see myself becoming a priest one day.

I am one of those students who prefer to finish the AB in Political Science program as a springboard to becoming a lawyer one day. However, when I learned that a graduate of any four-year degree program is also accepted to the law program, I chose to take Bachelor of Science in Accountancy (BSA), as my elder sister who was then also taking BSA program, told me that analytical skills and reasoning are being developed also in the said program. And the rest was history.

The liberal arts courses were then viewed as the best program offerings to prepare for entering the law school. These undergraduate programs include law subjects, particularly in the areas of political law – the Philippine Constitution, Administrative Law and even election laws and other legislations. Additionally, subjects on obligations and contracts are likewise incorporated in the course curriculum. These law subjects in their program gave its graduates a head start in the preparation for the law school.

Lately, however, there is a paradigm shift on what course or courses the student to take when desiring to pursue his/her law degree. The Bachelor of Science in Accountancy program is now becoming the popular course to take as pre-bar course. In past years, CPA-Lawyers are rare breed of individuals due to their limited numbers. However, recent years had shown that many Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), and even non-passers of CPA Licensure Examinations, would find their way entering the Juris Doctor program.

It is now said that completing the BS in Accountancy program will get you prepared for around one-third of the bar examinations. The suggestions may be true, as most of the subjects or topics included in the syllabus for the bar examinations, most recent, the 2023 bar examinations, would show that these are also included in the BSA curriculum. The 2023 bar examination has six core subjects, to wit:

1. Political and Public International Laws (PPIL)
2. Commercial and Taxation Laws (CTL)
3. Civil Law (CL)
4. Labor Law and Social Legislation (LLSL)
5. Criminal Law (CrimLaw)
6. Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises (RemLaw)        

Law subjects incorporated in the BSA curriculum are as follows:

1. CTL – Business Tax (Estate & Donor’s Tax, VAT, Percentage and other business taxes), Income Taxation, Business Law and Regulations (Corporation Law, Securities Registration Code, Cooperative Code, etc.), Regulatory Framework and Legal Issues in Business.
2. CL – Law on Obligations and Contracts, Law on Partnership, Sales, Agency & Credit Transactions
3. RemLaw – Remedies of taxpayer and government, tax assessment and protest, Jurisdiction of Tax Appeals, etc.

I have been teaching in the undergraduate program of BSA, as well as in the Juris Doctor program in different colleges and universities in our province in Albay for decades now. Many of my students in BSA program become also my students in the Juris Doctor program. I lost count already on how many of them are now CPA-Lawyers.

The trend continues. In classes I am handling now in the Juris Doctor program in a university in Bicol, around 1/3 of the class are certified public accountants or accountancy graduates.

The good part of this trend is, more and more lawyers are becoming acquainted in finance, accounting, audit, taxation, management services and other fields that can help them better apply in their law practice.

The negative side of it, many of the CPA-Lawyers would prefer the law practice, as they would seek employment in the Prosecution Office, Public Attorneys Office, Legal Counsel of a corporation or a government agency or even start a law practice but not accounting practice anymore, thus contributing to the so-called brain-drain in the accountancy profession.

The law and accounting profession are deeply intertwined. This trend may pose challenge to the accountancy profession in the future, as this will possibly contribute to the dwindling number of practicing CPAs, especially in the field of public practice of accountancy. At present, financial rewards and benefits in the practice of law in the Philippines are far superior than the benefits and rewards to the public practice of accountancy.

But hey, we can enjoy the best of both worlds!

While it may be challenging at times, we can practice both accounting and law at the same time. While it may be said that we cannot serve two masters at the same time, there are clear exceptions to this mantra. Anyway, the person is the master. It is his/her professions that should be the servant.      

Atty. Randy B. Blanza, CPA is the Executive Vice President of Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountant for Fiscal Year 2022-2023. He is the Sole Practitioner of Blanza Legal and Accounting Center and concurrently, the President of San Jose Community College in Malilipot, Albay.