RP Consulate asks for Guam-only visa waiver for Filipino accountants

A group of Filipino accountants is asking the Philippine Consulate to intercede in their efforts to secure a Guam-only visa waiver which they intend to use when they take the two-day board examinations for certified public accountants in May.

Consul Julia Heidemann said she is writing the Immigration and Naturalization Service office in Washington D.C. to guarantee that non-visa holder members of the Marianas Institute of Filipino CPA will leave Guam soon after the examination date on May 4 and 5, 2000.

Ms. Heidemann said the Consulate is willing to guarantee the examinees’ return to Saipan from Guam, adding that only about 20 Mificpa members who will take the May 4-5 examinations are non-visa holders.

According to Mificpa’s Nestor Alegre, the organization’s members are hoping to take the May examination to beat the new requirement set by the prestigious New York-based American Institute of CPA.

AICPA is requiring accountants to complete at least 30 units of accounting and business subjects in a masteral program before they are allowed to take the board examinations beginning November this year.

Mr. Alegre said Mificpa members would like to grab the opportunity to take the certifying examinations before the new requirement is implemented although it is still not clear whether the CNMI Board would enforce the new qualification when it starts holding the CPA test.

The CNMI is starting to lay down the groundwork for the proposed holding of the examination in November this year, as Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has given the go-signal to proceed with the program.

Among the American states and insular areas, only the CNMI and American Samoa are yet to hold such examination. The CNMI has a potential market of examines from neighboring Asian countries.

The governor’s special consultant for education Dan Nielsen said a legislation will have to be passed since it is needed for enforcement. The legislation is also expected to strengthen call for continuing education in the Northern Marianas.

The government is also planning to establish a Board of Accountancy which will oversee the program.

The examination is anticipated to help boost the CNMI’s ailing economy since it would mean additional income from application and other fees, which usually amount to $250 per person.

This is aside from hotel occupancy taxes that may be generated from the arrival of Asian examinees into the Northern Marianas. According to Mr. Nielsen, foreign examinees normally travel to test sites at least two days before the actual examination date and leaves a couple of days later.