The First Title I Got

God will never leave us empty.
He will always give us hope to go through with our pursuits.
This little faith I’ve been holding just brought me to something I didn’t expect I will have.

I remember I was too eager to pass the Certified Bookkeeper Exam. I searched a lot about the certified bookkeeper examinations on the net, looked for blogs of CB Passers and even those who were not, studied its worth and its coverage. I even bought manuals for bookkeeping at Rex Bookstore and Constructive Accounting book by Kimwell 27 days before the examination which was really difficult to find at the bookstores in the city (we used this on college but I only borrowed a book from a friend for my classes, so I don’t have one at my shelves. I didn’t realize that I would still be looking for this book. Same author, same edition, all the same.). I have known that the exam will be more on the basics of accounting to the complicated constructive accounting. I admit that I found it difficult for me on the constructive accounting so I know I have to toil much to prepare myself for the CB title.

The CB Exam was worth P 2 000 for the graduates and P 1 500 for the undergraduates. The fee was actually around P 7 000 to P 8 000 but our Review Director Mr. Omar Erasmo Ampongan, CPA had kindheartedly lowered the fees upon negotiations from the NIAT (National Institute of Accounting Technicians) Office through Mr. Franklin Agamata. Bicolanos were really lucky to have an opportunity like this and even luckier if someone passed the CB Exam.

The CB Examination Program is the globally recognized program of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) of UK. The ICB is the largest bookkeeping institute in the world with over 150,000 members. It promotes and maintains the standards of bookkeeping as a profession, through the establishment of relevant qualifications. It is the most recognized and respected designations by employers globally.

CB Seminar must be attended to go through with the examination. One can’t take the examination without attending the seminar. Our seminar was conducted by Mr. Franklin Agamata. It was held last February 12 and 13 at the Regent Hotel Mactan Hall, Naga City. It was participated by different schools in the Bicol Region such as the Ateneo de Naga University, Divine Word College, Aquinas University, University of Nueva Caceres, Partido State University, and other colleges in the region, including 1 participant from St. Louise University – Manila. Most of the participants were undergraduates and only few were graduates. The seminar was fast phased. We were given limited modules for our review (because we actually paid lower rate). However, important topics were not sacrifice on this seminar. We were also given emails of some exercises related to bookkeeping by Ms. Jane See of the NIAT office 2 days before the examination.

The Certified Bookkeeper Examination was held last February 21, 2009, 7 days after the seminar. The examination was divided into 2 schedules just to accommodate the large number of examinees. The first batch took the exam at 9 o’clock in the morning till 1 o’clock in the afternoon and the second batch followed at 1 o’clock till 5 o’clock in the afternoon. I was on the second batch. I choose this because I still want to use the morning time for me to study some points I still have to study. I was bit afraid, excited, tensed, pressured and felt like I was not 100% prepared for the examination. I always thought of negative things, that I can’t make it, I was unprepared, forgot accounting topics on my college, etc. But even though I was then feeling that way, I still have that little courage in me to go through with this exam and pass it as much as I can. So the examination had started after filling out some papers. We were given cases. Actually I forgot if it was 5 or 7 cases but nevertheless it was part problem solving and essay type. It dealt with finding and correcting errors, definition and explanation of accounting terms, lots of adjusting entries, journal entries and bank reconciliation. I found the adjusting entries hard but I somewhat enjoyed solving the problem involving depreciation and bank reconciliation and also the essay type question on the internal control. I was also thankful that I studied journal entries about inventories, output taxes and input taxes. It really did help me a lot. I was glad that those things that I studied came out in the examination. I finished the exam I think for almost two and a half hours. I was then hurrying up because I did not bring my watch and the proctor was not reminding of us of the time left. I was afraid that I will not finish the whole thing just in time so I hurried up and immediately submitted my paper.

Finally the result came 3 weeks after the examination. It came upon my knowledge on March 16, 2009. Without further ado, I passed the Certified Bookkeeper Exam. I just can’t believe that I will now have an international title after my name. =) I was also surprised that time that I belonged at the High Distinction Category, meaning I got a grade between 85% and 100%, that which I really can’t believe. Until now it still did not sunk in my mind that I am Angeline C. Filipino, CB. =) Other than, I know I am happy and thankful for this blessing God has given me. I still don’t know exactly where will this title bring me, but then it really did brought me back to life again. It brought me back my confidence again and especially the hopes to achieve my next intend title I’ve been toiling of, the Certified Public Accountant. I won’t give up. This is for the future.

More of Certified Bookkeeper Examination @ www.catphilippines.com

Thank you for all those persons who have supported me all through to face this challenge in my life. You know who you are. God will return you your good deeds.

August 8, 2009

After a flight from Bohol to Manila, finally I got my license, identification cards and certificate. Here is it.

Certified Member of the International Certified Bookkeepers of United Kingdom and Australia

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Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam