The Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) team hosted the first episode of the SGV Sustainable Actions for Value-Creation and Enablement (SAVE) Council’s WebCCaSS for FY23 in September 2022. The webcast, entitled “The Power of Responsibility – Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),” aimed to raise awareness on the importance of CSR and highlight local CSR activities as well as SGV's own CSR activities. It was attended by 715 participants. SGV Partner Joseph Ian M. Canlas delivers his opening remarks  SGV Consulting and CCaSS Partner Joseph Ian M. Canlas (JMC) kicked off the session with his opening remarks while CCaSS Senior Director Crystal Aleli R. Cornell, CCaSS Associate Director Rosheena E. Borlaza, Global Compliance and Reporting (GCR) Director Rose T. Tejerero, and SGV Foundation Executive Director Yin O. Maldonado covered the following topics: Overview of Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Social Responsibility in the Philippines, and Corporate Social Responsibility Activities in SGV. They discussed the importance of CSR, its definition, classification, and how it relates to sustainability.  GCR Director Rose Tejerero highlights SGV’s CSR activities Participants engaged in interactive polls where they were asked about their involvement in CSR activities within and outside the Firm. The Declaration of Commitment was also introduced to the participants. Through the Declaration, the participants were encouraged to solidify their commitment to living a more sustainable life by setting more attainable sustainability goals. Their participation in the Declaration of Commitment per session serves as their involvement in this EY Ripples initiative. CCaSS Senior Director Crystal Cornell concluded the session by thanking the participants and once again encouraging them to commit to a more responsible and sustainable lifestyle. SGV Foundation Executive Director Yin Maldonado looks back on SGV’s CSR history CCaSS Senior Associates John Niccolo M. Uriarte, Marsha P. Batusbatusan, and France Justine A. Arugay assisted the speakers and organizers in preparing the materials used for the session.  The SAVE Council’s WebCCaSS initiative is a quarterly one-hour webcast that covers concepts, trends, regulations and industry practices around sustainability and climate change.

Tax Principal Ana Katrina C. De Jesus (ACJ) and Global Compliance and Reporting (GCR) Senior Director Fatma Aleah A. Datukon facilitated tax webinars hosted by the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) - Western Metro Manila Chapter (WMMC) in the third quarter of 2022. ACJ led the webinar entitled Filing of Tax Treaty Relief Application with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) while Fatma led the webinar on Basic Concepts of Expanded Withholding Tax (EWT). Webinar event flyers Ana‘s discussion focused on the procedures and documentation for the availment of tax treaty benefits. She also discussed the flow of filing of the request for confirmation or tax treaty relief application and described the BIR process of granting and denying treaty benefits. Fatma then talked about the basic concepts of EWT such as its nature and principles, withholding agents, the income payments subject to and exempt from EWT as well as the administrative requirements that must be complied with.  Ana and Fatma with the organizers and attendees via Zoom

SGVeans participated in the first hybrid Annual Convention organized by the Institute of Internal Auditors Philippines (IIAP) from 5 to 7 October 2022 with the theme Internal Audit: R.A.I.S.E.D (Resilient, Agile, Innovative, Sustainable, Empowered, Digital). In-person sessions were held at the Clark Marriott Hotel, Pampanga and were simultaneously streamed via Whova and Zoom with previews made available live at the IIAP Facebook page. SGVeans with members of the Annual Convention Committee from other companies and IIAP Annual Convention Special Guest Speaker Atty. Chel Diokno IIAP Annual Convention Chair Christiane Joymiel “Chin” Say-Mendoza (CSM) and IIAP Chairman and President Ryan Gilbert K. Chua (RKC) kicked off the three-day convention with their opening and welcome remarks, respectively. SGV Partners Carlo Kristle G. Dimarucut (CGD) and Philip B. Casanova (PBC) were speakers on tech-enabled Risk Management and Business Continuity practices. Alumni SGV Partner, Mr. Leo J. Matignas, also shared his insights on Combined Assurance through the Three Lines Model. Other convention speakers were Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) and C-Suites from different companies in the Philippines. RKC, SGV Consulting Partner Joseph Ian M. Canlas (JMC), and Consulting Senior Managers Michael Jorge B. Ignacio and Catherine G. Chua also served as moderators for some of the talks.  IIAP Chairman and President Ryan Gilbert Chua and IIAP Annual Convention Chair Chin Say-Mendoza welcome the participants SGV Partners Philip Casanova, Carlo Kristle Dimarucut, and alumni SGV Partner LJM during their respective sessions Consulting Associate Directors Rose Abigael R. Lacuna and Alyssa Ave G. Cui provided live previews of the convention events on IIAP’s Facebook page. 2022 IIAP Annual Convention Committee Members from SGV include Catherine, Consulting Director Janine Fatima M. Beltran, and Consulting Senior Associate Lloyd Christian E. Estillore.  This was the first hybrid convention held by the IIAP after more than two years of holding virtual conventions since the pandemic began. The convention had 159 in-person and 462 virtual attendees, or 621 in total – by far the largest number of participants for the convention, showing the readiness of internal auditors to embrace the “next and better normal.” The discussions and activities during the convention aimed to equip and, as the theme indicated, raise well-rounded and holistically skilled internal audit professionals.