Charlie was born on October 27, 1936 in Shanghai, China. At the age of 18, he graduated from the University of the East, magna cum laude, and placed first in the 1955 CPA board examinations. Upon graduating, he joined SGV & Co. where he started as a junior auditor. He would later obtain his MBA from New York University as a Smith-Mundt-Fulbright Scholar. He also completed the Advanced Management Program in Harvard University. He was admitted to the partnership in 1965.
In his 44 years in SGV, Charlie assumed many leadership roles. He brought SGV key professionals to help develop The SGV Group's operations in Taiwan and Korea. Thereafter, he served as regional technical partner and partner-in-charge of quality assurance for the offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. He headed the coordinating office of The SGV Group from 1975 to 1978. He led SGV's Audit Division from 1992 to 1995. He headed the Firm's Accounting and Auditing Standards Group, concurrently as Practice Director. He assumed the position of Vice Chairman in 1993, Managing Partner in 1995, and SGV Chairman and Managing Partner in 1996. He also served as Chairman of the SGV Foundation. After retiring from SGV in 1999, Charlie was invited to sit as Independent Director on several boards of companies and was appointed Commissioner of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Globally recognized as an authority on Philippine Accounting Standards, he was the first chairman of the Financial Reporting Standards Council, and the chairman of its predecessor, the Accounting Standards Council from its creation in 1981. He wrote several published articles on accounting standards and was a co-author of an accounting textbook, Intermediate Accounting:
Applying International Financial Reporting Standards Philippine Edition. The accounting profession has benefitted profoundly from his lifework in Philippine Financial Reporting Standards.
Charlie was a past president of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA). He also served as a council member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and for five years as a member of the International Audit Practice Committee (IAPC) of IFAC. For his immense contributions to the Philippine accounting profession, he was elected to the PICPA Hall of Fame and given the prestigious The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award.
Charlie will always be remembered for his wit, clarity of thought, strong convincing power, and courage to express honest dissent. His leadership style was pragmatic and harmonious. Throughout his life, he showed loyalty to and deep affection for SGV. A true steward, Charlie blazed a trail of excellence - a legacy to inspire current and future generations of professionals.
