By: Angelo Gamalindo, Raye Sanchez
From left to right: Rogelio Fernandez Jr., Julian Edward Cabarle, VPAA Dr. Crisitina Castro Cabral, CBAA Dean Kenji Asano Jr. Photo from Office of Alumni and Public Affairs.
Julian Edward Cabarle and Rogelio Fernandez, Jr., students from the College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA), were deemed as the new Certified Management Accountants (CMA).
The two were added to the set of CMA passers from CBAA after having to pass the two-part international licensure examination.
Gearing up for the exam
“First of all, I'm thankful for being one of the fortunate individuals who passed the 2-part CMA certification exam,” said Fernandez. “The will to do things is the most important thing before anything else. So, I did ask myself and I was not just willing, but I was eager to take it.”
Fernandez also disclosed the struggles that he had gone through. “I had months to prepare for the actual exams but my bad habit became my greatest hurdle, procrastination. Aside from attending the required weekly review, I did nothing to prepare for the exams until I only had a month left," he said, sharing that he always starts his day with his morning mantra 'tiwala lang'.
"I practiced through exam drills as if I was taking the actual exam. I finished one to two drills per day. Even though my time to prepare was really constrained, I did not waver and continued to trust myself. And the judgement day came. Before entering the exam room, I took a deep breath and I whispered to myself, ‘You got this.’ Luckily, I did conquer the hardest examinations of my life yet!" he exclaimed.
Cabarle, also shared how he got ready for the upcoming exam. “Nag-enroll ako sa formal review center na tawag ay Insights Financial Review. From what I remember, I reviewed under that center from January to June. 2-part exam 'yung CMA tapos doon sa review center, may binibigay na modules. First part nung exam ite-take ko ng May, the other ng June so ginawa sa review center, January to March review para dun sa May exam. From April to June 'yung June exam na pero in between may refresher courses kami. Sinasabi ko lang rin sa sarili ko na kaya ko naman 'yung exam. Kaya ganun aral ko ay para ma-prepare ako, hindi dahil mahihirapan ako – mental preparation so to speak. Malaking tulong 'yung confidence. Kahit pagod ako, at peace ako deep inside,” he briefly explained.
In an interview, CBAA Dean Kenji Asano Jr., also a CMA holder, said that he is proud to have produced international titleholders specifically CMA which is globally recognized in more than 100 countries.
Certification of new management accountants is administered by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) which is a worldwide association of accountants with the largest associations focused on advancing the management accounting profession.
The examination was taken at the Prometrics Testing Center in Makati between the month of May and June.