Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines celebrates 100 years of trusted service

The partners and staff during an annual New Year Cocktails event at the Makati main office.

Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of the PwC network, celebrates its 100th year today, marking a century of delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services in the Philippines.

On 22 June 1922, Scottish accountants Charles P. White and Percival S. Page established White, Page & Co., one of the earliest accounting firms in the country. The firm had undergone several name changes since Flipinos took the helm at the end of the second World War. From 1964, Joaquin Cunanan & Co. became a brand associated with quality and integrity for over 40 years. The legacy remains with Isla Lipana & Co., the name we adopted in 2005.

Former Chairman and Senior Partner Joaquin Cunanan (foreground) with partners when the firm’s name was Joaquin Cunanan & Co.

The firm became the first local accounting firm to have international affiliation when it was designated as the official Price Waterhouse correspondent in the Philippines in 1958. On 1 July 1998, the merger of two venerable firms — Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand — created PwC.

Chairman and Senior Partner Roderick Danao reflects on the firm’s longevity in the business. “Even through periods of economic disruptions and political upheavals, the firm has grown steadily at its own pace. We chose to hold onto timeless values from our predecessors, and translated into the current core values of PwC: acting with integrity, making a difference, care, working together and reimagining the possible. These carried us through difficult decisions and exciting wins, as we strive to fulfill our purpose in PwC: to build trust in society and solve important problems.”

Chairman and Senior Partner Roderick Danao (left) and Chairman Emeritus & ESG Leader Alexander Cabrera.

Eyeing the firm’s next 100 years, Chairman Emeritus and ESG Leader Alexander Cabrera shares: “I can’t help but be proud of how we as a firm have evolved. For us, integrity always comes first, with innovation a close second — it’s where our now 45 partners and 2,000 professional staff invest much of their time in. Along with our assurance, tax and business advisory services, we now bring new services for present-day urgencies: digital technology and IT infrastructure, data and analytics, forensics, IPO readiness, M&A advisory, value creation, and ESG strategy and reporting.”

Special logo to commemorate the firm’s centennial.

Isla Lipana & Co. serves its clients and stakeholders through its main office in Makati City, and offices in Cebu, Iloilo and Davao, and affiliate member firms at Pasig City and Brunei Darussalam.

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