In the day-to-day grind of professional life, we sometimes forget just why we started doing what we do and, more importantly, why we continue to put our blood, sweat, and tears into it every day. Amidst the hustle, have you taken a moment to sit back and ask yourself, ‘When are you most proud of what you do?’
From my early days as an audit junior all the way to becoming an audit partner, the moments I treasure most are when I see how our work gives organisations clarity, strengthens their decisions, or helps them operate with integrity. Whether mundane or dramatic, every time I see that our work makes a tangible impact, that’s when I feel that what I do is truly meaningful.
And yet, despite the importance and purpose behind external audit, our work is still too often reduced to stereotypes of routine, pressure, and long hours.
Today, accounting graduates face a different landscape. Many see that becoming a CPA is no longer the only path, and that doors for opportunities outside public practice are wide open. At the same time, audit is sometimes misunderstood as rigid, stressful, or simply a stepping stone: pain points that hold weight. Still, in a country like the Philippines, where the profession remains audit centric, public practice continues to shape some of the strongest finance and business leaders.
Audit, as a career, is evolving. Through the intentional efforts of businesses, professional organisations, and people alike, the stereotype of toxic hours, intimidating environments, and the old-school “sink or swim” culture is constantly being addressed. Organisations like our firm, P&A Grant Thornton, have intentionally invested in capped hours, hybrid setups, and a healthier culture: not to make the work “easy”, but to make it more accessible, more meaningful, and more sustainable for today’s generation of accountants and auditors.
With my firm’s recent recognition as the Top 1 employer for fresh graduates in Accounting & Advisory in the Philippines, and Top 4 employer overall by Prosple, a career platform, it is clear that the profession, and the environments we build within it, are evolving in ways that resonate with young professionals. We are steadily shaping a version of public practice where the demands of audit are met with empathy, balance, and genuine support.
It is a continuous goal to turn working in public practice not into the default stepping stone to a fruitful career, but an option worth truly considering—and loving.
Why audit?
With fewer CPAs entering public practice in recent years, the space has opened up in ways that were unimaginable a decade ago. Along with the expanded expectations from businesses, the opportunities for accounting graduates have grown wider, deeper, and more diverse.
I recently came across an article discussing how, despite the rising demand for both CPA and non CPA professionals, the number of people choosing to stay in public practice continues to decline. This trend made me reflect on an important question: Why is public practice becoming less appealing?
The question echoes across classrooms, review centres, our professional organisations and conversations among graduating students. It’s easy to associate the work auditors do with “boring” and tedious work: rubber stamps, stacks of papers, and signatures. Even during my time as a student, these “busy season” horror stories were already part of conversations, passed down like cautionary tales. Today, it’s not so much that the work has gotten easier; there is no shortcut for what we do. Rather, through better tools, intentional mentorship, and healthier work policies, the profession has made the work more manageable and more meaningful.
But beyond the improvements in culture and technology, what often goes unnoticed is that audit remains one of the most dynamic and opportunity-rich career paths an accounting graduate can choose. In an era where roles in finance, data analytics, consulting, and corporate strategy appear more modern or more lucrative, it is easy to look past audit as something traditional or old-school. Yet the reality is that auditing gives young professionals something no other career path offers at the same scale: an immediate vantage point into how organisations actually operate. That level of exposure accelerates learning in ways that shape well-rounded, resilient professionals.
The profession also sharpens the kind of skills that compound over time: critical thinking, judgement, communication, leadership under pressure, and the ability to navigate complex problems with clarity. This is why a public practice background especially in audit consistently opens doors, whether in corporate finance, consulting, risk management, analytics, or even opportunities abroad.
More importantly, auditing gives young professionals the chance to contribute to something that matters. In a world where trust is fragile and financial integrity is essential, auditors help ensure that the numbers reported to stakeholders are fair, accurate, and responsible. That kind of impact may be quiet, but it is undeniably powerful.
Perhaps this is why public practice should be seen not merely as a stepping stone, but as a place worth building a career in. Audit offers a depth of learning, a sense of purpose, and a breadth of opportunity. For those willing to embrace the challenge, it is more than a first step: it is a path with limitless potential and purpose.
Evolving, not falling behind
Thinking back at how I entered the profession, I realise how different things were. Coming from the province, opportunities felt limited, and exposure was not as accessible. I chose accountancy partly because of a common misconception: that being “good in math” meant accounting was the natural path. Like many students then, all I really wanted at graduation was a stable job—and when an upperclassman suggested I try out P&A Grant Thornton, I quickly grabbed the opportunity.
At the time, I didn’t fully understand the breadth of possibilities within public practice: my perception was mostly shaped by the people around me, my mentors, teachers, and family. Today’s students, on the other hand, have clearer visibility of their options. Career fairs, JPIA events, internships, and digital platforms have made the profession more transparent, more approachable, and more within reach regardless of where you come from.
When comparing the state of the accounting profession then and now, the difference is stark. What used to be a largely traditional, paper-heavy, survival-based environment has evolved into a profession that values learning, technology, intentional leadership, and employee wellbeing. Public practice has stepped into a modern era, one that recognises that while the work is inherently challenging, it doesn’t have to come at the cost of one’s health, growth, or purpose.
It’s clear that the path forward for the audit profession is to continue evolving with intention: to meet the needs of a new generation while staying anchored to the integrity and purpose that define our work. Audit does not need to compete with every new opportunity that emerges; it simply needs to show the value it has always offered in a way that resonates with today’s aspiring professionals.
So, to those considering a career in audit or in public practice in general, the profession today offers more possibilities than ever before. It remains one of the most accessible and merit-based fields, and the longstanding misconceptions about auditors being defined solely by long hours or rigid routines continue to fade as the industry modernises.
If you are considering this path, or if you already feel the spark of becoming an auditor, take the time to explore the profession deeply. Study. Research. Ask questions. Seek internships. Look for firms that expose you to different types of work and allow you to experience the realities of the role first-hand. The more you immerse yourself, the clearer the picture becomes.
It is my hope that the perception of being an auditor shifts with our continuous efforts: a career worth pursuing and a profession that grows with you. Who knows? Like many of us who started without fully knowing where the journey would lead, you might just find that this is where you truly belong.
As published in The Manila Times, dated 04 February 2026
