The Association of CPAs for Sustainability, Inc. (ACPAFSI) formally inducted its 2026 Board and Officers during its Annual General Membership Meeting at the Crown Regency Hotel Makati.
The oath of office was administered by the association’s Guest of Honor and Inducting Officer, Undersecretary Mark Roa Gimenez, Undersecretary for Regional Concerns of the Office of the President–Presidential Management Staff.
Sarah Saavedra Songalia took her oath as ACPAFSI President, beginning a term guided by the theme “One Voice, One Sustainable Future.” The theme reflects the association’s aspiration to bring together CPAs and professionals from different sectors—not necessarily with one opinion, but with one shared purpose.
The newly inducted leadership represents different areas of the accountancy profession, including public practice, commerce and industry, the academe, and government. This diversity reflects ACPAFSI’s conviction that sustainability cannot be advanced by one organization, profession, or sector acting alone.
In her President’s Report, Songalia emphasized that sustainability must be understood as more than environmental protection. It is also about people, prosperity, accountability, and the creation of value that can endure.
She underscored the important role of Filipino CPAs in this work: ensuring that commitments become sound plans, resources are used responsibly, risks are understood, and results are measured and reported with reliable information.
“The Filipino CPA belongs wherever a commitment must be measured, a risk understood, or a report trusted.”
Songalia also called on the profession to consider not only how much value an organization creates, but how that value is created, who benefits from it, what risks are carried into the future, and whether the value being created can truly endure.
Building competence, strengthening community, and widening the circle
For the term ahead, Songalia presented three commitments for the association: to build competence, draw the ACPAFSI community closer, and widen its circle of partners and advocates.
Among the association’s priorities is its public–private partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, with a Memorandum of Agreement scheduled for signing on July 30. The partnership will connect ACPAFSI with the DENR’s Forests for Life program.
Through the partnership, ACPAFSI seeks to contribute what the profession does best: helping translate commitments into workable plans, strengthening accountability over the use of resources, and ensuring that results are measured and supported by evidence.
Songalia stressed, however, that the partnership is only one part of the association’s broader advocacy.
“Sustainability is not only about forests and carbon. It is also about people, prosperity, and enduring value—holding policy, profit, and purpose together. This partnership is a beginning, not the boundary of our advocacy.”
ACPAFSI will also pursue accreditation as a Continuing Professional Development provider, allowing the association to develop learning programs that will help members build their knowledge and professional practice in sustainability.
To strengthen the organization as a community, ACPAFSI plans to introduce more regular member activities, including health-and-wellness initiatives, learning sessions, and opportunities for members to gain closer exposure to sustainable enterprises and investment initiatives.
The association is likewise working toward a formal partnership with Sustainability PH and intends to collaborate with other organizations that share its mission of making sustainability a way of life.
Sustainability in action
A major undertaking for the year will be the 3rd ACPAFSI Sustainability Conference, titled “Sustainability in Action: Integrating Policy, Profit, and Purpose,” to be held on December 14–15, 2026, at EDSA Shangri-La.
The conference is designed to bring government, business and finance, and civil society into one room—not only to discuss sustainability, but to align their efforts and identify concrete actions they can undertake together.
The two-day program will include discussions on the state of sustainability in the Philippines, sustainability and profitability, reporting standards, the Sustainable Development Goals, ESG alignment, carbon-footprint measurement, and new sustainability-reporting issuances.
It will also feature practical case studies, technical breakout sessions, business matching, and an Integration Commitment Forum where participating sectors will be invited to identify actions they will pursue over the next 12 months.
Through the conference, ACPAFSI hopes to strengthen its role not merely as a commentator on sustainability, but as a convener and catalyst for alignment and action.
Honoring the association’s foundation
During the meeting, ACPAFSI also paid tribute to the leaders who helped establish and strengthen the organization.
The association recognized Founding President and Advisor Dr. Rufo Mendoza for giving ACPAFSI its beginning and continuing to guide its development. It also honored Immediate Past President Ms. Normita Villaruz for her leadership and faithful service, under which the association grew in strength, credibility, and reach.
Acknowledging the work of those who came before her, Songalia said:
“I do not begin from zero. My promise is not to replace what has been built, but to honor it, strengthen it, and open more doors for our association to serve.”
As ACPAFSI begins its new term, its direction is clear: sustainability must not remain a separate conversation or a subject discussed only during conferences. It must become part of how professionals advise, report, audit, teach, govern, and lead.
The work ahead will not be carried by one President or one Board alone. It will require an association willing to learn together, speak with purpose, and translate shared commitments into practical work—one voice, one sustainable future.
The 2026 Board and Officers of ACPAFSI
Cristina Naguit
Cynthia Molina
