Chairman, Punongbayan & Araullo Ben has nearly 50 years of experience in public accounting, covering various industries in the Philippines, Malaysia and the U.S. His experience includes top management roles. He managed the audit division of another accounting firm in the Philippines and organized the audit practice of an international accounting firm in Malaysia. In 1987, the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), the national association of CPAs in the Philippines, named him Most Outstanding CPA in Public Practice. He was elected president of PICPA in 1993 and of the Association of Certified Public Accountants in Public Practice in 1998 and again in 1999. Ben is this year's recipient of the PICPA Accountancy Hall of Fame Award and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Outstanding Professional of the Year Award in the field of Accountancy. He is the current chairman of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Council. Ben has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the Far Eastern University, which selected him in 2003 as a Diamond Jubilee Outstanding Alumni awardee. He obtained the third highest overall rating in the 1958 national licensure examinations for certified public accountants.