Raul C. Pagdanganan: how an accountant found success in the medical field

The study of Accountancy was first established in the Philippines through the Accountancy Act of 1923 exactly 100 years ago. To commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime milestone, the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy (BOA) awarded 100 of the most excellent certified public accountants (CPA) who have shown untarnished integrity and reputation and have greatly contributed to the advancement of the accountancy profession in the country in the last 100 years.

Among the awardees was Mr. Raul C. Pagdanganan, President and CEO of Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) - a hospital. “A medical institution is certainly not the first place you would expect a certified public accountant to be leading,” Pagdanganan said. “But I firmly believe it was my calling.”

Pagdanganan had wanted to be a doctor, which was why he enrolled in the Bachelor of Zoology program at the University of the Philippines (UP). He ended up shifting to the College of Business Administration instead, and finished his Business Administration and Accountancy degree in 1981, passing the board exam as part of the top 20 successful takers.