Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino has been named CEO of the Year in International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Future of Enterprise Awards 2022 Philippines, for steering the Commission toward a digital-first world.
Winners of the Future Enterprise Awards asserted their leadership in a digital-first world, distinguishing themselves from 1,071 entries received from 707 unique end-user organizations across Asia/Pacific. They were chosen as a cut above the rest after displaying exceptional planning and implementation of digital transformation initiatives according to IDC’s Future Enterprise benchmark categories.
“I would like to thank IDC for recognizing my SuperVISION and efforts in transforming the SEC Philippines into a digital, resilient organization that could serve its stakeholders more efficiently and effectively, amid and despite a pandemic and other crisis that may come our way,” Mr. Aquino said.
“Our push for a technologically advanced SEC Philippines will prepare it for a digital-first world, where it can continue to thrive despite challenges – even ones as drastic as the COVID-19 pandemic.”
As Chairperson and CEO of the SEC, Mr. Aquino has fiercely advocated for the use of digital innovations to successfully fulfill the Commission’s mandate as overseer of the corporate sector, regulator of the capital market, and champion of the investing public.
Under his leadership, the SEC successfully launched its Digital Transformation and Technology Modernization Roadmap. The Commission has since rolled out systems that shifted online the process of company registration, reports submission, and fees payment to the delight of its customers.
Launched on April 19, 2021, the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Companies (eSPARC) facilitated faster and easier company registration for the transacting public. The speed by which corporations and partnerships can be registered with the Commission has since improved, with registration through eSPARC’s subsystem, the One Day Submission and Electronic Registration of Companies (OneSEC), tallying a record time of under two minutes.
The ease with which corporations can be established led to a 53.2% increase in the number of new registrations in 2021 at 37,379, compared to 24,386 in the previous year. Last year also saw a record number of new applications for registration on a quarterly basis. In 2022 alone, a total of 57,784 new registrations have already been processed through eSPARC.
Meanwhile, the Electronic System for Payments to SEC (eSPAYSEC), which was launched on March 1, 2021, seeks to eliminate the need to physically settle payments at SEC offices, especially since online payment systems are now widely available.
On March 15, 2021, the SEC also launched the Electronic Filing and Submission Tool (eFAST), which allows corporations to submit their annual reports from the comfort of their own homes or offices, making compliance with regulatory requirements more efficient for both the Commission and the corporation. As of September 16, 2022, eFAST has accepted a total of 439,165 reports.
Founded in 1964, IDC is a global market research and analysis firm offering global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries.
“In spite of the past couple of years being extremely trying times for the ASEAN region, it is highly encouraging to see organizations moving ahead with their digital transformation (DX) initiatives. The digital economy is on the lips of every ASEAN government, and IDC is witnessing vindication for many organizations that embarked on DX initiatives early on and are now capitalizing on this shift. This is a catalyst for many other organizations to follow suit. Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and IoT solutions remain the top areas of investment interest for ASEAN enterprises as they embark on a new level of their digitalization journey.” IDC ASEAN Managing Director, Sudev Bangah said in a statement announcing IDC ASEAN Future Enterprise Awards winners.
