The one difference that decides this choice: only a BS Accountancy graduate can sit the CPA licensure examination. Everything else about these two degrees - the general education block, most of the accounting courses, the internship, the strand that feeds them - is close enough that students routinely mistake one for the other.
Two orders, issued the same day
Both programmes were promulgated by virtue of the same Commission en banc resolution, No. 231-2017 dated 28 March 2017:
- BS Accountancy (BSA) - CHED Memorandum Order No. 27, s. 2017, revised policies, standards and guidelines.
- BS Management Accounting (BSMA) - CHED Memorandum Order No. 28, s. 2017.
Both use the general education curriculum in CMO No. 20, s. 2013, so both describe a post-K-to-12 programme. Neither unit total is a leftover from the old curriculum.
The unit comparison, side by side
| Component | BS Accountancy (CMO 27) | BS Management Accounting (CMO 28) |
|---|---|---|
| General education courses | 36 | 36 |
| NSTP | 6 | 6 |
| Physical education | 8 | 8 |
| Common business and management education courses | 6 | 6 |
| Core accounting education courses | 81 | 81 |
| Cognates / major / professional courses | 36 | 30 |
| Minimum total | 173 | 167 |
Six units apart, in one block. That is the whole structural difference, and it explains why the coursework feels so similar in the first three years.
What the 81 shared units contain
The core accounting education block is identical in both orders, and it is the bulk of the degree. CMO No. 28 lists it course by course: Law on Obligations and Contracts, Business Laws and Regulations, Regulatory Framework and Legal Issues in Business, Management Science, International Business and Trade, Accounting Research Methods, Statistical Analysis with Software Application, Governance, Business Ethics, Risk Management and Internal Control, Managerial Economics, Economic Development, Financial Accounting and Reporting, Conceptual Framework and Accounting Standards, Intermediate Accounting 1 to 3, Financial Markets, Financial Management, Accounting Information System, IT Application Tools in Business, Cost Accounting and Control, Strategic Cost Management, Strategic Business Analysis, Business Tax and Income Taxation.
Two entries in that block are the BSMA-specific versions of shared requirements: Management Accounting Internship at 6 units and Management Accounting Research at 3 units.
The order also marks certain courses with an asterisk, meaning they "must be taught by qualified faculty as specified in Section 15.1.a," and says the remaining professional courses must be taught by faculty who are CPAs or hold a globally recognised professional certification in management accounting or a relevant field. That is a question worth asking a school directly: who teaches the accounting courses, and what do they hold?
The common business and management education block is two courses in both programmes: Operations Management and TQM, and Strategic Management.
What the load actually feels like
CMO No. 28 includes a sample programme of study, and it is worth reading before you enrol because it shows the pace. The first semester carries Understanding the Self, Readings in Philippine History, The Contemporary World, Mathematics in the Modern World, Financial Accounting and Reporting, Managerial Economics, NSTP and Physical Education 1 - 23 units. The second semester carries Purposive Communication, Art Appreciation, Science, Technology and Society, Law on Obligations and Contracts, Conceptual Framework and Accounting Standards, Operations Management and TQM, NSTP and Physical Education 2 - 23 units again.
Accounting starts in the first term, not the second year. That is deliberate: the programmes in this cluster front-load the accounting spine, which is also why schools apply retention rules to those early courses. Ask for the school's retention policy in writing before you enrol, because the grade thresholds are set institution by institution, not by CHED.
What is only in BSMA
The 30-unit professional block is where the degree turns toward management rather than public practice. CMO No. 28 lists: Sustainability and Strategic Audit, Human Behavior in Organization, Project Management, Accounting for Business Combinations, Accounting for Government and Non-profit Organizations, Valuation Methods, Performance Management Systems, Strategic Tax Management, and 6 units of professional electives drawn from a list that includes updates in managerial accounting, human resource management, innovation and strategy formulation, management reporting and enterprise governance framework.
The order explains why that block exists: it completes the competencies "required under IFAC's latest International Education Standards that qualifies the graduate to take any global certification assessment in management accounting."
That is the design intent stated plainly. BSMA points at global certification, not at a Philippine licence.
The licence question, settled
Republic Act No. 9298, the Philippine Accountancy Act of 2004, sets who may take the CPA licensure examination. Section 14 requires that the applicant is "a holder of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Accountancy conferred by the school, college, academy or institute duly recognized and/or accredited by the CHED or other authorized government offices."
There is no ambiguity and no bridging examination. A BSMA graduate is not eligible.
The law did once contain a door. Section 41, its transitory provision, said "All graduates with Bachelors Degree, Major in Accounting shall be allowed to take the CPA Licensure Examination within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act." The Act was approved in May 2004, so that window closed around 2006. Anyone telling you today that an accounting major can sit CPALE is quoting an expired clause.
If the CPA licence is the goal, take BS Accountancy and plan for the CPA licensure examination. Note as well that the subject list written into RA 9298 has since been revised by the Board of Accountancy, which the law permits, so check the current coverage against PRC's own issuances for the cycle you are sitting.
What BSMA graduates aim at instead
The Professional Regulation Commission lists 46 professional regulatory boards. Management accounting is not one of them, so nothing licenses the practice and nothing bars it either.
The credential the CMO is pointing at is the CMA from the Institute of Management Accountants. IMA's own requirements are a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, or a related professional certification, plus two continuous years of professional experience in management accounting or financial management. The certification has two exam parts, which candidates may take in any order, and the experience may be completed before or within seven years of passing.
University of Santo Tomas frames its BSMA the same way, describing graduates as qualified "to take assessments leading to certifications in Management Accounting given by global professional management accounting organizations" and placing them at Level 6 of the Philippine Qualifications Framework.
The practical reading: BSMA is a degree whose top credential is earned in employment, not in the year after graduation.
Careers the order itself lists
CMO No. 28 sets out sample job opportunities by level, which is more useful than most marketing copy because it is what CHED expects the programme to produce.
Entry level: junior analyst and consulting staff in public practice; cost analyst, investment analyst, management accounting staff, tax accounting staff, financial analyst, budget analyst, credit analyst and cost accountant in commerce and industry; state accounting examiner, treasury agent, state accountant, LGU accountant, revenue officer, audit examiner, budget officer and financial services specialist in government; junior accounting instructor in education.
Middle level, after meaningful experience: controller or comptroller, senior information systems auditor, senior loan officer, senior budget officer, senior consulting or financial advisory manager, and the government equivalents.
Advanced: partner or senior partner in public practice, finance director or chief financial officer, chief information officer, and senior government positions.
Read that list with one adjustment. Several government accounting posts require a CPA licence in practice, because the position's qualification standards say so. The CMO lists the occupations the field touches, not a guarantee of eligibility for each one. Our note on what accountants actually earn covers the pay side using published survey data rather than estimates.
Choosing between them
Take BS Accountancy if you want the CPA licence, public practice or audit, or any role whose posted qualifications require a CPA. It is the longer programme, and the licensure examination is a real filter.
Take BS Management Accounting if you want to work inside a company on planning, costing, budgeting and performance - and if you are content that your professional credential will come from a global body after you have a job. It is also a reasonable choice for someone who wants strong accounting training without committing to the board exam.
Do not take BSMA as an easier way to the same licence. It is not a route to the licence at all.
Two related reads: BS Internal Auditing, the third degree in the same 2017 cluster, and our guide to the right senior high strand for accountancy, which is the ABM strand the CMO names.
Sources
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 28, s. 2017 — Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Management Accounting (BSMA)
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 27, s. 2017 — Revised Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Accountancy (BSA)
- Republic Act No. 9298 — Philippine Accountancy Act of 2004 (LawPhil)
- Professional Regulation Commission — Professional Regulatory Boards
- Institute of Management Accountants — CMA certification FAQ
- University of Santo Tomas — Bachelor of Science in Management Accounting
