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As the Philippine economy steps on nascent recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the headline inflation remains high at 4.6% in October 2021 from 4.8% in September 2021. Except for June 2021, headline inflation rests well above the 2% to 4% target band of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Could this high inflation just be transitory or the beginning of a longer-term problem? This is one the most important questions for the global economy now as central bankers and policymakers are divided.

As the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens. There is no doubt that the pandemic severely impacted the Philippine Stock Exchange, causing it to dip by 8.6% year-on-year and reach a low of 4,000-level in 2020. But the situation is not as bleak as the numbers present it.

Picture this: you do a random search on Google for a nice new pair of shoes you have long decided to buy. At the top of the results page, you see a whole set of shoes, lined up along with their brand names and prices. Sometimes, you can even see products with freebies or, say, a promo code or a buy-one-get-one deal. You click on one specific pair of shoes, and you are automatically directed to a shopping site. Once you have added the shoes to your cart and typed in your payment and shipping info, there is only one thing left to do. You click the “Check Out” button.

There is a world of difference pre-pandemic and the so-called “post-pandemic”, and for companies, these differences go all the way to the top. Proactivity is now required of board directors as they strive to simultaneously address business-model disruptions against a slowing global economy, and digitalization against effective management of cyber risks, among numerous other issues.

At one point or another, even the most loyal employees have considered turning in their resignation letters and clearing their desks, anticipating the next job opportunity that comes their way. In fact, high employee turnover rates leave businesses constantly wondering about the factors that make employees quit, or at least, consider quitting.

There’s merit in knowing what and why things go viral on the Internet, even if you think your industry is far removed from needing to advertise on social media. Take, for example, a tweet posted back in April: a supposed HR personnel remarked how a fresh graduate declined his offer of a Php 37,000 starting salary. By itself, the tweet is unremarkable but what shot it through the height of virality is the unexpected relevance and ensuing discourse.

Christmas is just around the corner. This is particularly true in the Philippines where come September, the holiday spirit is very much alive and felt. Months before Christmas, Filipinos start to put up Christmas trees and spruce up their homes with decorations. Malls and retailers add to the excitement by offering big sales that are oftentimes hard to pass up.

As businesses prepare to welcome the last quarter of 2021 with hope and silver linings, COVID-19 pandemic-related uncertainties and challenges persist to evolve and disrupt the balance that businesses are trying to strike. The pandemic did not spare financial accounting and reporting of all corporate entities as well. It has further elevated the use of accounting judgements and estimates due to its fluid nature and limited experience in addressing its financial impact. The COVID-19 pandemic is the first economic crisis since the Philippine Financial Reporting Standard (PFRS) 9, Financial Instruments, was adopted and applied for the first time in 2018. PFRS 9 specifies how an entity should calculate expected credit loss (ECL), the estimated expected cash shortfalls on credit exposures such as receivables and other financial assets.