IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS (IRR) IN THE CONDUCT OF THE 10TH PICPA NATIONAL

ACCOUNTING QUIZ SHOWDOWN (NAQDOWN)

IRR 1.0 BACKGROUND
IRR 1.1 The 10th PICPA National Accounting Quiz Showdown (NAQDOWN) is an annual academic event of the
National Federation - Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (NFJPIA), in collaboration with Philippine Institute
of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), as part of the celebration of the Philippine National Accountancy Week.

IRR 2.0 OBJECTIVES

IRR 2.1 To promote academic excellence among the members of the organization;
IRR 2.2 To help the members deepen their preparation with the CPA Board Examination subjects, and/or other
licensure examinations they wish to take in the future;
IRR 2.3 To allow members have a personal test of their knowledge, through competitive, friendly, and fun
competitions;
IRR 2.4 To help the participants discover their strengths and for them to be aware of their weaknesses in different
Board - related subjects;
IRR 2.5 To promote camaraderie and sportsmanship among the participants from the different Local Chapters
nationwide; and,
IRR 2.6 To increase the involvement and participation of the regional councils and the local chapters in the
NFJPIA activities.

IRR 3.0 GENERAL GUIDELINES

IRR 3.1 The 10th PICPA NAQDOWN is a national inter-school quiz bee competition that covers the following
CPA Board Exam subjects:
● Financial Accounting and Reporting
● Advance Financial Accounting and Reporting
● Management Accounting and Control
● Auditing
● Taxation
● Regulatory Framework for Business Transactions.
IRR 3.2 This year’s NAQDOWN shall be conducted simultaneously in four (4) major areas (hubs) of the country,
namely; Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and NCR.
IRR 3.3 Changing of representatives from each Local Chapters shall not be allowed during the day of the
competition, and after the deadlines set by the IRR have lapsed.
IRR 3.4 Walk-ins shall not be allowed.
IRR 3.5 The official list of participants shall be published in the NFJPIA’s official Facebook page on July 12,
2017.
IRR 3.6 The Committee for Academics shall be composed of the National Vice President for Academics, and
the Education & Research Committee Chairperson with its Committee Members, while the NFJPIA Council shall
be composed of the National Executive Officers which shall serve as the monitoring personnel and question
distributors (QDs) for the event.

IRR 4.0 QUALIFICATIONS

IRR 4.1 All contestants must be currently enrolled in BS Accountancy or any other accounting-related courses,
acknowledged by JPIA, (e.g., BS Accounting Technology) for the Academic Year 2017–2018.
IRR 4.2 They must also be bona fide members of the National Federation – Junior
Philippine Institute of Accountants for the Federation Year 2016-2017.
IRR 4.3 Each local chapter may send a maximum of two (2) participants for this event.

IRR 5.0 REQUIREMENTS

IRR 5.1 Each contestant must comply with the following requirements:
IRR 5.1.1 A duly accomplished application form to be provided by NFJPIA;
IRR 5.1.2 A scanned copy of an endorsement letter certifying that he/she is the official representative of his/her
school and that the student is currently enrolled in the same school. The letter should be originally signed. Hence,
digital signatures are not allowed. For those students affected by the calendar shift, the endorsement letter
should include a statement of assurance that the student is virtually certain to be enrolled in the upcoming
semester where the current federation shall govern. This letter must be duly endorsed by the department head
of the accountancy program, and the dean of their college or university. In the absence of the latter, the Registrar,
Vice-President, President, or any appropriate higher authority from the school may sign. The endorsement letter
should also be signed as noted by the Local Chapter President and the Local Chapter Adviser. The NFJPIA will
be providing the pro-forma of the letter;
IRR 5.1.3 A scanned copy of the school ID, front and back parts should be easily seen and readable. This is to
support the identity of the participants;
IRR 5.1.4 A scanned copy (in .pdf) of the waiver signed by the contestant and his/her parent, or guardian,
whichever is applicable (this is to be provided by NFJPIA);
IRR 5.1.5 Scanned Copy of the Individual Deposit Slips of paid registration fee by each participant, following the
scheme as follows:
Registration Dates Registration Fee
On or before June 30, 2017 P 50.00
July 1-9, 2017 P 100.00
The dates herein referred are also the deadline of payments.
IRR 5.2 Softcopies of all the requirements in IRR 5.1 must be compressed into a .zip/.rar file and shall be
uploaded in the Academics Department Folder in the official NFJPIA Drive on or before June 30, 2017 (for early
registration – Php 50.00), and on or before July 9, 2017 (for those who opted the regular registration). The file
name format to be used shall be NFJPIA1718_NAQDOWN_Name of School.zip/.rar
Example: Notre Dame of Marbel University
NFJPIA1718_NAQDOWN_NotreDameofMarbelUniversity.rar
IRR 5.3 Non-arrival of contestants will still hold the Local Chapter, in which the applicant belongs, liable for
paying the registration fee imposed.
IRR 5.4 The contestant must present their school ID upon registration during the day of the commencement of
NAQDOWN. Failure to present such ma subject the participant to be prohibited from joining the competition.
IRR 5.5 Updating of requirements, which includes, but is not limited to, changing of participants, and/or updating
of participants’ information is allowed only until July 9, 2017.
IRR 5.6 Failure to comply with the given requirements, accompanied by its deadlines, would mean
disqualification from the competition.

IRR 6.0 GENERAL CONTEST RULES AND MECHANICS

IRR 6.1 The contestants must be properly registered and must sign in the provided registration machine before
proceeding to the competition proper.
Note: Certificates of Participation shall also be distributed upon registration.
IRR 6.2 The contestants must strictly wear corporate attire (no denim pants, rubber shoes, slippers, casual wear,
etc.). Noncompliance of the proper attire shall prevent the contestant from joining the competition.
IRR 6.3 Late contestants are still allowed to join the competition. However, he/she shall no longer be allowed to
answer the questions he/she missed.
IRR 6.4 All questions shall only be read once, whether the question is a theory or a problem requiring
computation. Any request to repeat a question shall not be entertained unless there is an approval from the
National Vice President for Academics, or any official designated by the National Vice-President for Academics
to take over the hub.
IRR 6.5 The contestants should write their answers clearly and legibly on the provided answer sheets.
IRR 6.6 Abbreviations are not allowed to be used unless specifically allowed by the Board of Judges in a
particular question.
IRR 6.7 Contestants who shall insist in writing their answers ambiguously, abbreviated, or illegibly may still claim
points for correct answers, only upon the discretion of the panel of judges.
IRR 6.8 Before proceeding to the next question, the contestants shall be given an allotted time of 10 seconds to
raise a protest/clarification, to request for a new marker or a scratch paper, to change their calculator if it
encounters a technical problem, or other concerns. After the allotted time has elapsed, the quiz master shall
read the next question. Hence, protest, clarification, or any concerns shall no longer be entertained.
IRR 6.9 In case of non-settlement within the 5-minutes time allotted, further discussion may be made by the
board of judges, and will be announced as soon as the verdict is available. The contest should strictly proceed
to the next question, while the board is deliberating. The Judge(s)’ decision is final and irrevocable.
IRR 6.10 Erasure, in any form (which may include but is not limited to tampering or any form of alteration/s), is
strictly not allowed. Hence, participants are reminded to ensure their answers before writing it to the provided
answer sheets. Violation of this IRR shall deem the contestant’s answer null/void.
IRR 6.11 Any contestant caught cheating shall be disqualified from the competition.
IRR 6.12 After reading the contest rules and mechanics, the contestants are given the chance to raise
questions/clarifications regarding the said rules and mechanics.

IRR 7.0 BOARD OF JUDGES

IRR 7.1 For the purpose of presenting an independent and intelligent decision, the members of the Board of
Judges shall consist of a Certified Public Accountant. For Regulatory Framework for Business Transactions and
Taxation, Lawyers shall be allowed to be a part of the Board of Judges.
IRR 7.2 Any member of the Board of Judges and the NFJPIA Council shall be vested with the power to give
sanction to any contestant he/she has witnessed violating any of the said provision in this IRR.
IRR 7.3 The Board of Judges shall have the exclusive authority to clear or answer any protests and/or
clarifications made by the contestant or their respective Adviser. Any question raised shall be discussed within
a limited time of 5 minutes to protect the proceedings with respect to the time of the contest.

IRR 8.0 ADVISERS

IRR 8.1 Each local chapter is only allowed to have one adviser during the event. The adviser must pre-
register/substituted on or before July 16, 2017. The pre-registration sheet will be provided by NFJPIA and
uploaded on the same drive where requirements are uploaded. This is for purposes of control.
IRR 8.2 Only those pre-registered are allowed to stand as advisers during the event. The advisers are requested
to bring any valid IDs (preferably PRC ID), to be presented during the event so as to confirm their identity.
IRR 8.3 Late advisers are still admitted to stand and act as such, provided they comply with the aforementioned
provisions of this IRR. Late advisers are not allowed to raise any concern, protest and/or clarification to those
questions already settled previously.
IRR 8.4 Advisers are not allowed to take/request a copy of the questions, or any other pertinent documents,
sacred to the event’s confidentiality.
IRR 8.5 The contestants and the registered Advisers are the only persons who have the vested rights to raise
concern, protest, and/or clarification.

IRR 9.0 CONTEST RULES & MECHANICS - ELIMINATION ROUND (PER HUB)
IRR 9.1 The 10th PICPA NAQDOWN is comprised of three (3) rounds namely the: Elimination Round, Semi-
Final Round, and the Final Round. The Elimination Round is composed of three (3) subset rounds, namely:
Easy, Average, and Difficult. Time allotment, number of items, and corresponding points are as follows:
ELIMINATION ROUND EASY AVERAGE DIFFICULT CLINCHER
Time Allotment
Theory Questions
Questions requiring
10 seconds
20 seconds
10 seconds
45 seconds
10 seconds
60 seconds
10 seconds
30 seconds
IRR 9.2 The Board of Judges, or the National Vice-President for Academics upon proper consultation with the
Board of Judges, may extend time depending on the complexity of the question.
IRR 9.3 The contestants are provided with a copy of the question for every item. The contestants are not allowed
to flip the copy of the question until the quiz master gives the signal to do so. After the quiz master announces
the question number, the contestant may start to read the question provided. Any contestant who violates this
provision shall be given a warning for the 1st offense. On the 2nd offense, the contestant shall be given a sanction
of accumulating only 30% of his / her total score garnered in all rounds. Violation of this provision for the 3rd time
shall mean disqualification of the contestant from the competition in general.
IRR 9.4 Contestants are only allowed to manipulate their calculators after the quiz master says “GO”. Warning
shall be given for the 1st offense; 2nd offense shall mean disqualification from the particular question; and the
3rd offense entails disqualification of the contestant from the competition in general.
IRR 9.5 The contestants should answer each question within the allotted time. A computations
Number of Items 10 10 10 -
Corresponding Points 3 5 7 - bell ring shall be used to signify that the time allotted for answering has lapsed. At
this point, contestants should stop answering and must immediately raise their answer sheet. Contestants who
violate this provision will not be given any point on that question even if he/she got the correct answer.
IRR 9.6 The contestants should have written their answer before the time allotted has elapsed. The contestants
must raise their answer sheets once the quizmaster declares so. Any contestant who fails to comply will receive
a warning and his answer may be forfeited depending upon the decision of the Board of Judges.
IRR 9.7 In case of a tie at the end of the three rounds, tie-breaker questions shall be asked until the deadlock is
broken. The tie-breaker question(s) shall have NO bearing on the cumulative score of the contestants. Whoever
gets the right answer and raises his/her answer sheets first shall advance to the next round, or otherwise be
declared the winner.
IRR 9.8 The Top 10 contestants accumulating the highest points during the Elimination Round in each hub shall
advance to the Semi - Final Round.

IRR 10.0 CONTEST RULES & MECHANICS – SEMI-FINAL ROUND (PER

HUB)
IRR 10.1 The Semi-Final is a buzzer-type quiz bee intended to get the five finalists who will participate in the
10th PICPA NAQDOWN Finals.
IRR 10.2 All points during the Elimination Round shall revert to zero (0).
IRR 10.3 Upon uttering the first word of the question by the quizmaster, the contestants would then be freely
allowed to manipulate their calculators at any time.
IRR 10.4 Contestants may answer the question at any moment, even if the quiz master is still on the course of
reading the question. Provided that before he presses the buzzer, his/her answer must be written already on the
answer sheets. Otherwise, his/her answer shall be deemed null and void.
IRR 10.5 The first contestant who pressed the buzzer shall be given the chance to answer the question. During
the Semi - Final Round, one chance of steal for each question shall be given to the other contestants, otherwise,
if still incorrectly answered, the quiz master shall move on to the next question.
IRR 10.6 For purposes of this round, computation of score in determining the results shall be on a right minus
wrong basis. Each question will have corresponding points depending on the difficulty of each question. If the
contestant answers it correctly, points will be added to him/her. However, if the contestant answers it wrong,
points from that question, in accordance with the provision of IRR 10.7, shall be deducted to his/her total
accumulated points.
IRR 10.7 The corresponding number of points, time allotment, and no. of questions are as follows:
EASY AVERAGE DIFFICULT
Time Allotment
Theory Questions
Questions requiring computations
10 seconds
20 seconds
10 seconds
45 seconds
10 seconds
60 seconds
Corresponding Number of points 5 points 7 points 10 points
Corresponding Deductions per Incorrect
Answer
2 points 3 points 5 points
No. of Questions 5 10 15
IRR 10.8 Special questions shall be given to a contestant who answers 5 questions consecutively. If the
contestant answers it correctly, he/she shall be given a chance to deduct 5 points from his/her opponent’s total
score. If the contestant answers it incorrectly, there will be no changes to his / her total score. Hence, this
provision serves to give privilege to the contestant.
IRR 10.9 Since it is a right minus wrong system; negative points shall be awarded to contestant who receives 0
point and consistently answers questions incorrectly.
IRR 10.10 The game ends when a player reaches 100 points (or more) and that player shall be declared the
champion. The 2nd to 5th placers shall be determined based on the ranking of the current points of the players
the moment a player already reaches 100. The player nearest to 100 points shall be declared as the 2nd placer,
the same concept applies to the 3rd, 4th and 5th placers, respectively. In case of a tie, a clincher question, which
is good for 30 seconds, shall be given to the contestant to break the tie. IRR 10.11 Only a maximum of 30
questions shall be asked in this round. In case where no individual reaches 100 points after the 30 questions,
winners shall be determined based on the current points of the players after the 30th question. The players
nearest to 100 points shall be declared as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively
IRR 10.12 Winners reaching this far in the NAQDOWN (i.e. top 5) shall receive medals, books, certificates, and
discount for the registration fee of the 20th NMYC from the event sponsors.
IRR 10.13 The top five qualifiers from each hub shall be eligible for the following registration fee discounts:
Champion (Per hub) – 100% discount
1st Runner-Up (Per hub) – 80% discount
2nd Runner-Up (Per hub) – 60% discount
3rd Runner-Up (Per hub) – 40% discount
4th Runner-Up (Per hub) – 20% discount
This privilege is exclusive and is non – transferrable.

IRR 11.0 CONTEST RULES & MECHANICS - FINAL ROUND

IRR 11.1 The top five qualifiers from each hub (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and NCR) shall advance to the Final
Round which shall be held during the 20th National Mid - Year Convention (NMYC).
IRR 11.2 The NAQDOWN finalists must confirm their attendance to the 20th NMYC on or before October 16,
2017. In case one of the finalists could not attend the 20th NMYC, the person next in rank (during the NAQDOWN
Semi–Final Round per hub) shall be given the chance to substitute the non-attending finalist.
IRR 11.3 All qualified participants should physically attend the 20th NMYC to be able to participate to the Final
Round and have the chance to be hailed as the 10th PICPA National Accounting Quiz Showdown Champion.
IRR 11.4 The commencement of the Final Round shall be governed by the applicable provisions of IRR 6.0
(General Contest Rules & Mechanics) & IRR
9.0 (Elimination Round)
IRR 11.5 The Top three contestants accumulating the highest points shall be declared the Champion, 1st Runner
- Up and, the 2nd Runner - Up, respectively.
IRR 12.0 VIOLATION AND SANCTION GUIDELINES
IRR 12.1 The above - mentioned NAQDOWN Implementing Rules and Regulations are intended for the NFJPIA
and for related persons’ information exchange only. The NFJPIA Executive Board shall maintain the relevance
and reliability of this document through the strict implementation of its rules and regulations.
IRR 12.2 Any questions raised by the contestants that are not included in this IRR shall be subjected to the
jurisdiction of the National Vice President for Academics and the NFJPIA Executive Officers. The decision of the
National Vice President for Academics and the NFJPIA Executive Officers shall be final and irrevocable.

IRR 13.0 ENFORCEMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTING RULES AND

REGULATIONS
IRR 13.1 It shall be the primary duty of the National Vice President for Academics and the National Executive
Officers to effectively enforce the provisions of this Implementing Rules and Regulations. The National Executive
Officers also has the sole right to interpret the contents of this Implementing Rules & Regulations. Their decision
shall be binding and irrevocable.
IRR 13.2 The National Adviser or his duly designated representative shall act as the legal adviser to the National
Vice President for Academics and the National Executive Officers and shall render legal assistance as may be
necessary, in carrying out the provisions of this Implementing Rules and Regulations.

IRR 14.0 AMENDMENTS OR REVISIONS

IRR 14.1 The National Executive Officers shall be vested with the exclusive power to revise and amend this
Implementing Rules and Regulations, both for purposes of the current & future NAQDOWN.
IRR 14.2 Any amendments to or revisions to this Implementing Rules and Regulations may be proposed by any
member of the Regional Councils upon a written request, stating the reasons thereto.
IRR 14.3 Any request for amendments and revisions, as well as proposed amendments, must initially be
reviewed by the National Vice President for Academics then to be forwarded to the National Executive Officers
for discussion, editing, and final approval and to be noted by the National Adviser.
IRR 14.4 The National Executive Officers shall have the right to debunk any proposed revisions and
amendments, submitted to them by the National Vice President for Academics, which are deemed unnecessary.
The final decision on any inclusions and exclusions to this Implementing Rules and Regulations must be
determined by a majority vote of all the National Executive Officers in which the National Vice President for
Academics is included.
IRR 14.5 Amendments to particular provisions in this Implementing Rules and Regulations shall be allowed
provided that such amendments will be communicated to stakeholders at least two weeks before it could take
effect.

IRR 15.0 SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

IRR 15.1 If any clause, provision, paragraph or part of this Implementing Rules and Regulations shall be declared
unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, invalidate, or impair any other part hereof, but shall be
merely confined to the clause, provision, paragraph or part directly involved in the controversy in which such
judgment has been rendered.
IRR 16.0 REPEALING CLAUSE
IRR 16.1 Any rule and regulation or resolution or part(s) thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this
Implementing Rules and Regulations are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
IRR 17.0 EFFECTIVITY
IRR 17.1 This Implementing Rules and Regulations shall take effect immediately after its presentation to and
approval from the National Executive Board. Promulgated at 3/F PICPA bldg., 700 Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong
City, Republic of the Philippines, this 7th Day of June 2017