The Future of Modern Practice: Event Recap from the Online Tech Summit 2026

A look back at how finance professionals, accountants, and SME owners connected at the Online Tech Summit 2026 to explore emerging tech, scalable workflows, and modern digital ecosystems.‍

Juan by JuanTax hosted the two-day Online Tech Summit on October 2–3, 2026. In partnership with the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Central Luzon and the Association of Certified Public Accountants in Commerce and Industry (ACPACI) Central Luzon, the summit served as an online gathering for finance professionals, accountants, and SME owners interested in elevating their respective firms and businesses. 

From the volume of registrants to the official count of attendees, it is clear that there is a high demand for digital transformation across the Philippine accounting and business landscape. Four in five registered guests attended the live sessions, resulting in 900 unique attendees across the two-day event. The summit brought together over 500 licensed Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), alongside representatives from more than 530 companies nationwide. Turnout spanned a broad cross-section of the market, led by SMEs (21%), accounting and bookkeeping firms (18%), and large corporations (15%). Demonstrating a shared commitment to modernizing their operations, participants collectively logged over 6,400 hours of learning (which is equivalent to more than 389,000 minutes of active engagement). 

Contributing to the success of the event were the twenty partner brands that supported the event across both days, including the event’s official connectivity partner, PLDT Enterprise, and media partner, YAM Agency. The roster of presenters for the Online Tech Summit varied between Gold and Silver partners from JuanUp 2026 and partner guests including Dream Bigger, QNE, The Accounting Business, Notario PH, and Tala Business Consulting.

What You Missed at The Online Tech Summit 2026 

On the first day of the summit, the Regional Sectoral Representative (RSR) for Commerce and Industry of PICPA Central Luzon, Mr. Crisfolo Santiago Montareal, opened the event with a keynote message. He underscored how “the accounting profession is evolving and that we must evolve with it." Technology is transforming the way information is generated and the way decisions are made. His opening message was a call to action to the finance professionals and CPAs in attendance, encouraging them to take part in the trends of the technological revolution and adapt accordingly. 

Afterwards, Mr. Dafort Villaseran of Malaya Business Insight, who also took part in the press conference for JuanUp 2026, delivered a guest keynote message that briefly explained to the audience what they can expect from the summit. Mr. Villaseran also added that “what we always shouldn't forget is that human aspect or what it means to still be connected with one another." 

Lastly, CEO and Co-Founder of Juan by JuanTax, Mr. Marvin Galang, also welcomed the attendees with a keynote address. In his brief message, Mr. Galang expressed that “it will never be about the best technology or artificial intelligence. The way we run our business, the way we manage and conduct our profession, will always be about what it has always been, and it's really about our relationships.” He emphasized that “technology will never replace relationships. But here’s what technology is actually doing right now: it is lowering the cost of processing and really increasing the value of us, of humans.” 

All three representatives highlighted the value of the summit, leaning into the theme of businesses and professionals being built for what is next in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the importance of human relationships. 

From sessions focusing on Agentic AI for businesses to navigating what AI looks like in a Philippine accounting platform, the participants did not hesitate to thoroughly engage with the speakers by asking questions and seeking clarifications that boosted awareness of the topic being discussed. 

The first day consisted of speakers from Sprout, Globe Business, Juan by JuanTax, Timora, Finmo, LEAi, Hier Payroll, Maya, PLDT Enterprise, and Acumatica. It was a jam-packed occasion that kept attendees eager to listen throughout the rest of the summit. 

The second day of the summit, despite being held on a Saturday, still welcomed hundreds of attendees. Unlike the previous day, the program started right away with the first presenter and proceeded without a hitch. On day two, the covered topics ranged from teaching professionals to build predictable growth for B2B businesses to answering the top ten e-invoicing questions. 

The atmosphere of the last day of the online tech summit was relaxed yet stimulating, with a program with presenters from QNE, Smile API, Dream Bigger, Notario PH, Tala Business Consulting, The Accounting Business, IBS POS, and Juan by JuanTax taking center stage. 

To formally end the Online Tech Summit, ACPACI Central Luzon President, Ms. Leilani Galvez, delivered her closing keynote speech. She perfectly summarized the focus and heart of the two-day program, fully bridging together the two sessions into one unified seminar built for preparing participants for what is to come. 

While the keynotes laid out the big-picture goals and vision encapsulated during the two-day event, the summit was more than just an avenue for businesses to pitch their products and services. It was a platform for presenting partners to equip attendees with solutions to real-world challenges across the business ecosystem. 

Core Session Themes: What Was Covered 

The Online Tech Summit was a learning experience for all participants. Instead of exhibiting traditional product pitches, the summit’s partner speakers presented helpful solutions, providing finance professionals and business leaders with practical frameworks to modernize their workflows. The program held 19 presentations, all of which can be summarized under five key operational themes: 

AI in Practice 

As Artificial Intelligence transitions from a high-level concept to an everyday utility, some of the presentations during the summit demonstrated how AI is transforming our everyday operations. From agentic AI to legal AI and even AI in accounting workflows, this session theme was an inclusive introduction for businesses that are yet to digitally transform their practice. 

• Globe Business: Evita Tualla presented "From Digitalization to Intelligent Transformation: Enabling Agentic AI in Your Business."
• Juan by JuanTax: Chris Bernardo introduced "Built for What's Next: What AI Looks Like in a PH Accounting Platform."
• The Accounting Business: Rommel Bares provided an execution roadmap in "From Pilot to Practice: Implementing AI Across Your Accounting Firm."
• LEAI (My Legal Whiz): Atty. Dexter Feliciano demonstrated real-time legal tools in "Ask the Law a Question: AI Legal Research in Real Time."
• QNE Software: Maricar Veloso presented "Accelerate Growth with N3 AI Accounting."

HR, Payroll, and Workforce Compliance

This session focuses on managing workforce data and monitoring labor regulations as critical friction points for companies that are still growing. They shared tools to catch compliance gaps and cut manual HR work.

• Sprout: Francis Pena highlighted operational vulnerabilities in "The Risks You Can't See: Compliance Gap Detection Across Your HR and Payroll Data."
• Timora: Cristopher Frago presented "From Manual to Automated: Turning Everyday HR Challenges into Smarter Business Operations."
• Hier Payroll: Carl Edison G. Andrade tackled manual bottlenecks in "From Time In to Payout: Closing the Payroll Gap."

Modern Payments and Banking Integration

Handling receivables and manual ledger reconciliations can usually create severe delays during monthly financial closing. In the summit, these speakers underscored other modern payment methods and embedded banking integration. 

• Finmo: Elross Pangue explored firm expansion in "Beyond Incorporation & Accounting: Turn Your Firm Into Your Clients' Banking Partner."
• Juan by JuanTax: Kevin Lazarito demonstrated "No More Manual Matching: Get Paid Faster, Pay Out Easier with PayMongo and Juan."
• Maya: Rahul Sugunan presented "Empowering SMEs and Enterprises for Growth."

Tax Compliance and BIR Systems

Navigating Philippine tax compliance can be tricky at times. From structured bookkeeping to clean documentation and even accurate filing pipelines, this session highlighted the tools and knowledge businesses need to stay compliant with the Bureau of Internal Revenue. 

• Juan by JuanTax: Dennis Dimaano, CPA, demonstrated streamlined bookkeeping in "Simplify Your Books: Juan Accounting Essentials."
• NotarioPH: Chrisma Maxwell introduced legal and compliance automation in "AI-Powered Compliance: From Contracts to Notarization and BIR Filing—Practical Tools for Modern CPAs and Business Owners."
• Tala Business Consulting: Lot Buluran delivered the regulatory deep-dive in "The Top 10 E-Invoicing Questions, Answered."

Business Growth and Scalable Operations 

In the process of building a resilient business, there must be a unified digital infrastructure across sales, identity verification, connectivity, and inventory. The speakers who tackled this session theme did not just provide solutions for the everyday business owner, but they also gave inspirational nuggets of wisdom to the event attendees. 

• Dream Bigger: Christeen Rico Green challenged firm owners in "Dream Bigger Than Referrals: Building Predictable Growth for B2B Businesses."
• Smile API: Jan Pabellon presented "Smile Checks: Smarter Background & Business Verification for SMEs."
• IBS POS: Roy Bato tackled Point-of-Sale integrity in "From Transaction to Trust: Why Your Point of Sale Needs Real-Time Accounting Data."
• Acumatica: Carmina Dineros covered cloud ERP systems in "Acumatica Cloud ERP: One Platform. One Connected Business. Finance, Sales, Inventory, Operations, and more, in one intelligent, real-time platform."
• PLDT Enterprise: Christine Robles shared insights on corporate digital adoption in "Embracing Digital Adoption."

Spotlight Session: Tackling the BIR E-Invoicing Deadline 

A hot topic worth highlighting is how businesses can beat the December 31 e-invoicing implementation deadline that is fast approaching. Most, if not all, of the attendees were eager to equip themselves with the knowledge of how their businesses and firms can become ready for e-invoicing. 

One of the summit's most engaging presentations addressed the exact regulatory and technical hurdles that CPAs and business owners are met with in the transition towards e-invoicing. 

Some of the key questions raised during the session included: 

• “What actually counts as an electronic invoice?” 
• “Who is covered under this mandate?” 
• “Is it enough that we already have a CAS Permit to Use?”

If you or your firm need answers before the December 31 deadline, you can watch Lot Buluran’s complete session in the Online Tech Summit Hub to get clarity on all 10 questions and ensure your firm remains fully compliant. You can also read more about the topic in these articles: BIR E-Invoicing Philippines: Everything You Need to Know and The Latest Updates on BIR E-Invoicing in the Philippines. 

Revisit the Summit Experience 

A great takeaway from the overall experience is the willingness of businesses and firms to engage in new knowledge that will help them stay ahead of the competition while also taking part in a community centered around innovation and growth. The online modality also added to the experience as it became an accessible platform for Filipinos across the globe. This event emphasized the commitment of entrepreneurs and finance professionals to embrace the technologies that continue to shape and transform their respective industries. 

Although the live sessions have ended, the path towards digitally transforming your firm does not stop there. For participants who wish to go over the presentations again or for viewers who missed out on a session, you can relive the experience of the two-day Online Tech Summit. 

Accessing the summit’s full library of insights remains completely free and effortless. By completing a quick registration form, viewers gain instant access to the Online Tech Summit Hub, which houses three comprehensive session recordings covering all 23 sessions alongside 14 downloadable slide decks shared by our partner speakers. Whether you want to revisit a keynote or catch up on sessions you missed, The Hub remains available on demand through October 2027.

For attendees who were present during the live webinar, they can expect their e-certificates between October 12 and 16. Only those who filled out each day’s respective evaluation forms and were present in the Zoom meeting room during the event itself will be issued an electronic certificate. Watching the recordings does not qualify for certification. 

While these certificates recognize your participation and effort in attending the live Online Tech Summit, the true value of the event lies in applying what you have learned to transform your daily practice. Turning your summit findings into everyday efficiency starts with the right tools. Book a call with Juan by JuanTax to discuss how you can streamline your accounting workflows and discover how our platform can build scalable, repeatable automation for your business.