TL;DR: The CPALE runs at roughly 30 per cent nationally — PRC recorded 3,004 of 9,745 passing in May 2026 (30.83%), after 34.02 per cent in October 2025 and 33.11 per cent in May 2025. Six subjects over three days, twice a year: May 24-26 and October 24-26 in 2026. The consistent top-performing school is UP Diliman (98.04% in October 2025; 98.15%, 53 of 54, in May 2026 — the only school meeting PRC's 50-examinee, 80-per-cent threshold that cycle). On review centres, this guide describes what each one is and flags which of their claims are self-reported, and it does not print a price table, because CPALE review pricing changes every cycle and none of it is published in a form we could verify.
Introduction
The Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination is one of the harder professional board exams in the Philippines, and unlike some it is hard in a way the numbers actually show. PRC's releases:
| Cycle | Passed | Examinees | Passing rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 3,004 | 9,745 | 30.83% |
| October 2025 | 3,460 | 10,171 | 34.02% |
| May 2025 | 3,156 | 9,533 | 33.11% |
The May 2026 figure is worth reading correctly: it is not a collapse, it is a return to the exam's long-run norm of about 30 per cent after two unusually strong cycles in 2025. If you are planning around the 34 per cent number, plan around 30 instead.
Six subjects tested over three days — FAR, AFAR, MAS, Auditing, Taxation, and RFBT — is why most accounting graduates want structure rather than a stack of books. Our CPALE guide covers the exam itself; this page is about who helps you prepare for it. This guide compares the centres on what can actually be checked, and is explicit about what cannot.
Two Things This Guide Does Not Do
It does not quote prices. Earlier versions carried a fee table from PHP 6,000 to PHP 16,000-plus per centre. CPALE review pricing moves cycle to cycle, is heavily discount-driven, and is largely not published in any form that can be verified from outside. A stale price table is worse than none, because it anchors your budget to a number nobody will honour. Ask each shortlisted centre for the current fee in writing, and ask what it includes: materials, mock exams, retake rights.
It does not repeat centres' own performance claims as fact. Review centres advertise topnotcher counts and "X per cent of all passers reviewed with us" figures. Those are self-reported, computed by the centre from its own enrolment records, and no independent body audits them. Where such a claim appears below it is labelled as the centre's claim, because that is what it is. The one performance figure in this guide that is independently verifiable is PRC's own — and PRC publishes performance by school, not by review centre.
CPA Review Centres Worth Shortlisting
CPAR (CPA Review School of the Philippines)
CPAR is the oldest CPA review school in the country, established in 1976, based in Sampaloc, Manila. Its methodology is built on comprehensive coverage, heavy quizzing and exam simulation, and it is the default reference point that other centres are compared against. CPAR advertises having produced more than 1,600 topnotchers over its history; that is the school's own count, not an audited figure.
ReSA (Review School of Accountancy)
ReSA, also in Sampaloc, was founded by former CPAR reviewers and is known for a strict, discipline-driven model: enforced attendance policies and intensive problem-solving sessions. If you know you need external structure to keep a five-month review on track, that reputation is the reason to look here. Our CPAR vs ReSA comparison goes through the difference in detail. Passer counts ReSA publishes for individual cycles are its own figures.
REO (Real Excellence Online)
REO, established 2017, is the most online-first of the major centres, running lectures, practice problems and exam simulations across online, classroom and hybrid delivery. That makes it the practical option for working professionals, retakers, and anyone outside Metro Manila. REO describes itself as ISO-certified and claims a large share of recent CPALE passers reviewed with it — both are the centre's own claims and neither is independently verified.
Team PRTC (Professional Review and Training Center)
Team PRTC Manila runs a structured, theory-forward programme balancing concepts, application and exam simulation. It suits students who want a clearly paced schedule and explicit academic guidance rather than a self-directed grind.
Pinnacle CPA Review School
Pinnacle positions itself on smaller class sizes and depth of conceptual instruction, with locations in Manila, Ortigas and BGC. Smaller cohorts are the specific thing to verify here — ask what the actual class size is this cycle, not what it is in the brochure.
CRC-ACE Review School
CRC-ACE is among the more accessible established centres in Manila and has a long record of producing passers. It is the usual recommendation for students who need a full classroom programme without a premium price.
BSA Review Center
BSA Review Center runs an economical, no-frills classroom programme focused tightly on exam preparation. Worth a look if budget is the binding constraint and you want structure rather than extras.
CEVAS CPA Review
CEVAS is better known for nursing and language review but runs CPALE preparation across its multi-branch network in classroom and online formats, including Makati and Quezon City.
Review Innovations
Review Innovations in Quezon City came from engineering review and brings an analytical, methods-oriented style to accountancy. That suits people who prefer working from technique outward rather than from memorised content.
Others worth asking about
iCare Review Center, The Advanced Review Solutions (app-based study alongside classroom instruction) and Excel Review Center all run CPALE programmes in the Manila area. None publishes a verifiable rate card; treat them as candidates to call rather than options to compare on paper.
What the School Data Actually Shows
PRC does publish verified performance data — by school, not by review centre — and it is worth looking at before you decide how much of your outcome is really about the review centre.
| Cycle | Top-performing school | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | University of the Philippines Diliman | 98.15% (53 of 54) |
| October 2025 | University of the Philippines Diliman | 98.04% |
In May 2026, UP Diliman was the only school to meet PRC's threshold of at least 50 examinees and at least 80 per cent overall passing. That threshold matters: it is what stops a school with eight examinees and a perfect record from appearing alongside one with two hundred.
The honest reading is that undergraduate preparation carries a great deal of weight in this exam, and a review centre is refining something your degree programme largely built. Choose a centre for the structure and drilling it gives you, not on the assumption that it can substitute for four years. If you are still choosing where to take the degree, start with how to pass the CPA board exam and work backwards.
How to Choose the Right CPA Review Centre
Identify your learning style, honestly. CPAR and ReSA suit people who do well under intense, enforced classroom structure. REO suits remote learners and working professionals. App-based options suit people who genuinely study in fragments — and not the people who merely like the idea of it.
Get the price in writing, with inclusions. Ask what the fee covers: materials, diagnostic tests, the number of mock exams, and whether a retake carries a discount. Then ask whether the quoted figure is a promo rate and what it reverts to. Most centres run early-bird discounts and instalment plans, which are worth asking about explicitly rather than waiting to be offered.
Check the schedule against your actual availability. Full-time programmes typically run Monday to Saturday for four to six months. Part-time programmes take longer. If you are working, the question is not whether you could attend a full-time programme but whether you will still be attending it in month four.
Consider location. In Manila you can reach every major centre. In the provinces, an online-first option or a centre with a nearby branch may be the only realistic choice — and that is a legitimate reason to pick one, not a compromise.
Ask about retaker policies before you need them. Some centres run discounted or targeted retaker programmes that focus on weak subjects rather than repeating the whole review. At a 30 per cent national pass rate, this is worth knowing on the way in.
Weigh the centre's claims lightly. Topnotcher counts and share-of-passers percentages are self-reported and unaudited. What you can verify independently is PRC's school-level data, and what you can verify locally is what the centre will commit to in writing.
Sources
- PRC — May 2026 Certified Public Accountants Licensure Examination results — 3,004 of 9,745, released 2 June 2026 in four working days
- PRC — October 2025 Licensure Examination for Certified Public Accountants results — 3,460 of 10,171, 18 testing centres, released 3 November 2025
- PRC — Schedule of Licensure Examinations for the Year 2026 — CPALE on 24-26 May and 24-26 October 2026
- CPA Review PH — May 2026 CPALE results: passing rate, topnotchers — UP Diliman's 98.15 per cent (53 of 54), the sole school meeting PRC's 50-examinee and 80-per-cent threshold, and the May 2025 comparison
- Daily Tribune — PRC: 3,460 pass October 2025 Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination — October 2025 top-performing school at 98.04 per cent
On the figures removed from this page. Earlier versions carried a per-centre price table and repeated several centres' self-reported performance claims as though they were verified results. The prices were not traceable to any current rate card and have been removed rather than restated as ranges. The performance claims are now labelled as the centres' own.
Ready to start your CPA review? Browse review centres on SchoolFinderPH, and see how schools perform in our guide to top accounting schools by CPALE passing rate.
