Tennessee is participating in the American Institute of CPAs’ (AICPA) Peer Review Facilitated State Board Access program.
Why Facilitated State Board Access?
Since its inception in 1988, the Peer Review program continues to evolve to keep up with changes in the business and regulatory environments. The AICPA Facilitated State Board Access is the next step in this evolution.
After carefully evaluating the various options, stakeholders determined that the best way to address the user demands for greater peer review transparency, while considering member and state CPA society concerns, was to use the existing peer review process to facilitate the voluntary disclosure of peer review results to State Boards of Accountancy (BOAs). In Tennessee, our state board is prohibited from accessing peer review results, so our participation in this process is limited and will only allow us to submit peer review results to other BOAs as specifically requested by firms.
The intent of this process is to create a nationally uniform system through which CPA firms can satisfy state board or licensing body peer review information submission requirements, increase transparency and retain control over their peer review results. The AICPA and CPA state societies are currently working together to allow this process to become the primary means by which all BOAs obtain peer review results. Over time, this process will help to make submission of firm’s peer review information to other BOAs easier.
What This Means for Your Firm
Only Tennessee firms that have their peer reviews administered by the Tennessee Society of CPAs (TSCPA) and have received an accepted review after Nov. 1, 2007 will participate in the Facilitated State Board Access program.
This includes firms that already allow their peer review results to be posted to the existing public file as a condition of membership in the Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC), Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC) or Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS). Please refer to the Member Q&A which can be accessed at http://www.tscpa.com/hotwire/peerreview101007qa.htm for more information on the specific process for these firms.
How the Process Works
In Tennessee, the process entails:
For more information on expanded access please refer to the Member Q&A which can be accessed at http://www.tscpa.com/hotwire/peerreview101007qa.htm.
Firms that choose to expand access to other eligible BOAs may change their mind even after their information has been posted by notifying TSCPA in writing. Once TSCPA has been notified, the information will be removed from the Web site however, certain information (which is currently publicly available) will remain posted to the secure limited-access-only Web site. This information will help us to maintain a complete database of all firms in the peer review program. Please refer to the Member Q&A which can be accessed at http://www.tscpa.com/hotwire/peerreview101007qa.htm for more information.
Peer Review Promotes Firm Quality
The AICPA Peer Review Program is dedicated to enhancing the quality of accounting, auditing and attestation services. Peer review began in the early 1960s, when large firms used it as a way to make certain their different offices maintained consistent standards. The program produced tangible results and was later expanded to firms of all sizes. Since AICPA members adopted peer review as a membership requirement in 1988, the AICPA Peer Review Program has helped thousands of firms monitor and continually improve their accounting and auditing practices.
For more information on peer review transparency or the AICPA’s Peer Review Program and Facilitated State Board Access, go to http://www.aicpa.org/Professional+Resources/Peer+Review/.