Facilitated State Board Access in Tennessee

Member Frequently Asked Questions

1.   What is Facilitated State Board Access? It is a process that the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has created to help keep up with the evolving changes in the business and regulatory environments and to address the demand for greater peer review transparency. Facilitated State Board Access is a program that uses 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 the process is limited and will only allow us to submit peer review results to other BOAs as specifically requested by firms.
2.   If the Tennessee BOA is prohibited from accessing peer review results, why are we participating in this program? In Tennessee, we are participating in the portion of the process that enables firms to provide access to their peer review results to other BOAs in states in which they practice.
3.   How does my firm benefit from this new Facilitated State Board Access process? This process is intended 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 state CPA societies are currently working together to allow this process to become the primary means by which BOAs obtain peer review results. Over time, this  process will help to make submission of peer review information easier.
4.   Which firms in Tennessee will be affected by the Facilitated State Board Access program? Only Tennessee firms that have their peer reviews administered by the Tennessee Society of CPAs (TSCPA) and have a peer review accepted 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 question No. 12 in this Q&A for the specific process for these firms.
5.   Why Facilitated State Board Access? 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 BOAs. The intent of this new 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 state CPA societies are currently working together to allow this process to become the primary means by which all BOAs obtain peer review results.
6.   How will this new process work? Only Tennessee firms that have their peer reviews administered by 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 question No. 12 in this Q&A for the specific process for these firms.

In Tennessee, the process will entail:

  • Receiving an additional letter with your firm’s peer review acceptance letter informing you that you can request TSCPA to post your firm’s peer review results to a secure BOA limited-access-only Web site with access given to specific BOAs that require peer review and are permitted access to peer review information. Again, this excludes the Tennessee BOA, which is prohibited from access, as well as other state boards that are prohibited from access or don’t require peer review.
  • To have your peer review results posted for access by other BOAs, you must return the communication to TSCPA with specific instructions. It is anticipated that this option will be beneficial to firms, over time, with multi-state practices.
7.   When can I expand access to other BOAs outside of those currently participating in the program? During this initial phase, firms will be provided with the opportunity to select other BOAs to expand access to. However, access will not be granted until the selected state or states are participating in the Facilitated State Board Access program.

Firms will be notified by TSCPA when the BOA(s) that they have selected to expand access to are participating in the Facilitated State Board Access program. This will remind firms of their selection and provide them with the opportunity to change their decision regarding expanded access.
8.   What peer review information will be posted by TSCPA to the secure Web site for firms that choose to provide access to one or more eligible BOAs? For firms that choose to provide access to one or more eligible BOAs, the following documents will be posted, as applicable, to the secure Web site for access only to authorized state board representatives. The number of documents posted for each firm can vary based upon the results of the peer review, and a firm will not choose which documents to post as each of those applicable (based on the results of its peer review) will be posted.
  • Peer review report
  • Letter of comments
  • Letter of response
  • Acceptance letter
  • Letter(s) signed by the reviewed firm indicating that the peer review documents have been accepted with the understanding that the reviewed firm agrees to take certain actions
  • Letter notifying the reviewed firm or individual that certain required actions have been completed
9.   What if my firm changes its mind and wants to opt out after the information has been posted? Because access to peer review information is prohibited by the Tennessee BOA, your peer review results will not be posted to the secure limited-access-Web site for access by the Tennessee BOA. However, if you choose to provide access to other eligible BOAs and decide to change your mind, you may opt out at any time 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 the firms in the peer review program. This includes:
  • The firm’s name and address
  • The firm’s enrollment in the Peer Review Program
  • The date of acceptance and the period covered by the firm’s most recently accepted peer review
  • Whether the firm’s enrollment in the program was terminated
10.   What happens if my firm already allows its 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)? While the information is already in the public file as a condition of membership, because access to peer review information is prohibited by the Tennessee BOA, your peer review results will not be posted to the secure limited-access-Web site for access by the Tennessee BOA.

Instead, your firm will receive a letter from TSCPA giving you the opportunity to make your peer review results available to other eligible BOAs. If you request TSCPA to do so, it will grant access to the authorized state board representatives in the state(s) specified by you.
11.   Who do I contact if I have questions? You can contact Gary Freundlich, CPA, Director of Peer Review at the AICPA via e-mail at gfreundlich@aicpa.org.
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