The AICPA Peer Review Board has released revised standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews and Interpretations to the Standards. The revised guidance is expected to result in a more efficient and effective peer review process. Since the revisions are significant, all interested parties, especially peer reviewers, peer-reviewed firms (including those responsible for their firm’s quality control functions) and peer-review users are encouraged to become familiar with them.

Many factors have influenced the current reevaluation of the Standards and Interpretations, most notably comments received from peer review users, including feedback received from an on-line poll of AICPA members. The feedback was considered by an AICPA Board of Directors task force established in May 2005, which issued a report of recommendations to enhance the Program in February 2006. That report of recommendations was considered by a Joint Peer Review Task Force and the Board’s Standards Task Force, which have been addressing harmonization issues and other program enhancements since 2004. Their conclusions and proposals were released in April 2007 in an exposure draft with a comment deadline of June 30, 2007. The comment letters, which reflected stakeholders’ continued strong interest in improving peer review, were carefully considered, and their feedback was incorporated into the final guidance approved by the Board in late 2007.

Revisions to the Standards include more principles-based standards and changes to engagement and report reviews. Also, the reporting process has been reengineered to include a shorter and more concise peer-review report, which enhances its clarity, comparability and understandability.

To ensure program integrity and usefulness, the proposed revisions were designed to meet stakeholders’ needs. The revisions recognize the public interest in the quality of the accounting, auditing and attestation services provided by members’ firms. They also recognize the importance peer review plays in the state board of accountancy licensure process and for other regulators such as the Government Accountability Office.

To further these objectives, the revised guidance creates one set of Standards and Interpretations within the program for all AICPA members subject to peer review. This includes those members’ firms currently enrolled in the CPCAF Peer Review Program.

The revised Standards and Interpretations are effective for peer reviews commencing on or after January 1, 2009. We encourage you to review and become familiar with the revised guidance.
 

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