Peer review

Peer Review Revision Finalized

T he American Institute of CPAs peer review board will implement several key changes in its revised Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews ( AICPA Professional Standards , vol. 2, PR section 100). The most significant changes in the exposure draft remain, with little or no change, in the final version. These include

• Requiring a firm that performs any type of engagement covered by statements on auditing standards to have an onsite peer review.
• Expanding the definition of an accounting and auditing practice for peer review purposes to include attestation services on financial information when the firm audits, reviews or compiles historical financial statements of the client.
• Implementing a risk-based approach to peer review engagement selection.
• Resolving inconsistencies between onsite and offsite reviews in determining yearends.
• Allowing the peer review team captain to review another firm an unspecified number of times instead of limiting reviews to only two consecutive times.

(Details were outlined in “Peer Review Reform,” JofA, Sept.96) R. Bruce Brasell, AICPA peer review technical manager, said the ED comments were generally supportive, with little major criticism.

A key change, according to Brasell, is in the effective date. Originally, the standard was to be effective for all peer reviews that commenced on or after January 1, 1997. The final effective date, however, is for peer review years beginning on or after January 1, 1997. Brasell said this postponement was to give practitioners more time to familiarize themselves with the new standard. The AICPA is working on explanatory courses for both team captains and firms that receive reviews, which will be offered through state CPA societies.

To order the AICPA Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews (product no. 067021JA), call the order department at 800-862-4272. The changes also will appear in the AICPA Peer Review Program Manual .

High Honors for Three CPAs

T he Accounting Hall of Fame has announced three inductees for 1996. Established in 1950, the Hall of Fame, located at Ohio State University, honors accountants who have made significant contributions to the advancement of accounting in the 20th century.

• William H. Beaver is the Joan E. Horngren Professor of Accounting at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He has been a consultant to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Corporate Disclosure Policy and a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation. Beaver was the 1987-88 president of the American Accounting Association.
• Donald J. Kirk joined Price Waterhouse in 1959 and became a partner in 1967. He was a founding member of the FASB and served as its chairman for nine years. He currently serves on the Public Oversight Board for the SEC practice section of the American Institute of CPAs division for CPA firms. His many awards include the AICPA Gold Medal for Distinguished Service to the Profession, the Institutes highest honor.
• Charles A. Bowsher recently retired as comptroller general of the United States. His induction, along with his appointment to the FAF, was announced in the January Journal .