Changes related to peer review proposed for UAA

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) is proposing changes to the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) Model Rules related to peer review programs.

The UAA is a nonbinding model designed to provide best practices for state laws and regulations related to the accounting profession. Typically, when the UAA is revised, advocates in each state mobilize in an effort to change their state laws and regulations to correspond with the UAA’s standards to promote the best interests of the public and the accounting profession.

The newly proposed rules would change Article 7 of the UAA Model Rules and would:

• Contain basic definitions and recognize the AICPA and the state CPA societies as approved sponsoring organizations.
• Provide guidance for the selection of Peer Review Oversight Committee members.
• Clarify requirements firms need to meet by a set date in order to comply with state board of accountancy peer review requirements.
• Specify certain documents related to peer review for firms to submit to state boards of accountancy at certain times.

The proposal was developed by the NASBA Compliance Assurance Committee in consultation with the AICPA and the joint AICPA/NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act Committee. Comments can be submitted through June 30 to Louise Haberman at lhaberman@nasba.org.

— Ken Tysiac (Kenneth.Tysiac@aicpa-cima.com) is the JofA’s editorial director.