Peer Review Opens the Door for Great New Opportunities
Now is the perfect time to become a peer reviewer! With more than 32,000 firms participating
in the Peer Review Program, demand for your skills in this important professional program
has never been higher.

When you become a peer reviewer, you’ll gain valuable knowledge, expertise and exposure and quickly earn the respect of your peers. Ensure the quality of accounting and auditing services and uphold the integrity of our profession—apply now to take on this highly respected role.

Performing peer reviews also provides members with a way to “give back to the profession.”  

In this section, we provide a brief overview of some of the other benefits, as well as the requirements. 

Benefits of Being a Peer Reviewer
Being a peer reviewer will open doors to incredible opportunities. Peer review services will enhance your knowledge of professional standards. In addition, your work as a peer reviewer will enable you to provide better service to your own clients by offering you a venue to observe and understand the best techniques of other accounting firms.

When you become a peer reviewer, you will:

• Be seen as an expert, gaining the respect of your peers.
• Identify the best practices of other firms and apply them at your firm.
• Use what you learn from other firms to sharpen your own skills and reinforce your accounting and auditing knowledge.
• Often receive referrals for additional services as a result of performing peer reviews.
• Be of benefit to the accounting profession.
• Develop an additional profit center for your firm.

To become a team captain on a system review or a review captain on an engagement review, an AICPA member must:

• Meet all the reviewer requirements.
• Complete the on-line reviewer resume form to be listed in the AICPA reviewer database and in the on-line reviewer search.
• Complete the AICPA two-day introductory reviewer training course, “How to Conduct a Review Under the AICPA Practice-Monitoring Program.” Check the AICPA course listings or contact the WSCPA to obtain information about the introductory course.

Read more information of interest to reviewers and those interested in becoming a reviewer:

AICPA Peer Review Standards and Guidance
AICPA Peer Review Standards Interpretations (pdf)

Qualifications for Report Acceptance Body (RAB) Service
Criteria for Eligibility to Serve on the Peer Review Acceptance Body (RAB):

The candidate must:

• Be currently active in public practice as partner or manager, or at an equivalent supervisory level in accounting and auditing.
• Be associated with a firm that has received a report with the peer review rating of "pass" on its most recently completed system or engagement peer review.
• Must have completed a course that meets the team captain peer reviewer training requirements during the first year of service and then every three years thereafter.
• Have at least five years of recent experience in the practice of public accounting in the accounting and auditing function.
• Possess current knowledge of applicable professional standards.
• Be a member of the AICPA in good standing (current active status) licensed to practice as a certified public accountant with a firm enrolled in the AICPA Peer Review Program.
• Have completed forty percent (eight hours in any one year and forty-eight hours every three years) of the minimum AICPA required CPE in subjects relating to accounting and auditing.

An individual may not serve if his or her ability to practice is limited or restricted in any way by a regulatory, monitoring or enforcement body and is prohibited from serving as a peer review committee member if one is a member of any ethics committee or performing enforcement-related work for a state board of accountancy or other regulatory agency.

A majority of the committee members must possess the qualifications required of a system peer review team captain.

In addition, it is highly recommended that the candidate be computer literate and have continuous access to the Internet, as well as his/her own email address.

Committee Member Responsibilities and Functions

• Oversee the peer reviews administered and performed.
• Establish procedures for ensuring that peer reviews are performed in accordance with Standards and related guidance materials.
• Evaluate whether peer reviews have been performed in accordance with Standards and related guidance materials.
• Evaluate whether the report and the response thereto (if required) are in accordance with Standards and related guidance materials.
• Determine whether it should require any remedial or corrective actions in addition to those described by the reviewed firm in its letter of response to improve the reviewed firm's quality of practice and/or financial reporting.
• Monitor the corrective actions implemented to determine compliance by the firm
• Recommend the development of educational materials and programs for members of the state CPA societies under its jurisdiction.

• Each member appointed to serve on a committee is obligated to adhere to the program's confidentiality requirements.  A participating state CPA society should request the members of its peer review committee to sign a statement acknowledging their appointment and the responsibilities and obligations that are entailed.
• Each administering entity should adopt procedures for mailing or sending (i.e. via the Internet) information to committee members ensuring confidentiality.
• A peer review must be conducted in compliance with the confidentiality requirements set forth in the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and described in the Standards.
• Information concerning the reviewed firm or any of its clients or personnel, including the findings of the review that is obtained as a consequence of the review is confidential.  Such information should not be disclosed by the review team members to anyone not involved in carrying out the review or administering the program or used in any way not related to meeting the objectives of the program (see Standards, Paragraphs 9(8) and 10(9)4).
• While entities administering reviews may not make the results of reviews available to the public, they may disclose on request the following types of information:
  • The firm’s name and address
  • The firm’s enrollment in the peer review program
  • The date of, and the period covered by the firm’s last peer review
  • If applicable, the termination of the firm from the program

If you have further questions, please e-mail peerreview@wscpa.org.