MSCPA Peer Review Program
This new process, created by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), aims to help the profession keep up with the evolving changes in the business and regulatory environments and to address the demand for greater peer review transparency. Learn more.
Enhanced Requirements for Broker-Dealer Audits
Summary of New Guidance: The PCAOB recently announced a proposal for an interim broker-dealer inspection program wherein the PCAOB will inspect all types of broker-dealers during the next two years to determine the scope of a permanent inspection program. The AICPA Peer Review Board has enacted guidance that during this interim period, audits of broker-dealers will remain within the scope of the peer review program and be considered high-risk engagements.
Definitions of Carrying and Non-Carrying:
Carrying broker-dealers include all broker-dealers that clear customer transactions, carry customer accounts or hold custody of customer cash or securities. Examples of carrying broker-dealers include (a) clearing broker-dealers who receive and execute customer instructions, prepare trade confirmations, settle the money related to customer trades and arrange for the book entry (or physical movement) of the securities and (b) carrying broker-dealers that hold customer accounts or clear customer trades for introducing broker-dealers.
Non-carrying broker-dealers are those broker-dealers that do not clear customer transactions, carry customer accounts, or hold custody of customer cash or securities. Examples of non-carrying broker-dealers are (a) introducing broker-dealers that introduce transactions and accounts of customers or other broker-dealers to another registered broker-dealer that carries such accounts on a fully disclosed basis, and who does not receive or hold customer or other broker-dealers securities and (b) a broker-dealer whose business does not involve customer accounts, such as proprietary trading firms, investment banking firms, and firms that sell interest in mutual funds or insurance products.
If you have any questions about whether the audits you perform of broker-dealers are carrying or non-carrying, please contact the AICPA Peer Review technical hotline at prptechnical@aicpa.org or 919.402.4502, option 3.
2010 Annual Report on Oversight
AICPA Peer Review Web Site
Conduct a firm search, find the Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews, and other resources
for firms needing a information about peer reviews.
White Paper Issued for Navigating Through Revised Peer Review Standards
The AICPA’s Peer Review Board has issued a white paper, Navigating through the Revised AICPA Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews and Related Interpretations. The paper serves as a bridge between the current and revised Standards and Interpretations and explains how the changes may affect enrolled firms (including those responsible for the firm’s quality control function), peer reviewers, entities administering peer reviews, and peer review users, including regulators. The revised Standards and Interpretations are effective for peer reviews commencing on or after January 1, 2009.
The Peer Review Program: No Guarantees Ever & No Hope Sometimes by Roger D. Johnson, CPA
This article discusses the peer review program in light of the Bernard Madoff scandal.
Mass. Board of Public Accountancy Quality Review Requirements
Questions & Answers About The AICPA Peer Review Program
Find information about enrollment requirements, how to prepare for a review, and answers to all of your questions.
Massachusetts Annual Fee Structure and Enrollment Policy
All firms pay an annual fee based on firm size and whether or not an employee of the firm is a fellow member of the Society.
Find a Reviewer
The AICPA Online Reviewer Search is a reference source for those firms that are looking for a reviewer to perform their
peer reviews. The directory lists information on the reviewer’s firm, whether the firm is enrolled in the AICPA Peer
Review Program or the Center for Public Company Audit Firms Peer Review Program (CPCAF PRP) and whether the firm is a
member of the Center for Public Company Audit Firms (CPCAF), the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC),
the Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC) or the PCPS.
Is Your Quality Control System Documented?
Under new quality control standards (SQCS #7), a firm that has audit, review, compilation, or other attestation engagements is required to formally document its quality control policies and procedures prior to January 1, 2009. Smaller firms may wish to document quality control policies and procedures using appropriate Quality Control Policies and Procedure Questionnaires.
