Peer Review and Enrollment Information
This section is for firms who do not have any employees who are AICPA or VSCPA members. It is now a Virginia Board of Accountancy (BOA) requirement that all licensed firms must be enrolled in a peer review program regardless of the services performed by the firm. Firms providing services involving the practice of public accounting and/or compiling financial statements in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS) established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) undergo a peer review of their accounting and/or auditing practice that is as least comparable to the AICPA Peer Review Program. Accounting and auditing engagements for the purposes of peer review are defined as all engagements covered by Statements on Auditing Standards (SASs); Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS); Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAEs); and the Government Auditing Standards (the Yellow Book) issued by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). The VSCPA administers the AICPA/VSCPA Peer Review Program and has been approved by the BOA to administer peer reviews for licensed firms. Prior to the commencement of a peer review, the firm being reviewed must be enrolled in the program. The VSCPA charges all firms participating in the program an administrative fee to cover the cost of program administration. These fees are charged per review and must be paid in full prior to the scheduling of the review, unless otherwise noted. For firms that are not members of the AICPA or VSCPA, there is a $30 one-time enrollment fee in addition to the following:
The term "professional" refers to all personnel, including leased and per diem employees who devote at least 25 percent of their time in performing audits, reviews, compilations or other attest engagements, or those professionals who have partner/manager level responsibility for the overall supervision or review of such engagements. This is a separate fee from what your reviewer will charge you for his/her services. If your firm is required to have a peer review and you would like the VSCPA to administer the review, please fill out the VSCPA Peer Review Program enrollment form and return it to the VSCPA at P.O. Box 4620, Glen Allen, VA 23058-4620 or fax to (804) 273-1741. Firms that have not undergone a review must comply with the Board's requirement as of 2002. Because there are many time factors involved in the peer review process, we strongly encourage you to enroll promptly and have your review performed in a timely manner to avoid missing this deadline. The entire review process can take anywhere from four to 12 months, depending on when the Committee meets and if it assigns any follow-up action for your firm.
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