AICPA PEER REVIEW BOARD AMENDS PEER REVIEW STANDARDS

The AICPA Peer Review Board recently amended the Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews.

The amendment--

* expands the definition of an accounting and auditing practice for the purposes of performing and reporting on a peer review to conform with Statement on Quality Control Standards (SQCS) No. 2, System of Quality Control for a CPA Firm's Accounting and Auditing Practice ( AICPA Professional Standards , vol. 1, QC section 20), thereby including all engagements performed under the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements

* states that any engagement performed under the Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS) will require an on-site peer review, not just audits of historical financial statements and SAS No. 75, Engagements to Apply Agreed-Upon Procedures to Specified Elements, Accounts, or Items of a Financial Statement , to make the standards all-inclusive.

* replaces the term "owner" with "partner" throughout the peer review standards and adds a footnote defining the term partner upon its first use

* replaces the terms "unqualified" and "qualified," which are used to describe the type of peer review report issued, with the terms "unmodified" and "modified," respectively

* incorporates Peer Review Standards Interpretation No. 4, "Reviewer Requirements," into the body of the peer review standards

* clarifies that attest engagements should be subject to selection if the date of the report for the engagement falls within the year to be reviewed

* revises the standard language used in the peer review report and letter of comments to make them more easily read and understood by all users.

The changes are effective for peer reviews that commence on or after January 1, 1999. *