What Sole Proprietors and Small Firms Need to Know About the New Peer Review Law
70.10
The amended language
Any firm that begins providing attest services as described in Education Law section 7401-a or otherwise becomes subject to mandatory participation in the peer review program shall:
(i) notify the department of its change in status within 30 days and provide the department with evidence of enrollment in an acceptable peer review program; and
(ii) the firm shall have a peer review completed within 18 months of the date such services were first provided.
requiring both to notify and to enroll TIMING
1. You were in the middle of an attest engagement when the law was signed on Oct. 23. notify and also to enroll in a peer review program 2. You were not in the middle of an ATTEST engagement on Oct. 23 and you have not become engaged between Oct. 23 and today. HOW TO NOTIFY THE SED In order to satisfy the requirement of notifying the SED, cpabd@nysed.gov HOW TO ENROLL IN A PEER REVIEW http://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/PeerReview/Pages/PRIMA.aspx " DEFINITIONS 7401-a:
Any firm that begins providing attest services as described in Education Law section 7401-a or otherwise becomes subject to mandatory participation in the peer review program shall:
(i) notify the department of its change in status within 30 days and provide the department with evidence of enrollment in an acceptable peer review program; and
(ii) the firm shall have a peer review completed within 18 months of the date such services were first provided.
requiring both to notify and to enroll TIMING
1. You were in the middle of an attest engagement when the law was signed on Oct. 23. notify and also to enroll in a peer review program 2. You were not in the middle of an ATTEST engagement on Oct. 23 and you have not become engaged between Oct. 23 and today. HOW TO NOTIFY THE SED In order to satisfy the requirement of notifying the SED, cpabd@nysed.gov HOW TO ENROLL IN A PEER REVIEW http://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/PeerReview/Pages/PRIMA.aspx " DEFINITIONS 7401-a:
"Compilation" means providing a service that presents, in the form of financial statements, information that is the representation of the management or owners of the client without undertaking to express any assurance of the accuracy of the information in the statements, to be performed in accordance with standards, developed by a federal governmental agency, commission or board or a recognized international or national professional accountancy organization, that are acceptable to the department in accordance with the commissioner's regulations.
"Attest" means providing the following public accountancy services which all require the independence of licensees:
- any audit to be performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards or other similar standards, developed by a federal governmental agency, commission or board or a recognized international or national professional accountancy organization, that are acceptable to the department in accordance with the commissioner's regulations;
- any review of a financial statement to be performed in accordance with standards, developed by a federal governmental agency, commission or board or a recognized international or national professional accountancy organization, that are acceptable to the department in accordance with the commissioner's regulations;
- any examination to be performed in accordance with attestation standards developed by a federal governmental agency, commission or board or a recognized international or national professional accountancy organization, that are acceptable to the department in accordance with the commissioner's regulations; or
- any engagement to be performed in accordance with the auditing standards of the public company accounting oversight board.