Guess what? You’re not the only one that gets audited. You may get frustrated when your auditors come in and turn your business or agency upside down, but you may not know, the same thing happens to your auditors every three years, as they are required to be peer reviewed. A peer review is an audit of a CPA firm’s compliance with industry standards, whereby an independent auditing firm “audits” policies and procedures; compliance with industry guidelines and standards; and reviews the quality and accuracy of the audits performed. The result of the peer review is a report that the firm passed, passed with deficiencies, or failed. The purpose of the peer review is to provide confidence to the public that the accounting firm reviewed meets appropriate professional standards and ensuring that the quality of the work performed by accountants is at its highest.
So did your auditors make the grade? It is important to make sure the CPA firm performing your attest services are performing at the level of standards the Peer Review Program has established. By clicking this link, you can find out if a member firm is in compliance with the standards of the Peer Review Program.
Simply enter the firm’s name or any other relevant information to find any member CPA firm. From there, you can find the grade they received, review their report, and also understand any deficiencies that they may have.
Remember, people are relying on your financial statements, and you are relying on your auditors to perform a comprehensive audit that provides comfort through their opinion. If your auditors are not making the grade, how much comfort does their audit opinion provide?
Kenneth R. Cerini, CPA, CFP, FABFA
Managing Partner
Ken is the Managing Partner of Cerini & Associates, LLP and is the executive responsible for the administration of our not-for-profit and educational provider practice groups. In addition to his extensive audit experience, Ken has been directly involved in providing consulting services for nonprofits and educational facilities of all sizes throughout New York State in such areas as cost reporting, financial analysis, Medicaid compliance, government audit representation, rate maximization, board training, budgeting and forecasting, and more.