(1) The Board adopts "Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Review" promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as its minimum standards for an approved peer review. This shall not require a membership in any specific organization conducting or administrating Board approved reviews in accordance with these standards.
(2) Board approved peer reviews shall be those reviews conducted under the administration of organizations that register with and are approved by the Board based on their adherence to peer review minimum standards. Any organization that registers and is approved by the Board after July 1, 1998 shall comply with the provisions of subsection (4) of the Rule.
(3) A list of organizations conducting or administering Board approved peer reviews shall be maintained by the Board and available from the Board Office.
(4) To qualify as an organization approved by the Board to conduct or administer peer reviews, an organization must submit a Peer Review Administration Plan to the Board for review and approval.
(a) The plan of administration must:
1. Establish a Peer Review Committee (PRC) and subcommittees as needed, and provide professional staff as needed conducting peer reviews or the administration of peer reviews;
2. Establish procedures to communicate to firms participating in peer reviews the latest developments in peer review standards and the most common findings in the peer reviews conducted by the organization;
3. Establish procedures for resolving any disagreement which may arise out of the performance of a peer review;
4. Establish procedures to evaluate and document the performance of each reviewer, and conduct hearings which may lead to disqualification of a reviewer who does not meet the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Standards
5. Require the maintenance of records of peer reviews conducted or administered by the organization in accordance with the records retention rules of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
(b) The PRC must be comprised exclusively of licensees in good standing who hold current permits to practice public accounting and must be formed by the organization for the purpose of accepting peer review engagements.
1. Each member of a PRC must be active in the practice of public accountancy at a supervisory level in the accounting or auditing function while serving on the committee. The member's firm must be enrolled for peer review with an organization that is registered and approved by the Board and have received a grade of pass on its most recent peer review. A majority of the committee members must satisfy the qualifications required of on-site peer review team captains as established and reported in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews.
2. The PRC members' term shall be staggered to provide for continuity.
3. A PRC member may not concurrently serve as a member of his or her state's Board of Accountancy.
4. A PRC member may not participate in any discussion or have any vote with respect to a reviewed firm when the committee member lacks independence or has a conflict of interest.
5. A PRC decision to accept a report must be made by a majority of a quorum of members.
(c) Responsibilities of the PRC are to:
1. Establish and administer the organization's peer reviews in accordance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews;
2. Prescribe actions, when necessary in reviewing reports on peer reviews, designed to assure correction of the deficiencies in the reviewed firm's system of quality control policies and procedures;
3. Monitor the prescribed remedial and corrective actions to determine compliance by the reviewed firm;
4. Resolve instances in which there is a lack of cooperation and disagreement between the committee and review teams or reviewed firms in accordance with the organization's adjudication process;
5. Promptly act upon requests from firms for changes in the timetable of their reviews;
6. Appoint members to subcommittees and task forces as necessary to carry out its functions;
7. Establish and perform procedures for ensuring that reviews are performed and reported on in accordance with American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews;
8. Establish a report acceptance process which facilitates the exchange of viewpoints among committee members; and
9. Provide to the Board administrative statistical reports regarding their peer reviews if requested.
(5) A report, statement memorandum, transcript, finding, record, or working paper prepared and an opinion formulated in connection with any positive enforcement, or peer review is privileged information held by the organization that has Board approved peer reviews and may not be subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for release to any individual and is not admissible as evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding except for a Board hearing.
O.C.G.A. Secs. 43-3-8, 43-3-17, 43-3-29.
