OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

Impact on Current UAA Initiatives. The Board strongly considered the impact these two options would have on the AICPA’s ability to see the current UAA enacted into law. Recent surveys of state boards of accountancy indicate that the UAA, and specifically the issue of non-CPA ownership, is the number one priority of the boards. The introduction of a controversial service or proposals that are viewed as weakening our protection of the public might negatively affect the implementation of the UAA. The Board believed it was appropriate to consider pursuing these conclusions; however, the impact on the current UAA initiatives should always be considered.

Initiatives of the AICPA Peer Review Board. The Board received a report from the AICPA Peer Review Board related to its efforts to improve the peer review program. In the second quarter of 1999, the AICPA Peer Review Board expects to issue an exposure draft that would, among other things, change the peer review process for firms that only perform compilations. That change would require those firms to be subjected to a report review on a tri-annual basis with generally no involvement by a report-acceptance body or a technical reviewer. The Peer Review Board believes that its proposal would continue our protection of the public, might make the program more effective and efficient, and would remove some of the barriers that firms may perceive as burdensome and costly. The Board supports the initiatives of the Peer Review Board and believes the initiatives are consistent with the Board’s conclusions. If Council supports the Board’s conclusions, it will consider asking the Peer Review Board to consider further modifications that would focus peer review on individuals rather than firms for compilations only.