Firms engaging their own peer reviewers have greater control over the process and the cost of the review Where possible, a firm should find a reviewer whose practice is similar to their own in terms of size and industry specialization.  The reviewer should have significant experience in all of the key areas in which the firm operates.  Requests for proposals and telephone interviews with prospective reviewers can be a key component to a successful process.

There are a few different ways to learn about prospective reviewers.  The Arkansas Society of CPAs keeps a list of firms that perform reviews.  Many reviewers advertise in CPA periodicals and newsletters.  The AICPA Alliance for CPA firms (PCPS) has a Firm-On-Firm Directory available on it’s web site.  This directory lists many firms that perform peer reviews and also includes information on firm specialization by industry and firm size.  Firms can also consult with other CPAs with similar practices in order to find out which reviewers they have used and may recommend.

Once your firm has compiled a list of potential reviewers, you can send out requests for proposals (RFP)s.  Make sure this process takes place six (6) to nine (9) months before the due date of your peer review so you have time to evaluate the firm’s responses.

Your RFP should contain information about the firm’s accounting and auditing hours, specialization, personnel and peer review history.  The RFP should also address the firm’s interest in other possible practice management/value-added type engagements and any other information the reviewer should consider in the proposal.  Upon the receipt of the proposal, you can then begin to conduct telephone interviews to learn more about each of the potential reviewers.  This method is often the best way to gauge the potential reviewer’s expertise as well as their communication skills and general past peer review experiences.  Keep in mind that your team captain needs to be very familiar with and experienced in a firm’s most important areas of specialization.  Team captains who are only generally familiar with standards in certain industries may not have the same depth of expertise as a practitioner who specializes in your particular industry.  Most firms find that their best peer reviewers are those that are truly peers.