Facilitated State Board Access in Maryland: FAQs

1. What is Facilitated State Board Access?

It is a new process that the American Institute of CPAs has created to help keep up with the evolving changes in the business and regulatory environments and to address the demand for greater peer review transparency.

2. How does my firm benefit from this new FSBA process?

This new process is intended to create a nationally uniform system through which CPA firms can satisfy state board or licensing body peer review information submission requirements, increase transparency, and retain control over their peer review results. The AICPA and CPA state societies are working together to allow this process to become the primary means by which all state boards of accountancy (BOAs) obtain peer review results. Over time, this new process will help to make submission of your firm’s peer review information easier. Visit www.dllr.state.md.us/license/cpa/cpapeer/ for additional information on Maryland’s peer review information submission requirements.

3. Which firms in Maryland will be affected by the FSBA process?

All Firms with their main offices in Maryland that have their peer reviews administered by the Maryland Association of CPAs. This includes firms that already allow their peer review results to be posted to the existing public file as a condition of membership in the Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC), Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC) or Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS). Please refer to question No. 11 in this document for the specific process for these firms.

4. Is a firm’s peer review information made public as a result of this new process?

No, a firm’s peer review information is not available to the public as a result of this process. A firm’s peer review results are posted to a secure BOA access-only Web site that is only available to authorized state board representatives.

However, many firms already make their peer review results available as part of their AICPA membership or a Government Accountability Office (GAO) or BOA requirement. In addition, many firms make their peer review results available upon client request as it demonstrates a firm’s commitment to quality.

5. Will my firm’s peer review information that is posted to the secure BOA Web site be shared with others?

That is not the intention of this process. However, each BOA's laws and regulations govern this matter. In addition, due to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) legislation that applies in some instances, BPAs may share information with others once they have obtained it.

6. Why Facilitated State Board Access?

After careful evaluation of the various options, stakeholders determined that the best way to address the user demands for greater peer review transparency, while considering member and state CPA society concerns, was to use the existing peer review process to facilitate the disclosure of peer review results to BOAs. The intent of the new process is to create a nationally uniform system through which CPA firms can satisfy state board peer review information submission requirements, increase transparency, and retain control over their peer review results.

7. When was Facilitated State Board Access implemented?

Maryland began the FSBA process for firms that had their reviews accepted October 13, 2008 and later.

8. How does this process work?

FSBA uses a process whereby all peer reviews are available to authorized representatives of the Maryland State Board via the secure web site. However a firm must request that its peer review results be made available to selected BOAs from other states. (Firms may choose specific BOAs during the Background information stage of preparing for the review)
Once the Maryland Association of CPAs posts the information, the firm’s managing partner and peer review contact will receive a confirmation via e-mail informing them that the results have been posted to the site.

Firms can request that their results be made available to more than one BOA, as long as the BOAs require peer review and are not prohibited from obtaining access to peer review information. However, during these early stages of adoption, access will be limited only to those BOAs that currently participate in the process.

9. What peer review information will be posted by the Maryland Association of CPAs to the secure BOA Web site?

The following documents will be posted, as applicable, to the secure BOA Web site. The number of documents posted for each firm can vary based upon the results of the peer review.

Peer review report
Letter of Response
Acceptance letter
Letter(s) signed by the reviewed firm indicating that the peer review documents have been accepted with the understanding that the reviewed firm agrees to take certain actions

Letter notifying the reviewed firm or individual that certain required actions have been completed

10. Isn't this an example of how rules imposed on large firms can cascade down to small firms?

There is growing demand for increased transparency in all facets of business; this demand is driven by marketplace and regulatory trends that affect firms of all sizes. Currently most state boards of accountancy either mandate peer review as a condition of licensure or have announced plans to do so, and about half of those states already require some form of submission of peer review information as a condition for renewal of a license.

11. What happens if my firm already allows its peer review results to be posted to the existing public file as a condition of membership in the Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC), Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC) or Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS)?

There will be no change as your results will be made available to the public file just as in the past. They will also be posted to the secure BOA Web site for use by authorized state board representatives.

12. Who do I contact if I have questions?

You may contact Marybeth@macpa.org with any questions.

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