What is the Peer Review?
It means a review of work done by a professional, buy another professional of similar standing. It is a regular mechanism for monitoring the performance of professionals for maintaining the quality of service expected of them for enhancing the reliance placed by the users of financial statements for economic decision making.
Objectives of Peer review:
- To ensure that members while carrying out insurance service assignments comply with technical, professional, and ethical standards issued by the institute.
- The objective is to ensure that members have an in-place proper and defined system, documentation thereof, for maintaining the best quality of assurance services.
- One of the essential objectives is to ensure adherence to various statutory and regulatory requirements.
- To identify and address the pattern of non-compliance with quality control standards.
- The primary objective of peer review is not only to find deficiencies it is one of the reasons but not the only one, the other reason is to improve and upgrade the quality of services that are rendered by members of the profession.
Peer Review Board:
- The constitution of the Peer review board is done by the Council of Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI). The composition of the peer review board are as follows:
- The board shall consist of a maximum of 12 members to be appointed counsel, of whom not less than 50% shall be from amongst the members of the Council.
- It is on the council that they may nominate members to the board from outside bodies means those who do not belong to the internal department, and the nominate from amongst the prominent individual of the high value of integrity and reputation, including but not limited to regulatory authorities, bankers, academicians, economists, legal professionals, and business executives only.
- The council shall appoint the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman from amongst its elected Council members appointed on the board.
Tenure of members
The tenure of a member shall be for one year, or such other period Council from time to time. And when the casual vacancies arise than on the board it shall be filled by the council itself.
Who are disqualified persons?
There are specified persons who can not become the member of the board which includes members of the disciplinary committee or the Disciplinary Board or the Committee on Financial Reporting or the Committee on Ethical Standards and Review Board of the ICAI.
What is the eligibility to be a reviewer?
A peer reviewer shall-
- At least 10 years of experience in practice to become a member.
- It is in practice as per the Chartered Accountants Act.
- He should have undergone the requisite training as prescribed by the Board.
- At the time of acceptance of the Peer Review appointment, he should furnish a declaration as prescribed by the Board.
- Should have signed the declaration of confidentiality as prescribed by the Board.
- Should have conducted an audit of Level 1 entities for at least 7 years to be eligible for conducting Peer Review of Level 1 entities as referred to in point 2 of this statement.
For being a reviewer a member should not have-
- Disciplinary action/proceedings pending against him.
- At any time he should not be found guilty by the Council or the Disciplinary Board or Committee.
- Been convicted by a Competent Court whether within or outside India, of an offense involving moral turpitude and punishable with transportation or imprisonment.
- Any application or conflict of interest is in the practice unit or its partners/personnel.