Peer Review Facilitated State Board Access (FSBA) is a secure state board of accountancy (BOA) access-only website separate and apart from the AICPA Public File (see Peer Review Information for the Public - FAQs for more information on the AICPA Public File). FSBA is a nationally uniform system through which firms and sole practitioners can satisfy the peer review information submission requirements of their particular BOAs. It is also the primary means by which authorized state board representatives determine whether you have satisfied your states’ peer review requirement when making license renewal decisions. Firms and sole practitioners licensed in more than one state benefit most from FSBA as they no longer need to submit peer review information to each state individually when renewing their license(s).

Your peer review information is not available to the public as a result of this process. No BOA will have access to your client files, firm records, reviewer findings or recommendations for improvement. 

Certain peer review information will be automatically posted to the FSBA site as is required of all peer review administrators:

• Peer review report
• Letter of response, if applicable
• Letter(s) signed by the firm or sole practitioner indicating the peer review documents have been accepted by Committee with the understanding that the firm or sole practitioner agrees to take certain corrective actions (i.e., the “acceptance letter”)
• Letter notifying the firm or sole practitioner that its review and required corrective actions, if any, have been completed (i.e., the “completion letter)

If your firm is a member of the AICPA Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC), Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC) and/or Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS), the aforementioned documents are in the AICPA Public File and by extension will be available to BOAs through FSBA. 

If however your firm is not a member of the one of the aforementioned quality centers, you have the following choices:

1. Do nothing – this means the peer review information posted will be accessible to the your state board.
2. Opt out – this means your state board, as applicable, will not have access to the peer review completion letter through FSBA; you would have to provide a copy of the completion letter to them directly if requested.
3. Opt in – this means you identify certain other state BOAs that can have access to the peer review information in FSBA as allowed by that particular state’s law. If you do not “opt in” and give other states access through FSBA, you will have to provide a copy of the documents to each state’s BOA individually as required by that state’s law.

FSBA maintains the confidentiality of your peer review results, is accessible only by authorized state board representatives and streamlines the license renewal process. We strongly encourage you to let the process work for you and NOT “OPT OUT” for your state, and DO “OPT IN” for any other participating state in which you perform licensed services.

This 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 process will help to make submission of your firm’s peer review information easier. 

No, a firm’s peer review information will not be made available to the public as a result of this process. A firm’s peer review results will be posted to a secure BOA access-only web site that will only be 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. 

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, BOAs may share information with others once they have obtained it.

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 voluntary disclosure of peer review results to BOAs. The intent of this 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.     

Your firm will have the opportunity to make your firm’s peer review results available to other eligible BOAs via the online Information for Scheduling Reviews form or a letter sent to you from the administering entity, depending upon the date you completed the form.  If you request the administering entity to do so, it will grant access to the authorized state board representatives in the state(s) you specify.

These firms began participating in FSBA in 2009.