Peer Review Extension Policy

MISSOURI SOCIETY OF CPAs PEER REVIEW EXTENSION POLICY

The Peer Review Executive Committee of the Missouri Society of CPAs will use the following policy for granting extension requests for the timely completion of peer reviews.

Firms undergoing peer review receive a Background Information form with a letter informing them of the due date of their upcoming review.  It is the firm’s responsibility to comply with the AICPA Peer Review Standards  and to complete their peer review by the required due date - three years and six months after the year-end of the last peer review. 

A request for extension of time to complete a review must be put in writing and should be submitted to the MSCPA Peer Review administrator at least sixty days prior to the due date. A request from the team captain will not be accepted.  The peer review administrator will approve any requests for extension for up to 30 days.  The administrator will only grant extensions based upon the guidelines set forth by the AICPA Peer Review Board.  Extension requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The administrator will look at the request carefully and consider various factors, such as whether the firm has been assigned an appropriate due date (three years and six months from the year-end of its current review), why the firm is making the request, whether the firm received an extension on the last review, whether the last review was submitted timely and whether the firm timely responded to requests for information on scheduling its upcoming review.

After taking all of the above into consideration, the administrator may rule upon the request.  The emphasis is to assist the firm in complying with professional standards and in completing its review in a timely fashion.  If this is not possible, then an extended due date will be established by the administrator from information provided by the firm and team captain, if necessary.  This will normally be fifteen to thirty days from the original due date.  Only in extreme situations would a firm be granted an extension in excess of thirty days.

In extreme cases, the request will be forwarded to the Executive Committee Chair along with the additional information for approval or denial.  The chair will also evaluate the request and various factors pertaining to the request, if the chair feels an extension is needed in excess of thirty days, the chair will assign a new due date for the current review only.  The subsequent review will be assigned a due date of three years and six months from the current review due date, not the extended review date.

Approved by the MSCPA Peer Review Executive Committee, December, 2000
Amended by the MSCPA Peer Review Executive Committee, November 2002