3 Qualities That Accountants Should Look for in a CPA Quality Reviewer
As one of the oldest professions globally, tax accounting has continued to evolve over the years. Today, certified tax accounting practices are guided by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which specify how to recognise, measure, present and disclose tax accounting events in financial statements. Notably, the accounting industry is highly competitive, and accountants must guarantee high-quality services to remain relevant. Therefore, the best way to keep your practice on track is to undertake a CPA quality review. Typically, an independent institution conducts a CPA quality review, but you get to choose who to work with. This article highlights qualities that tax accountants should look for in a quality reviewer.
Firm Oriented Assessment
When looking for a CPA quality reviewer, you will find some service providers focusing their assessments on individual public practice certificate (PPC) holders. While assessing individual accountants in a firm is integral to the review process, working with a reviewer focusing their assessment on a company is better. Notably, tax accountants do not work in a vacuum. Their work has an impact on other areas of a firm and vice-versa. Therefore, a review process that focuses on a company as a unit guarantees a holistic and comprehensive report. For instance, a firm-centred review program rounds up all accountants in a firm and talks to them together rather than individually. This way, you get to understand issues affecting accountants' efforts to follow procedures and practices.
Monitoring System
Periodic CPA quality review is essential for any accounting firm worth its salt. However, if you conduct a review process once every few years, the chances are high that your practice will struggle. Thus, do not hire a service provider who will assess your company's reporting practices and procedures and leave it that. Instead, CPA quality reviewers put in place a monitoring system that allows them to evaluate your accounting systems continually. It is essential if you consider that accounting principles and practices are constantly reviewed. Therefore, a monitoring system makes a CPA quality review process more manageable during control assessments.
Efficient Accounting Review Software
One of the main objectives of CPA quality control for accounting firms is to operationalise and measure the quality of accounting practices. Typically, certified reviewers use software to conduct accounting quality assessments, but the programs used vary. Ideally, CPA quality review software must serve as an analytical hub, which efficiently identifies patterns indicative of non-compliance. Additionally, the software should be customisable to help detect whether a business's accounting practices significantly differ from its peers in the industry.
Reach out to tax accountants for other ideas.
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