 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Practice Inspection
Overview
(Note: Information on the 2013-2014 selection of offices for practice inspection, including the completion and submission of the planning questionnaire forms, follows the overview below. If you have received a letter confirming the date of a practice inspection visit, please see Confirmation of Inspection Visit below.)
The Institute’s practice inspection program is a key regulatory process launched in 1980. Its dual purpose is:
- Protection of the public by ensuring that all members engaged in the practice of public accounting are adhering to the professional standards set out in the CICA Handbook and ICAO Members handbook, thereby contributing to users’ confidence in the integrity of financial statements; and
- Providing an educational experience, to help practitioners improve their professional standards where necessary.
Essentially, through an assessment of a member’s quality control manual and a review of current assurance and compilation engagement files, practice inspection identifies areas where a practising member may require assistance in maintaining prescribed professional standards. The practice inspection program does not set standards.
The success of the Ontario Institute's practice inspection program has resulted in many international inquiries. Recent initiatives by the provincial Institutes/Ordre have resulted in the implementation of a harmonized approach to the performance of practice inspections and the evaluation of inspection results by decision makers (i.e. provincial/Ordre practice inspection committees). The attached articles, in the Winter 2011 issue of CheckMark and a subsequent issues of e-Brief, describe numerous aspects of the harmonized practice inspection approach.
In addition to assessing compliance with prescribed professional standards, practice inspection assesses, on behalf of the Public Accounting Licensing Board, members' compliance with the minimum requirements for maintaining a public accounting licence.
Each year, the practice inspection team, consisting of the staff and the practice inspection committee, summarizes areas where standards adherence might be improved. The resulting "Focus on Practice Inspection Findings" letter to all practising offices serves to encourage firms to assess their own standards to ensure that the problems set out in the letter do not apply to their practices. This assists firms in improving the quality of their practices where necessary.
Find out more about the Institute's Practice Inspection Program through the following links:
- Regulation 10-1: Practice Inspection
- Action Plan
- Practice Inspection Findings Letter to All Offices June 2012 (PDF)
- Survey of Offices Inspected
2013-2014 Practice Inspection - Completion and Submission of Planning Questionnaires
The practice inspection planning questionnaires for 2013-2014 are all web-driven and the submission process is fully electronic.
The deadline for submission of the planning questionnaire is May 31, 2013.
The key information requested in the planning questionnaire is outlined in the link below; in order to simplify the process, offices are encouraged to assemble the necessary information prior to completing the questionnaire on-line.
To access the planning questionnaire forms and detailed instructions for completing them, please access the following link:
If you have any further inquiries with respect to the planning questionnaire or the practice inspection process, please refer to the “Practice Inspection Overview” above and the “Frequently Asked Questions” in the link below.
If your query is still not addressed, please contact the coordinator named in your selection letter. Please have on hand your practice inspection number (and confirmation number, if your query is with respect to a submitted questionnaire).
Confirmation of Date of Practice Inspection Visit
If you have received a confirmation letter in respect of a forthcoming 2013 practice inspection visit (i.e. a letter indicating the date of your practice inspection visit and the name of the inspector), the following forms, as set out in that letter, should be completed prior to the inspection and held for the inspector. All of these forms are fillable, saveable PDFs:
- Quality control questionnaire – Full-time Sole Practitioners: If you are a sole practitioner, please complete the Quality Control Questionnaire for Sole Practitioners.
- Quality Control Questionnaire – Firms other than Sole Practitioners: If your practice is a partnership, please complete the Quality Control Questionnaire for Firms other than Sole Practitioners
- Student Training Questionnaire: If you have a student training approval in the external audit path (i.e. a “traditional” student training approval), the confirmation letter will ask you to complete a Student Training Questionnaire (note: if you have such an approval, this questionnaire must be completed regardless of whether or not you presently employ any students.)
- Practice Inspection Review – Public Accounting (PA) Experience: Please ensure that each individual in your office who holds a PA licence completes this form, to a maximum of 10 individuals (if your office includes more than 10 licensees, the listing provided with your confirmation letter will highlight the names of 10 individuals). Each individual completing this form must include their PA licence number and the date of expiry of the licence.