Counterpoint.

• Author: Katch, Ronald S.
• Position: Point Counterpoint: Voluntary Tax Practice Review

Although the AICPA's Voluntary Tax Practice Review (VTPR) program was first introduced over four years ago, no available statistics on the program exist. The absence of such data is due to the fact that the program is truly voluntary and confidential. The AICPA does not maintain any records of firms that undergo a tax practice review, nor does it ever learn the results of either a self-assessed or peer review In addition, the reviewer firm in a peer review keeps only the engagement letter. In other words, all records relating to the decision to undergo a tax practice review and the scope and results thereof are the property of the reviewed firm.

This approach to documentation is in keeping with the objective of the VTPR program, both as it existed on introduction in late 1990 and today: to provide a flexible, wholly voluntary, completely private program of tax practice review that is both beneficial and practical for local practitioners. The program, the foundation for which is set out in the AICPA publication, Guidelines for Voluntary Tax Practice Review, helps practitioners to identify and chart their own path to improved tax practice methods. The consultation-oriented program is not a tool to regulate tax practices.

Despite discussions by individuals and NON-AICPA groups about the possibility (or to many, the threat) of a mandatory review program, such a step is not the intent of the AICPA or the committees that are responsible for the VTPR program. This position is not expected to change, even as the AICPA looks to establish uniform quality control standards covering all aspects of a CPA firm's practice.

At its October 1994 meeting, the AICPA Board of Directors approved formation of a task force, the Special Committee on Quality Control Standards, that is charged with developing uniform standards. The AICPA has stated, however, that in its search for joint quality controls, it is not looking to establish mandatory practice monitoring in nonauditing and nonaccounting. portions of a CPA firm's practice. In addition, any recommendations that the task force does develop will be nonbinding "standards" for practitioners. Thus, the AICPA's effort to establish uniform quality control standards will not jeopardize its long-standing position that the VTPR program should be voluntary.

This article discusses some of the pros and cons of the AICPA's VTPR program, including its voluntary nature and the role it serves. The authors deal strictly with a hypothetical scenario in terms of the call for a mandatory program. The AICPA and the committees responsible for the VTPR program continue to stand by their conclusion that the program best serves the needs of the local practitioner only if it remains voluntary and confidential.

The VTPR program should be...