Role of the practice review committee;

              The Role of the Practice Review Committee
by EMMETT S. HARRINGTON Partner, Executive Office
Presented before the 41st Annual Michigan Account­ing
Conference, Ann Arbor, Michigan—October 1967
ACCOUNTING has had dynamic growth and progress in the past quarter
century. Today there are over 100,000 CPAs in the United States as compared with 22,000 only 25 years ago. The CPA has expanded his services in the fields of auditing and taxation and has naturally filled a gap in the area of management advisory services.
But growth adds complexities to our work, and the profession has recognized that its members and prospective members should be well pre­pared
to cope with these problems. Today's students of accounting re­ceive
a comprehensive education, including a broad liberal curriculum designed to serve as a foundation for intellectual fulfillment in our so­ciety.
Those of us in practice today are presented with numerous oppor­tunities
to continue our education through the professional development programs established by the American Institute of Certified Public Ac­countants,
our state societies, and the other accounting organizations. These programs, besides providing information on current techniques, serve as a basis for our individual professional growth.
Although these educational efforts have improved the technical com­petence
of the accountant, the profession vigorously engages in a com­prehensive
program of self-discipline. Probably no other profession is so self-critical.
The membership has established for itself a code of professional ethics. If a CPA violates the Code, he subjects himself to disciplinary action by the ethics committee through the trial board.
The profession has established the auditing standards under which it operates. It does not feel you must or should be content with these rules as circumstances or conditions develop that would call for their review and revision.
The Accounting Principles Board, the senior technical committee for the certified public accountant, has been charged with an objective of making a "continuing effort to determine appropriate practice and nar­row
the areas of difference and inconsistency in practice." You are aware
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