A Historical View of the SEC's Reports to Congress on Oversight of the Profession's Self-Regulatory Process

In 1987, a SEC staff release proposed that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandate peer review for CPA firms which audit SEC registrants. While this article deals primarily with the programs of the SEC Practice Section (SECPS), the profession's self-regulatory program is far more comprehensive. Since this study focuses on the 1980s, it is helpful to place these developments in more of a historical context. About 600 accounting firms with at least one SEC audit client still had not joined the SEC Practice Section as of 1980. In 1981, the Commission again encouraged all auditors of publicly-held companies to participate in the Section. Beyond focusing on peer review, the SEC's 1980 report to Congress discussed the broader self-regulatory activities of the AICPA. Specifically, procedures of the SECPS of the AICPA were described, involving monitoring of alleged or possible audit failures by the Special Investigations Committee (SIC).