The process of peer review begins with the empanelment of an individual to act as the reviewer. A panel of reviewers will be maintained by the Peer Review Board, satisfying the qualification requirements laid down in the Statement, i.e., an individual should be a member of the Institute; possess atleast 10 years experience of audit (for allotment of reviews of practice units falling under Stage III of peer review) or atleast 15 years experience of audit (for allotment of reviews of practice units falling under all stages of peer review); and be currently active in the practice of accounting and auditing. In this context, the Board decided to clarify that 10/15 years experience of audit should not necessarily be continuous but cumulative experience of 10/15 years. Any period of audit experience of less than 2 years shall not be counted for this purpose. Also mere membership of 10/15 years would not be enough to be empanelled as a reviewer. It has to be 10/15 years experience of audit.

For the purpose of maintaining the panel, the Board invites applications in the prescribed format from members desirous of empanelment. The form of application requires the applicants to furnish such particulars as would enable the Board to assess the core competence of the applicants for conducting peer review. A copy of the form of application is reproduced in link Forms. In order to ensure that there is no mis-match between the audit experience of the reviewer and the practice unit, the Board decided to clarify that the selection of reviewer for allotment of review would be based on his experience vis-à-vis the attestation functions performed by a practice unit. The panel of reviewers would be reviewed by the sub-group formed for this purpose by the Board for time to time by suitably matching the reviewer's experience with the practice unit's attest engagements. Empanelment as a reviewer is no guarantee that the applicants empanelled would be eligible for allotment of peer review work.

It may happen that a practice unit may like to have a reviewer from another state or region. In such a case, the practice unit is required to make a special request to the Board to provide names of reviewers from such other state or region. The practice unit, alongwith the application/ special request is also required to submit an undertaking that any extra costs that might be incurred in connection with this arrangement would be borne by the practice unit. The special request is to be made within the time limit mentioned in the intimation to the practice unit.

The Statement provides that the reviewer may take the help of a qualified assistant while carrying out peer review. In this context, the Board decided to clarify that a reviewer is permitted to take the assistance of only one assistant who shall be a chartered accountant and a person who does not attract any of the dis-qualifications prescribed under Section 8 or Section 21 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. The name of the qualified assistant which the reviewer would like to assist him shall be identified and intimated to the Board as well as practice unit before the commencement of the peer review. Such a qualified assistant shall also have to sign the declaration of confidentiality as annexed to the Statement. He shall have no direct interface either with the practice unit or the Board. Further the person chosen for assisting the reviewer shall be from the firm of the reviewer and should have been working with him for atleast one year as a member in practice.