Regulators of engineering and geoscience professions that require businesses to undergo practice or assurance or compliance reviews do so in order to

Practice assurance or compliance reviews are a proactive regulatory tool used to ensure that firms (and the professionals within them) have established and are following appropriate policies, procedures, and systems. The focus is on the firm's Professional Practice Management Plan (PPMP) or equivalent quality management system. The goal is to uphold professional standards, protect the public, and provide an educational opportunity for the firm to improve its processes, rather than to be a punitive measure or a detailed technical audit of specific projects.

A. A review's purpose is primarily educational and preventative; it is not a prerequisite or a tool to decide on launching a formal investigation for malpractice.

B. Review results are typically confidential between the regulator and the business to encourage candidness and improvement, not for public disclosure unless there is non-compliance.

D. Reviews focus on the overall management systems and procedures for professional practice, not a detailed technical audit of a random sample of work.

1. Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). (n.d.). Professional Practice Exam Syllabus. Section 3.3, Regulation of the Professions and of the Individual, covers the role of the associations in regulating practice, including practice reviews as a quality assurance mechanism.

2. Andrews, G. C. (2019). Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience: Practice and Ethics (6th ed.). Nelson. Chapter 4 discusses the role of provincial and territorial associations in regulating the profession, which includes implementing quality management requirements and practice reviews to ensure standards are met (p. 65).

3. Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO). (n.d.). Practice Evaluation and Knowledge (PEAK) program. The program description emphasizes its focus on assessing a professional's continuing knowledge and having a practice evaluation component to ensure standards are maintained.