Responding to a Subpoena for
Client or Employer Records: Disclosure
of Confidential Client or Employer Records
(Please note that this article, published in the April 2008 issue of the Activity Review, supersedes all
previous articles on this topic.)
Is it ever acceptable to disclose confidential client or employer
information or records? 21 NCAC 08N .0205, Confidentiality, states,
“A CPA shall not disclose any confidential information obtained in the
course of employment or a professional engagement except with the consent of
the employer or client.”
How is this rule applied when a subpoena for client or employer
records is served on a CPA? 21 NCAC 08N .0205(b) requires that the
confidentiality rule must not be interpreted “to affect in any way the
CPA’s compliance with a validly issued subpoena or summons enforceable by
this Board or by order of a court.”
In accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure, specifically Rule
45, a subpoena signed only by an attorney does not in and of itself compel the
disclosure of information held by a CPA which is subject to 21 NCAC 08N .0205.
Rule 45(c)(2) provides that “Nothing contained herein shall be
construed…to require any privileged communication under law to be
disclosed.” Furthermore, Rule 45(c)(4) allows that if a CPA objects to
the subpoena, then the CPA can only be forced to produce the documents
specified in the subpoena if the party seeking the information obtains an order
of the court.
A subpoena or summons issued by the NC Department of Revenue or
the IRS qualify under 21 NCAC 08N .0205(b)(7) as exceptions that do not require
that the CPA obtain written permission from the client or employer or an order
of the court to release the information or records to the Department of Revenue
or IRS. However, a CPA may disclose confidential client or employer information
without a subpoena if the CPA obtains written permission from the client or
employer prior to the disclosure of the records or information to a
third-party.
If you have questions regarding the disclosure of
confidential client or employer information, contact