1. A licensee shall not voluntarily disclose information communicated to the licensee by a client relating to and in connection with services rendered to the client by the licensee, except with the permission of the client, or an heir, successor, or personal representative of the client. Such information is deemed to be confidential. However, this section shall not be construed as prohibiting the disclosure of information required to be disclosed by the standards of the public accounting profession in reporting on the examination of financial statements or in the performance of an attest service or as prohibiting disclosures in a court proceeding, in an investigation or proceeding under this chapter or chapter 272C, in an ethical investigation conducted by a private professional organization, in the course of a peer review, to another person active in the licensee’s firm performing services for that client on a need-to-know basis, to persons associated with the investigative entity who need this information for the sole purpose of assuring quality control, or as otherwise required by law.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 542.17

  • attest service: means providing any of the following services:
     (1) An audit or other engagement to be performed in accordance with the statements on auditing standards. See Iowa Code 542.3
  • Board: means the Iowa accountancy examining board established under section 542. See Iowa Code 542.3
  • Client: means a person or entity that agrees with a licensee or licensee's employer to receive a professional service. See Iowa Code 542.3
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Licensee: means the holder of a license. See Iowa Code 542.3
  • Peer review: means a study, appraisal, or review of one or more aspects of the professional work of a licensee or firm that performs attest or compilation services, by a licensed person or persons who are not affiliated with the licensee or firm being reviewed. See Iowa Code 542.3
  • person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Guam. See Iowa Code 542.3
  • United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. This section does not preclude a licensee from filing a complaint with, or responding to an inquiry made by, the board, a taxing authority or law enforcement authority of this state, or a licensing or similar authority of another state or the United States.