(1) A licensee or licensed firm, or any of their employees shall not disclose any confidential information obtained in the course of a professional transaction except with the consent of the client or former client or as disclosure may be required by law, legal process, the standards of the profession, or as disclosure of confidential information is permitted by RCW 18.04.350 (7) and (8), 18.04.295(9), 18.04.390, and this section in connection with quality assurance, or peer reviews, investigations, and any proceeding under chapter 34.05 RCW.

Terms Used In Washington Code 18.04.405

  • Board: means the board of accountancy created by RCW 18. See Washington Code 18.04.025
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Firm: means a sole proprietorship, a corporation, or a partnership. See Washington Code 18.04.025
  • Licensee: means the holder of a license to practice public accountancy issued under this chapter. See Washington Code 18.04.025
  • Peer review: means a study, appraisal, or review of one or more aspects of the attest or compilation work of a licensee or licensed firm in the practice of public accountancy, by a person or persons who hold licenses and who are not affiliated with the person or firm being reviewed, including a peer review, or any internal review or inspection intended to comply with quality control policies and procedures, but not including a quality assurance review. See Washington Code 18.04.025
  • Person: means any individual, nongovernmental organization, or business entity regardless of legal form, including a sole proprietorship, firm, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or not-for-profit organization, and including the sole proprietor, partners, members, and, as applied to corporations, the officers. See Washington Code 18.04.025
  • Review committee: means any person carrying out, administering or overseeing a peer review authorized by the reviewee. See Washington Code 18.04.025
  • State: includes the states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands at such time as the board determines that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is issuing licenses under the substantially equivalent standards in RCW 18. See Washington Code 18.04.025
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
(2) This section shall not be construed as limiting the authority of this state or of the United States or an agency of this state, the board, or of the United States to subpoena and use such confidential information obtained by a licensee, or any of their employees in the course of a professional transaction in connection with any investigation, public hearing, or other proceeding, nor shall this section be construed as prohibiting a licensee or certified public accountant whose professional competence has been challenged in a court of law or before an administrative agency from disclosing confidential information as a part of a defense to the court action or administrative proceeding.
(3) The proceedings, records, and work papers of a review committee shall be privileged and shall not be subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal process or introduction into evidence in any civil action, arbitration, administrative proceeding, or board proceeding and no member of the review committee or person who was involved in the peer review process shall be permitted or required to testify in any such civil action, arbitration, administrative proceeding, or board proceeding as to any matter produced, presented, disclosed, or discussed during or in connection with the peer review process, or as to any findings, recommendations, evaluations, opinions, or other actions of such committees, or any members thereof. Information, documents, or records that are publicly available are not to be construed as immune from discovery or use in any civil action, arbitration, administrative proceeding, or board proceeding merely because they were presented or considered in connection with the quality assurance or peer review process.

NOTES:

Effective date—2001 c 294: See note following RCW 18.04.015.
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