Chapter 12 - § 12.2 • ACCOUNTANT-CLIENT PRIVILEGE

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 12.2 • ACCOUNTANT-CLIENT PRIVILEGE

§ 12.2.1—Purpose and Statutory Provision

In Colorado, the accountant-client privilege is codified at C.R.S. § 13-90-107(1)(f). The statute provides:

A certified public accountant shall not be examined without the consent of his or her client as to any communication made by the client to him or her in person or through the media of books of account and financial records or his or her advice, reports, or working papers given or made thereon in the course of professional employment; nor shall a secretary, stenographer, clerk, or assistant of a certified public accountant be examined without the consent of the client concerned concerning any fact, the knowledge of which he or she has acquired in such capacity.

C.R.S. § 13-90-107(1)(f).

A similar rule applies to certified public accountants employed by the state auditor's office. C.R.S. § 13-90-107(1)(f)(II).

Practice Pointer
Where federal law applies, there is no accountant-client privilege. Couch v. United States, 409 U.S. 322, 335 (1973); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 658 F.2d 782, 784 (10th Cir. 1981) (noting that, "It is well settled that there is no confidential accountant-client privilege under federal law. Furthermore, in federal cases there is no state created accountant-client privilege.").

The purpose of the privilege is to "encourage[] full and frank communication between certified public accountants and their clients so that professional advice may be given on the basis of complete information, free from the consequences or the apprehension of disclosure." Neusteter v. Dist. Ct., 675 P.2d 1, 5 (Colo. 1984). The privilege belongs to the client, not the accountant. In the case of a corporation, the privilege belongs to "the governing officials of the corporation, namely the officers or the board of directors." Weck v. Dist. Ct., 408 P.2d 987, 990 (Colo. 1965). Nonetheless, an accountant "may raise the [accountant-client] privilege on the client's behalf pending the client's decision whether to waive the privilege." Colo. State Bd. Of Accountancy v. Zaveral Boosalis Raisch, 960 P.2d 102, 104 n. 2 (Colo. 1998). Any confidential communications made by a client to a certified public accountant fall within the statutory privilege regardless of whether they are made for the purpose of preparing certified or non-certified reports. Pattie Lea, Inc. v. Dist. Ct., 423 P.2d 27, 29 (Colo. 1967).

§ 12.2.2—Exceptions to the Privilege

By its terms, the privilege applies only...