Privacy act notification rules apply to accountants involved in litigation/family law engagements.

• Position: Brief Article

On or before July 1, 2001, CPAs providing financial or tax preparation services to individual clients were required to notify all such clients of their privacy policy. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and related Federal Trade Commission regulations broadly define the services giving rise to such notification requirements (The CPA Letter, June, Feb./Mar.).

Practitioners involved in litigation services, and family law in particular, have access to sensitive and highly confidential personal information about their clients, as well as their client's adversary or spouse. Often, this information is subject to confidentiality agreements. Whether or not confidentiality agreements are in effect, consideration should be given to providing all individual litigation clients, especially clients involved in divorce proceedings, a copy of the firm's privacy...