Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 019 - State Board of Accountancy › Rule 019.00.17-003 - Code of Conduct Rule 302 - Records

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
Code of Professional Conduct
Rule 302
Records.
Licensees should make every attempt to resolve record request
			 disputes in a professional and timely manner. In cases where agreement cannot
			 be reached, the rules below will apply, (for purposes of the definitions below,
			 the term "client" includes both current and former clients).
(1)
Client-provided records
are
		  accounting or other records belonging to the client that were provided to the
		  licensee, by or on behalf of, the client or former client, including hardcopy
		  or electronic reproductions of such records. A licensee shall return client
		  provided records to a client within a reasonable time after the client or
		  former client has made a request for those records. A reasonable time shall not
		  exceed 10 business days, though the Board may determine that the records must
		  be returned sooner in cases in which time is of the essence. The licensee shall
		  provide these records to the client, regardless of the status of the client's
		  account and cannot charge a fee to provide such records. Such records shall be
		  returned to the client in the same format, to the extent possible, that they
		  were provided to the licensee by the client. The licensee may make copies of
		  such records and retain those copies.
(2)
Licensee-prepared records
are accounting or other records that the licensee was not specifically
		  engaged to prepare and that are not in the client's books and records or are
		  otherwise not available to the client, with the result that the client or
		  former client's financial information is incomplete. Examples include
		  adjusting, closing, combining, or consolidating journal entries (including
		  computations supporting such entries) and supporting schedules and documents
		  that are proposed or prepared by the licensee as part of an engagement. These
		  records shall also be furnished to the client within a reasonable time after
		  the client has made a request for the records, not to exceed 20 business days.
		  The board may determine that the records must be returned sooner in cases in
		  which time is of the essence. The licensee may charge a reasonable fee for
		  providing such records, and the records provided should be in a format that the
		  client can reasonably expect to use for the purpose of accessing such work
		  papers. Licensees may require outstanding fees related to the engagement
		  involving the specific records being requested to be paid before providing
		  copies of licensee-prepared records to the client.
(3)
Licensee work products
are
		  deliverables set forth in the terms of the engagement, such as tax returns or
		  audit reports. Work products should be provided to the client as soon as
		  possible, except that such work products may be withheld if:
A) there are fees due to the licensee for the
		  specific work product;
B) the work
		  product is incomplete;
C)
		  professional standards require withholding the work products (i.e. holding an
		  audit report due to outstanding audit issues) or:
D) threatened or outstanding litigation
		  exists concerning the engagement or licensee's work.
Licensees may charge a reasonable fee for providing copies of
			 work products after the originals have been provided to the client.
(4)
Licensee
		  working papers
are items prepared solely for purposes of the engagement
		  and include items prepared by the licensee, such as audit programs, analytical
		  review schedules, and statistical sampling results and analyses, which reflect
		  testing or other work performed by the licensee. Working papers remain the
		  property of the licensee who developed the working papers and licensees are
		  under no obligation to provide copies to clients or other parties unless
		  required by law or requested by the Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy.
It is recommended that a licensee obtain a receipt or other
			 written documentation of the delivery of records to a client. Licensees are not
			 required to convert records that are not in electronic format to electronic
			 format or to convert electronic records into a different type of electronic
			 format. However, if the client requests records in a specific format and the
			 records are available in such a format within the licensee's custody and
			 control, the client's request should be honored. In addition, the licensee is
			 not required to provide the client with formulas, unless the formulas support
			 the client's underlying accounting or other records, or the licensee was
			 engaged to provide such formulas as part of a completed work product.
Documentation or work documents required by professional
			 standards for attest services shall be maintained in paper or electronic format
			 by a licensee for a period of not less than five years from the date of any
			 report issued in connection with the attest service. Licensees must comply with
			 the rules and regulations of authoritative federal regulatory bodies, such as
			 the IRS, SEC, or PCAOB when the licensee performs services for a client and is
			 subject to the rules and regulations of such regulatory body. Failure to comply
			 with the more restrictive provisions contained in the regulations of the
			 applicable regulatory body will constitute a violation of this
			 Rule.