The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
005
:
PROPERTY; TESTIMONIAL PRIVILEGE
(Cite as: 26 V.S.A. § 82)
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§ 82. Confidential communications
(a) No firm or any of its employees or other public accountants engaged by the firm, shall
disclose any confidential information obtained in the course of a professional engagement
except with the consent of the client or former client or as disclosure may be required
by law, legal process, or the standards of the profession.
(b) This section does not limit the authority of this State or of the United States to
subpoena and use information in connection with any investigation, or proceedings.
This section does not prohibit a public accountant whose professional competence has
been challenged in a court or before an administrative agency from disclosing confidential
information as a part of a defense.
(c) Nothing in this chapter prohibits a firm or any of its employees, from disclosing
any data to other public accountants, peer review teams, or partnerships or corporations
of public accountants engaged in conducting peer reviews under the auspices of a recognized
professional association, or any of their employees, in connection with peer reviews
of the accountant’s accounting and auditing practice.
(d) Nothing contained in this chapter prohibits a firm or any of its employees, from disclosing
any data in confidence to any representative of a recognized professional association
or to the Board in connection with a professional ethics investigation or in the course
of a peer review. (Added 1981, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 1991, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 16; 2001, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 19, eff. June 13, 2002; 2007, No. 29, § 15.)