Firmas de contadores públicos

A CPA must (promptly but not to exceed 10 business days) provide a client with the original documents that the client provided the CPA so that the CPA could perform a professional service. Examples of such documents include bank statements and W-2 forms. The CPA cannot charge a fee to return these documents and the documents must be returned to the client upon the client’s request, even if the client has not paid the CPA for services rendered. The CPA can keep copies of those documents. See Board Rule 501.76(a).

If the CPA previously issued a document to a client, such as a client’s tax return or an attest report, the CPA must provide additional copies to the client upon the client’s request. The CPA can charge a reasonable fee for providing those copies. See Board Rule 501.76(a)(1-2).

Work papers developed by a CPA during the course of a professional engagement as a basis for, and in support of, an accounting, audit, consulting, tax, or other professional report prepared by the CPA for a client, shall be and remain the property of the CPA who developed the work papers. See Board Rule 501.76(b). Work papers that constitute client records must be provided to the client upon the client’s request. Examples of work papers that constitute client records include documents in lieu of books of original entry such as listings and distributions of cash receipts or cash disbursements and consolidating or combining journal entries and documents and supporting detail in arriving at final figures incorporated in an end product such as financial statements or tax returns. A CPA can charge a reasonable fee for providing these documents to a client. See Board Rule 501.76(a)(2).