Lesson: Providing Documentation to Third Parties

This lesson covers various scenarios in which an auditor may provide documentation to third parties without the client's permission. It emphasizes the importance of practicing confidentiality and highlights situations when sharing documentation is necessary, such as when responding to a subpoena, at the request of the auditor's attorney, during a state board of accountancy investigation, preventing or detecting fraud or illegal activity, protecting the auditor's professional reputation, or resolving a dispute between the auditor and the client. The lesson also addresses the subjectivity involved in some of these situations and encourages auditors to consider alternatives before sharing sensitive documentation.