Description
When an external auditor requests financial information from a client’s counsel regarding a legal proceeding, a delicate balance must be struck. The challenge lies in providing the auditor with enough detail to support the preparation and review of financial statements, while safeguarding attorney-client privilege and minimizing the risk divulging too much information.
The American Bar Association (ABA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) established a framework known as the Treaty to strike a balance between auditor’s need for information and attorney’s duty to safeguard client confidentiality. However, in recent years, auditors have increasingly pushed for more information from attorneys than the Treaty prescribes, aiming to gain deeper insights into the risks associated with a company’s loss contingency disclosures.
Counsel must exercise caution and strategic judgment when preparing an audit response letter to protect the client’s best interests. Join us for this 60-minute webcast, where our panel of experts will offer practical guidance for responding to external auditor inquiries related to litigation, claims, assessments, and associated financial reporting and disclosures.
Gain a firm understanding of the best practices for lawyers to best balance their clients' interests with the needs of their clients' auditor, including:
> ABA and AICPA requirements and duties of auditors and lawyers regarding audits
> Auditor’s needs versus attorney’s duty to protect
> Common attorney-client privilege issues and special challenges
> When is client consent necessary?
> How much information is too much, or too little?
> When and how to provide an estimate of loss
> Best practices for writing a response letter
This program is attorneys who face common attorney-client pr