Taxation-Federal Commons^™

Internal Revenue Service Summonses For "Sensitive"Accountants' Papers, Robert G. Nath

Vanderbilt Law Review

Every modern public corporation has obligations of accountability and disclosure to the public and to its shareholders. These accepted duties of disclosure, however, become the source of conflicts when government agencies make unanticipated inquiries of accountants about otherwise private or background data concerning the corporations they audit. This is particularly true when a public corporation's duties of financial accountability, which stem chiefly from securities law requirements and fiduciary duties,evoke the Internal Revenue Service's interest in information that may reveal or be probative of the corporation's tax liability. Most corporate taxpayers and their accountants understand and accept--if only reluctantly--their obligations to …