Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.
Principal Issues: See Q&A
Position: See Q&A
Reasons: NA
CLHIA ROUNDTABLE - MAY 2009
Question #8
Accountants' Working Papers
At the Canadian Tax Foundation's 2004 annual conference, CRA officials stated that the CRA would conduct a broad-based consultation with the tax, accounting, and business communities on clarification of its policy, particularly with respect to access to working papers that deal with the analysis of tax provisions, tax liabilities, or reserves. Traditionally, as a matter of policy, requests to examine accountants' or auditors' working papers were not routine, a policy that the task force understands was included in CRA guidelines for obtaining information from accountants. The guidelines also provided that "it is not the policy of the CRA to request a general access to accountants' working papers for the purposes of scrutinizing them in the course of conducting an audit." According to the task force, this policy recognized the inherent tension between an auditor's need to access all relevant tax information for the purposes of preparing an audit of the company's financial statements and the legitimate desire of the company to protect communications with its professional advisers in addressing its need for tax advice.
At the Canadian Tax Foundation 2006 CRA Roundtable, the CRA indicated that it is still working on a policy regarding requests for auditors' and accountants' working papers. Before finalizing any document, the CRA stated it would be consulting the Chair of the CICA Task Force on Auditor Working Papers and Confidentiality. The CRA had expected to present a statement of its position in the fall of 2007.
Question
Has the CRA made any progress on what its position will be regarding accountants' working papers?
CRA Response
The CRA is close to finalizing the policy that addresses requests for accountants' and auditors' working papers, after conducting consultations with the professional accounting associations and the Tax Executives Institute. The policy is being drafted to generally address acquiring information from taxpayers, registrants and third parties for verification purposes, and to reflect recent developments in court cases and corporate governance. It is the CRA's view that we have addressed the main concerns raised by the CICA and other stakeholders. The policy also reflects the principles set out in OECD's Cape Town Communiqué dated January 11, 2008.
CRA's policy has always been that we can request access to accountants' and auditors' working papers, as noted in CRA's responses to similar questions in other venues.
2009-031671
Alison Campbell
May 1, 2009
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