193A—15.5(272C,542) Confidentiality of complaint and investigative information.
	15.5(1) General provisions. All complaint and investigative information received or created by the board is privileged and confidential pursuant to Iowa Code section 272C.6(4). Such information will not be released to any person except as provided in that section and this rule.
	15.5(2) Confidentiality of PCAOB information and records.
	a. 	The PCAOB was created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the Act) as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the District of Columbia. The duties of the PCAOB include the registration of public accounting firms that prepare audit reports for public companies; the promulgation of rules (as approved by the SEC) for auditing, quality control, ethics, independence and other standards relating to the preparation of audit reports; the inspection of registered public accounting firms; the investigation of alleged standards violations; and the imposition of appropriate sanctions following disciplinary proceedings.
	b. 	Pursuant to Section 105(b)(5)(A) of the Act and PCAOB rules, PCAOB investigatory information and records are confidential and privileged and are exempt from disclosure under the federal Freedom of Information Act. PCAOB, in its discretion, may share such information and records, along with the nonpublic sections of inspection reports, with state regulatory authorities as necessary to accomplish the purposes of the Act or to protect investors. As provided in Section 105(b)(5)(B) of the Act, state regulatory authorities also maintain such information and records as confidential and privileged, and the board will maintain that information as confidential.
	15.5(3) Disclosure to the subject of the investigation.
	a. 	Legal authority. Pursuant to Iowa Code section 10A.506, the board may supply to a licensee who is the subject of a disciplinary complaint or investigation, prior to the initiation of a disciplinary proceeding, all or such parts of a disciplinary complaint, disciplinary or investigatory file, report, or other information as the board in its sole discretion believes would aid the investigation or resolution of the matter.
	b. 	General rule. As a matter of general policy, the board will not disclose confidential complaint and investigative information to a licensee except as permitted by Iowa Code section 272C.6(4). Disclosure of a complainant’s identity in advance of the filing of formal disciplinary charges, for instance, may adversely affect a complainant’s willingness to file a complaint with the board.
	c. 	Exceptions to general rule. The board may exercise its discretion to release information to a licensee that would otherwise be confidential under Iowa Code section 272C.6(4) under narrow circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
	(1)	Following a board determination that probable cause exists to file disciplinary charges against a licensee and prior to the issuance of the notice of hearing, the board may provide the licensee with a peer review or investigative report or expert opinions, as reasonably needed for the licensee to assess the merits of a settlement proposal.
	(2)	The board may release to a licensee who is the subject of a board-initiated investigation, including investigations initiated following the board’s receipt of an anonymous complaint, such records or information as may aid the investigation or resolution of the matter.
	(3)	The board may release information from a peer review or consultant’s report when the soliciting of the licensee’s position will aid in making the probable cause determination and such disclosure can be made to the licensee without revealing identifying information regarding the complainant, peer reviewer or consultant.
[ARC 7691C, IAB 3/6/24, effective 4/10/24]