Florida Statutes
Fla. Stat. § 90.5055 (2025)
Accountant-client privilege.
✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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90.5055 Accountant-client privilege.—
(1) For purposes of this section:
(a) An “accountant” is a certified public accountant or a public accountant.
(b) A “client” is any person, public officer, corporation, association, or other organization or entity, either public or private, who consults an accountant with the purpose of obtaining accounting services.
(c) A communication between an accountant and the accountant’s client is “confidential” if it is not intended to be disclosed to third persons other than:
1. Those to whom disclosure is in furtherance of the rendition of accounting services to the client.
2. Those reasonably necessary for the transmission of the communication.
(2) A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any other person from disclosing, the contents of confidential communications with an accountant when such other person learned of the communications because they were made in the rendition of accounting services to the client. This privilege includes other confidential information obtained by the accountant from the client for the purpose of rendering accounting advice.
(3) The privilege may be claimed by:
(a) The client.
(b) A guardian or conservator of the client.
(c) The personal representative of a deceased client.
(d) A successor, assignee, trustee in dissolution, or any similar representative of an organization, corporation, or association or other entity, either public or private, whether or not in existence.
(e) The accountant, but only on behalf of the client. The accountant’s authority to claim the privilege is presumed in the absence of contrary evidence.
(4) There is no accountant-client privilege under this section when:
(a) The services of the accountant were sought or obtained to enable or aid anyone to commit or plan to commit what the client knew or should have known was a crime or fraud.
(b) A communication is relevant to an issue of breach of duty by the accountant to the accountant’s client or by the client to his or her accountant.
(c) A communication is relevant to a matter of common interest between two or more clients, if the communication was made by any of them to an accountant retained or consulted in common when offered in a civil action between the clients.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 21
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1979–2021 · leading case: Bivins v. Rogers, 207 F. Supp. 3d 1321 (S.D. Fla. 2016).
Bivins v. Rogers, 207 F. Supp. 3d 1321 (S.D. Fla. 2016). “Fla. Stat. § 90.5055 . Thus, the privilege would only protect any communications between the accountants and the guardians.”
Florida Hosp. Waterman, Inc. v. Buster, 984 So. 2d 478 (Fla. 2008). “(2006) (providing for privilege with respect to communications to clergy); § 90.5055, Fla. Stat. (2006) (providing for accountant-client privilege); § 90.”
Celotex Corp. v. Hillsborough Holdings Corp. (In Re Hillsborough Holdings Corp.), 176 B.R. 223 (M.D. Fla. 1994). “Florida has enacted statutory law which protects communications between a public accountant and its client made in the rendition of accounting services to the client.”
Choice Restaurant Acquisition Ltd. v. Whitley, Inc., 816 So. 2d 1165 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). “Although the information may be relevant, it does not follow that relevancy trumps the accountant/client privilege set forth in section 90.5055, Florida Statutes (1999).”
Transmark, USA, Inc. v. State, Dep't of Ins., 631 So. 2d 1112 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). “519 (1979) (Commentary on 1978 amendment to § 90.5055 — accountant-client privilege).”
Matter of Mori, 1 B.R. 265 (Bankr. S.D. Florida 1979). “141, Florida Statutes, which provides for an accountant-client privilege has been repealed effective July 1, 1979, but has been replaced by Section 90.5055, Florida Statutes, in substantially the same form.”
Cone v. Culverhouse, 687 So. 2d 888 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). “The accountant-client privilege has a similar exception in section 90.5055(4)(c), Florida Statutes (1995): 90.”
Sears v. Gussin, 714 A.2d 188 (Md. 1998). “See Fla. Stat. § 90.5055 (1997 Supp.); Fla. Stax.”
Multinational Force & Observers v. Arrow Air, Inc., 662 F. Supp. 162 (S.D. Fla. 1987). “At the onset, MFO acknowledges that Florida Statute § 90.5055 creates an accountant-client privilege, 1 but argues that it does not apply because the Plaintiff has pled and, with the assistance of the present documents, will prove fraud 2 at trial.”
Hillsborough Holdings Corp. v. Celotex Corp. (In Re Hillsborough Holdings Corp.), 132 B.R. 478 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 1991). “§ 90.5055. The accountant/client privilege requires a communication made in confidence and not information furnished to accountants or by the accountants, intended to be disclosed to third parties.”
Paper Corp. of Am. v. Schneider, 563 So. 2d 1134 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). “Schneider to produce copies of the defendant's income tax returns, the defendant's financial statements, and other records of the defendant's assets and liabilities, pursuant to a subpoena duces tecum; the subject non-final order also assesses 0 in attorney's fees against the…”
Marcum LLP v. Potamkin, 107 So. 3d 1193 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013). “§ 90.5055, Fla. Stat. (2010). . § 90.510, Fla.”
— 90.5055(1) — 1 case
Barnett Bank of Tampa, NA v. Muscatell (In Re Muscatell), 93 B.R. 268 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 1988).
— 90.5055(1)(c) — 1 case
Hillsborough Holdings Corp. v. Celotex Corp. (In Re Hillsborough Holdings Corp.), 132 B.R. 478 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 1991). “§ 90.5055. The accountant/client privilege requires a communication made in confidence and not information furnished to accountants or by the accountants, intended to be disclosed to third parties.”
— 90.5055(2) — 2 cases
Choice Restaurant Acquisition Ltd. v. Whitley, Inc., 816 So. 2d 1165 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). “Although the information may be relevant, it does not follow that relevancy trumps the accountant/client privilege set forth in section 90.5055, Florida Statutes (1999).”
Prime Grp., LLC, etc., Sheridan 46 Inv. Grp., LLC v. Jeannette Abbo, 171 So. 3d 234 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015).
— 90.5055(3) — 1 case
Edward Brinkmann v. Petro Welt Trading (Fla. 2d DCA 2021).
— 90.5055(3)(b) — 1 case
Bivins v. Rogers, 207 F. Supp. 3d 1321 (S.D. Fla. 2016). “Fla. Stat. § 90.5055 . Thus, the privilege would only protect any communications between the accountants and the guardians.”
— 90.5055(3)(c) — 1 case
Bivins v. Rogers, 207 F. Supp. 3d 1321 (S.D. Fla. 2016). “Fla. Stat. § 90.5055 . Thus, the privilege would only protect any communications between the accountants and the guardians.”
— 90.5055(4)(a) — 2 cases
Multinational Force & Observers v. Arrow Air, Inc., 662 F. Supp. 162 (S.D. Fla. 1987). “At the onset, MFO acknowledges that Florida Statute § 90.5055 creates an accountant-client privilege, 1 but argues that it does not apply because the Plaintiff has pled and, with the assistance of the present documents, will prove fraud 2 at trial.”
List Indus., Inc. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (S.D. Fla. 2021).
— 90.5055(4)(b) — 1 case
List Indus., Inc. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (S.D. Fla. 2021).
— 90.5055(4)(c) — 2 cases
Cone v. Culverhouse, 687 So. 2d 888 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). “The accountant-client privilege has a similar exception in section 90.5055(4)(c), Florida Statutes (1995): 90.”
Transmark, USA, Inc. v. State, Dep't of Ins., 631 So. 2d 1112 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). “519 (1979) (Commentary on 1978 amendment to § 90.5055 — accountant-client privilege).”
— 90.5055(l)(c) — 1 case
State v. Avery Topps, 142 So. 3d 978 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014).
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