CA 342 Section 5

Section 5

SEC. 5. Section sixteen of Act Numbered Thirty-one hun­dred and five, as amended by Act Numbered Thirty-two hundred and sixty-four, is further amended so as to read as follows: "SEC. 16. Any person who represents himself to the pub­lic as having received a certificate as provided in this Act or shall assume to practice as certified public accountant or use the abbreviated title 'C. P. A.' or any similar words or letters to indicate that the person using the same is a cer­tified public accountant, without having received such cer­tified public accountant certificate or shall assume to practice as a public accountant without having received such public accountant's certificate, or, having received such certificate, has been thereafter deprived of the use of the same™ by temporary suspension or revocation, shall be pun­ished by a fine in a sum not exceeding five thousand pesos or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, or both, at the discretion of the court, for each such offense, and each day that such person shall so practice or hold myself out as a certified public accountant shall be deemed a separate offense. "A certified public accountant or person employed by a public accountant shall not be required to, and shall not voluntarily, disclose or divulge any contents of any communication made to him or her by any person em­ploying him or her to examine, audit, or report on any books, records or accounts, nor divulge any information derived from such books, records, or accounts in rendering professional service, except by order of the court or ex­press permission of the person employing him or her, or of the heirs, personal representatives or successors of such person. Any person violating this provision shall be sub­ject to the same penalty as in the first preceding paragraph provided. "Any person practicing in the Philippine Islands as a certified public accountant under this Act who wilfully falsifies any report or statement bearing on any examina­tion, investigation or audit made by him or her, or under his or her direction, shall be subject to the same penalty as in the first preceding paragraph provided. "This section shall also apply to all active resident mem­bers of partnerships or corporations engaged in behalf of such partnerships or corporations in the practice of accountancy in the Philippine Islands, but not to non-resident members of such partnerships or corporations."