1. (A) The department, upon receipt of a complaint or other information suggesting violation of this chapter or of regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter, shall conduct an appropriate investigation to determine whether there is probable cause to institute proceedings. An investigation under this section is not a prerequisite to conducting proceedings if a determination of probable cause can be made without investigation. In aid of investigations, the administrator of the board may issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify or to produce evidence, or both.

2. (B)

   1. (1) An investigation of a licensee pursuant this chapter must be performed by an inspector-investigator who has been licensed as a certified public accountant in this State for at least five years. The inspector-investigator must report the results of his investigation to the board no later than one hundred fifty days after the date upon which he initiated his investigation. If the inspector-investigator has not completed his investigation by that date, then the board may extend the investigation for a period defined by the board. The board may grant subsequent extensions to complete the investigation as needed. The inspector-investigator may designate additional persons of appropriate competency to assist in an investigation.
   2. (2) The department shall annually post a report related to the number of complaints received, the number of investigations initiated, the average length of investigations, and the number of investigations that exceeded one hundred fifty days.
3. (C) The results of an investigation must be presented to the board.
4. (D) For the purpose of an investigation under this section, the department may administer oaths and issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production and examination of books, papers, and records on behalf of the board or, upon request, on behalf of a party to the case. Upon failure to obey a subpoena or to answer questions propounded by the board or its hearing officer or panel, the board may apply to the Administrative Law Court for an order requiring compliance with the subpoena.
5. (E) The testimony and documents submitted in support of the complaint or gathered in the investigation must be treated as confidential information and must not be disclosed to any person except law enforcement authorities and, to the extent necessary in order to conduct the investigation, the subject of the investigation, persons whose complaints are being investigated, and witnesses questioned in the course of the investigation.
6. (F) The board may review the publicly available professional work of licensees, and all professional work submitted to the State, on a general and random basis, without any requirement of a formal complaint or suspicion of impropriety. If as a result of a review the board discovers reasonable grounds for a more specific investigation, the board may proceed under subsections (A) through (E).
7. (G) If the department receives information indicating a possible violation of state or federal law, the department may provide that information, to the extent the department considers necessary, to the appropriate state or federal law enforcement agency or regulatory body.

HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 453, Section 1; 2004 Act No. 289, Section 1; 2014 Act No. 268 (H.3459), Section 4, eff June 9, 2014.