(a) A license holder, a permit holder, a practice privilege holder, an out-of-state exemption holder, or a partner, an officer, a shareholder, a member, or an employee of a license holder, a permit holder, an out-of-state exemption holder, or a practice privilege holder may not reveal information communicated to the license holder, permit holder, out-of-state exemption holder, or practice privilege holder by a client about a matter concerning which the client has employed the license holder, permit holder, out-of-state exemption holder, or practice privilege holder in a professional capacity. This section does not apply to

(1) information required to be disclosed by the standards of the public accounting profession in reporting on the examination of financial statements;

(2) the release of information the client has authorized the license holder, permit holder, out-of-state exemption holder, or practice privilege holder to reveal;

(3) information revealed as part of the discovery of evidence related to a court or administrative proceeding or introduced in evidence in a court or administrative proceeding;

(4) information revealed in ethical investigations conducted by private professional organizations;

(5) information revealed in the course of a quality review under AS 08.04.426; or

(6) information disclosed

(A) under applicable state or federal laws or regulations; or

(B) as required by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

(b) Client information obtained by the board under (a)(3) - (6) of this section is confidential and is not a public record for purposes of AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.140.