Rhode Island General Laws Title 5. Businesses and Professions § 5-3.1-22. Ownership of accountants' working papers

All statements, records, schedules, working papers, memoranda, and any other data, including, but not limited to, a data bank, that are retained by a practice unit incident to or in the course of professional services rendered to clients, except reports submitted by the practice unit to a client, are and remain the property of that practice unit in the absence of an express agreement to the contrary between the practice unit and the client. No statement, record, schedule, working paper, memorandum, or other data shall be sold, transferred, or bequeathed, without the written consent of the client or his, her, or its personal representative or assignee, to anyone or any entity other than, in the case of a partnership or corporation, one or more of its surviving partners, shareholders, new partners, or new shareholders, or any organization resulting from the combination or merger of the practice unit, or any other successor in interest to the practice unit.