(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), any examiner employed by a private auditing or collecting firm to examine books and records of taxpayers on behalf of any self-administered county or municipality shall be certified by the Alabama Local Tax Institute of Standards and Training established pursuant to Section 40-2A-15. Any examiner employed by a private auditing or collecting firm to examine books and records of taxpayers on behalf of any self-administered county or municipality as of July 1, 1998, shall have two years from the effective date of the rules and regulations of the certification program to obtain the certification required by this subsection and may continue to conduct examinations during this two-year period.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), every private auditing or collecting firm shall maintain fidelity bonds with respect to each of its examiners, in accordance with Section 40-23-30. A private auditing or collecting firm may not employ unbonded auditors, or examiners who have failed to receive or maintain their certification under subsection (a). Any violation of this subsection of which the private auditing or collecting firm knew or should have known shall have the effect of doing all of the following:

(1) Automatically terminate any contract or arrangement between a self-administered county or municipality and the private auditing or collecting firm.

(2) Void any assessment or proposed assessment issued by the self-administered county or municipality or its agent as a result of any examination conducted, in whole or in part, by the examiner, but shall not prohibit a self-administered county or municipality from sending a qualified examiner to reexamine the taxpayer's books and records even though the required waiting period between examinations has not expired or the applicable statute of limitations has expired with respect to the period at issue.

(3) Cause the private auditing or collecting firm to forfeit its license granted pursuant to Section 40-12-43.1 for a period of six months.

(c) Certified public accountants and public accountants licensed by the State Board of Public Accountancy are exempt from the following requirements:

(1) To be certified by the Alabama Local Tax Institute of Standards and Training pursuant to subsection (a).

(2) To maintain fidelity bonds with respect to each of its examiners pursuant to subsection (b).

(d) At the expiration of any suspension period, any examiner or private auditing or collecting firm desiring to reinstate their license must reapply under the provisions of Section 40-12-43.1. The requirements, restrictions, and penalties imposed by this section and Section 40-2A-13 with respect to examiners shall apply equally to those who are employees, as well as those who are independent contractors, of private auditing or collecting firms.

(e) For the purposes of this chapter, a private auditing or collecting firm is subject to the confidentiality requirements of Section 40-2A-10.