A Client Wants to Discuss with Its CPA Some of the Valuation

A client wants to discuss with its CPA some of the valuation and accounting issues associated with maintaining a proprietary business process as a trade secret rather than obtaining a patent for it.Patents are granted by the United States Patent Office.As a result:

A) The federal accountant-client privilege applies to protect these discussions from being revealed to the general public
B) The duty of confidentiality, as articulated in the Code of Professional Conduct, applies to these discussions
C) The federal accountant-client privilege does not fully apply because discussions of non-accounting issues, such as the preservation of a patent, are exempted from the scope of this privilege
D) Both the duty of confidentiality and the federal accountant-client privilege govern this situation