Kevin Kenworthy discusses the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision in the Textron case, calling it a “substantial, but incomplete victory.” While the court determined Textron’s work papers are protected from disclosure to the IRS under the work product doctrine, it’s still unclear how the work product doctrine applies to audit documentation. “The open question is whether that protection was waived when Textron showed its work papers to its auditors at Ernst & Young in the course of an audit,” according to Kenworthy. The Circuit Court handed the case back down to district court for further work on that issue, he says.