Do You Need an Accountant for Audit Defence?

October 13, 2015​

Tax Question:

Why do you need a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) to help you with an audit defence?

Facts:

CPAs are often hired to defend audits. You can try and defend yourself or your company without professional help however it may result in “foot in mouthÓ disease. This means that you may provide the auditor information you will regret. For example, chatting with them about the business trip paid for by the company and accidentally mentioning how much fun your spouse and kids had.

Discussion:

Defending a personal or corporate tax audit can be a complex process. Some audits are simple such as desk audits and some are in-depth, for instance, records checking and site visits. Yes, hiring a CPA to defend your audit will cost you some money. However, we can save you money that may be assessed as owing from the audit by:

  • Limiting the scope of the audit and ensuring the auditor “follows the rules”.
  • Limiting and controlling the amount of information and documentation that the auditor receives.
  • Determining when and how to fight by identifying the areas that are a question of law vs. areas that are a question of fact.
  • Determining which areas to focus on that are being audited in which the greatest tax consequences could be assessed.
  • Knowing how to play this game! We have the experience and success rates to prove it.
  • Helping you assemble your documentation & support to ensure it is as strong as possible
  • Our experience in fighting audits has resulted in us succeeding in the audit (1st stage) and appeal (2nd stage) stage. This is much less expensive than having to go to tax court (3rd stage) if you fought it on your own!
 

The costs of hiring a CPA to help you defend your audit can vary based on the scope and detail of the audit. This can also be impacted by who your auditor is and their knowledge and training. We do provide you with a cost/benefit analysis before we proceed so you can decide if the cost justifies the audit defence fees.

If you would like more information on this topic, please contact a member of the Empire CPA team by filling out the contact form below.

Canadian and foreign tax laws are complex and have a tendency to change on a frequent basis. As such, the content published above is believed to be accurate as of the date of this post. Before implementing any tax planning, please seek professional advice from a qualified tax professional. Empire, Chartered Professional Accountants will not accept any liability for any tax ramifications that may result from acting based on the information contained above.

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