5 Questions Entrepreneurs Should Ask Their CPAs To Reduce Audit Risk
Source: Entrepreneur | Repost QBScott 1/30/2020 –
To help reduce your fears of a government audit, February is the best time of year to meet with your CPA to review your tax strategy, review your documentation requirements and ask key questions about how to reduce your chances of an audit. What’s clear from my 35 years of experience as a CPA is that people fear a government tax audit more than death and public speaking combined.
The good news is you can sleep at night by being more proactive. The number one thing the government wants is compliance, so your job is to make sure you’re following the rules. Schedule a meeting with your CPA early this year, and ask these five direct questions to reduce your anxiety.
1. Are you afraid of the IRS?
Your tax preparer should be comfortable, willing and actually very engaged with the idea of handling an IRS audit. If they are afraid of the IRS and/or overly cautious, then find someone else to prepare your returns. People often share that their tax preparer advised: “Don’t take this deduction, even though it’s legitimate, because it might raise a red flag and get you audited.” Well, what that statement really says is that your tax preparer is afraid of the IRS.
Author: Scott Meister, CPA
I help small businesses, accountants, bookkeepers, office managers, and business owners with their accounting needs. I’ve used QuickBooks since 2002 and train folks on how to use it efficiently. I create high-quality video training tutorials for QuickBooks and post them on QBScott.com.
Certifications include: Certified Public Accountant (CPA) | Certified Bookkeeper (CB) | Advanced Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Desktop | Advanced Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Online | Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Enterprise | Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Point Of Sale