Does a CPA certify his work? (USA, NJ)

[nycpenn]

Hello all,
excuse the newbie question. My boss has had this cpa for years, that does audits for us. And every few months we get a letter from the IRS that the numbers he is submitting don't match up, etc. Last letter was threatening the company with a fine. Does the CPA stamp his work? Sign the audit? I mean how does the company protect itself? I know he does not put his mark on anything. and if the irs brought the company in, he could always deny that he prepared those documents, I think. Any advice on this would be great.

thanks in advance.

 

[kirby]

Very astute question.
Since you are getting letters from IRS then he must be preparing some sort of tax return. You asked if he "stamps his work." That depends on the agreement between your boss and the CPA. It could be that they agreed that the CPA just prepares tax returns and has no responsibility for them.
For example, this happens with income tax returns. At the bottom of the return is a line that says "Paid preparer's signature." As you can guess a CPA charges a higher price if you want him to sign that. Lower price if he fills out return and you agree he does not sign there.

As for the "audit" it may be that the CPA is not issuing a full "audit" but just a "compilation and review" Why? Because it is a lot less expensive and some banks accept these. Which I think is dumb because there is a vast difference in reliability between them.

As advice to you I really wouldn't go around a making an issue about this with the boss. CPA could be golfing buddy. BUT - again - your instincts on this are correct.