Should a taxpayer and/or business owner get a periodic second opinion on their accountant’s or tax preparer’s work?
That question was posed to me at a presentation I was giving earlier this year to a group of people trying to get businesses off the ground.
The business owner said they had “heard” (they didn’t say from whom) that it was a good idea to go to a different accountant every couple of years to have a review of tax returns to make sure your “main” accountant wasn’t screwing things up.
Someone else in the room chimed in to say that was a good idea, and they invoked the name “Bernie Madoff” on the danger of being too trusting of the professionals you work with.
I was also asked if I had ever been asked to review an accountant’s work.
This discussion threw me for a loop, but here’s how I answered.
Reviewing Other Accountant’s Work
I have never had someone come to me to review their accountant’s work unless the person was planning on switching to me. I’ve never had someone just contact me and say “hey, I want you to look at this to make sure my accountant isn’t screwing things up.”
Should You Get a Second Opinion?
I think I’d be wounded if one of my clients went elsewhere to get a second opinion on my work. The foundation of a successful relationship with any professional is … trust.
If you trust your accountant or tax preparer so little that you feel compelled to go get a second opinion on their work, perhaps you need to re-evaluate your relationship with that person.
[…] Dinesen, Should You Get a Second Opinion on Your Accountant’s Work? “If you trust your accountant or tax preparer so little that you feel compelled to go get a […]
I get a lot of “so and so’s accountant got them back so much more than this…we make the same so I don’t know where YOU went wrong.” My stock answer is to have “so and so’s” accountant do your taxes then. After doing this for almost 20 years I have found that many tax preparers will use “standard” amounts for charity and 2106 expenses and goose them up every year. Whereas true professionals (like me and Jason) will thoroughly interview our clients and deduct what they actually spent and what is allowable under the tax code.
Not to mention the areas where the taxpayer has elections to make…many times I will talk with a client with a growing business (but is in the 10% or 15% tax bracket) to NOT Sec 179 an asset or opt out of bonus depreciation or even elect ADS or GDS so that those valuable depreciation deductions are saved for the years when the taxpayer will most likely be in a higher tax bracket. On the face of the return, it may look like a “error” or a “missed opportunity”. But in reality, we are saving the client money in the long-run.
I’m with you Jason, I wear my heart on my sleeve and bend over backwards for my clients. I would be offended if my work was being “reviewed” and I would probably fire the client on the spot. My practice is past the point of having to prove itself and clients are free to walk.
Right on, David! I often say to myself that my clients have no idea how good they’ve got it.