When it comes to handling an audit, many people don’t realize hiring a CPA is best. With so much to decide and work out, it can be quite confusing trying to come up with the solutions on your own. However, many people will not look to hire a professional to manage their accounts.
Hiring a CPA is way down the list of priorities for many businesses, but when it comes time to handle a BOE Sales Tax Audit, you had best be ready to deal with the consequences.
A Sales Tax Audit is a serious thing, and not something that you should disregard or see as over the top. This is a major issue, and one that could quite significantly hamper your future if you are not careful. This might sound melodramatic, but many businesses have suffered vastly over the years due to now having an accountant working within the business.
If you wish to avoid this problem, then you should hire a CPA to come in and help. Why?
Professional Assistance When Needed
One of the most important add-ons that a good CPA brings to the table is that they can find lots of great solutions that you may never have thought of. An accountant knows the rough ins & outs of Sales Tax, so they can usually spot where you have gone wrong up until this point. Therefore, it makes plenty of sense to allow a CPA to help out; they know the little things that might not stand out to you, but could be the source of the confusion and the audit.
Create a Plan of Action
When you receive notice of an audit, you will be told of what is causing the problem in the letter. You should forward this to a CPA as they can then tell you exactly where you have gone wrong. With a good CPA on your side they can help you spot the weaknesses and limitations in your plan.
Most importantly, they can help you see the best way to handle the audit and satisfy the need of the BOE. Sales Tax is a challenge to deal with at the best of times, but if you create a Plan of Action then you can remove this from the equation entirely.
However, one of the major reasons to have a CPA on board is that they can help you respond during the audit. They’ll spot ‘traps’ in questioning and ensure that all answers you provide to BOE lines of questioning are thorough and detailed.
This makes it easier to give factual and diplomatic answers, as a CPA can give a professionally informed set of details. When contesting the audit on your own you are relying on having knowledge and understanding of finance that you may not have.
A good accountant can get you out of an audit and make sure that everything is OK in the end. On your own though? Handling an audit can be tough.
