Conservation Easements – the next wave of malpractice claims against accountants and tax preparers?

By Ralph Picardi, Esq. and Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb. Because of a recent uptick in enforcement actions by the Internal Revenue Service, accountants’ professional liability insurers are beginning to pay attention to the potential of claims arising from the sale of these alternative investment products. They are a type of tax shelter which is […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Accountants' risk management, Claims, claims notification, conservation easements, Fraud, IRS audits, risk management, Uncategorized
Jul, 12, 2020
No Comments.
Some Broad Guidance for CPAs on the Post-COVID-19 Reopening of Your Office

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb CPA Firms have a number of questions when planning the office reopening process. The most significant challenge is staff safety, as well as clients and other visitors. Liability if someone is contaminated, especially staff, is uncertain and Government guidance often. It is wise to continually monitor guidelines from the […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' risk management, Back to work, Coronavirus, COVID, lawsuit, Management liability, reopening your office, risk management, Uncategorized
Jun, 09, 2020
No Comments.
Cyber risks of working from home (in light of COVID-19) and how to mitigate them

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb. Many firms permit staff to work from home or at least work while on the road. but the number of remote users may increase in the wake of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Consequently, it’s crucial not to allow the precautions designed to protect the physical health of your […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Coronavirus, Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, data breach, Data protection, email risk management, insurance, professional liability claims, social engineering, Uncategorized, working from home
Apr, 06, 2020
No Comments.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act – Good Faith Certification

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act recently signed into law contains an important provision known as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) designed to provide relief to small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The PPP directs $349 billion towards job retention and business operating expenses designed […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' risk management, Comprenhensive coverage, COVID, engagement letters, engagement letters, indemnification clause, policy coverage, policy wording, professional liability claims, Professional Services, Ralph G. Picardi, risk management, SBA loans, Statutes of Limitation, Uncategorized, Utmost good faith
Apr, 03, 2020
Comments Off
Section 7216 – requesting client permissions

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb We would recently approached by a policyholder about affirmative consent requirements imposed by IRS regulations under Internal Revenue Code section 7216. Under the code, a tax return preparer is subject to criminal penalties under section 7216 if the preparer “knowingly or recklessly” discloses or uses tax return information. A […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Accountants' risk management, Client permission, Data protection, engagement letters, IRS cyber rules, Uncategorized
Mar, 06, 2020
Comments Off
Does failure to notify your insurer of a subpoena void your professional liability insurance coverage?

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb We have frequently been contacted by members of the CPAGold™ program for assistance to respond to a subpoena, either for documents or for testimony. In fact, the CPAGold™ policy provides a specific coverage extension a follows: 1.2.2 Subpoena Expenses We will pay on your behalf Defense Expenses approved by […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Accountants' risk management, Claims, claims notification, denial of coverage, risk management, subpoenas, Uncategorized
Mar, 06, 2020
Comments Off
The Statute of Limitations in Professional Malpractice

Both Accountants and Wealth Advisers are “professionals” for the purpose of the various statutes of limitations. This means that firms’ decisions concerning document retention and the purchase of an extended reporting period can be heavily influence by a firm’s State of domicile (or the States where a firm practices). The longest statute of limitation is […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Accountants' risk management, claims notification, Extended Reporting Periods, lawsuit, Limit of liability, prior acts coverage, Statutes of Limitation, Uncategorized
Feb, 05, 2020
Comments Off
Engagement Letter Defense Rejected

This month, guest blogger Seth L. Laver of Goldberg Segalla writes about a recent legal development concerning the use of engagement letters in the defense of accountants’ malpractice claims. ——————————————————————————————————————— We often write about the importance of engagement letters, in fact we have an entire sub-category devoted to engagement letter defenses. That’s because the engagement […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' risk management, engagement letters, engagement letters, lawsuit, Limitation of Liability clauses, Seth l. Laver, trial, Uncategorized
Feb, 05, 2020
Comments Off
Example Disengagement letters

In a recent posting on the CPAFMA website there was a request for a specific template for client disengagement letter. You may recall we blogged about the topic of client disengagement in 2018 (Go here). The following are two suggested templates for disengagement letters: a relative simple version aimed at individual clients from the AICPA […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Accountants' risk management, Disengagement, Disengagement letter, letter template, risk management, Uncategorized
Jan, 13, 2020
Comments Off
Security Policy for CPA firms – a template

We have received several enquiries from members of the CPAGold™ program for help with a suggested wording for a Cyber Security Policy as required by the IRS rules. As you will be aware, there is a lot of information available about this topic. One of the best white papers is Small Business Information Security: The […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, data breach, Data protection, email risk management, IRS cyber rules, Phishing scams, Privacy, risk management, security, Security policy, social engineering, social media, Uncategorized
Jan, 13, 2020
No Comments.
Search Posts
Recent Posts
- Pandemic-related challenges likely to impact your firm in the immediate future
- Conservation Easements – the next wave of malpractice claims against accountants and tax preparers?
- Some Broad Guidance for CPAs on the Post-COVID-19 Reopening of Your Office
- Back to Work: Assistance for Employers
- Our first COVID-19 related claim against a CPA Client