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 […]

Post Tagged with abusive tax shelters, accountants professional liability, claims, Conservation easements, criminal acts, engagement letters, errors and omissions, IRS audits, professional liability, professional liability claims, risk management

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
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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 […]

Post Tagged with accountants professional liability, COVID, CPA firm mangement, engagement letters, Limitation of Liability, PPP, professional liability claims, professional services, risk management, SBA Loans

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
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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 […]

Post Tagged with accountants professional liability, client permission, Cyber Liability, cyber security, data protection, engagement letters, Information Security, risk management

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
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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 […]

Post Tagged with engagement letters, Limitation of Liability, professional liability claims, risk management

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
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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 […]

Post Tagged with accountants professional liability, disengagement, disengagement letter, disengaging clients, engagement letters, Limitation of Liability, risk management

Posted by jorgcpa
Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Accountants' risk management, Disengagement, Disengagement letter, letter template, risk management, Uncategorized
Jan, 13, 2020
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Limiting Malpractice through Scope of Engagement

by guest bloggers Jennifer H. Feldscher and Seth L. Laver. A recent NY Appellate Division decision serves as another reminder of the importance of carefully defining the scope of engagement in an engagement letter. This is because, under New York law, an attorney may not be held liable for failing to act outside the scope […]

Post Tagged with accountants professional liability, claims, client letter, comprehensive coverage, documentation, engagement letters, lawsuit, litigation, professional liability claims

Posted by Rickard Jorgensen
Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Claims, Client relations, engagement letters, engagement letters, indemnification clause, Jennifer H. Feldscher, professional liability claims, risk management, Seth l. Laver
Mar, 11, 2019
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Using Indemnification Clauses to protect your firm

by Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb All CPAs know that a signed engagement letter is a crucial tool in the defense of a professional negligence lawsuit. The engagement letter memorializes the terms of the engagement, details what services you are performing and more importantly, the services you are NOT offering (i.e. you will not detect […]

Post Tagged with accountants professional liability, claims, engagement letters, errors and omissions, Fee disputes, indemnification clause, Limitation of Liability, professional liability claims, risk management, settlement negotiation

Posted by Rickard Jorgensen
Posted in Accountants' risk management, being sued, client communications, Client relations, due diligence, engagement letters, engagement letters, file documentation, indemnification clause, insurance, Mediation, risk management, settlement negotiation, Uncategorized
Jan, 28, 2019
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Control of client funds

by Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb If your CPA firm has control of client funds and can write checks on clients’ bank or investment accounts you may have an exposure to CPAs or firm staff abusing the signatory authority by stealing or misusing the client funds in the firm’s custody and control. This could apply to bill […]

Post Tagged with accountants professional liability, Client funds, comprehensive coverage, CPA claims, crime coverage, employee theft, engagement letters, fraud, Limitation of Liability, risk management

Posted by Rickard Jorgensen
Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, being sued, Client relations, Coverage, coverage limitations, Crime coverage, criminal behaviour, policy coverage, policy wording, risk management, security
Jan, 03, 2019
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Using the engagement letter to reduce cyber liability exposure

By Nick Matarazzo In this digital age, accountants are being forced to deal with all sorts of cyber threats. A well-worded engagement letter can help guard you against a cyber-related liability claim from your client and minimize your overall firm liability. Even if you are careful about your clients’ data, you may still be held […]

Post Tagged with accountants professional liability, CPA claims, cyber insurance, engagement letters, errors and omissions, professional liability claims, risk management

Posted by Rickard Jorgensen
Posted in Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, engagement letters, engagement letters, professional liability claims, risk management, security, Uncategorized
Oct, 03, 2018
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How To Minimize The Damage Of Lawsuits

by Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ACIArb., ARM Things Beyond Your Control That Precipitate Lawsuits With the advent of the computer era and information age, the cultural and business climate of the nation, and world, has shifted. Businesses have become more complicated, as attitudes sanction greater and greater risk-taking. No longer are there sure-fire lifetime jobs […]

Post Tagged with accountants professional liabilit, accountants professional liability, engagement letters, errors and omissions, lawsuit, professional liability claims, retention policy, trial

Posted by Rickard Jorgensen
Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Accountants' risk management, being sued, Claims, Client relations, Client screening, due diligence, engagement letters, engagement letters, file documentation, File retention, lawsuit, risk management, Uncategorized
Aug, 08, 2017
2 Comments.

Tag Archives: engagement letters