Back to Work: Assistance for Employers

Our friends over at the law firm of Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck ["KDV"] have created a variety of useful documents to help make the transition back to business as smooth as possible . Government authorities around the United States have strongly suggested that employers implement a Safety Plan outlining the steps being taken by businesses to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To […]
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jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' risk management, Back to work, being sued, Coronavirus, COVID, KVD, Limit of liability, reopening your office, risk management
Jun, 09, 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 […]
- 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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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
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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 […]
- 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 […]
- 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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Minimizing the risk of malpractice claims from lateral hires

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb Many accounting firms have aggressive plans to build their practices and expand the range of services available to clients. Growth strategy is often comprises of several elements: Organic growth is the simplest and arises from marketing, business and employee development and cross selling services to clients. Mergers and acquisition […]
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 […]
- 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 […]
- 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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Early Notice to insurers and claims mitigation has many benefits

by Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb. From a purely risk management perspective, bringing your insurer into the claims process is extremely prudent and can save you a lot of money. The following outlines reasons why you should contact your malpractice insurer or insurance agent: Reporting a potential claim enables your malpractice insurer to work on […]
- Posted by
Rickard Jorgensen
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, being sued, Claims, claims notification, due diligence, insurance, policy coverage, professional liability claims, risk management, Uncategorized
Oct, 03, 2018
1 Comment.
Mergers and Acquisitions – due diligence and the risk management process

There has been a spate of firm consolidations in the past few years and the pace is unlikely to slow down. Retirements, business expansion, consolidation of practice areas or acquisition of a new specialty drive the reasons to merge firms together. Due diligence is essential in the evaluation of the firm. Identifying issues before a […]
- Posted by
Rickard Jorgensen
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, due diligence, mergers, policy coverage, prior acts coverage, risk management
Jun, 06, 2018
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