Run a firm with auditing without a CPA myself?

Question

I currently own a financial serivces company but would like to add tax and audit services onto my offerings to clients. I am not a CPA but I would have CPA's working in the company, are there any licensing requirements for this other than the CPA's working there? I know for tax purposes one doesn't need to be a CPA but auditing? Anyone have any ideas on this?

Thanks for the enrolled agent information.. probably a good way to go.. how about auditing though!

Answer 1

Only CPA's can provide attestation services, which is what you do when you audit somebody. The majority of the owners of the auditing firm (I believe it's 2/3rds) must be CPA's in order to provide attestation services. So if you are the only owner, I don't believe that this is a route you can travel without getting into some serious trouble later.

Answer 2

RamsGod makes an excellent point about providing tax advice. As for auditing, each state has its own rules. Look on your state's website for the State Board of Accountancy or try to link to it from aicpa.org.

What you cannot do is call yourself a CPA firm if you are the owner and you have CPA's working for you.

Answer 3

Enrolled Agents are probably what you are looking for. Today’s EAs are the only tax professionals tested by IRS on their knowledge of tax law and regulations. They provide tax preparation, representation, tax planning and other financial services to millions of individual and business taxpayers.
The biggest misconception about CPA's is that they know taxation. Most accountants that have their CPA have had 8 units or less in Income Taxation education in the entire scope of their education. Hiring an Enrolled Agent is like hiring a CPA whose sole focus is Taxation. Many Enrolled Agents are former IRS employees with Audit experience. For more information about Enrolled Agents, please visit The National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) website at
http://www.naea.org/MemberPortal/

Answer 4

You can provide the services BUT you need to be a CPA in order to sign an audit, review, or compilation.

If you're the only partner, then you better have dumb enough employees to sign them because it then becomes their @ss on the line too.

Answer 5

there has been many circumstances the place fall of a vast corporates and alongside with a corresponding auditing companies, no longer purely in India yet additionally interior the U. S.. The sought after Enron corporation Scandal and the auditing corporation Arthur Anderson interior the year 2001. those 2 scandals are comparable using fact the justifications for their downfall are comparable. They manuplated the debts to manuplate a small-sum which later grew to alter right into a recurring coaching. Then later the cumulation of small sums blew-up right into a super monster. Satyams manuplation incorporate: exhibiting inflated (severe) money and financial corporation balances than extremely stability. exhibiting interest income that became no longer modern-day. borrowers value inflated. Raju stated that - "What began as a marginal hollow between extremely working income and the only pondered interior the books of debts persisted to boost by the years. It has attained unmanageable proportions using fact the size of corporation operations grew heavily (annualised gross revenues run cost of Rs eleven,276 crore (US$ 2.4 billion) interior the September quarter of 2008 and respected reserves of Rs 8,392 crore (US$ one million.seventy 9 billion)). using fact the promoters held a small proportion of fairness, the project became that undesirable overall performance might effect in a takeover, thereby exposing the hollow. The aborted Maytas acquisition deal became the final attempt to fill the fictional components with actual ones. It became like driving a tiger, no longer understanding the thank you to get off without being eaten.***” despite the fact that in enron's case its Auditing corporation (Arthur Anderson) additionally closed down alongside with, using fact it extremely is shopper's lost self assurance with it. those frauds ought to no longer have been executed with the understanding of it extremely is Auditors. those frauds can been controlled (cant say stopped) via having dynamic and strict rules. Dynamic : to cover any loophole modern-day in regulation Strict : worry of punishment stops/administration frauds. for occasion: In US after the autumn of agencies like Enron, Tyco international, Adelphia, Peregrine structures and WorldCom the act of: Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 the place a corporation each and every has to do reporting on eleven heads on its extremely some accounting and till now has executed extremely.

Answer 6

the CPA's you hire will be able to better explain,..it depends on their certifications, and continued education