We printed out all the needed documents for review in order to prepare our questions for the client. First, we reviewed the prior year documents and compared it with all of the information that we were given for the current year. We did this by reading over everything as a group, and then assigning each person a specific portion to go into detail with. We gathered the correct forms from the IRS website and checked for other missing documents or information that is needed from the client in order to prepare the tax return.
2. What is the importance of the engagement file for engagement continuity? In addition, what role does the staff accountant play in making sure the engagement file is useful in future years?
The reason the engagement file is very important for engagement continuity is because the prior year returns have to be compared with the current year returns. Any errors noted or questions for the client would come from here. The staff accountant should add plenty of notes or comments from the client in the engagement file, so that it could be useful and beneficial in the future to determine what credit and …show more content…
This could lead to filing an amended tax return with the IRS for the previous year. Also, when you compare the current return with the prior year, it is important that most of the information matches and is up to date for the current return. Therefore, it will be less of a chance that the IRS will choose to audit the client’s tax return. Detail documentation is also important for expenses that are deducted on a tax return, because huge differences in revenue and expenses could lead to a risk of the IRS performing an audit on the client also. They want to make sure the taxpayer is not claiming a deduction they weren’t allowed