Unusual telephone call from IRS

[Gary2]

Any comment? Am I required to put my signature onto a statement written by the auditor in her words, not in my words?

Did you object to signing on principle, or were there specific items in the statement with which you disagreed? If the latter, where they objective items that were clear, or just differences in connotation? Obviously, you shouldn't sign something that's false, nor should you allow the auditor to pressure you into statements or conclusions that you don't believe. But if you said the client makes "premium widgets" and the auditor wrote "high-priced widgets", I'm not sure I would make an issue of it.

Wording statements so that they'll be effective in court isn't easy, and many people, including experienced EAs and CPAs have trouble doing it. I can see how the auditor might want to do this to speed things along, and that it might be totally fair. Whether it's appropriate, is a different question.

For the sake of comparison, I've served on both a zoning and a planning board. In both cases, it wasn't unusual for a petitioner to present a draft decision, which we would edit, often mercilessly, to get what we want. This wasn't considered a conflict of interest. However, since you were acting as a witness, the rules and ethics may be different - the auditor shouldn't be unduly influencing you. But merely rewording things you've said isn't necessarily bad.