Cooking the Books!!!

[mdelgado10]

I work for an employer who I believe is cooking the books. The clients dont like their tax result and the owner bends backwards at their demands to not lose their business. The 'adjustment' could be towards inventory, increase/decrease income or loan to/from shareholders. How common practice is this? I've worked for various employers and experienced one thing or another that I believe the owners should not be allowed to practice. I work in Los Angeles (or Orange county). I dont have the option of leaving as it is difficult to obtain work even though there are plenty of openings. I've grown weary from what I have experienced and even thought about going back to doing blue collar work as I did before I got into college like working in warehouses or any other job were you dont need a degree.

I have other non-accounting complaints about society such as parking lots full of shopping carts or major stores being wrecked with clothes and items everywhere (not just holidays).

Any feedback would be appreciated. Tell me that is close to normal practice or that I've had bad luck with employers. My resume is another topic as the past seven years I've had just as many employers. I would need more paragraphs for each employer and you can say there is a common denominator all you'd like. I can only shake my head or roll my eyes so many times.

Thanks.

[ATSMAN]

I work for an employer who I believe is cooking the books. The clients dont like their tax result and the owner bends backwards at their demands to not lose their business. The 'adjustment' could be towards inventory, increase/decrease income or loan to/from shareholders. How common practice is this? I've worked for various employers and experienced one thing or another that I believe the owners should not be allowed to practice. I work in Los Angeles (or Orange county). I dont have the option of leaving as it is difficult to obtain work even though there are plenty of openings. I've grown weary from what I have experienced and even thought about going back to doing blue collar work as I did before I got into college like working in warehouses or any other job were you dont need a degree.

I have other non-accounting complaints about society such as parking lots full of shopping carts or major stores being wrecked with clothes and items everywhere (not just holidays).

Any feedback would be appreciated. Tell me that is close to normal practice or that I've had bad luck with employers. My resume is another topic as the past seven years I've had just as many employers. I would need more paragraphs for each employer and you can say there is a common denominator all you'd like. I can only shake my head or roll my eyes so many times.

Thanks.

In one of my very early Jobs my boss wanted me to fudge some records and I refused and the next time there was a staff cut I was on the chopping board!

Having said that it is up to you to decide if you want to continue your employment there.

[TaxGuyBill]

How common practice is this?

According to the IRS, it is fairly common:

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-return-preparer-fraud-ranks-on-2018-dirty-dozen-taxpayers-urged-to-choose-reputable-tax-preparers

But note that it IS "fraud" if the tax preparer is entering deductions or loans that don't actually exist.

[mdelgado10]

In one of my very early Jobs my boss wanted me to fudge some records and I refused and the next time there was a staff cut I was on the chopping board!

Having said that it is up to you to decide if you want to continue your employment there.

Thanks ATSMAN. I'm suprised and upset at the few turnout. I know there are others registered in the message board who know what I'm talking about and dont want to discuss it. Most likely they also fudge numbers or turn the eye knowing this is part of the game. Of course I can leave but my resume is already shredded for the same scenario. I'm working on obtaining my own clients and working for myself with no staff. Just enough work to keep me busy. Work to live. I also expect to do the right thing and will preach so to my future clients. Even if they want to fudge numbers my dream scenario is to have clients who do it the right way. taxes support our gov't. Our gov't supports us.

[ATSMAN]

Thanks ATSMAN. I'm suprised and upset at the few turnout. I know there are others registered in the message board who know what I'm talking about and dont want to discuss it. Most likely they also fudge numbers or turn the eye knowing this is part of the game. Of course I can leave but my resume is already shredded for the same scenario. I'm working on obtaining my own clients and working for myself with no staff. Just enough work to keep me busy. Work to live. I also expect to do the right thing and will preach so to my future clients. Even if they want to fudge numbers my dream scenario is to have clients who do it the right way. taxes support our gov't. Our gov't supports us.

You have to do what is right so that you can sleep peacefully at night! When I got fired for doing the right thing it cause economic pain and finding a suitable position was a challenge but I was glad that I did not have to deal with scum**gs and there was no shortage of people who took my position as I later learned.

If you do the right thing sooner or later you will be blessed and you will find that there are people who will appreciate your honesty and integrity,and this situation will be thing of the past.

[JohnH]

Thanks ATSMAN. I'm suprised and upset at the few turnout. I know there are others registered in the message board who know what I'm talking about and dont want to discuss it. Most likely they also fudge numbers or turn the eye knowing this is part of the game. Of course I can leave but my resume is already shredded for the same scenario. I'm working on obtaining my own clients and working for myself with no staff. Just enough work to keep me busy. Work to live. I also expect to do the right thing and will preach so to my future clients. Even if they want to fudge numbers my dream scenario is to have clients who do it the right way. taxes support our gov't. Our gov't supports us.

Don't be surprised or upset at the low turnout. Oftentimes when an answer is on target (as ATAMN's was) there's no reason for others to pile on and basically say "I agree" unless they have relevant info to add.

[Rapid Robert]

I have other non-accounting complaints about society such as parking lots full of shopping carts or major stores being wrecked with clothes and items everywhere (not just holidays).

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Better start considering a move to Camelot or some other nice place. This country is full of cheats, liars, and scumbags, starting at the very top and continuing on down through the very bottom.

[Snaggletooth]

The "Few turnout"

Sometimes on this board you will get a "few turnout" because the readers are too flabberghasted to reply. Your post indicates a number of issues that leaves readers with a nonplussed reaction and not likely to respond.

First of all, I would like to think that most of us on this board are not fudging numbers just to make clients happy. As a group, I think most of us have more moral integrity than this, although I will concede many of us may have varying temperaments when it comes to grey areas.

Many of us may have conclusions about seven jobs in seven years, and this is not intended to insult. This is more than a coincidence for so many employers to be that intolerable. You may be one of those people with an extremely powerful moral compass who has difficulty accepting the world as it is. We don't know you, and you would have to evaluate yourself to determine whether this is true. You might ask your friends.

However, like ATSMAN says, a typical response from most employers to one who is disagreeable to their agenda is to fire the person. I have had this happen to me when I was an employee. However, I have also had superiors marvel and admire me when I stood for the truth. This didn't necessarily result in raises and promotions, but whenever they really wanted the truth they would come to me before going anywhere else. Smart employers and supervisors know that if someone lies for them, they will also lie to them.

If you are in an area where you feel economic opportunities are stringent, consider relocating. Regardless of how you evaluate the job economy in your area, a record of seven jobs in seven years is not going to be looked upon favorably by any potential employer. I'm not even suggesting that you were wrong in all those situations, I'm only trying to purvey what the prevailing sentiment would be.

As to your initial question, I would disassociate myself with any practice of "cooking the books" and would decline to do if asked. Make sure you are refusing blatant and obvious concessions and not simply disagreeing with grey areas which may have support. If this puts you out on the street - eventually you could be kicked upstairs. I've been out on the street before and its not fun. But I'm doing fine now, am totally self-employed with a strong customer base who likes my forthrightness, and look back to my time on the street as simply a bump in the road.

I hope you will view my response as a sincere desire to help. There is no intentional insult meant.

[DaveO]

My first question would be who is signing the returns? Never put your signature on a return you are not confident is correct. I have worked for some companies whose owners were indictable but managed to do my job satisfied that I was behaving in an ethical manner. If you stay keep very good records of these changes and restatements to cover yourself.

[ATSMAN]

My first question would be who is signing the returns? Never put your signature on a return you are not confident is correct. I have worked for some companies whose owners were indictable but managed to do my job satisfied that I was behaving in an ethical manner. If you stay keep very good records of these changes and restatements to cover yourself.

Some firms rely on the reviewer to check the return and then the signing partner signs the return (back in the days when we paper filed)

The reviewer just looked at the worksheet and added up to make sure the math was correct!

The cooking of books may have happened at the source document level, that is never verified??