subject: What You Need To Know If You Are Being Audited By The Cra Or Ministry Of Finance [print this page] If you have received notice from the Canada Revenue Agency that you are being audited, regard same as serious.
You may think youre honest and that you have nothing to hide but it doesnt matter how honest you are. The CRA has one mandate and that is to collect tax on behalf of the Federal Government.
An auditor is a form of investigator that will listen and write down everything you tell them. If your books are not satisfactory to the auditor the CRA can perform a net worth assessment on you. Based on your income, expenses, assets and liabilities, they can estimate what they believe your income to be.
If you have been notified that you are being audited here is what you can do:
1.Dont complete or sign any forms. The more the auditor has, the more they can use against you.
2.Dont have the initial meeting with the auditor unrepresented.
3.Hire a Chartered Accountant to do a complete review of your books and also to represent you in the audit.
4.Ask the accountant to request that the audit be performed at the accountants office, not at your place of business.
It is better to be safe than sorry. The CRA is not your friend and their enforcement department has a single goal and that is to recover money for the Federal Government. If you would like more information about what to do if you are being audited please visit http://www.markfeldstein.ca.
by: Mark Feldstein, CA, Mark Feldstein and Associates
