Audit Manual, Ch 2, Sec 2.9 - Pre-Audit Interview

2.9 Pre-Audit Interview

The Auditor must conduct a pre-audit interview with the employer or their designated representative. The purpose of the pre-audit interview is to:

Ensure that the employer is aware of the audit and understands its purpose.
Determine who the employer's designated representative is for the audit and establish with whom the audit results should be discussed.
Determine if the employer is in bankruptcy so that only appropriate collection action is taken.

The pre-audit interview can be conducted by telephone or in-person and must be held with:

The owner, if the organization is a sole proprietorship.
A partner, if the organization is a partnership.
An officer, if the organization is a corporation.
A director, member, or board member if the organization is an association or a Limited Liability Company (LLC).
A designated representative. The pre-audit questionnaire may be returned by an owner, partner, officer, director, member, or board member identifying a "designated representative" for the pre-audit interview. Delegating the audit responsibilities to someone else may also be done verbally by the employer. The Auditor must indicate in the audit report the name, title, and phone number of the designated representative and the name, title and phone number of the individual making the designation.

The C-102 - Pre-Audit Questionnaire should be included in the audit workpapers if returned by the employer, or if the Accounts Examiner prepares it after talking with the employer. The employer may also provide the pre-audit questionnaire information on another form. The designation of an employer representative to handle the pre-audit interview, audit details, and post-audit conference, can be given verbally by the employer as long as the Accounts Examiner documents this guidance on the C-51 audit report.

There may be very rare cases where the owner or officer could not be contacted by phone or in person, and the Auditor did not receive an appropriately signed pre-audit questionnaire. In these cases, the Auditor must describe in the Comments Section the attempts made to contact the owners or officers, the reasons why they were unsuccessful, and with whom the pre-audit discussion was held.

EXAMPLE: All officers and owners live out of the country, business is run by the general manager, pre-audit discussion held with John Doe - General Manager.

Acceptable reasons include:

The official was out of the country.
The official does not speak English and designated a representative.
The official is not located in the Tax Area, and failed to return the Auditor's telephone calls.
The official is not mentally or physically capable. For example, a domestic employer is in a nursing home and the Auditor contacts the son or daughter.

Last Revision: May 05, 2011

[ Audit System Manual- TOC ] [ Ch 1 - Introduction ] [ Ch 2 - Preparing for an Audit ] [ Ch 3 - Conducting the Audit ] [ Ch 4 - Completing the Audit Forms and Schedules ] [ Ch 5 - Audit System Screens ] [ Ch 6 - Miscellaneous ] [ Ch 7 - USDOL - Tax Performance System ] [ Ch 8 - Computer Fundamentals & Hardware ] [ Appendix ]
[ 2.1 - Wages ] [ 2.2 - Payments Excluded from Wages ] [ 2.3 - Employer Payments ] [ 2.4 - Pre-Audit Areas of Review ] [ 2.5 - Assignment Preparation ] [ 2.6 - Audit Letter and Pre-Audit Questionnaire ] [ 2.7 - Verbal Notice of Audit ] [ 2.8 - Appointments ] [ 2.9 - Pre-Audit Interview ]
Chapter 2: Preparing For An Audit	comments to: Tax Department

Chapter 2: Preparing For An Audit

2.9 Pre-Audit Interview