20 tips: avoiding malpractice lawsuits

camico founding members offer 20 risk management tips

[news release]

this year marks the 20th anniversary of camico mutual insurance company. after two decades of dialog with its cpa policyholders, camico has become a national repository of risk management knowledge for accounting firms. a mutual insurer owned and operated by cpa policyholders, camico recognizes that its success is largely due to the acquired experience and learning of those cpas.

following are 20 tips and thoughts from four of camico’s founding, 20-year member firms:

1. before entering a new engagement, be sure you have the human and professional resources to back up the scope of work. (armanino mckenna)

2. perform a thorough background check on all potential new clients, including inquiring with former cpa firms, before accepting an engagement. (kirsch, kohn & bridge)

3. provide continuous training opportunities for your employees in the area of risk management. be sure all employees understand the firm’s appetite for risk and the kinds of clients it wants to engage. (goldstein munger & associates financial advisors)4. don’t dabble in high-risk or technical engagements that require specialized expertise or competency that you haven’t acquired yet. (bartlett, pringle & wolf)

5. be willing and ready to turn down clients that are too risky or don’t match your firm’s expertise. (armanino mckenna)

6. continually evaluate each client relationship. whenever there is a material change with your client (e.g., business change, new management, new products), or new accounting or tax issues, reevaluate the relationship from a risk management perspective. (kirsch, kohn & bridge)

7. develop strong client acceptance procedures and don’t comprise. (armanino mckenna)

8. become adept at setting and documenting client expectations so there is no perception gap that could lead to a lawsuit. (goldstein munger & associates financial advisors)

9. communicate early, often and clearly with clients on all engagements and projects, and document all conversations and communications and keep engagement letters current. (kirsch, kohn & bridge)

10. create a team to evaluate new engagements to ensure the quality of the work product. (armanino mckenna)

11. perform due diligence in vetting other professionals you will be relying on; e.g., the actuaries for the pension plan you are auditing must be reputable. (bartlett, pringle & wolf)

12. when you partner with other providers on behalf of clients, be sure to carefully control the communications between your firm and theirs to avoid misunderstandings. (armanino mckenna)

13. disclose clearly to clients how you are paid and what your arrangements with third-party providers are. (goldstein munger & associates financial advisors)

14. understand which issues are critical to third parties. how will the work product be used by all parties? pay extra attention to the parts of the work that are going to be relied upon for critical or high-risk transactions. (bartlett, pringle & wolf)

15. exercise strong due diligence in tax areas-often the areas of highest risk exposure-and stay at the leading edge of knowledge and changes in tax codes, tax law, and tax strategy. (kirsch, kohn & bridge)

16. stay current with the standards, rules and regulations governing specific types of industries and entities. know how standards, rules and regulations affect the way various circumstances are handled. (bartlett, pringle & wolf)

17. be active in your cpa societies to know what is happening in your field. the aicpa and state cpa societies are instrumental in helping practitioners stay current. (bartlett, pringle & wolf)

18. perform due diligence on your own firm’s internal financial controls and security controls. (kirsch, kohn & bridge)

19. if you need to disengage a client, craft your disengagement letter carefully and have it vetted by other partners in your firm as well as your professional liability carrier. (goldstein munger & associates financial advisors)

20. contact an expert at your professional liability carrier whenever you have a question about an engagement. (goldstein munger & associates financial advisors)

posted on october 27, 2006