Updated 8/14/2026
If the possibility of your business being audited is one of your worst fears, we don't blame you. Audits are stressful and time-consuming. And you need to choose your words carefully when speaking to an auditor.
CSI Accounting & Payroll has served small businesses for 60 years, and we've talked to hundreds of prospective clients who have voiced audit fears.
That normally leads to the question, “Can you help me if I ever get audited?” Yes. CSI's monthly accounting service includes audit support. In this article, we’ll explain:
- What a tax audit is.
- What causes a tax audit.
- What CSI does to help in the case of a tax audit.
What is a Tax Audit?
A tax audit is the government’s way of verifying income and expenses for a business.
There are two types: sales tax audits and income tax audits. Sales tax audits are the most common and are related to filing and paying a sales and use tax, which is done by the State. Income tax audits are rare and are related to your tax returns.
Sometimes an audit can come in the form of a CP2000 letter in the mail. This is more common for individuals and happens when the government will be able to verify some information from third parties. The letter will ask you to verify some information and respond back in a letter as well.
However, businesses tend to have in-person visits since your business’s information can’t be verified by third-party sources like your personal information can. An auditor will physically go through your records to obtain your information themself.
What Causes a Tax Audit?
Sales Tax Audits
Sales tax audits can be completely random, and most are! This is part of why they're so common. Unless you’re not paying your sales tax or are doing something completely wrong, you’re not likely to trigger a sales tax audit.
It’s much more probable that you will be chosen at random because the State has a goal of auditing every business in the state every three years for sales tax.
Income Tax Audits
You can also be chosen at random for an income tax audit, even if you’re confident that your books are correct. Or, it can be triggered by mismatched information between the numbers on your return and the numbers from third party sources. Typically, this is in the form of underreporting income. If this happens, an audit is pretty much guaranteed.
Remember, income tax audits are rare. Plus, with a trusted expert at CSI Accounting & Payroll on your side, an income tax audit won’t fall on your shoulders. The next section will outline what we do.
What Does CSI Do to Help With a Tax Audit?
We can help you with an audit! Audit representation is included in your monthly accounting fee. The only time that we would charge for audit representation is if the audit is for a time period during which you were not our client.
CSI offers agent-level support, meaning that we deal with the IRS agent directly in the case of income tax audits. We will get power of attorney so we can work through the appeal process if we feel that they incorrectly made a determination. Almost all of these issues are resolved at the agent level and never need to go to tax court. If we’re preparing your monthly sales tax returns, we will also represent you in a sales tax audit.
We are willing to consider new clients who are going through an audit as they come on board with us. It’s not necessarily indicative of illegal activity; it could just be a symptom of a business’ accounting errors that is looking for a better accounting solution. Since this would not be a result of work that we performed for them, we would help them for an additional fee. In this instance, we need to perform back work in both cases of an income tax audit and a sales tax audit. Back work, or back taxes, are an additional charge.
Read more about additional services that are offered for additional fees here.
Stop Worrying About a Lack of Tax Audit Support
Audits are taxing (Get it?), and the thought of handling them by yourself can be overwhelming. Having an understanding of what tax audits are and what can cause them is just the tip of the iceberg.
Now that you also know that CSI Accounting & Payroll offers agent-level support to help you through an income tax audit, which is where most audits are resolved, you should feel the confidence you need to reach out and have our first conversation. Click the button below to schedule a free consultation!
Not convinced yet? You can also take time to read about if you are a good fit to work with CSI.
