New Competence Section of Circular 230 Highlighted in OPR Webinar

Monday, November 17, 2014 10:43 AM | NCSA Website Manager (Administrator)
New Section 10.35 of Circular 230 on competence of tax preparers is designed to send a message to those who buy tax software and think they can let it do all the work, Karen Hawkins, director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, said during an Oct. 29 Internal Revenue Service webinar. "You won't be competent if this is how you conduct your practice," Hawkins said.
 
Section 10.35 requires, quite simply, that practitioners be competent, Hawkins said. Competent practice requires whatever skill level and preparation are necessary to provide the appropriate level of service for which the practitioner has been engaged. "This is a very flexible, principles-based concept," she said.
 
Hawkins noted that practitioners can achieve competency in a number of ways. Based on experience, a practitioner may become familiar with issues related to a certain fact pattern. Researching, taking a class, or hiring others to consult with are also ways to become "competent," she said. But it is just as important for a practitioner to know when he or she isn't competent, she said. Part of a practitioner's responsibility in that case might be to send the client to someone else.
 
In an addition to existing Section 10.82 of Circular 230, Hawkins also said OPR has been authorized to do expedited suspensions of practitioners who have been adjudicated by a third-party forum as unfit to continue to practice. For instance, she said the suspensions might apply to lawyers who have lost their license, certified public accountants whose certifications have been revoked, or enrolled agents who have been convicted of a tax crime.
 
The process will be much the same as it is now, Hawkins said, only it will move faster


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