Accountant's Liability

Consulting, malpractice defense, and loss prevention

Accountant's Liability Overview | Team

Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer represents and advises accounting firms.

Malpractice Defense

The firm has nearly twenty-five years of experience defending accounting firms and their members from malpractice suits in professional liability cases, including the following claims:

  • Failure to report properly on financial statements
  • Failure to detect controller errors
  • Failure to detect irregularities including embezzlements
  • Ponzi schemes
  • Fraudulent financial reporting
  • Claims arising from tax liability
  • Penalties concerning offshore manufacturing
  • Penalities concerning pricing schemes
  • Estate planning malpractice
  • Claims arising from oppression by majority shareholders
  • Client misuse and loss of customer funds
  • Failure to detect and report on client violations of loan covenants

 Accounting Firm Consulting Work

The firm provides consultation to accounting firms on a wide array of matters, which include:

  • Legislative and compliance issues (2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Gramm Leach Bliley Act)
  • Inspections, investigations and hearings by the AICPA and licensing authorities concerning violations of the Code of Professional Ethics
  • Risk management practices
  • Adequacy of quality control documents
  • Preparation for peer review
  •  “Critical events”, including third party inspection of workpapers, issuing qualified audit reports, withdrawal from engagements, and responding to subpoenas
  • Review of accounting firm ownership agreements
  • Advice to accounting firms on improving their engagement letters

Loss Prevention

The firm provides both in-house and professional association loss prevention (risk management) training for accountants.

To keep accountants and those who provide malpractice insurance to accountants informed of legal developments, the firm periodically publishes an Accountant Legal Issues Newsletter.

Primary Contacts