Usually not. Once you sign a power of attorney authorizing me to act for you, the auditor deals with me, and in most audits you're never in the room. The IRS can require an interview, and if it comes to that, I prepare you properly beforehand and I'm there with you.
Before I speak to the auditor, I sit down with you and go through everything in detail: what happened, what the records show, how the business actually runs. That way I can give the auditor what they need without you having to field the questions.
It isn’t absolute. Sometimes the person who kept the books is the only one who can explain them.
I know this process from the other side. I spent seventeen years as an IRS auditor, and I’m licensed to represent taxpayers before the IRS anywhere in the country.
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