A tax audit seeks evidence of facts related to tax matters.
The tax audit is a process that consists of obtaining and evaluating evidence about the facts linked to tax acts. The auditor must compare tax returns and payments with the finances of the audited entity to determine if everything is in order.
It should be noted that an audit is an inspection, review and control activity that aims to monitor compliance with certain standards. When a person or company is subjected to an audit, the auditor is responsible for collecting data and analyzing processes to present a report that demonstrates whether the subject or company is in compliance and within the parameters of the law .
The adjective fiscal , for its part, refers to that which belongs to or relates to the treasury (the public treasury or the set of public organizations whose function is to collect taxes and tributes ).
Features of the tax audit
There are basically two types of audits: internal and external . The latter can be, in turn, governmental or private in nature.
When carrying out a tax audit, it is undeniable that the professional who carries it out must carry out an exhaustive analysis of the company in question and its information. Thus, more specifically, you must acquire the maximum knowledge about the structure of that entity, the operations it carries out or the economic conditions it has.
In this way, with and from this data, the auditor will carry out an in-depth review, then inspect and confirm what was studied, investigating and observing. The result of all this will be the preparation of a final report or opinion , which is made up of two structured parts: a first, in which the procedure carried out is disclosed, and a second where you establish your opinion.
The tax audit can be carried out by the State or by a private agent.
The process at the public and private level
The State , through different offices and secretariats, usually carries out tax audits to ensure that taxpayers are complying with their obligations. If any irregularity is detected, the debtor is ordered to regularize the situation and, depending on the case, may be punished in various ways since tax evasion is a crime.
Large companies also usually order internal tax audits, in order to ensure that tax payments are being carried out normally.
It is common to confuse what a tax audit is with a tax inspection , but they are different things. Thus, of the first it should be noted that it is carried out by an independent professional, that a partial opinion is not allowed or that he carries it out almost simultaneously with the events taking place.
The second, the aforementioned inspection, for its part, is identified because it is carried out by a State official, because an opinion must always be issued, because it has fewer facilities to access the information and because it is carried out after the audit. financial.