John: If a CPA prepares your filing, then they accept professional responsibility for it’s correctness and content. In terms of IRS “harassment”, the IRS is going to be more likely to pass over a CPA prepared return than an individually prepared return, simply because a licensed professional prepared it.
TemekuT: As far as crooks go: Remember that Enron would have never been possible without Arthur Andersen’s Houston office enabling the fraud. And there is no way that anyone will ever convince me that they weren’t fully aware of what was transpiring. The average salary for a partner at Andersen Houston was in excess of $500,000 per year and much of that income was derived from their relationship and business with Enron. I worked with all of the Big Eight (yeah, I’m dating myself a little there) players when I was with Willis (an insurance broker) and they were all willing to “play ball” when it came to making their clients “happy”. That’s why CPA firms and lawyers exist: Hide the mess (CPAs), and if that doesn’t work, clean it up (lawyers).
