Program Content

This online learning program, presented as a live webcast, will be also archived for QAS Self Study. The program will be available for viewing for 12 months after the live webcast. A panel of IRS and industry experts will present the content during a live, interactive discussion, where participant questions can be submitted. Questions will be answered live on the program or posted on the Resources page

The program, through a lively round-table discussion and real time interaction with the audience, examines the changes that affect the rules governing practice before the IRS and the prospects for additional changes. The program will focus on how the IRS assures that practitioners maintain the highest ethical standards. Panelists also will focus on ethical problems most often faced by tax practitioners, the dilemma when client's wishes clash with a professional's responsibilities, and the penalties that may be imposed on practitioners.

By the end of the program, participants will have a practical understanding, through accurate, current, and effectively designed communications, of the ethical obligations of practitioners, the enforcement of those ethical obligations, the penalties imposed on practitioners who fall short, and the resolution of conflicts that arise between client and the professional's responsibilities.

Program Learning Objectives

1. Identify any recent and proposed changes to Circular 230, governing practice before the IRS.
2. Identify the conflicts that arise in trying to satisfy clients and how best to resolve those conflicts.
3. Identify the role OPR plays in ensuring professionals live up to the highest ethical standards.
4. Identify the penalties that may be imposed on professionals who fall short of their code of conduct.

Program Outline

• Circular 230
  • Tax Return Preparers
  • Enrolled Agents
  • Other Tax Professionals
  • Recent Developments
  • Proposed Changes


• Reconciling Professional's Responsibilities and Client's Wishes
  • Due Diligence
  • Competence
  • Protection for Client's Records
  • Multi-Party Representation
  • Solicitation of Business
  • Other Duties


• Office of Professional Responsibility
  • OPR's Function
  • Tax Professional's Rights in OPR Actions
  • Representation Before OPR
  • Penalties OPR may impose


• Best Practices to Avoid Penalties
  • Failure to Follow Procedures
  • Disclosure or Use of Return Information
  • Lack of Diligence
  • Aiding or Abetting Tax Liability Understatements