TSBAS Accounting Bookkeeping Payroll Tax Preparation
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Learn More
    • About >
      • Meet the Team
      • Reviews
    • Services >
      • Tax Debt Relief
      • Accounting & Bookkeeping
      • Tax Services
      • Payroll Services
      • Seminars & Training
      • QuickBooks Services
      • Specialized Services >
        • Spa Bookkeeping
        • Services for Real Estate Agents
  • Schedule
  • Contact Us
  • TSBAS Client Guide
  • Service Requests
    • Payroll Service Quote Request
  • Links to Important Things
  • careers
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Learn More
    • About >
      • Meet the Team
      • Reviews
    • Services >
      • Tax Debt Relief
      • Accounting & Bookkeeping
      • Tax Services
      • Payroll Services
      • Seminars & Training
      • QuickBooks Services
      • Specialized Services >
        • Spa Bookkeeping
        • Services for Real Estate Agents
  • Schedule
  • Contact Us
  • TSBAS Client Guide
  • Service Requests
    • Payroll Service Quote Request
  • Links to Important Things
  • careers

Trump's Accountants

2/23/2022

0 Comments

 
Accounting firms do not always garner headlines, and when they do, it tends not to be for good reasons. Things changed a little bit in this realm over the last week, though, as Mazars USA LLP ended its association with former president Donald Trump and his business interests while saying that it could no longer vouch for a decade’s worth of business statements.

Whether this accounting firm getting such attention is for good reasons or not, well, that can be (and is being) spun in both ways. I will try not to cast any such judgment in this space. Instead, I just want to look at this from the accounting perspective.

What seems clear is that Mazars received some information that led it to believe what was reflected in their financial statements for the Trump Organization was not a complete, accurate portrait. This speaks to a key cog in the accounting machine that the numbers reflected must be honest if they are to reflect anything of value. There are many key questions here that still need to be answered, though, before declaring how egregious any actions surrounding these statements may be.

The obvious first big one is what did Mazars discover that affected how it views that decade of statements?  Some still large questions follow that one, however, as to whether this was information that Mazars knew (or suspected), if they were given outright false information, or if there was information that should have been shared with them that was withheld.

This is because the reports that Mazars did are compilations, which essentially means that they are largely based on information provided to them by the client. They were not audited in any meaningful way by Mazars itself.

What may be key to figuring out what is going on here is that Mazars did not simply retract (and then presumably follow up by correcting) the compiled statements. It also ended its relationship with the Trump Organization. This would seem to imply that there was a breaking of trust. It’s possible that in conversations with a client, an accounting firm could discover that an honest mistake was made, but it can then be fixed and be correct moving forward. That is not what happened here.

So even in this quick summation of what is happening, we have hit upon honesty and trust, both pretty strong concepts. Again, I don’t want to cast any judgment on what may or may not have happened here or cast blame. For it is certainly plausible that this situation may just have become too much for Mazars and it wants to step away. Instead, we will wait to see how this is judged by those whose job it is to do so. I will, though, state how important those concepts are to what we do and that clients, accountants, and any third parties observing the work done between those two, deserve to have things be clear and not lay in gray areas, and we commit ourselves to accomplishing this.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
Connect to Us ~ 
Facebook ~ Twitter

To ensure we don't make the folks at the IRS ornery, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Balance
    Bookkeeping
    Business
    Payroll
    Tax
    Tax Prep
    Tax Return
    Tax Scam

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Website by Odeh Media Group
Copyright ©2025 TSBAS.com, All Rights Reserved
The Small Business Accounting Solution, Inc
50 South 1st Avenue, Coatesville PA 19320
(844) 208-2937
Privacy Policy
​Contact Us
Terms & Conditions