Working with us during an audit

Our auditors contact employers by phone, email or letter of the pending audit; identify the records that need to be available for inspection; and to set a mutually agreeable date, location, and time to conduct the audit.  The auditor sends the employer an appointment confirmation letter, pre-audit questionnaire and required records checklist.

What auditors look for

The auditor will perform a wide variety of audit functions, which may include:

• Looking for evidence of unreported employees, casual labor, independent contractors and other workers who provide personal labor.
• Sampling payroll and time records to compare them to wages and hours reported to us.
• Reviewing the type of business activity and whether a new employer is assigned the correct tax rate.

What you can do to speed up the audit

• Respond in a timely manner to letters, phone calls and requests for information.
• Have an employer representative at the audit appointment who is familiar with the operations of the business and payroll records.
• Provide all books and records to the auditor as requested.
• Make sure the requested records are well organized and can be easily identified by the auditor.
• Respond to the auditor’s questions.

What happens after the audit

At the end of each audit, the auditor sends a post-audit letter explaining any audit findings.  If the audit resulted in the business owing taxes, penalties or interest, a Notice and Order of Assessment (NOA) detailing any taxes due, penalty and/or interest liability will be sent.