Audit Program Recommendation Examples

The published assessment practices survey report may include recommendations for improvement to the Assessor's procedures and practices. Below are examples of recommendations for the Audit Program survey topic.

Perform the minimum number of audits of professions, trades, and businesses pursuant to section 469.

For the 2019-20 to 2022-23 four-year fiscal period, section 469 required the Assessor to audit a minimum number of taxpayers, with some of those audits from the pool of largest business property assessments and some of the audits from the pool of all other business property owners.

By failing to conduct the minimum number of audits for the four-year fiscal period, the Assessor was not in compliance with section 469 and risked the possibility of allowing taxable property to permanently escape assessment.

Obtain a waiver of the statute of limitations pursuant to section 532.1 when an audit will not be completed in a timely manner.

Section 532 provides that when the Assessor discovers property has escaped assessment, an assessment of such property must be enrolled within four years after July 1 of the assessment year during which the property escaped assessment. If the Assessor cannot complete an audit within the prescribed time, the Assessor may request, pursuant to section 532.1, a waiver of the statute of limitations from the taxpayer to extend the time for making an escape assessment, correction, or refund. A signed waiver allows the Assessor to enroll an escape assessment if a reporting deficiency is found and can protect the taxpayer during the audit process should an overassessment be discovered.

By failing to obtain signed waivers, the Assessor may allow taxable property to permanently escape assessment should the statute of limitations expire prior to the completion of the audit.