Finance Exam Prep

Finance Exam Prep

By Ran Chen, EA, CFP®BusinessEducationCoursesCareers
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Finance Exam Prep episodes

  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 21, Negotiating Taxpayer Refund Checks
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - Circular 230, section 10.31 strictly prohibits practitioners from endorsing, cashing, or otherwise negotiating any federal tax refund check.
    - Practitioners are forbidden from directing or accepting any part of a taxpayer's electronic refund into an account they own or control.
    - Using 'split refunds' to have tax preparation fees paid directly from a client's refund is a direct violation and a common exam trap.
    - A valid power of attorney does not grant a practitioner the authority to bypass the rule against negotiating a client's refund.
    - A client's explicit consent to negotiate their refund check does not excuse the practitioner from violating Circular 230.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    4 min
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 20, Solicitation Advertising and Enrolled Agent Designations
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - The use of "Enrolled Agent" or "EA" is permitted, but claiming to be "IRS Certified" or using the IRS logo is strictly forbidden.
    - All advertising, including targeted mailings, must avoid false, fraudulent, or misleading claims that create unjustified expectations.
    - If you advertise specific fees for services, you must honor those fees for at least 30 days after the last publication of the advertisement.
    - You must retain copies of all direct mail solicitations and a list of recipients for a period of at least 36 months.
    - Stating past accomplishments is permissible only if it can be factually substantiated and is not misleading.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    4 min
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 19, Conflicts of Interest and Written Consent
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - A conflict of interest exists under Circular 230 section 10.29 when representation is directly adverse to another client or is materially limited by other responsibilities.
    - To proceed despite a conflict, the practitioner must have a reasonable belief in their ability to provide competent representation, the representation must not be prohibited by law, and each client must provide written informed consent.
    - The client's written consent must be confirmed no later than 30 days after the conflict is known.
    - Practitioners must retain copies of the written consents for at least 36 months after the conclusion of the representation.
    - Exam questions often use scenarios involving divorcing spouses or feuding business partners to test the application of the three-part waiver rule.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    3 min
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 18, Returning Client Records
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - Your primary duty under Circular 230 section 10.28 is to promptly return all client records necessary for tax compliance upon request.
    - A fee dispute does not generally relieve you of the responsibility to return a client's records.
    - How to distinguish between client-provided records, which must be returned, and practitioner work product, which may be withheld if unpaid.
    - The narrow state-law exception that may permit retaining records, but still requires providing reasonable access for copying.
    - That you are always permitted to retain copies of any client records you return, at your own expense.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    4 min
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 17, Practitioner Fees and Contingent Fee Rules
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - The general prohibition under Circular 230 against charging unconscionable and contingent fees.
    - The specific exception allowing contingent fees for representing a client during an IRS examination or challenge to an original tax return.
    - The critical 120-day rule for charging contingent fees on amended returns or claims for refund in connection with an IRS examination.
    - The exception that permits contingent fees for claims related solely to statutory interest and penalties.
    - The circumstances under which a contingent fee is allowed for services related to judicial proceedings.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    4 min
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 16, Assistance from Suspended or Disbarred Practitioners
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - Practitioners are forbidden from knowingly accepting assistance from or assisting anyone disbarred or suspended from IRS practice.
    - The definition of "assistance" is broad, including any act of "practice" such as return preparation or providing tax advice, not just direct representation.
    - A disbarred individual can only be employed for purely clerical duties that involve no tax judgment, such as filing or basic data entry.
    - A common exam trap is the "review and sign" fallacy; a licensed EA cannot cure a violation by simply reviewing and signing substantive work prepared by a disbarred person.
    - Remember the rule: "No Contact, No Counsel, Just Clerical" to define the strict boundaries for employing a suspended or disbarred person.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    4 min
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 15, Prompt Disposition of Pending Matters
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - A practitioner must not unreasonably delay the prompt disposition of any matter before the IRS.
    - Using delay as a strategy, such as hoping an IRS agent will be reassigned, is a clear violation of Circular 230.
    - A practitioner is not absolved of responsibility just because a client is causing the delay; they must still act with diligence to move the case forward.
    - Filing for an extension is permissible, but using extensions as a tactic to obstruct or without a valid reason constitutes an unreasonable delay.
    - The EA exam tests this concept through scenarios that require you to distinguish between reasonable and unreasonable delays.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    4 min
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 14, Due Diligence as to Accuracy
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - That due diligence under Circular 230 is a standard of 'reasonable care,' not a guarantee of correctness on all filings.
    - You may rely on client-provided information, but not blindly; you have a duty to make reasonable inquiries if information appears incorrect, incomplete, or inconsistent.
    - When relying on the work of another person, you are only presumed to have exercised due diligence if you used reasonable care in hiring, supervising, and training them.
    - How the exam tests your responsibility to probe deeper into questionable information rather than accepting it at face value, an act of 'willful blindness'.
    - The difference between the general due diligence standard of Section 10.22 and the specific, heightened requirements for certain tax credits.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    3 min
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 13, Client Errors and Omissions
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - Your two primary duties under Circular 230 §10.21 are to promptly inform the client of an error and advise on potential consequences.
    - You are strictly prohibited from notifying the IRS about a client's error without their explicit permission.
    - Forcing a client to file an amended return is not your responsibility; the decision to correct a past mistake rests solely with the taxpayer.
    - Withdrawing from an engagement is not automatically required if a client refuses to correct an error, unless that error impacts the accuracy of current work.
    - A helpful mnemonic: "Advise, don't advertise." Your role is to advise the client, not to advertise their mistakes to the IRS.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    4 min
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 3] 12, Furnishing Information to the IRS
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
    In this episode you will learn:
    - Under Circular 230 Section 10.20, you must promptly submit records upon a lawful IRS request.
    - If you don't possess requested records, you must notify the IRS and identify who you believe has them.
    - An exam trap is choosing an answer that only states you don't have the records, which is an incomplete duty.
    - Information may be withheld if you have a good-faith belief it is privileged, but the privilege must be formally asserted.
    - Remember the 'PIP' mnemonic: Promptly respond, Inform and Identify, or assert a valid Privilege.
    For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    4 min

About Finance Exam Prep

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Finance Exam Prep is a daily podcast designed to help future tax and finance professionals pass their certification and licensing exams with clarity and confidence.

Best of Finance Exam Prep

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  1. Number 1: Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 1] 58, Recovering Refunds and Amended Returns
    4 min
  2. Number 2: Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 1] 57, Underpayment Penalties and Exceptions
    3 min
  3. Number 3: Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 1] 56, Estimated Tax Requirements
    4 min