Retail Store Auditing Procedures Manual
Share. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently released its annual list of “Dirty Dozen” tax scams for the upcoming filing season. The majority of the IRS scams in the 2018 version also appeared on the 2017 list and, not surprisingly, topping the list are identity theft, telephone scams and phishing. These scams can certainly be encountered at any time during the tax year but generally occur more frequently during filing season. “We urge taxpayers to watch out for these tricky and dangerous schemes,” said Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter. “Phishing and other scams on the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list can trap unsuspecting taxpayers.
Being cautious and taking basic security steps can help protect people and their sensitive tax and financial data.” THE DIRTY DOZEN Outlined below are a few of the 2018 Dirty Dozen tax scams as identified by the IRS with a brief description of each: Phishing Schemes Phishing involves an unsolicited e-mail or fake website that attempts to attract potential victims to provide personal information. Any suspicious e-mail such as this should be reported by forwarding it to. The IRS does not request personal information via e-mail.
The IRS continues to see new and evolving phishing schemes, one of which involves a taxpayer’s bank account(s). Criminals are using real bank accounts to directly deposit funds in the taxpayer’s bank account after filing a fraudulent tax return. These criminals then use various tactics to contact taxpayers posing as IRS agents or a representative from a collection agency to have unsuspecting taxpayers then transfer funds back to the criminal.
The IRS suggests Taxpayer’s review their bank accounts for any unexpected deposits to avoid falling victim to a phishing scheme. Fake Charities Scam groups often create fake charities and attract contributors by providing a charitable purpose and the benefit of tax deductions. With the recent natural disasters that have occurred, the IRS notes more scam artists create fake charities to try and encourage taxpayers to donate to support victims of these natural disasters.
The IRS suggests that Taxpayers request the charities Federal Employer Identification Number and use the IRS “Select Check” tool to confirm the legitimacy of the charity. Pervasive Telephone Scams These types of scams involve individuals contacting other individuals pretending to be an IRS representative in order to attempt to steal the other’s money and/or identity. Individuals that feel they have been subject to one of these telephone scams are instructed to contact (1) the IRS if they know they owe, or might owe, taxes; (2) the Treasury and Inspector General for Tax Administration if they don’t owe taxes; or (3) the Federal Trade Commission’s FTC Complaint Assistant in either case.
Other scams making the list of the 2018 “Dirty Dozen” include the following in which the IRS alerts taxpayers to continue to be wary of:. Return preparer fraud;. Inflated refund claims;.
Retail Store Auditing Procedures Manual Template
Excessive claims for business credits;. Falsely padding deductions on returns;. Falsifying income to claim credits;. Frivolous tax arguments;. Abusive tax shelters; and. Offshore tax avoidance.
CONCLUSION The IRS Criminal Investigation division utilizes a nationally coordinated program to identify and investigate various tax schemes. In addition, the IRS provides a means to report suspected tax fraud activity utilizing various IRS forms. The information necessary to report suspected fraudulent activity can be accessed on the IRS website utilizing the following link:. The IRS has stated that the Criminal Investigation division works closely with the Department of Justice to prosecute individuals involved in these illegal activities.
In the meantime, taxpayers should be wary of any situation which appears “to good to be true” to not open themselves up to unwanted schemes. Taxpayers should always proceed with caution and keep in mind that scams are not limited to only those identified in the Dirty Dozen.
The scope of this post is to discuss what happens before, during and after an audit for merchandising, service and/or loss-prevention in a store using retail audit software. Step 1: Schedule the audit Using your enterprise calendar or your Compliant IA built-in calendar, schedule the audit. Some audits are announced to the store’s management. Announced – This is typically the case with merchandising audits, particularly those preceding an in-store merchandising campaign or seasonal program. The intention being to prepare for significant upcoming dates and execute the facets of the seasonal program as laid out by head office.
Unannounced – The district manager shows up without prior warning to conduct an on-the-spot audit. This is often the case with service and health & safety compliance where the purpose of the audit is to gauge the store’s compliance with standards on a typical day with no additional preparation or training before to the audit. Tip for Compliant IA users: You can choose to make your visits “Announced” or “Unannounced” when scheduling the audit in the built-in Calendar. If the audit is announced, an email is sent to the store’s management and the audit appears in the store’s own calendar.
If the visit is unannounced, the audit will only appear in the district manager’s calendar but not in the store’s calendar and no emails are sent. Step 2: Prepare for the audit Familiarize yourself with the current ownership and management. Look up, compare and analyze past audits so you can put the latest information into perspective. Look for trends, repeat unacceptables and location to district averages. If you have any notes or questions, compile them ahead of time. Tip for Compliant IA users: From your dashboard, look up the selected store to view specific details including current ownership and management. While on the store page, click on “Visits to store” to view all past visits.
You can also use the “Trends” report to view a color-coded history of issues at that store. Lastly, use the “Location vs. Average” report to compare this store’s performance to others in its district or the national average. If you’d like, you can add notes to the scheduled audit; they will be carried over when the visit begins.
Step 3: Conduct the audit Most audits are conducted from the outside in. Whenever possible, sections should be laid out to match the natural path of a District Managers visit. Start with the exterior (parking lot if applicable) the main windows and or facade of building then work your way in, around the aisles and into the back of the store. While you can jump around between sections during or after the visit, setting up your audit questions according to the natural flow of a visit saves time and is more intuitive.
Check out for more best practices. Tip for Compliant IA users: Build the form online using the built-in “Form builder” or build it in Excel and import it (also using the Form builder).
Step 4: Use the device that works best, switch if necessary Some users like to conduct the entire audit on their smartphone. Others prefer the tablet. Still, others like to make a first pass on a smartphone or tablet then power up their laptop and augment the audit with additional notes. Tip for Compliant IA users: Compliant IA is device-agnostic. Start the audit with the device of your choice and switch if need be. Step 5: Take photos and add them to the audit to illustrate key points 65% of people are visual learners.
Says one of the best ways to drive the message home is through visual content. Taking pictures and adding them to an audit is both quick and easy. It helps the auditor illustrate what exceptional performance looks like and gives a clear example of any issues or concerns. Tip for Compliant IA users: adding a photo to an item is simply a matter of selecting the item, clicking the camera icon and taking a picture with your mobile or tablet or uploading from your camera roll.
Step 6: Don’t just report problems, assign them and get them fixed with the action plan An action plan is an opportunity to apply corrective actions to problem areas. It fosters ownership and accountability at store level by designating an individual responsible for rectifying each problem (anything deemed substandard or non-compliant by the district manager during the audit) and a target date for resolution. For more strategies,. Tip for Compliant IA users: Issues can be assigned to individuals one by one or in bulk. You control the granularity and whether no/some/all issues are assigned and to whom and their target date for resolution. And of course, Compliant IA allows you to track it all using point-and-click reporting.
Step 7: Get the store buy-in, acknowledge the audit Once the audit is completed, you may ask the store to “acknowledge” the visit. This is akin to an electronic signature and allows the store to accept accountability for the audit results. It ensures the visit did in fact take place at the store, date and time specified. Acknowledgment ensures a flow of communication from the bottom up as well as top down by allowing the store to leave comments about the audit.
Tip for Compliant IA users: Using the form builder, specify who is authorized to acknowledge and sign off on the audit. Step 8: Share the results with the store and head office The completed audit will typically be shared with store management as well as head office for the purpose of non-compliance resolution and reporting. Emailing a link to the report, viewing the report online and/or exporting it to Excel or PDF should be easy to execute. Tip for Compliant IA users: Using the form builder, set or restrict the visibility of the form by role and department if needed. Step 9: Follow up on the action plan Following up on an audit can be time-consuming and potentially involve many back and forth emails or phone calls. Thankfully, a dedicated retail audit software makes this considerably easier, faster and more effective by automating the communication and tracking outstanding action plan responsibilities.
Tip for Compliant IA users: Use the “Action plan responsibilities” report to find out exactly what action plan items have been fixed, by whom and when and which remain outstanding. Step 10: Plan your next audit Retail never sits still, neither should audits. Repeat the cycle by scheduling your next audits and watch your and sales numbers take off! The Definitive Guide to Retail Audits This comprehensive guide to retail audits is for multi-unit retailers in industries like restaurants, convenience stores, pharmacies, spas and clinics, telecommunications, and alcohol retailers. This guide also helps parking operators and manufacturers or distributors of consumer packaged goods.
Retail Store Operations Manual
If you need to collect or validate data in stores, this definitive guide to retail audits is for you! Other resources To help with your in-store execution, store data collection and, Compliant IA has also created these guides for you:.