I consider being audited and the IRS finding corrections to prior returns as a "failure". Once I started doing things myself, I was audited and no corrections found (e.g. a "success"). In the case where I "failed" the audit, it had to do with how expenses were being handled by the accountant. At the time I was a contractor working on a 1099 and was tracking and submitting some business expenses for reimbursement, and some expenses were tracked and taken against my taxes but not reimbursed. What was filed did not align exactly with what was reimbursed, which caused an overstatement of deductions, causing me to owe back taxes. I am not making any claim that they committed fraud, as that's a crime which requires intent, I think they were just incompetent.
> The statement that the one time you used an accountant you got audited implies that you are confusing causation with correlation.
I actually didn't say that, I said the only time I got audited and failed was when I used an accountant, however I realize my style of writing made that unclear. During the time where I received income via a 1099 (and for part of that also had to file from a K-1 briefly for an LLC), I was audited three times in total. Only one time did I "fail", and it was the only time where I had professional assistance. In fact, I found the process of being audited surprisingly kind, the IRS folks involved were very professional and weren't mean about it at all. After my first experience being audited, even though I got the nasty surprise of owing back taxes, I was a lot less fearful of that process. That said, I have never had any understanding of how someone is chosen to be audited, but I have not been selected for an audit since moving to a W-2 for all of my income, which has been quite some time now. The experience of being audited did get me into the habit of storing all my tax related records carefully organized by year long-term, however, which I think is probably a good habit for everyone.
> You disparaging an entire industry without saying what type of tax preparer you used.
My intent isn't to disparage anyone, it's to share my own personal experience. I hired a CPA licensed in the state of Missouri (where I resided at the time) when I previously had a professional handle my taxes.