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FOR OWNERS WHO RUN PAYROLL AND SUSPECT THE FILINGS ARE OFF

The notice says your payroll taxes don't match. Now you need to know what really happened.

You run a business with employees. A notice arrived, or a handoff went badly, and you can't tell what was actually filed or paid. We check every payroll and tax filing against the books and the bank, then tell you in writing what is wrong, how big it is and what to do first.

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Sound familiar?

Owners come to us after one of these four things happens.

A notice arrived and it says you owe.

The IRS or your state says a payroll return is missing, a deposit was short, or the W-2 totals don't match. There is a response date on it, and you don't know whether the agency or your own records are right.

Your bookkeeper or payroll company left, and nobody can say what was filed.

Deposits went out irregularly, a few quarters were never reconciled, and the person who knew is gone. You are signing returns you can't verify.

A buyer, lender or investor is about to look.

They will test your payroll and tax compliance in due diligence. A problem you find first is a fix. A problem they find first is a lower price or a dead deal.

Something about the money feels wrong.

Payments you can't explain, a partner dispute, or a suspicion that someone on the team took funds. You need the facts on paper before you confront anyone.

Why payroll problems are different

The withheld taxes aren't your company's money.

Income and Social Security tax withheld from employee paychecks is held in trust for the government. When it isn't deposited, the IRS can pursue the owners and officers personally, not just the business. That is why we start here when payroll is involved.

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What We Examine

Every filing, tied to the books and the bank

A return can look fine on its own and still be wrong. We test each filing against the records underneath it.

Payroll and payroll taxes

Quarterly and annual payroll returns (Forms 941, 940, W-2 and W-3) plus state withholding and unemployment filings, matched to your payroll reports, your books and the deposits that actually left your bank. We find missed periods, late deposits and any amount the IRS could hold you personally responsible for.

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Business income tax returns

Your Schedule C, S-corp, partnership or C-corp return compared to the books and to what actually hit the bank. We test the revenue reported, the deductions taken, what the owners were paid, and loans between you and the company.

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Worker classification and 1099s

Whether the people you pay as contractors should legally be employees, whether every W-9 and 1099 is in order, and whether any pay never made it onto a tax form.

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Sales, use and other tax filings

State sales and use tax returns compared to your sales records and payment processor reports, plus any other recurring business tax filings tied to your records.

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Money trail and unusual activity

Bank and card activity tested for payments that don't belong: duplicate or round-dollar payments, vendors with no paper trail, personal spending in the business, and payroll for people who don't work there.

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The paper behind the numbers

Whether the documents agree with each other: IRS and state account records, payroll reports, bank and card statements, contracts, invoices and filed returns. If the support is missing, we say so and what it affects.

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How an engagement runs

From a pile of documents to a written answer.

Step 1: Scope and document request

We agree on the entities, the periods and the question you need answered, then send a specific list of what we need. Nothing vague.

Step 2: Reconcile

Each filing is tied to the payroll records, the ledger and the bank. Every difference is traced to its cause, not just flagged.

Step 3: Findings report

A written report with the exceptions quantified by period, the supporting schedules, and a plain-English explanation of what each one means for you.

Step 4: A path to fix it

Amended returns, late filings, penalty relief requests and a corrected process going forward. We prepare the work and coordinate with your attorney where one is involved.

Doyin Ogunbajo, CPA, Founder of ASO Financial
Who you'll work with

Doyin Ogunbajo, CPA

I lead every forensic engagement myself, from the first conversation to the findings report. You won't be handed to a junior analyst working from a template, and you'll always know who has seen your records.

We are accountants, not lawyers. If a matter is headed to court or an agency investigation, bring your attorney in first and we can work at their direction. If you only need a return prepared, this isn't the service you want.

What to gather before we talk

Any notices you received (with the response date), the returns filed for the periods in question, payroll reports, bank and card statements, and your accounting file if you have one. Missing pieces are fine. With your signed authorization we can pull your IRS account records ourselves.

FAQ

What owners ask before they call

It is accounting work done to answer a specific question about what happened: were these filings right, where did this money go, how big is the problem. Instead of preparing new numbers, we examine existing records and tie them to each other and to outside evidence like bank statements and agency transcripts.
Yes. We compare your quarterly and annual payroll tax returns to your payroll registers, your ledger and the deposits that actually left your bank account, for federal and state. We report any missed periods, mismatches, late deposits and the likely penalty and interest exposure.
Call us first, and watch the response date on the notice. A quick, accurate response backed by reconciled records is much stronger than an early reply that guesses. If you need more time, we can help you ask for it.
We trace the money and document what the records show: unusual payments, missing support, payroll irregularities. We report facts and amounts. We don't accuse anyone, and decisions about employment or legal action should involve your attorney.
Most problems are fixable. The report lays out the options, which usually include amended or late returns and a request to reduce penalties, and we prepare that work. Correcting a filing on your own initiative is generally better than waiting for an agency to find it.
No. We don't contact an agency about what we find unless you ask us to act for you. If you are worried about exposure, have your attorney engage us, because whether a communication is privileged is a legal question we can't answer for you.
It depends on how many periods are involved and how complete your records are. We scope the work after a short conversation and give you the timeline and fee in writing before we start, so there are no surprises. If a notice has a response deadline, tell us the date up front.
Providers file what the data tells them to file, and deposits can still go missing, fail, or post to the wrong period. The only way to know is to compare what was filed with what the agency shows and what left your bank.
Not on its own. An audit gives an opinion on whole financial statements. A forensic review is narrower and deeper: we focus on the tax filings, payroll and transactions you are concerned about and report what we find in writing. ASO Financial also performs audits, so if you need one, we can scope it as a separate engagement.
Ready to Talk?

Bring the notice and the last four quarters of payroll reports.

Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We'll tell you what we would examine first and what the work would involve.

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