October 16, 2025
Categories: Accounting Malpractice
When you hire an accountant you expect accurate records, timely filings, and competent advice. Accounting malpractice happens when an accountant or accounting firm fails to meet the standard of care expected of the profession and that failure causes measurable financial harm. In Florida, those harms can include tax penalties, regulatory fines, lost business opportunities, and costly corrective work. Finding an experienced malpractice attorney to handle your claim can help protect your assets.
An accounting malpractice claim in Florida rests on four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages.
Courts will compare the accountant’s conduct to accepted standards such as GAAP and GAAS and to what similarly situated professionals would have done. A bad outcome alone is not enough; you must show the professional failed to exercise reasonable skill or care.
Accounting malpractice appears in many forms. Many involve fraudulent behavior or failure to act in accordance with the accountant’s client’s interests.
When an accountant knowing or negligently alters, omits, or misstates items in financial statements, they are misrepresenting those records. They could be inflating revenue, failing to record liabilities, or producing financial reports that conceal material facts. Even errors that look minor can be malpractice if they result from sloppy procedures or inadequate review.
Failure to detect or prevent fraud and embezzlement is a frequent basis for malpractice claims. Accountants and auditors are expected to exercise reasonable professional skepticism and to perform procedures that would reveal obvious red flags. When those procedures are skipped or performed carelessly, theft and misuse of funds can go unnoticed for months or years.
Negligent tax preparation and advice is another major area. Missing filing deadlines, taking unsupported deductions, miscalculating tax liabilities, or advising clients to follow a tax position without adequate support can all produce penalties and interest. If a preparer’s mistakes cause you to incur fines or trigger audits, that can be the basis for a malpractice suit.
Improper auditing or review practices can also be malpractice. Auditors who fail to confirm bank balances, ignore related-party transactions, or avoid required substantive testing are exposing clients and third parties to risk. Auditing duties are technical and deviation from GAAS is a clear signal of breach.
Breach of fiduciary duty and conflicts of interest arise when an accountant puts personal or third-party interests ahead of their client. Examples include directing refunds to the preparer’s account, steering clients toward services that generate kickbacks, or representing multiple clients where interests conflict without disclosure.
Finally, persistent bookkeeping errors and poor internal control advice—like misclassification of expenses, failure to reconcile accounts, or inadequate payroll handling—can produce material damages over time and support malpractice claims.
You do not need to be an accountant to spot warning signs. Watch for patterns and behaviors that suggest negligence rather than an occasional mistake. Common red flags include:
If you see any of these signs, start preserving records immediately and consult counsel about next steps.
Acting quickly improves your ability to prove a claim. These steps will help you preserve evidence and evaluate options:
These steps are practical and routine, but timing matters. Florida’s limitations rules can be complex, so prompt action preserves your options.
An experienced malpractice attorney does more than file paperwork for you. The first job is fact gathering and legal triage: determining who owed a duty, whether the professional breached that duty, and what your realistic damages are. Attorneys coordinate with forensic accountants or independent CPAs to produce expert reports that explain industry standards, identify deviations, and tie those deviations to measurable losses.
A lawyer will also handle evidence preservation, send demand letters, negotiate with insurers, and prepare litigation strategy if settlement is not adequate. In many cases the defendant’s professional liability carrier will control settlement discussions, and an attorney ensures your interests are properly represented in those negotiations. Finally, malpractice counsel understands the interplay between administrative complaints to the Florida Board of Accountancy and civil litigation, so you can pursue regulatory discipline without compromising a civil claim.
A direct client who hired the accountant is the usual plaintiff. Under narrow circumstances, a third party who was the intended beneficiary of the accountant’s work may have a claim, but those situations are fact specific.
Florida’s statute of limitations is generally two years from discovery, but exceptions and tolling rules apply. Consult an attorney quickly to avoid losing rights.
No. Signing a return does not necessarily bar a malpractice claim. What matters is whether the preparer breached professional standards and whether that breach caused your loss.
Almost always yes. Expert testimony from a CPA or forensic accountant is usually required to establish the standard of care and demonstrate how the accountant’s conduct fell short.
Intentional theft or fraud can lead to criminal referrals, but civil malpractice claims and criminal prosecutions serve different purposes. Your attorney can advise on both tracks and coordinate with law enforcement when appropriate.
Recoverable damages often include penalties, interest, fees to correct returns or books, lost profits, and other direct financial harms caused by the breach. Taxes you actually owed are typically not recoverable.
Filing a complaint is appropriate if you suspect ethical violations. Complaints proceed separately from civil suits and can prompt investigations that produce useful evidence, but consult your attorney to coordinate timing.
Most accounting firms carry professional liability insurance. Insurance limits, exclusions, and notice obligations can influence settlement prospects. An attorney will navigate those issues on your behalf.
Accounting mistakes can be costly, and when those mistakes stem from negligence or misconduct you have options for recovery. Preserve your records, avoid unilateral fixes, and talk with an attorney who knows both accounting and Florida malpractice law. Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore represents clients in Tampa and across Florida in accounting malpractice matters. Call (813) 225-4000 or contact the firm online to schedule a consultation.
