Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with audit

Competition for Belarc Advisor/Manager?

bartleby — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:36:05 -0800

Competition for Belarc Advisor? For a whole network? Mefite reviews? I'm looking for a hardware/software audit & inventory package for a whole WAN network - if it does patches& vulnerabilities, bonus!

After trying the free-for-home Belarc Advisor, I'm looking at a Small Network Option for the whole operation.

I've only been playing with the demo for a day, but I like pretty much everything - I'm not so in love with the format of the reports, but more information is better than none.

So anyone have any love or hate stories?

Anyone use a different/competing product?

I found Belarc early and liked it - the only competitor I found before it was Hyena, but I was scared off by the "Fully Y2K compliant" section of the website.

Looking for a simple HTML sitemap creator

strangeleftydoublethink — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:58:20 -0800

I'm looking for an application that will scan a website (or subsection) and pull out page titles and the URLs into an HTML site map. Or a tool that would convert XML sitemaps into HTML. I'm trying to create a content audit document using the sitemap as a table of contents. Each page title in the TOC will link to a questionnaire about the content on that page.

How to "audit" a linux/oracle system that is administered through a web front end from a windows platform

cantthinkofone — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:33:45 -0800

How to "audit" a linux/oracle system that is administered through a web front end from a windows platform .. My google foo has completely failed me and I need some help! So, we have acquired a 3rd party system that runs on a linux box and all data is held in Oracle. 8 or so of us will be configuring the system via the system's back end web interface. Up until now all system we have administered are done by amending linux/unix files and we have simply kept a pre and post copy of the file so we can see what has been changed, by who and why.

Is there a application on the market that would let us do the same thing if, basically, a table somewhere in an oracle database is being updated as a result of a change made through a web front end?

Home is where the debt is?

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:30:35 -0800

I'm a woman, divorced, being audited by the IRS, in some credit card debt and have problems with my rental history. Should I sell my home? I got divorced last year after 10 years with my ex, who was an irresponsible mess. We are now being audited by the IRS for the tax year 2005. I moved out of our marital home in October of 2005 after finding out that my ex was smoking meth on a daily basis. Understandably, I was upset and moved in with a friend, then on to an apartment with another friend.

I refinanced the house to pay off my ex, since he is frequently jobless, in multiple tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and addicted to meth. I assumed it would be doable and budgeted accordingly. Then when I changed my filing status at work from married to single, my income went down $300/month. Okay, living close to the bone, but doable. A series of home and car repairs and illnesses later, and I have acquired $5000 in credit card debt. It is a zero interest card for the next year, so again, able to catch up, right?

Now the IRS suddenly audits my taxes. It seems ex-husband told me I could deduct his business expenses as they were part of his income. According to his former employer and the IRS, they were not. Ergo, we owe taxes on $17,000 now and will most likely be audited for 2006 as well.

I have no records showing that I lived anywhere but my actual home until January 4, 2006. The friend whose apartment I moved into decided to break her lease the day after I moved out and back into my marital home during my divorce in 2006. I am being named in a lawsuit alongside said friend (now former, by the way) by the apartment building people, so I cannot ask them to give me documents showing that I moved in there in December of 2005 since they are trying to collect a debt from me, even though I didn't break the lease (turned in keys, parking pass, etc. the day before, but was told I didn't need any documentation to take myself off the lease and trusted former friend to be responsible). The leasing office called me the next week and accused me of collusion, which I denied, and refused to remove me from the lease at that point, even though I had paid all funds and turned in everything prior to said friend "moving out suddenly in the middle of the night." Guess what? Said friend also did meth with my ex and also has no income or assets.

I refinanced my home to pay off my ex; the house now appraises at $18,000 less than it did last year when I got the loan. So, technically, I am $18k in the hole already if I should try to sell it in the soft market. Not a good position.

I have spoken with other friends in the same position (i.e., divorced from a jobless spouse and being audited) and am aware of Innocent Spouse. I am in the process of getting together as much paperwork as I can to show that since the items in question are HIS business expenses, and I believed I was filing correctly, and that we separated that year as a result of his drug abuse and my emotional distress (which I believe counts as spousal abuse in the eyes of the IRS). However, even if I claim Innocent Spouse and it is granted, if my ex has no income or assets to seize, I have reason to believe that the IRS will seize my home as a material asset for the monies owed.

Should I try now to begin the process of selling my home? Even if I sell it at a loss, which I almost certainly will, it would free up monthly income I could put aside to face the impending IRS debt. I am worried if I do put the home up and manage to sell it, the supposed $2000 I owe from the bad-friend-apartment-deal will stop me from finding a place to live.

I'm faced with so much stress and paperwork and the clock is ticking. Sell or keep the house? I helped design and build it in 2003, so it is newish, and has immense sentimental value to me. It's also 15 minutes from my office. I am due a raise in February of an unknown amount which may make the difference in affording the house and paying off my debt, but for now, all I see is debt and veiled threats and am afraid that if I don't cut my losses I will regret it. I live in Texas, by the way.

Who audits the advertised odds on lotteries

PercussivePaul — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:30:28 -0800

One in three chance you'll win a free pop, check under the cap! Does anyone audit these advertised odds? I almost never win these things. I figured with one in three odds , maybe this time... but no. Then I started wondering - maybe they're cheating.

I'm imagining some kind of sweepstakes control board, randomly buying bottles of Dr. Pepper at convenience stores across the country to do samplings of who wins... crack statisticians ensuring that winners are evenly distributed across regions... yeah right. So how do I know they're not cheating?

Should I be worried about an upcoming IRS audit?

jasonspaceman — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 07:27:21 -0800

I have an audit meeting with the IRS coming up. What can I/should I expect? Back in 2004, we had flooding in our area. We had at least a foot of standing water at one point then mold started to grow. We applied for aid and we ended up being able to get a low interest small business loan through the goverment, which we are paying back right now. We still have all of our receipts and paperwork from that time, but the idea that the IRS wants another look at everything seems a bit odd.

Should I be worried or is something like this procedural?

Help me save the world, one Audited Financial Report at a time.

viewofdelft — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 12:09:36 -0800

Where can I find the Audited Financial Reports for a bunch of nonprofits? I'm doing postgraduate research on international nonprofits based in the United States. This research requires finding a single piece of information found only on the Audited Financial Reports these nonprofits must file with (most) states' charity offices.

My problem: only a few states have a searchable database of registered charities and even fewer have posted any relevant documents online. I've tried Georgia's office but they're a bit too slow and unautomated. North Carolina and Illinois seem to be the best sources, but their databases are incomplete.

Here is North Carolina's information page for Doctors Without Borders. An example of the audit I'm looking for is linked to at the bottom of this page.

I know it's a longshot, but does anybody have any ideas on where to find a large number of these reports online?

Email auditing and backup, by date?

bkudria — Tue, 16 May 2006 19:20:10 -0800

I've been asked to set up a mail server for a small company with a specific auditing requirement. How do I insure their requirement "show me all emails from May 30, 2005 to June 30, 2005", for example, is fulfilled? I need to be able to store copies of all the emails, and these need to periodically get backed up to external media. The backups also need to be stored by date, and easily retrievable by non-computer users in the even of an audit. CD-R's are fine, I think, since mail traffic is low...but how do I do this? Is there a mail server or extension/plugin/feature to an existing server which will do this?

Thanks.

Fiscal Year End Filter

kaytrem — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 14:02:13 -0800

What's the quickest interactive way to find out a company's fiscal year end? What's the quickest interactive way to find out a company's fiscal year end? If I am talking to a client over the phone and they mention several companies that we might have to audit it's important to know that the companies are 12/31 or june 30 year end. It's possible to scramble around looking for their 10K to find this but what I'd really love is a good search string that'll pinpoint it and/or a website that does this as part of its standard service.

Tax return tips for adult industry?

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 07:36:13 -0800

How can I best avoid an IRS audit? My occupation may complicate things: I’m a professional in the adult entertainment industry with a job that is legal (but often perceived as illegal) and an entirely cash-based business. I want to make filing a tax return a quiet, simple, pain-free process. Just like any other American. However, something tells me an “adult entertainer” with a sole proprietorship with very high revenues for someone my age will certainly cause an IRS-person to give my return a second glance. I know the IRS doesn’t care what I do for a living – they just want a chunk of my earnings, but they do target people in certain professions (waitresses, hairdressers, dentists, lawyers) who earn through tips or who keep their own books. I can’t help but think that if I’m truthful on the occupation line I’ll make myself an ideal target.

I want to deduct my business expenses, but again, don’t want to raise red flags. I’m not talking about a plastic surgery, lingerie and designer shoes. This is airfare, hotel stays, and meals when I’m traveling, the same expenses a businessperson in any field incurs. My expenses were approximately 25% of my income, but should report them as being lower, or not at all to avoid being picked for an audit?

Seriously underreporting my income is an alluring idea, but for several reasons it’s not an option: a) I love my country (even though its laws may not be friendly towards my profession), and I indeed want to pay my taxes in full, b) there’s the “paper trail” of having deposited money into my bank account which would be incriminating if audited, c) I’d like to move my savings plan away from the cash-in-mattress method and towards the more mainstream IRA/stocks/real estate thing. My tone is tongue-in-cheek, but I’m serious :)

For reference purposes, my 2005 income is more than double what I earned in 2004 (which was the first year I earned anything significant) and I filed my 2004 return 6 months late (I know, but better late than never). I’m in my early 20s, and have been a full-time college student for much of the time that I’ve been working in this capacity. I haven’t kept meticulous records and my business is entirely cash-based, so an audit would be unpleasant to say the least.

Super bonus question: Any ideas for what I could tell my parents I’m doing that would explain the income? This is important for tax purposes as well, since they still claim me as a dependent. They know I’m earning more than the average recent college graduate with a B.A. in English, but to actually tell them how much I earn as a “waitress” might give one of them a heart attack. They would rather think I’m selling nuclear arms to rogue states than know what their daughter actually does.

Little note: I love my job, am emotionally healthy, have a great relationship with my family. Some people might not agree with what I do, but I’m looking for advice for my tax return at the moment, and not to start a moral discussion. Thanks! :) I’m posting this anonymously for apparent reasons; I can be reached at krt06@hushmail.com for any private messages.

The only sure things in life are. . .

lannanh — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 21:02:28 -0800

Icky back taxes situation, what would you do (esp. if you know tax law well)? A friend of mine worked for a company for approx 5 yrs believing his income was off the books, it ends up the company was claiming his income the entire time. It now ends up he owes roughly $20K. His wife found a tax attorney from TV and they are about to file an offer of compromise to knock off approx. $15K from the bill. The problem is, my friend says the attorneys overstated his monthly expenses by about $2K. He's afraid if the IRS really looks closely, they will get audited and the situation will worsen. The wife, who handles all the bills, just wants to get it in and move on.

My question is, how likely is it that the IRS will not accept this offer and is it a case where they would just say no and then have to come back w/ a new offer or would they be punished some how?

IRS: Does cashing personal checks at checkwriter's bank show up in an audit?

anonymoose — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 21:18:12 -0800

IRSAuditFilter: If one were to, sayy, cash personal checks at the checkwriter's bank, would the IRS know?