Why am I recommending a CPA? If you have received your certified letter from the IRS, then read on. Lori Locey defended my business and personal interests in a recent small business audit by the IRS. Since I live in Chicago, it may seem like a strange decision to go out of state for assistance, but it turned out to be brilliant, because of how Ms. Locey handled the IRS agent. Because of my out of state representative, the local agent had to jump through procedural hoops to request information, and Ms. Locey made sure he toed the line with each inquiry. This made it difficult for him to dig deeper and further. She made sure the agent knew the burden he represented to my business, and made sure every request was presented in a complete way to him, to minimize interaction and work for me. In the end, he curtailed part of the audit(the expense side) because of Ms. Locey’s persistence with him in asserting my compliance efforts and good intentions. My best advice: do not go it alone! My next best advice: get an experienced CPA like Ms. Locey to protect you!