To a professional accountant or tax adviser whose career is built on providing clients sound advice, the prospect of a client suffering a loss due to their faulty opinion ranks as the worst possible fear. If an accountant’s or tax planner’s client is assessed tax liability beyond the amount the professional advised the client would pay, the professional may be liable for those damages. But accountants and tax advisers often fail to realize that such liability is not automatic. Before jumping to the conclusion of liability — and reaching for the checkbook — the embattled professional should consider the following five factors that may affect the outcome of the client’s case against it.

Originally published in Law360 - May 14, 2018.