OPR webinars

The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) engages in significant outreach activities with external stakeholders, including attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, and other tax professionals and tax professional organizations. These outreach events, including webinars, focus on the professional responsibilities and standards practitioners are expected to meet when practicing before the IRS, as well as topics of interest to tax professionals (e.g., the use of powers of attorney (POAs); the availability of Tax Pro Account to create POAs and tax information authorizations; the eligibility of non-practitioners, such as a taxpayer’s immediate family member or full-time employee, to engage in limited practice before the IRS; the IRS's Annual Filing Season Program; and the penalties that apply to tax return preparers).

The following OPR webinars are available for viewing

• Professional Conduct in Tax Practice: A Circular 230 Overview (December 2025)
  This webinar provides an overview of the statutory and regulatory authorities underlying Circular 230 and its enforcement by the OPR. It explores the mission, organizational structure, and investigative process of the OPR, offering insight into how the office operates. The session also examines the scope, content, and configuration of Circular 230, detailing its provisions that govern professional standards, including competency requirements and obligations of due diligence.
   
• Manage risk and client relationships with ethical tax practice (December 2024)
  The subject matter presented in this webinar is intended to enable viewers to recognize and apply key Circular 230 provisions throughout the client engagement lifecycle; implement practical risk management strategies; create and maintain systematic procedures for client engagement; and identify and address common ethical challenges at each stage of client engagement.

 The OPR gave the following presentations at the IRS Nationwide Tax Forums

• Building a Sustainable Practice Through Ethics (2025)
  Building a sustainable tax practice requires more than technical expertise – it demands a careful balance of ethical compliance, risk management and strong client relationships. This presentation offers a practical, comprehensive approach to integrating Circular 230 requirements throughout the client engagement lifecycle. Viewers will learn how to transform professional responsibility obligations into opportunities for practice growth while protecting both practitioner and client interests. Through proven best practices, discover how to build a robust practice foundation that supports long-term success. Whether a tax professional is establishing a new practice or strengthening an existing one, this presentation provides actionable insights for ethical practice management in today's complex tax environment.
   

• Introduction to OPR and Circular 230 (2025)
  This presentation is an introduction to Circular 230 and the OPR that defines who is a “practitioner” and the obligations practitioners have to their clients and the IRS. The presentation highlights notable provisions of Circular 230, such as due diligence, competence, conflicts of interest, unreasonable delay, and maintaining personal tax compliance. The presentation also discusses certain best practices, including ones related to recordkeeping and data security.
   

• Circular 230 and the lifecycle of a practitioner practicing before the IRS (2024)
  This presentation discusses how Circular 230 applies to the day-to-day activities of a tax practitioner, covering statutory and regulatory authorities, key provisions of Circular 230, and best practices for practitioners. Viewers will gain insights into the regulatory framework governing tax professionals' conduct, including standards for competence, diligence, and ethical behavior, and covers the meaning of "practice before the IRS" and how Circular 230 applies throughout an engagement with a client.
   
• Circular 230: Professional responsibility in today’s tax practice (2024)
  In recent years, there have been significant changes to the traditional full-time, in-office tax practice, including remote work options, expectations of competency in technology and cybersecurity, use of artificial intelligence tools and increasing use of social media for promotion. Given these changes, this presentation covers the applicable Circular 230 provisions and how tax professionals can continue to meet their professional responsibilities as their practice evolves.

• Mastering IRS authorizations with Forms 2848 and 8821 (2024)
  This presentation is a walk-through of the process of completing and submitting third-party authorizations to the IRS, focusing on Forms 2848 and 8821, and their submission to the IRS though various means. It will cover the distinction between a Power of Attorney (POA) and a Tax Information Authorization (TIA), who can represent taxpayers and the necessary steps for completing authorizations accurately and securely. Additionally, it addresses closely related subjects, such as the Centralized Authorization File (CAF), PTINs and signature requirements, providing a comprehensive guide for tax professionals.
   
• Circular 230 and ethics in tax practice: How you can stay out of trouble (2023)
  This presentation discusses Circular 230 and highlights the importance of diligence in tax practice, as well as other provisions in which diligence is an implicit requirement. Handling all aspects of clients’ federal tax matters with due diligence is integral to overall compliance with Circular 230. This presentation also provides an overview of the OPR.
  • This presentation is also available in Spanish as a PDF PDF.
     
• A potpourri of (potentially painful) tax professional problems (2023)
  This presentation addresses the top violations encountered by the OPR. The presentation discusses situations where a client’s desires may clash with the tax professional’s obligations under Circular 230, including those relating to due diligence, standards for positions on returns and other documents, burden of proof, and substantiation.