alliantgroup, America’s premier consulting and management engineering firm, is thrilled to add another former IRS Division Commissioner, Darren Guillot, as a resource to its clients and CPA partners. Guillot will join as the firm’s National Director, to help guide clients through a pivotal time for both the IRS and the country.
With the Service announcing several major initiatives, including taking concrete steps to combat fly-by-night Employee Retention Credit (ERC) promoters, increasing enforcement on high-net-worth earners and updating filing requirements for Section 41, Guillot’s background makes him perfectly suited to help all small businesses navigate these changes.
“We’re seeing a serious problem with ERC promoters that sprung up during the pandemic who are misleading businesses into believing they can claim millions in refunds in a matter of minutes. As part of alliantgroup’s role serving as a trusted tax advisor, I look forward to helping businesses [who want to do the right thing] navigate their way to compliance. I have known many of alliantgroup’s key players for many years and can attest to their impeccable intellect, problem-solving skills, and character. These are just some of many reasons I’m excited to join,” said Guillot.
Until his retirement from the IRS just last month, Guillot served as IRS Deputy Commissioner of the Small Business Division and capped 36 years with the service. As Deputy Commissioner, Guillot oversaw enforcement of all small and medium-sized businesses in America, leading a workforce of more than 12,000 employees.
His roles included overseeing the IRS’ Collection Operations, as well as standing up and leading the Office of Fraud Enforcement (OFE) – including its embedded Emerging Threats function. During his tenure, OFE was a key player in corralling threats to tax administration such as Ghost Employers, High Income Delinquent Filers (HiDeF Sweeps), and COVID relief fraud including ERC fraud. OFE provides support and coordination for all the service’s efforts in detecting and deterring fraud.
As he departed the IRS, his team was writing the playbook on addressing High Wealth High Balance due taxpayers and similarly OFE was working alongside the Office of Promoter Investigations (OPI) on how to detect and address potential fraud and abuse related to the clean fuel credits and the ERC.
“I am staunchly pro-small business because the tax code exists to make U.S. businesses more competitive. The fact is 63% of jobs created in the U.S. come from small to medium-sized businesses and I’m thrilled I can continue to educate them on not only what incentives they need to be claiming, but also how to claim them properly under the Service’s standards,” said Guillot.
His extensive experience in IRS’ Independent Office of Appeals culminated in his leadership of the Appeals Judicial Approach & Culture project (AJAC) that resulted in many key policies and procedures still in use today by appeals officers. As the IRS more carefully scrutinizes ERC claims, many businesses may seek further review in Appeals and Guillot will be an important advocate for clients who have concerns about the correctness of audit changes or civil enforcement that could result.
Throughout his executive career, Guillot consistently toiled to make a difference for millions of businesses and individual taxpayers; successfully imagining better policies and improvements, then leading their implementation with a results-oriented approach. alliantgroup looks forward to Guillot continuing his work supporting the small and medium-sized businesses of America.
