Assume that you complete tax returns for clients. You were engaged to file the 2013 individual and corporate tax returns for a client. The client provided her records and other tax information to you on February 1, 2014, to help prepare the 2013 tax return.

Your client paid you $12,000 to prepare those returns. On April 1, 2014, after repeated requests by the client to return her records, you informed the client that her tax returns for 2013 were soon to be completed.

However, you did not complete the returns by April 15. Consequently, your client paid another accountant $6,000 to complete the returns after the deadline. Your failure to complete the 2013 individual and corporate tax returns for the client caused her to incur substantial federal and state tax penalties. In retrospect, do you believe that you violated any of the rules of conduct in the AICPA Code?

Explain which rules were violated and why. If you do not believe that any rules were violated, explain your reasons for reaching this conclusion.