Business owners who hope to get money through the landmark federal stimulus act need to think now about how to prepare for using that money, and how to document its uses to avoid any legal trouble down the road.

That’s the advice of one attorney with experience from the last time Congress bailed out businesses in crisis.

Jack Sharman is a partner in Birmingham’s Lightfoot, Franklin & White, working in the firm’s white-collar defense and corporate investigations practice. He has twice served as a special counsel in government investigations, and is familiar with how Congress responded after the onset of the 2008 recession.

He says there will inevitably be regulatory, civil and criminal enforcement of the CARES Act’s provisions in the near future. Any business taking stimulus money needs to be ready now.

And because the CARES Act went from discussions of corporate bailouts to finished legislation in less than two weeks, the procedures and parameters are still being worked out even as the checks are being mailed.

"In a situation where there is great stress and widespread public concern, and where the program itself is brand new and not very fleshed out, it engenders some chaos,' he said. “It’s particularly important to be careful.”

Here are some ways businesses can prepare themselves.

Careful Accounting: Sharman said it will be critical for those receiving money to prove that all of the money received was spent as intended and is documented. Any company tends to be careful in accounting in case they’re subject to an audit, which includes making sure that all records are easily retrievable.

“It very much behooves that company to demonstrate that those funds were, in fact, used for that purpose. If they can’t do that in an investigation or audit, they may have some trouble,” he said.

Careful certification: The CARES Act requires certification by recipients that they are eligible. Documents used to show eligibility need to be airtight. Statements that can be construed as false and “material,” and are submitted either intentionally or recklessly, could become the basis for a civil claim or lead to criminal charges.

It isn’t necessarily a question of honesty as much as what is said about the company’s ability to receive money, Sharman said.

“One way companies get tripped up in falsification problems is that they think they are eligible to receive funds under the program, or are in the process of getting eligible, or they intend to be eligible by the time they receive the money, but they’re not eligible when they sign,” he said. “That can be construed as a false statement. The accuracy of your certification as to eligibility, size, use of funds, is treated as a condition of your receipt of the money. If you make a statement that’s false and material, then that inaccurate statement can be the basis for a false claim.”

Compliance in the age of the remote worker: As never before, coronavirus measures are forcing companies to rely on work from employees operating in various locations, whether it be at home or in other offices. That distance, while understandable in fighting a pandemic, will complicate efforts to make sure that companies are complying with CARES Act provisions.

Some technology can mitigate this problem, he said, but the problems will be there in the short-term in managing remote workers and how they are following policies.

“The world is working at home, more or less,” Sharman said. “If there were walls between the work space and the home space before COVID-19, those walls are probably blown down now. When we have that, it becomes more difficult to manage people and systems, and to make sure that compliance policies are being followed in general."